South Africa: Didiza allays fears over food shortage amid Russia-Ukraine conflict

Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development Minister, Thoko Didiza, has assured the country of the availability of food supplies for the coming months, amid the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

We have gained enough understanding of our available food supplies and are confident that there are sufficient supplies for South Africa and the neighbouring Southern African Custom Union (SACU) countries for the foreseeable future, and therefore [there is] no need to panic that the country could experience shortages.

The Minister made the remarks following a meeting with food processors, including leaders in the fruit and grains industry, agricultural trading groups, and farmer associations to discuss availability of food suppliers and farming inputs.

The consultation was part of the Inter-Ministerial Task Team assessment of risks to the South African economy during the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

The meeting evaluated the availability of the food supplies and farming inputs supplies for the coming months.

Didiza said the country has benefitted from good harvests of a range of crops and fruits and have already imported a large share of products that they are import-dependent on, including wheat and rice.

She said industry stakeholders have committed to sharing information about the food production conditions going forward, which will enable better planning and response should such be needed in future.

The industry roleplayers also reflected on the need to drive long term inclusive growth in the sector. We will follow up on this call by addressing constraints to agriculture growth, including access to funding for new entrant farmers, crop and animal disease occurrences, and improving domestic fertilizer capacity.

The long-term and focused interventions are contained in the Agriculture and the Agro-processing Master Plan that the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development will launch soon with social partners, Didiza said.  SAnews.gov.za

This story has been published on: 2022-03-22. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
Seven rescued tigers handed over Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park

Seven Indochinese tiger cubs which were rescued by the central province of Nghe An authorities have been taken to Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park.



In August last year, the animals, which were 1-1.5 months old, were saved from illegal wildlife traders. The tigers had been kept in cages and would have likely been sold and slaughtered for bone paste and other tiger-derived products. They were then handed over to Pu Mat National Park in Nghe An.









The truck took the tigers to Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park





This morning, March 22, Pu Mat National Park and Save Vietnam's Wildlife signed an agreement to transfer the tigers to Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park for being taken care of in a long run.



Dang Thanh Tuan from Pu Mat National Park said that the tigers had been trained to get familiar with cages to prepare for their relocation.



Tran Xuan Cuong, director of Pu Mat National Park, while being taken care of there, the tigers have developed well. The smallest tiger weighs 56 kilos, while the biggest is 64 kilos. However, Pu Mat cant keep the animals over the long term.



It took Pu Mat National Park VND865 million (USD37,284) to care for the animals over the past time.


The value of Bahrains exports of national origin increased by 121% to BD417 million ($1.1 billion) during February 2022, compared to BD189 million for the same month of the previous year, said the Information &eGovernment Authority (iGA) in a new report.



The top 10 countries in terms of the value of exports of national origin purchased from Bahrain accounted for 75% of the total value, with the remaining countries accounting for 25%, according to iGAs foreign trade report of February 2022, which encompasses data on the balance of trade, imports, exports (national origin), and re-exports.



The US ranked first among countries receiving Bahraini exports of national origin, importing BD78 million from Bahrain. Meanwhile, The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was second with BD65 million and Italy third with BD54 million.



Unwrought aluminium alloys emerged as the top products exported during February 2022 with BD167 million, Agglomerated iron ores and concentrates alloyed was second with a value of BD56 million and Urea third with BD27 million.



The total value of re-exports decreased by 32% to reach BD42 million during February 2022, compared to BD62 million for the same month of the previous year. The top 10 countries accounted for 88 % of the re-exported value, while the remaining countries accounted for the 12%. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia ranked first with BD11 million, and the United Arab Emirates second with BD10 million, and Singapore third with BD5 million.



Parts for aircraft engines is the top product re-exported from Bahrain with BD4 million, and mountings and fitting for vehicles came in second place with BD2.3719 million, and wristwatches precious metal came third with BD2.3716 million.



The trade balance, the difference between exports and imports, recorded a deficit totalling BD9 million during February 2022 compared to BD178 million for the same month of the previous year, an improvement of the trade balance by 95%, That is reflected positively in the value of the trade balance.



The value of imports increased by 9%, reaching BD469 million during February 2022 compared to BD429 million for the same month of the previous year. The top 10 countries accounted for 70% of the value of imports, with the remaining countries accounting for 30%.



According to the report, China ranked first when it came to imports to Bahrain, with a total of BD76 million, Brazil was second with BD54 million, and Australia was third with BD45 million.



Non-agglomerated iron ores and concentrates emerged as the top product imported into Bahrain with a total value of BD58 million, while aluminium oxide was second with BD44 million, and gold ingots third with BD10 million.  TradeArabia News Service
Demolition prep for Guilford Center may cause delays

GREENSBORO  Preparations to demolish the old Guilford Center at 201 N. Eugene St. are to begin next week with installation of fencing around the work zone perimeter, according to a news release from Greensboro. Sidewalks along the work area will be closed shortly after that.

Th demolition and subsequent site preparation for future development is expected to be complete by the end of June, weather-permitting, the release said. Motorists are urged to avoid the area or expect delays near the work zone, which is at the intersection with Friendly Avenue.

The land was part of a City Council-approved land swap with the Carroll Corp. to facilitate the citys development of the Eugene Street Parking Deck downtown. The North Eugene Street property will be turned over to the company at the end of this project, the release said.

Suspect arrested in Charlotte shooting death is extradited

A suspect in the shooting death of Charlotte Area Transit System bus driver Ethan Rivera is back in Charlotte after being extradited from Kansas March 17.

Darian Dru Thavychith, 21, was escorted into Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department headquarters on East Trade Street, as documented by WBTV-Channel 3 footage. Thavychith, wearing a mask, did not speak in response to questions by reporters, including whether he had anything to say to the Rivera family.

He was arrested at a gas station in Shawnee, Kansas on Feb. 28 and charged with murder and shooting into an occupied vehicle, The Charlotte Observer previously reported. His first court appearance was March 18.

Rivera, 41, was shot just after 9:30 p.m. in what police called a road rage incident on Feb. 11 in the 500 block of West Trade Street. Video of the shooting released to the media showed what led up to the incident, including Rivera and the driver of a black Honda Pilot, believed to be Thavychith, exchanging words.

Riveras mother, Sylvia, made an emotional plea for the publics help in identifying her sons killer last month.

When he told me that they caught him, I just couldnt stop trembling, Rivera told the Observer after Thavychiths arrest. I feel relieved that hes off the streets and he cant hurt nobody else.

Burlington teen fires shot at grandmother from assault rifle

Authorities say a teenager faces multiple charges after he assaulted his grandmother and fired a shot toward her from a high-powered rifle.

At 5:17 p.m. Monday, Alamance County sheriffs deputies arrived at a home in the 3700 block of Clapp Mill Road to see Noah Chandler Church, 19, assaulting his grandmother in the front yard, according to a news release from the sheriffs office.

Deputies stopped the assault and detained the teenager. The victim suffered minor injuries, according to the news release.

During the investigation, deputies say they learned Church had fired a single shot from a high-powered rifle in the direction of his grandmother, who was not struck by the gunfire.

Church was arrested and transported to the Alamance County Detention Center. He is charged with assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill, a felony, and misdemeanor charges of assault by pointing a gun and assault on a female, according to the news release.

He has a $50,000 secured bond.
REIDSVILLE  Police here are searching for a man who on March 13 wounded one person with a gunshot and fired bullets into multiple dwellings along the 600 block of Wentworth Streeet.

Officers with the Reidsville Police Department were called to the scene at about 12:36 p.m. that day where they found several spent bullet casings and one victim with a flesh wound, according to a news release from the RPD.

The suspect had fled the scene, authorities said.

Police recovered surveillance video footage that showed a man holding a handgun, though he has not been identified, the release said.

The RPD and Rockingham County Crime Stoppers are offering up to $2,000 for information leading to an arrest and conviction of the offender. Anyone with information about the suspect or the incident should call Investigator Menard at 336-347-2305 or leave an anonymous tip with Rockingham County Crime Stoppers at 336-349-9683.

Contact Susie C. Spear at sspear@rockinghamnow.com, (336) 349-4331, ext. 6140 and follow @SpearSusie_RCN on Twitter.
UPDATE  Greensboro police say they arrested Antonio Dshaun Holloway, 33, on a charge of assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill, inflicting serious injury, in connection with Monday's shooting. He is in the Guilford County Jail on $250,000 bond. The victim, who was shot twice, was listed as critical but stable condition, according to a news release.

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GREENSBORO  A person was hospitalized after being shot twice Monday afternoon in the 900 block of Dunbar Street, Greensboro police said in a news release.

Officers responded to the shooting just after 2:30 p.m. and found one person suffering from two gunshot wounds. Police said the person's injuries were not considered to be life-threatening.

Police did not release any additional details.

Authorities ask anyone with information to contact Greensboro/Guilford Crime Stoppers at 336-373-1000; or, download the mobile P3tips app for Apple or Android phones to submit a mobile tip, or go to P3tips.com to submit a web tip.
HIGH POINT  The City Council adopted a social district for the downtown area that will allow people to take alcoholic drinks from restaurants and bars into the streets in a defined area, which includes Congdon Yards, the future food hall and a portion of Church Avenue that includes Plank Street Tavern.

The district also takes in a small area leading up to the right field entrance to the stadium, but patrons will not be allowed to take drinks into the stadium itself.

Neighboring Greensboro debuted a similar area in March that covers a significant portion of its downtown.

Officials in Winston-Salem are also considering the idea.

High Points district will take effect April 21 and is based on a new state law that allows local governments to designate outdoor districts where alcohol can be openly carried and consumed outside of establishments.

Also on Monday, the city may take the property of a longtime business by eminent domain in order to provide more parking in the downtown area.

The city needs the land for the stadium parking lot project, but has been unable to negotiate a sale with the owner of Piedmont Electric Repair, according to City Attorney JoAnne Carlyle.

The council vote was unanimous, minus Councilman Chris Williams, who was absent.

Eminent domain allows governments to take private property for public use as long as just compensation is paid, which the city has deemed to be $985,000 in this case.

Carlyle said the figure is based on an appraisal of the property.

At the end of the 30-day notice period, if a settlement has not been reached, the city can file a civil action to seize the property.

Piedmont Electric Repair has been in business since 1936. The company did not have a representative at the council meeting, and owner Bucky Draughan could not be reached for comment.

Its properties amount to slightly less than an acre next to Truist Point stadium and the Congdon Yards campus.

The business adjoins a vacant parcel at West English Road and North Lindsay Street that used to be a gas station the city bought and demolished a few years ago.

The area continues to develop with Congdon Yards, which includes several offices, as well as a new building slated to open this spring with a food hall and the office of Key Risk insurance.

There are several other projects that have been announced in this immediate area, including a hotel.
GREENSBORO  The once-grand mansion at 336 Martin Luther King Jr. Drive makes some neighbors nervous and leaves passersby sad and kind of spooked.

The neoclassical revival-style home, built for businessman John A. Hodgin around 1915, has become an eyesore and a safety hazard for the Southside neighborhood. Its caught fire at least twice and homeless people wander the property, squatting and doing their business, neighbors say.

The day we moved in they found a dead body over there, said Carl Butler, who lives in a townhome across the street.

That was James David McKenzie, 66, who was found at the home last June. His manner of death is undetermined, but Greensboro Deputy Police Chief Michael Terry said McKenzie's death isn't considered a homicide.

Butlers neighbor, Jennifer Sweeney, worries because she has small children at home.

It's just gotten increasingly worse over time with people loitering, said Sweeney, who moved into the neighborhood last August. Its not safe, it's a condemned building, so you don't know who's living in there. And if you have to go in there to help someone you don't even know if you can help them.

The building is among 84 on the city's demolition list. Deputy City Manager Chris Wilson would not speculate on why these properties generally go into decline, but he did say that some involve absentee landlords or heirs who don't want to invest in the property after the owner dies.

The city tries to work with property owners to bring the structures into compliance with housing code.

"Our desire is compliance," Wilson said. "It's always preferred because we need the housing stock and we want people to move on these, but sometimes it's just not achievable because of the condition or where they're at in terms of the condition."

Last week, the City Council turned up the heat. It voted to spend $500,000 to immediately begin catching up with a backlog of demolition orders.

The council was to vote on a larger amount  $1.3 million  which would allow the city to demolish nearly all of the homes on the list. However, new City Manager Taiwo Jaiyeoba asked for more time before the vote to make sure that we have things in the right order.

The issue will be discussed again at this weeks City Council retreat.

The item was added to the agenda after District 1 Councilwoman Sharon Hightower complained last month about the high number of vacant, boarded up properties in her district and District 2, which comprise parts of east Greensboro.

Houses can stay boarded up indefinitely, Hightower, whose district includes the southeastern part of the city, said at the Feb. 15 meeting.

At least one building has been slated to be razed since 2011  although demolition can take place 90 days after an order is issued.

We dont have the budget to actually go in and take those houses down, Mayor Nancy Vaughan said at the February meeting.

Since then, however, the city found $1.3 million in its general fund to carry out the demolition orders.

All demolitions require $350 asbestos testing ($450 if rushed), and the average cost of asbestos abatement is $4,500, Wilson said. In severe cases, the abatement can go as high as $20,000, he added.

The demolition itself costs about $12,000 for a 1,200 square-foot house. A lien is placed on the property to allow the city to recoup the loss if the property is ever sold.

And while there are 84 structures on the citys demolition list, only 73 of them are anticipated to be demolished, Wilson said. Work on 11 other buildings is being done to bring them into compliance with the city code.

Despite Jaiyeobas request for a delay, council members didnt want to wait to get started. So they voted to spend $500,000 to demolish 35 houses that are the most concerning.

This is a critical situation, said Councilwoman Tammi Thurm, whose District 5 encompasses the western part of the city. It's a matter of safety, public safety.

And while she voted for the $500,000, Hightower said more discussion is needed.

I don't want this to lead to a whole lot of pockets of empty lots," she said, "with no ability to rebuild in those spaces without having some discussion around what that will entail.

However, 74-year-old Gladys Jackson, said an empty lot would be better than the decrepit house she sees from her front windows.

A large tree fell on the vacant house at 2105 Maywood St. about two years ago, she said, and its been like that ever since.

The lot attracts illegal dumping, too. Theres a lot of people putting trash in the yard, she said.

The issue affects the citys Black and Hispanic neighborhoods much more than white neighborhoods, according to Director of Neighborhood Development Michelle Kennedy.

So if you talk about issues of, for example, racial equity, it's clear where this issue lives in our community, she said.

Claire Newman, a dog walker who traverses the Southside neighborhood several times a week, said its time the city did something about the house on Martin Luther King Jr. Drive.

It is interesting that they kind of allowed it to get to this point where now it's not only burned in the back, but the front is falling apart and the windows are broken," Newman said. "It kind of looks creepy.

You could use this property for so much more."

The loss of the old mansion saddens Noel Hart, who lives downtown on Elm Street.

I dont like to see history torn down, she said. You dont see houses like this much anymore.

And though he agrees with demolishing the building, even if the property remains a vacant lot, Butler also finds the situation sad.

Its too bad because it looks like it was a beautiful house at some point in time.

Contact Kenwyn Caranna at 336-373-7082 and follow @kcaranna on Twitter.
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After six failed rounds of the so-called Syrian Constitutional Committee in Geneva, the work of the seventh round was launched on Monday, amid expectations that its results will be the same as its predecessors, as it will not lead to a political solution according to the aspirations of the Syrian people as long as all the active political forces in the country do not participate in it.

The seventh round of the meetings of the so-called Syrian Constitutional Committee began on Monday at the United Nations headquarters in Geneva, headed by the UN Special Envoy to Syria Geir Pedersen.

Commenting on this, the representative of the Syrian Democratic Council in Washington, Bassam Ishaq, said, "The seventh session of the Syrian Constitutional Committee is being held in Geneva against the backdrop of what envoy Geir Pedersen described as a deep and long dialogue with the Assad regime's Foreign Minister, Faisal Miqdad. Pedersen wants to sow hope that a political solution Through the constitutional committee, it is possible and that a political solution, according to a statement launched by the envoy on March 14, is the only way out of the current stalemate in the Syrian situation.

He stressed, "The most important models that politically expressed the aspirations of an important segment of Syrians is the model of the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria, which recognized the pluralistic Syrian reality and recognized linguistic and cultural diversity, women's rights and freedom and the freedom to choose faith, and these are fundamental and revolutionary steps to move the future Syria from all kinds of tyranny and oppression to a vast space of justice and freedom.

He added in this context: "The Autonomous Administration's experience is not a Kurdish, Arab, Islamic or Christian experience, nor is it a call for division, as its opponents accuse it. Rather, it is a model and an experiment that is still developing and seeks to express the aspirations of the Syrians by recognizing the Syrian reality as it is and not as this team wishes. This or that, or this or that regional country.

Regarding the value of discussing the constitution in light of the presence of occupied areas and the continuation of terrorist activity, Ishaq believes that the selection of the members of the Syrian Constitutional Committee came through regional and international filters, not to mention the filter of the Assad regime, and therefore such a committee cannot produce a constitution that would lead Syrians to a state of justice, dignity and freedom for all Syrians. Not to mention that the Syrian regime has no political interest in producing a new Syrian constitution in Geneva and entering into a transitional phase that exposes its people to accountability.

He continued in his speech: "Pederson, who adheres to the letter of Law 2,254, has become an obstacle to reaching a Syrian constitution for all Syrians. The man clearly stated that the Syrian solution is limited to the Syrian parties mentioned in 2,254, meaning that his committee does not represent all Syrian political parties, and therefore he is talking about an incomplete solution and the incomplete solution." It is not a solution, but a continuation of the crisis.

In the context of his speech, he touched on the Syrian reality, which has gone through developments that crystallized the positions of many Syrian political forces, and said: "Today, there are Syrian political forces that have fought terrorism militarily and also politically, such as the Autonomous Administration model, which liberated Syrian land from terrorism and established a pluralistic political administration that manages a third of the Syrian area and its presence. necessary for the crystallization of a democratic Syrian constitution."

Ishaq noted that Resolution 2,254 is not a holy book, but rather a momentary agreement on how to reach a political solution to the Syrian issue.

At the conclusion of his speech, the representative of the Syrian Democratic Council in Washington, Bassam Ishaq, believes that "the political solution has become in another place, away from the Constitutional Committee and Geneva, where the members of the Committee are besieged by the regime and the agendas of regional and international players are powerless, and the real political solution needs to be strengthened today." The national democratic opposition so that it overcomes the current state of fragmentation and can overcome the state of stagnation in Geneva and the stalemate in the Syrian issue as a whole.

T/S

ANHA
A star-studded line-up of speakers including Ministers, Ambassadors, senior government officials and renowned industry professionals will lead the deliberations at the 2022 edition of the Annual Investment Meeting (AIM) in Dubai.

To be held from March 29 to March 31, at the Dubai Exhibition Centre, Expo 2020 Dubai, the event will consist of strategic talks, roundtable discussions, key presentations and workshops that are all aimed with the primary goal of how to attract new investments, the creation and maintenance of future cities and how to further encourage and empower youth entrepreneurship.

According to the show's organisers, speakers for the event have been broken into key groups--the global leaders debate and opening ceremony speakers; foreign direct investment (FDI) and foreign portfolio investment speakers; start-up pillar speakers; future cities pillar speakers; small and medium enterprises speakers and the 50 projects initiative speakers.

Global leaders debate

The global leaders debate and opening ceremony list features a powerhouse cast of top government officials, which include Rustam Minnikhanov, President, Republic of Tatarstan; Gilmar Pisas, Prime Minister of Curacao; Mia Mottley, Prime Minister of Barbados; Abdullah Bin Touq Al Marri, UAE Minister of Economy; Rebecca Grynspan, Secretary General, UNCTAD; Mikhail Myasnikovich, Chairman, Eurasian Economic Commission; Vera Songwe, Under Secretary General, UN and Executive Secretary, Economic Commission for Africa; Shinta Widjaja Kamdami, CEO, Sintesa Group and Chair, B20 Indonesia; Dr Ahmed Ali Attiga, CEO, Arab Petroleum Investment Corporation and Lorraine Mackin, Partner, Head of Global Government, KPMG.

Dawood Al Shezawi, President of AIM Organising Committee said: We are excited and honoured to see the participation of this year's speakers--widely composed of leading government officials and industry professionals. We are humbled by their decisions to come be a part of AIM to share their experiences, insights and opinions across some of the world's most pressing issues on FDI and other economic challenges.

AIM 2022 is being held under the patronage of HH Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, with the theme, Investments in sustainable innovation for a thriving future. Activities prepared for the event are focused on bolstering and improving sustainable investments via six set pillarsFDI, Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), Foreign Portfolio Investments (FPI), Startups, Future Cities, and the 50 Projects Initiative.

Speakers on FDI

Speakers under the FDI pillar include Dr Thani Bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, UAE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs; Andres Valenciano Yumuni, Costa Rica Minister of Fotreign Trade and Tatiana Clouthier, Mexican Secretary of Economy, to name a few. For the start-up pillar list, speakers to be featured include Dr Ahmad Belhoul Al Falasi, UAE Minister of State for Entrepreneurship and SMEs; Farida Al Awahdi, Chair, Emirates Business Women Council and Mario Garcia Davila, Co-founder and Managing Partner, Angelhub Ventures, to name a few. The future cities pillar speakers include Abdulla Al Saleh, Undersecretary, UAE Ministry of Economy; Jawad Abbassi, Head, Mena, GSMA and Khaled El Shabrawy, Government and Small Cities Lead, Microsoft UAE, among others. Meanwhile, the SME speakers list features Mohammed Bin Obaid Al Mazrooei, President and Chair, Arab Authority for Agricultural Investment and Development (AAAID); Ayman Al Hout, CEO, Marsh UAE and Dima Al Ashram, Chief Impact Officer, Tidal impact, to name a few. Lastly, for the 50 projects initiative, speakers will include Eng. Abdul Mohsin Mubarak Al Katheeri, Projects and Facilities Director, Abu Dhabi Waste Management Center - Tadweer; Adel Omrani, CEO for Services, GE Gas Power Mena and Bradley Jones, Executive Director, UAE-UK Business Council, among others.

Sponsors for this year's AIM include the UAE International Investors Council (Strategic Partner), the Saud Bahwan Group (Strategic Partner), Furas (Gold Sponsor), AAAID (AIM Badge Sponsor), The Arab Investment and Export Credit Guarantee Corporation (Silver Sponsor), Via Marina (Start-up Pitch Hub Sponsor), EGO (Future Cities Award Sponsor), Al Ansari Exchange, Aster DM Healthcare (Official Healthcare Partner), Invest in Sharjah (Silver Sponsor), Aramex (Official Courier Partner), Emirates (Official Airline Partner) and 10X (Virtual Venue Partner).-- TradeArabia News Service
Doug Peacock, who lives in Emigrant, has won an award in literature from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. But if anyone is expecting Peacock to take a victory lap, theyd be sorely mistaken.

Thats a big one, said Peacock about the award, which is given out yearly to eight writers by the Academy, which was founded in 1898 and has boasted members like Bob Dylan, Woodrow Wilson and Georgia OKeeffe.

Im just really pleased, he said. He admits that hes been trying to wean himself off flying but is making an exception to get to New York for the awards ceremony in May.

The prize is for his latest book Was it Worth It?: A Wilderness Warriors Long Trail Home, released in January of this year.

Its a prestigious award, and Peacock is happy to have won (and not just for the $10,000 prize hes thinking of using on an upgrade of his trusty pickup truck). But he sees himself as more than just a writer.

I never took a writing lesson, he said. The experience comes first. And the recording of that experience is kind of secondary.

That feeling comes across in his work. These are the tales of a life lived. Its not fair to say that Peacock has a disdain for the formal writing process, just that he has no use for it. Ive never sat down with a blank piece of paper, he said. My books come fast and I think about them a lot first.

The most important thing is to have something to write about, and to be able to plan your life accordingly, he said.

Peacock found his thing to write about long ago. I write in service of my lifes work, which is to save and preserve wilderness, he said. Peacock has spent most of his career ardently defending wild spaces. He was the inspiration for the idealistic environmentalist George Hayduke in Edward Abbeys iconic The Monkey Wrench Gang.

I believe in the power of wild habitat, he said. Its the way to externalize yourself. Its a quick exit from culture Go someplace really wild and spend a little time.

Hes most enamored with grizzly bears, and has devoted a large portion of his life to learning about them, sharing them, and more than anything, saving them. The reason I like the grizzly so much is because it is the one species on this continent which reminds the most arrogant species on Earth, which is Homo sapiens, of our true place in the world.

Peacock, who has written six books, is proud to have won for Was it Worth It?". This book is wider. Its a book that reflects the times, he said.

Those times weigh heavy on Peacock, who returned from Vietnam in 1968 wracked with battle fatigue and PTSD. He credits the natural world with saving him, and hes now terribly worried about the effects that climate change are having on that world. The prognosis is grim, he said. And yet we sit on our hands. If we dont halt warming, he fears, its going to be the most horrific tragedy the planets ever seen. If past extinctions are any indication, all life bigger than a meadow mouse will be in danger of extinction.

He worries about his home state, as well, lamenting the hideous state of political affairs in Montana. We have become this murderous culture, killing wolves, and lions and grizzly bears, he mourned. Modern humans fear what they dont know. And increasingly that means so much of the natural world.

These are the fights that have defined Peacocks life. And despite being in what he calls his geezerhood, hes nowhere near done. He has plenty of his grizzly bear projects Hes hired a law firm to look into grizzly poaching. Hes working on a study of an I-90 underpass wild animals have used to cross the freeway. Hed like to make a film. And hes thinking about another book.

These are the times we cant pull our punches, he said. We cant hold anything back these days. Its full-wide-open throttle on saving the planet. And thats what I plan to do for the rest of my days.

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Rachel Harlow-Schalk said she resigned as Helenas city manager because she believes the citys governing body was requiring her to violate the city charter and her professional associations code of ethics.

While I did not want to leave my job, I cannot work for a Commission that would require I violate the 120-year old city management ethics code and the City Charter, she said in a statement provided to the Independent Record Monday.

Helena Mayor Wilmot Collins said the citys outside legal counsel Jordan Crosby of Ugrin Alexander Zadick, P.C. in Great Falls will provide a response to Harlow-Schalks allegations on behalf of the mayor and city commission. The response was not available in time for this story.

Harlow-Schalk said she and the citys governing body had been arguing about the city commissions role in city operations ever since she started as city manager in October 2020, noting that they will not remove themselves from personnel matters and operations.

Harlow-Schalk said she had asked for a new employment contract in January to address the alleged violation. She declined to elaborate on what she wanted the city to include in a new contract, noting that she agreed to not provide any media interviews about her separation from the city.

However, Harlow-Schalk said in her statement that her request for a new contract was related to concerns she had discussed with the city commission during an administrative meeting in November.

At the November meeting, Harlow-Schalk recommended the repeal of section 2-1-3 of the city code, which requires the city commission to adopt personnel policies for city employees. In materials presented to the city commission at that meeting, she said this section of the code is in conflict with City Manager Charter authority to directly supervise and administer all departments of the City and be responsible for all employees.

The Commission was getting involved in operational matters assigned to the City Manager in the City Charter, she said in Mondays statement. The City Charter is voter approved and formed from the States Constitution. It acts as a constitution for the city and supersedes City Code. In Montana, only those powers given in the Charter can be used by a governing power and can not be overridden by a City Code. I argued that the City Code must align with the City Charter. As Helenas Manager, I swore an oath that included the protection of the City Charter.

Harlow-Schalk said she wanted a revised employment contract because she believes the conflict between the city code and the city charter violated the ethics code and what she believes the charter says is the role of the city manager.

She also pointed to Tenet 10 of the International City/County Management Associations code of ethics, which says every member shall Resist any encroachment on professional responsibilities, believing the member should be free to carry out official policies without interference, and handle each problem without discrimination on the basis of principle and justice.

Harlow-Schalk said the governing body treated her request for a new contract as a grievance and implemented an employee grievance process the city commission adopted in 2019 under the very section of code she had asked to have repealed.

Instead of talking or scheduling a meeting with me, the Commission implemented a flawed, punitive process with no appeal that was not part of my contract, she wrote in Monday's statement. I had no recourse when I did not agree and had to resign or work inside the City Commissions preferred interpretations of the Charter."

I tried to take our future forward responsibly by addressing the circumstance constructively with a recommendation to correct what I believe to be a conflict, she said. I left swiftly so that the Commission could move in the direction they wanted, reduce the cost to the community, and the impact on the employee team.

I am thankful to the dedicated employees and this community for believing in and acknowledging the progress we achieved together, she added.

Harlow-Schalk's employment contract with the city started on Oct. 19, 2020, and was set to end on Dec. 31 of this year. She resigned Feb. 16.

The city hired outgoing City Attorney Thomas Jodoin to serve as interim city manager from March 2-April 1. Tim Burton, who served as city manager nearly 20 years ago, will continue to fill the interim role as a search for a long-term replacement continues.

Editor Jesse Chaney can be reached at 406-447-4074, or find him on Twitter: @IR_JesseChaney.

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Following a recent trip to Poland and Germany, U.S. Sen. Steve Daines is urging the Biden administration to do whats necessary to transfer Polish MiG fighter jets to Ukraine.

Daines, who traveled over the weekend with 10 senators, met with Germany's parliament and the deputy foreign minister of Germany, as well as representatives from Ukraine. Daines said that more lethal weapons were needed. Citing the missiles the United States has already supplied Ukraine to fight the invading Russian Army, Daines, a Republican, said getting the Polish fighter jets to Ukraine wasnt an escalation. He called the Biden administration timid for not delivering the MiG 29 fighters it originally indicated it was willing to do.

Remember, we have provided the Javelins, the Stingers, a long list of lethal aid already to the Ukrainians that allowed them to destroy Russian tanks. And, the Ukrainians have been very successful in doing that, Daines said. And so I'm not quite sure what the argument is with the MiG 29 being different from the other lethal aid we have provided. This is about peace through strength.

The United States had sought MiG 29 fighters from Poland and other NATO countries to transfer to Ukraine because Ukrainian pilots are familiar with the Russian-built jets. The arrangement fell apart when Poland announced that it wouldnt transfer the MiGs directly to Ukraine, but would deliver the jets to a U.S. Air Force base in Germany. The United States said transfer of the jets from a U.S. Air Force base to Ukraine fighter pilots was too direct of a confrontation between the United States and Russia.

Daines said German officials who met with the senators likened Russias invasion of Ukraine to the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States.

In Germany, I heard from several, as well as other Europeans, who said that Feb. 24, when Vladimir Putin launched his invasion into Ukraine, was their 9/11, Daines said. By the way, I do not think it was a coincidence that Vladimir Putin waited until the Beijing Olympics were over on Feb. 20. It seems as if the Chinese sent a save-the-date card to Putin, to make sure that they knew they should not start the invasion prior to the end of the Beijing Olympics. I don't think it's a coincidence it happened four days right after the Beijing Olympics had their closing ceremonies.

There is a very big difference in the expected NATO response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the 9/11 attacks on the United States. Because the United States is a NATO member, the organization invoked Article 5, meaning that the members recognized the attack on the United States as an attack on all NATO members. They joined the United States in war, something NATO members havent done for Ukraine, which isnt a member.

Daines also said the Russian invasion proved that Germany made a mistake in transitioning away from coal and nuclear energy and toward natural gas-fired power plants fueled by Russian natural gas.

"What's happening with energy, I think, is a wake-up call for Germany, a wake-up call for the United States, a wake-up call for the EU." Daines said. "We must reverse this anti-fossil fuel energy course," Daines said. "And we need to be thinking about renewable sources of energy as additive to our energy portfolio, not replacing our energy portfolio."

Germany is bringing coal-fired power plants out of mothball in case the energy is needed. It continues its planned exit from nuclear power. It plans to expedite construction of two liquid natural gas terminals to reduce its dependence on Russian natural gas delivered by pipeline. The Associated Press reported Tuesday that Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Germany isn't ready to fully boycott Russian oil and gas, but would diversify its energy supply enough over time to do without Russian fuels.

It would be incorrect to describe Germany's energy "wake-up call" as a pivot back to fossil fuels. Scholz, addressing the Bundestag on Feb. 27, said the security threat posed by Russia's invasion of Ukraine meant Germany must accelerate its pivot away from fossil fuels.

"After all, the events of recent days and weeks have shown us that responsible, forward-looking energy policy is not just crucial for our economy and our climate. It is also crucial for our security," Scholz said in prepared remarks published by the German federal government. "This means that the faster we make progress with the development of renewable energies, the better. And we are on the right track. We are an industrialized country aiming to become carbon-neutral by 2045."

The trip to Poland and Germany was led by Iowa Republican Joni Ernst. In the days ahead of the trip, Ernest lobbied 41 senators to put their names to a letter calling on President Joe Biden to facilitate the transfer of MiG 29 fighters to Ukraine. Six of the senators on the trip, including Daines, signed onto the letter.

The other members of the traveling delegation were Susan Collins, R-Maine; John Cornyn, R-Texas; Kirsten Gillibrand, D-New York; Jerry Moran, R-Kansas; Angus King I-Maine; Shelley Moore Capito, R-West Virginia; Jacky Rosen, D-Nevada; and Roger Marshall, R-Kansas.

Concerning the $13.6 billion aid package to Ukraine passed by Congress earlier this month, Daines and Marshall were the only senators on the trip to vote against it. The aid for Ukraine was tucked into a $1.5 trillion omnibus bill to fund the federal government through September. Daines opposed the omnibus and voted no on the package after joining a few Republican lawmakers in attempting the put the Ukraine aid to stand-alone vote.

Democrats presented the priorities of the Ukraine representatives differently. Gillibrand said the representatives asked for four things, the first being increased sanctions, particularly on people closest to Russian President Vladimir Putin. The second priority was an increase in the number of weapons as well as the lethality of the weapons. A third request was that Putin and his military leaders be declared war criminals. The fourth request was that the Senate talk about what it will do for Ukraine, not what it won't do.

Republican Senator Collins said the United States needed to allow Ukraine refuges temporary protective status in the United States if refugees had family already here.

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The peach-stained horizon offers the first hints of the impending sunrise.

The lake water stands still except for the occasional ripple from the morning breeze. A symphony of honks, cackles and flapping wings fill the air as a patchwork of white and black feathers rises and falls above the water.

Perhaps the most anticipated event of March in Montana is the annual spring waterfowl migration where tens of thousands of snow geese and tundra and trumpeter swans show up at Freezout Lake Wildlife Management Area south of Choteau. To celebrate the arrival of the birds, a three-day public festival known as Wild Wings will be held March 25-27 in Choteau.

The event is sponsored by several organizations and businesses in the Choteau and Fairfield area and in coordination with Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks and Freezout Lake Wildlife Management Area.

The event is a way to tap into all of the people coming through the area and the general tourism component of it, said Brent Lonner, biologist with Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks.

According to Lonner, the inaugural Wild Wings event was held in 2019. Due to complications from COVID, however, the event was canceled in 2020 and 2021. Event organizers are grateful to see the celebration's return this year.

Freezout Lake Wildlife Management Area, located between Choteau and Fairfield, is the epicenter for snow geese activity during this time. Some 230 species of birds use Freezout Lake, and it is a major resting stop for snow geese traveling northbound from California, Texas and the Gulf Coast. As many as 300,000 snow geese and 10,000 tundra and trumpeter swans may congregate at Freezout Lake for a few weeks in mid-March before slowly making their way north to their nesting grounds in Alberta and central Saskatchewan in Canada.

Once they cross the Montana border, Freezout Lake is one of the main places for them to stop to rest and refuel, said Lonner.

Between the security found in the water of Freezout Lake and the waste grain left behind in the surrounding fields, Lonner explained that the area makes for the perfect pitstop for the birds before continuing in their journey.

Lonner noted that the large amounts of persistent ice still on the lake will likely impact bird numbers this year, however, they are still observing an average of around 2,000 snow geese a day.

Why the huge public interest in observing the birds annually?

Folks interest in the natural world around them is getting bigger and bigger, said Lonner. In Montana, this is the only place to see this large of a concentration of birds.

Its a really cool physical phenomenon of thousands of birds lifting up around you, said Maggie Carr, co-owner of Dropstone Outfitting in Choteau and one of the event organizers.

The Wild Wings celebration begins on Friday evening with a meet and greet at the Stage Stop Inn Convention Center in Choteau. Later that night Lonner will lead a presentation on migration along the Rocky Mountain Front.

The activities continue early Saturday with free guided caravan tours of Freezout Lake Wildlife Management Area. Carr said there is someone who goes out and counts the birds each morning and can best direct the tour groups to the best viewing spots.

Saturday afternoon will feature a second presentation by Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks biologists as well as the Choteau Arts Spring Migration Show, which will include live music, refreshments and other activities.

The fun continues Saturday evening with the Old Trail Museums Wild Game Feed featuring a potluck dinner of wild game and non-game dishes, silent and live auctions, and a 50/50 drawing.

Additional guided tours of Freezout Lake will take place early Sunday morning as well.

Those interested in the bird migration but unable to attend the Wild Wings events can keep track of the movements from home with an online migration status tracker managed by FWP. To view the web page, visit fwp.mt.gov and click on the Conservation Tab at the top. From the menu on the left, select WMAs, then search for Freezout Lake WMA. Once on the Freezout Lake WMA site, click on the Freezout Lake WMA Story Map link under the photo.

Although not necessary, those planning to attend the Wild Wings event can pre-register at visitchoteau.com/wings-registration. For more information, call the Freezeout Lake Wildlife Management Area at 406-467-2646 or visit the Wild Wings Facebook page at facebook.com/wildwingschoteau.

Its a really fun family event for people and provides the opportunity for people to learn more about the migration of the birds and more about this particular area of Montana, said Carr.

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A district court judge on Monday declared unconstitutional a bill passed by the Montana Legislature proposing to elect Supreme Court justices by regional districts.

Gallatin County District Court Judge Peter Ohman's order strikes down the proposal in House Bill 325, which would have put the question of eliminating at-large voting for Supreme Court candidates on the ballot in November. The bill was passed and signed into law in 2021.

It's so far unclear if Montana Secretary of State Christi Jacobsen, the defendant named in the case and represented by the Montana Attorney General's Office, will appeal the ruling; a spokesperson for the AG did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.

Opponents to the bill during the legislative session warned eliminating the statewide vote on justices would not pass muster in court, pointing to a state Supreme Court decision nine years earlier that found Montana's high court was not intended to be a government body representative of regional interests.

The Legislative Services Division's legal team, too, issued a legal analysis while the bill was working its way through the Legislature finding that HB 325 presents issues that were found unconstitutional in the earlier case, known as Reichert, and would likewise present problems by proposing amendments to the structure of the Supreme Court through statutory changes rather than a constitutional amendment. Legal notes are intended to inform legislators of potential constructional conformity issues, but do not make determinations of constitutionality.

The plaintiffs who challenged HB 325 in court include the Montana League of Women Voters, as well as a Butte nun, a former Democratic lawmaker, the former Confederated and Salish Kootenai Tribes chairperson and a Republican member of the 1972 Constitutional Convention. They were represented by Bozeman attorney Jim Goetz and Billings attorney Cliff Edwards.

Jacobsen was the lone defendant. Solicitor general David Dewhirst and assistant solicitor general Christian Corrigan argued at a hearing in January that ruling on the proposal before voters cast their ballots in November would have been premature. Ohman rejected that argument with previous Supreme Court decisions finding courts have accepted challenges to initiatives before elections when that initiative is unconstitutional "on its face."

Additionally, lawmakers passed HB 325 as a legislative referendum, which requires only a majority approval from both chambers to send to voters and potentially change state law. A constitutional amendment, which Ohman notes would have been required to accomplish the substance of HB 325 given the Reichert ruling, would have required a much higher bar: a combined two-thirds of the members in state House and Senate. Had lawmakers attempted to pass HB 325 as a constitutional amendment, they would have been four votes short.

"In this case the subject of the challenged initiative already has been found to be facially unconstitutional," Ohman wrote. " As to the argument that it would be more 'prudent' to wait until after the election, the opposite is true  it would be a waste of time and resources and deceive the voters."

Monday's order marks the third time since the Legislature adjourned that a judge has struck down a new law lawmakers passed last year. One law, Senate Bill 140, was upheld by the Supreme Court and a district court judge last month declined to block a law prohibiting employers from mandating vaccines in the workplace. Several other high-profile laws, like those limiting access to abortions, have been blocked while the legal process plays out.

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State officials and local law enforcement are investigating an assault on a patient by another patient at the state psychiatric hospital Monday evening, the state health department confirmed Tuesday.

The attack comes at a moment for the Montana State Hospital where severe understaffing has contributed to the "immediate jeopardy" status imposed by the federal inspectors last month. The facility came in $7 million over budget this year after an increasing reliance on contract staff to supplement the ranks.

A spokesperson for Providence St. Patrick Hospital, which has a Level II trauma center, did not immediately return a call seeking a status update on the victim. Sources say the victim was taken to a Missoula hospital.

Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services spokesperson Jon Ebelt on Tuesday confirmed the department is working with local law enforcement but declined to comment further before the conclusion of its investigation.

DPHHS can confirm a patient-on-patient incident occurred at Montana State Hospital (MSH) Monday evening. At this time, MSH officials are working with local law enforcement and conducting an internal investigation. Until all the facts are known, DPHHS will not be able to comment further.

A detention officer at the Deer Lodge County jail on Tuesday said no one had been booked into the jail on charges related to an assault at the Warm Springs facility.

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DECATUR  Story is a little guy with a job to do.

He's got big paws to fill, said Jennifer Dahn, founder of PawPrint Ministries and Story's human mom. Literally. Payton had huge paws.

PawPrint Ministries is comfort dogs who visit hospitals, nursing homes, schools, the library, Cancer Care Center, disasters, and anywhere someone might benefit from a furry friend with a wet nose. Payton, PawPrint's first dog, died unexpectedly a couple of weeks ago and Story, who like Payton is a golden retriever, will pick up the baton and carry on the tradition and Payton's story, which is where he got his name.

He is going to carry on Payton's story in the community, Dahn said. He's eight weeks old and has already started training, learning how to be a comfort dog. It's lots of treats and positive reinforcement, and reinforcing the behaviors we want to see and lots of puppy snuggles. We hope that this Story will leave a lasting legacy on our community.

The ministry has a wealth of dogs and volunteers who spend 12 to 18 months in training, learning to be calm and loving in any circumstances, Dahn said. First the dogs have to pass a temperament test to see if they're suited to being a comfort dog. Then, once that's been established by the training director, human and dog visit a wide variety of places and the dog is placed in every kind of situation he or she might encounter.

Dahn took Payton to the Illinois State Fair to visit veterans, for example, and there were Clydesdales there. Payton had never seen a Clydesdale and didn't know what to think, though he retained his good manners anyway. Teaching the comfort dogs to stay calm even when they're in new and possibly intimidating situations is a key component of training.

Low-key community visits can start before Story's training is complete, Dahn said. As soon as he's showing good behavior control, he can begin going to some places to learn as he works. PawPrint does the certification of comfort dogs and has a program of its own creation. Volunteers and their dogs put in a lot of hours, both in training and in serving the community, so it's a big commitment of time.

His job will be to cheer people up when they're having a bad day, Dahn said.

Unlike service dogs, who must be allowed into any place their human goes, comfort dogs have to be invited, she said. Rather than helping a person with everyday tasks, which is generally a service dog's job, comfort dogs are there to snuggle and be petted. Petting a service dog is forbidden, but petting a comfort dog is expected.

Who doesn't love a puppy snuggle? Dahn said.

Contact Valerie Wells at (217) 421-7982. Follow her on Twitter: @modgirlreporter

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SHELBYVILLE  Thomas M. Miller, the Decatur man who helped an adult grandson conceal the body of his murdered grandmother, has pleaded guilty to concealment of a homicidal death.

Miller, 21, appeared Monday in Shelby County Circuit Court and is due to be sentenced at a hearing scheduled for May 23. He also pleaded guilty to possession of the grandmothers stolen car. The concealment of a homicide charge carries a penalty of up to 24 years in prison and the car possession offense has a sentencing range of three to 14 years.

Shelby County States Attorney Nichole D. Kroncke said Miller had helped Clayton Anderson stuff the body of Anderson's 72-year-old grandmother, Sherry Hubbartt, into a closet of her Clarksburg home and cover it with a blanket.

Anderson, then 26, had strangled Hubbartt to death in April of 2021 during an argument. Hubbartt was known to be frightened of her grandson and had an order of protection against him at the time of her death.

Anderson pleaded guilty in October to murder and is currently serving a sentence of natural life.

Prosecution evidence had shown that Anderson and Miller had gone on a shopping spree with Hubbartts debit card as they fled across the country in Hubbartts car. They were intercepted April 17 by the Nevada Highway Patrol and the Las Vegas Metro Police Department and were caught after a high-speed chase through the Las Vegas strip.

Contact Tony Reid at (217) 421-7977. Follow him on Twitter: @TonyJReid

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DECATUR  A mother who described herself as abused and frightened, and who police say did nothing while her 4-year-old Decatur daughter was whipped and beaten to death by the childs father, was sentenced to 24 months probation Tuesday.

Dalvon D. Taylor, 31, took a plea deal in Macon County Circuit Court negotiated by her defense attorney, Susan Moorehead. The defendant pleaded guilty to endangering the life or health of a child, a Class A misdemeanor.

Taylor had not been accused of inflicting any harm on the child herself.

A sworn Decatur Police affidavit about the case said Amarrah C. Reynolds died in Decatur Memorial Hospital on Aug 31, 2016. Police had been summoned after the girl was found to be covered in scabs and wounds, both fresh and in various stages of healing.

The childs father, Darrell A. Reynolds, now 34, had told police Amarrah was acting up lately and he had started whipping her with a belt because time outs werent working.

Darrell stated he struck her so many times he lost count, the affidavit said. Darrell stated that Amarrah suddenly appeared dazed and fell over, striking her head on the TV, wall and floor as she fell. Darrell made several statements at the hospital about he knew it was abuse and he was sorry.

Police said Reynolds had tried to kill himself in an interview room by shoving his head inside a plastic bag and is quoted as saying: I deserve to die, I just killed my daughter.

He pleaded guilty to the aggravated battery of a child at a hearing in July and was sentenced to 14 years in prison.

Taylor had been interviewed during the police investigation and said she had watched Reynolds violently abusing her daughter for the two years leading up to her death.

Dalvon stated the abuse typically consisted of Darrell hitting Amarrah in the face and torso, hitting her forcefully with a belt numerous times, which caused welts to her arms, back, legs and torso, (and) severe pinching, and grabbing the back of her neck and lifting her off the ground, the affidavit said.

Taylor also said she saw him kicking the child as she lay on the floor and shoving her into a wall. Dalvon indicated she knew the abuse was occurring and never reported it to police or the Department of Children and Family Services, the affidavit said.

Dalvon stated Darrell was also abusive towards her, which prevented her from reporting the abuse.

Commenting on the case, Macon County States Attorney Scott Rueter said Taylor had gone on to build a new life for herself in Wisconsin and, if she stays out of trouble, will emerge with a clean record.

She has other children and part of her sentencing requirement is that she continues to cooperate with DCFS or the Wisconsin equivalent.

Contact Tony Reid at (217) 421-7977. Follow him on Twitter: @TonyJReid

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SPRINGFIELD  Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker and fellow Democrats who lead the General Assembly have pledged to push legislation to penalize Russia over its invasion of Ukraine.

A House Democrat last week introduced a plan to divest from Russian debt, welcome Ukrainian refugees to Illinois and develop a method for detecting Russian money laundering in local real estate.

"This is not a situation where we can sit back and ignore what's happening," Chicago Democratic Rep. Lindsey LaPointe said of Russian President Vladimir Putin's Feb. 24 invasion of its neighbor. "It is now time for us to do what we can here in Illinois."

Pritzker called on state employee pension systems on Feb. 28 to review their portfolios for divestment possibilities.

On Friday, he issued a joint statement with Senate President Don Harmon, of Oak Park, and House Speaker Emanuel "Chris" Welch, of Hillside, welcoming action from the General Assembly.

"As Vladimir Putin's war against Ukraine escalates, it threatens everyone around the world. We are unified in our belief that Putin must be stopped," the statement said. "Working together, our offices will advance legislation to remove any Russian companies from Illinois' pension assets and prohibit contracting with any companies based in Russia."

The leaders also promised help with refugees, said they hope negotiations can resolve the conflict, and said that "Illinois must stand strong for democracy and support the brave men and women of Ukraine."

In response to Pritzker's Feb. 28 letter, the state's largest pension account, the Teachers Retirement System, representing about 225,000 working and retired instructors, asked its 150 or so asset managers to examine investments for ties to Russia, spokesman Dave Urbanek said. It can be a complex process, particularly when investments are part of co-mingled funds, Urbanek said.

LaPointe's proposal would require divestment "from Russian stocks and sovereign debt," along with those of Russian ally Belarus. It names the Teachers' Retirement System and Illinois State Board of Investment and urges public systems not controlled by the state, such as the Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund, to do the same. Many states and other government bodies have made similar moves to stop interaction with Russia.

The legislation would also give the Illinois Department of Human Services authority to create a Ukrainian Refugee Resettlement Program that would provide health care, mental health services and English-language assistance to Ukrainians granted temporary protected or refugee status. The United Nations reports 3.5 million people have left Ukraine since the Feb. 24 invasion.

The Illinois Refugee Resettlement Program, which began in 1975, has helped more than 129,000 refugees from about 86 countries start new lives here, state records show. Its budget is largely federal dollars. LaPointe said her bill has no additional funding. House Deputy Republican Leader Tom Demmer of Dixon last month introduced a plan that would add $20 million in state money to expand the program for those fleeing Ukraine.

Finally, LaPointe's plan would create a "Money Laundering in Real Estate Task Force" that would assess the likelihood that residential, industrial and commercial property sectors across the state to draw illicit Russian money, including luxury real estate in Chicago.

LaPointe's bill is HB1293.

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The UAE Cabinet has approved a new law for cooperative associations allowing them to be listed om financial markets and the crowdfunding platform operators strategy in public and private sectors to help finance entrepreneurs.



The Cabinet meeting was chaired by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai at Expo 2020 Dubai, reported Emirates News Agency WAM.



Sheikh Mohammed said: "We approved today a new law for cooperative associations in the UAE allowing them to be listed in our financial markets, attract strategic partners and introduces new forms such as digital and financial coops... Cooperatives are a successful economic model that can be built upon and developed.



"We approved the Crowdfunding Platform Operators strategy in public and private sectors It is one of the best means to support the financing of new innovative commercial ideas and support entrepreneurs by financing their ideas."



Sheikh Mohammed added: "We also approved the new strategy of the UAE Gender Balance Council to enhance the presence of women in leadership positions, and a new system for work related injuries. Our aim to is to preserve the rights of workers and protect them.



"Today, I reviewed the experience of community agriculture, where the Ministry of Community Development provides the requirements of green homes for people of determination and senior citizens. We aim to support them, provide them a healthy lifestyle and social benefits."



The new Cooperatives Law



The Cabinet adopted the new Cooperatives Law, which adopts the basic principles of cooperatives based on international standards. It includes the establishment of new types of cooperatives, including digital, financial, professional and others. in addition to permitting the inclusion of cooperatives in the financial markets according to specified standards and conditions.



UAE System for Crowdfunding Platform Operators



The Cabinet also approved the UAE System for Crowdfunding Platform Operators, stressing that the Securities and Commodities Authority (SCA) will be responsible for the regulation governing the activities of crowdfunding platform operators.



The strategy covers all technical aspects associated with the regulation of crowdfunding platform operators. This includes definitions; scope of application; operator licensing requirements; operator obligations towards SCA and investors; financing applicant obligations; and the rights of the investor, the operator, and the financing applicant. The strategy also addresses supervision, inspections, and penalties.



The meeting also approved a number of initiatives and legislations aiming at further developing UAE government work.



Protection of workers rights



The UAE Government Cabinet approved a federal legislation regarding work related injuries and occupational diseases for workers in the private sector, which specify the mechanism for reporting and investigating an injury, as well as the mechanism of compensating them. The law guarantees the rights of workers of the private sector.



The Cabinet approved a decision to reorganize the Khalifa Center for Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology (KCGEB), to be affiliated with the Ministry of Presidential Affairs. The center will have the legal personality and financial, administrative autonomy required to achieve its goals. The center will be specialized in developing and implementing research programs in cooperation with federal and local authorities, and providing expert services and scientific advice to government entities and the private sector, and conducting studies and research.



The Community Farming initiative



During the meeting, the Cabinet approved the Community Farming initiative, which targets Social welfare categories including widows, divorced women, elderly, and people of determination. It aims to provide green houses with different spaces to the beneficiaries, in order to maintain food security and sustainability of resources and support family cohesion and increase income.



A healthy learning environment for children The Cabinet approved the National Child Protection Policy in educational institutions, which aims at ensuring the safety of children, providing a healthy and safe educational environment to protect them from all forms of harm, and ensure the implementation of child protection measures in the educational institution in accordance with the legislation in force in the UAE.



Nursing and Midwifery professions



During the meeting, the Cabinet approved the National Strategy for Nursing and Midwifery professions. The strategy aims to enhance the profession and its sustainability, and ensure proper planning of nursing and midwifery workforce in terms of recruitment and retention in response to the needs and priorities.



The strategy seeks to qualify the nursing and Midwifery staff to engage in evidence-based research and practices that respond to national health priorities and in the development of professional policies and practices and investing in building the leadership capacity of nursing cadres especially during crises and emergencies.



UAE Gender Balance Council Strategy 2022-2026



The Cabinet approved the new strategy of the UAE Gender Balance Council 2022-2026, which includes 4 main pillars: economic participation, wellbeing, protection and entrepreneurship. It aims to further reduce the gender gap across all sectors, enhance the UAEs ranking in global competitiveness reports on gender equality and achieve gender balance in decision-making positions, as well as promote the UAEs status as a benchmark for gender balance legislation.



The cabinet also approved a decision to establish a general secretariat for the Emirates Development Council, and a federal law regarding the approval of a supplementary budget to the federal budget of the UAE for the fiscal year 2022.



The Cabinet approved a decision to establish the "Collective Labor Disputes Committee", chaired by Dr. Abdulrahman Al Awar, Minister of Human Resources and Emiratisation.



The committee will consider collective labour disputes referred by the Ministry in which the number of workers exceeds 100 workers. In addition to reviewing a number of reports, the Cabinet approved a number of international agreements with a number of friendly countries, the Republic of Senegal, the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the Russian Federation, the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Republic of North Macedonia and Angola.
New Braunfels, TX (78130)

Today

Scattered thunderstorms. A few storms may be severe. High near 85F. Winds S at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 60%..

Tonight

Some clouds. Low 64F. Winds NE at 5 to 10 mph.
New Braunfels, TX (78130)

Today

Scattered thunderstorms. A few storms may be severe. High near 85F. Winds S at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 60%..

Tonight

Some clouds. Low 64F. Winds NE at 5 to 10 mph.
POUND, Va. - Pound Town Council member Leabern Kennedy recalls a time when her hometown was much different than it is today.

I can remember going through town and you couldn't find a parking spot, Kennedy said.

Now the Southwest Virginia town known as the Pound is on the brink of nonexistence.

Pound native Terry Short served one term on the Town Council from 2014 to 2018. According to Short, mismanagement, inappropriate actions  like embezzlement by a former town employee  and inactions prior to 2020, he says, all led to the situation the town now find itself facing - the possibility of losing its charter.

Theyre at a crossroads right now, Short said of the current council. They are at a great opportunity to reset and restart and put the Pound on the path that it needs to be.

A bill by Virginia Delegate Terry Kilgore to repeal Pounds charter effective Nov. 1, 2023 passed both the state house and senate this month. Farahn Morgan, communications director for Kilgore, said the bill was designed to help motivate and set a deadline for progress to be made.

I think that (Kilgore) genuinely wants the town to succeed, Morgan said. I do really think that this was meant to be a motivator for town officials to really start to get organized and start to make progress.

A full Pound Town Council met on March 15 with three newly appointed members. During the meeting, the council appointed a town attorney and signed an agreement with the Virginia Municipal League to work to prevent the towns extinction.

Kennedy said Kilgore wants the town to complete a number of tasks that could lead to the preservation of the locality of less than 900 people. Those items include basic governmental tasks like hiring a town attorney, approving a budget, completing trainings and following all laws.

Pound local Rob Stidham, a grocery store manager, said he wants the town to survive, but is worried about its finances.

I appreciate all of them trying to keep it a town, but how do you do it without some kind of funding? Stidham said. How do you bring something back thats gone so far?

The majority of Pounds citizens want to keep the charter, according to Stidham, who said some people are refusing to pay town taxes because they heard the county will absorb the town.

Another issue facing Pound is the fairly recent closure of its only bank, which is forcing the townspeople to travel to banks in neighboring towns like Clintwood.

I think that the town needs to stay a town primarily so the businesses stay in business, Short said.

If Kilgore's legislation becomes law, Short said the towns assets and liabilities would be assumed by Wise County. One problem with that, Short said, is the potential closure of the towns fire department.

If the town goes under, there is no guarantee that the fire department will continue to exist, Short said. They will be at the mercy of Wise County, because the Town of Pound Fire Department only exists when the Town of Pound exists.

During public comment at the March 15 council meeting, one speaker suggested the council let the citizens vote in November on whether or not they want the town to keep its charter.

Pound Mayor Stacey Carson is open to that idea, but until the council decides to put the question on the ballot, they are working to try to save the charter, she said.

I will do whatever the citizens want, Carson said. If they want us to keep our charter, Ill do whatever I can to help us keep it. If there is a referendum that does come up, if council agrees to that, then if they decide that they want us to give up our charter, I will do whatever I can to make that a smooth transition also.

For Kennedy, who was elected last fall, the effort to save the town is about doing what the people want.

When I ran for election, I went door to door, and the majority of the citizens indicated that they wanted to keep the charter, Kennedy said. I have had some people tell me that they elected me so that I would save our charter, and thats what I'm going to try my very best to do.

Cindy Mullins, Pounds crime prevention officer, is among those who want to see the town survive.

Were a small town with a huge heart, Mullins said. There have been a lot of things happen that we arent proud of, but that doesnt define who we are. Our heart and our dedication to the town is what defines us.
BRISTOL, Tenn.  The Bristol Tennessee City Council met on Monday morning to hear a second round of funding petitions from nonprofit organizations requesting money from the city.

The nonprofits that gave presentations to City Council at the Municipal Annex building include the United Way of Bristol, Abuse Alternatives, Inc., Believe in Bristol, The Paramount, Theatre Bristol, and the YMCA of Bristol.

United Way of Bristol received $25,000 from the City Council in 2022 and is petitioning for $50,000 in 2023. Lisa Cofer, the executive director of the organization, highlighted its growing efforts through the Helping Others Maintain Essentials (HOME) program and the ReUnite program to provide support and services to the homeless population of Bristol.

With the level of poverty that we have in Bristol, Tennessee, and Virginia, we have to focus on basic needs because if folks dont have food and a place to stay and those kinds of things, then how can we expect them to be able to do the things that they need to do, Cofer said.

Abuse Alternatives, Inc., a domestic violence intervention agency that operates emergency shelter facilities and provides resources to victims of abuse and their families in the Bristol, Tennessee, and Virginia community, is requesting $10,000 in funding for 2023 from the city.

The YMCA of Bristol did not receive funding in 2022 from City Council and is requesting $20,000 for 2023 in order to expand several of its programs, including a teen youth leadership program and its Float 4 Life program.

Maggie Elliot, the executive director of Believe in Bristol, gave an update on the work the group has done in downtown Bristol highlighting some of the events and projects planned for the fall, including the return of the downtown cornhole tournament and a block party on 6th Street.

Believe in Bristol requested $50,000 from City Council, which is the same amount the organization received in 2022.

Theatre Bristol, which received $15,000 from City Council in 2022, requested $20,000 for 2023.

The Paramount, which has gone through extensive renovations, is requesting $50,000 for 2023, double what they received from City Council in 2022.

The City Council has yet to set a date to discuss and approve the non-profit funding requests they received Monday and earlier on Friday, March 11.

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Waking up every morning to provide medical care to those in need is the dream for many students in the Emory & Henry College physician assistant (PA) graduate program.

Waking up every morning at 5 a.m. and boarding a small bus into the mountains of Guatemala to do pop-up clinics at several remote villages was a once-in-a-lifetime experience some students got to experience recently while in the program.

It was like being on a clinical rotation, but in Guatemala, first-year Emory & Henry PA student Alyssa Gottschalk said.

Michael Nowak, a doctor of medical science and a professor in the graduate program, facilitates the program that allows interested students to travel to remote Guatemalan villages and deliver aid to hundreds of people while practicing medical skills.

After a brief hiatus during the pandemic, Nowak and other doctors, two Emory & Henry PA students, and students from South College in Tennessee traveled to Guatemala during the winter break of 2021 for the programs 10th annual mission.

Dr. Nowak said assisting with dozens of births and cesarean sections, learning medical diagnostic skills, pediatric and geriatric care, is one of the highlights (students) will never forget for the rest of their lives.

The students stayed with a couple from Texas who moved to Guatemala nearly 20 years ago. From the couples home, where students slept in bunk beds and had breakfast every morning, the students boarded buses for the commute into villages to set up the pop-up clinic.

There are villages up in the mountains that have a hard time kind of getting down to the city to go to the hospital. They don't have the means of transport, and sometimes they haven't seen a doctor in you dont know how many years. Each day we set up a clinic for these people in different villages, Gottschalk said.

We would commute back and forth from the house and city to the villages in the mountains, and then tear down and come back to the city at the end of the day, she said, explaining the trips busy schedule.

The 10th annual mission aided 700 people over a week in Guatemala. The program provides valuable medical practice for the people in the Guatemalan villages while also providing a unique experience for students.

One of the most exciting moments of the trip for Gottschalk was watching and assisting with a cesarean section birth when the students traveled to the city hospital and stayed late to watch the procedure.

That's the only hospital around, so they're having 30-plus deliveries a day. One of the other students on the trip was about to start her OB rotation, so she actually scrubbed in for the cesarean and was assisting the doctor, she said. Then I helped after the baby was taken out and delivered. I helped cut the cord and clean the baby up and make sure she was doing OK.

One challenge Gottschalk and the other students faced was the language barrier, despite having translators. Even this challenge provided an interesting learning experience. While assisting with the cesarean, the students learned medical procedures are a language of their own.

So we were helping deliver this baby, and we aren't even talking to each other, but we all know what's going on because we're all medical providers or future medical providers, Gottschalk said. So it's really cool that, even when we were unable to communicate verbally, we knew what was going on, and we could help each other and actually bring this child into the world.

Gottschalk spoke with excitement about providing essential medical items, such as ointment to soothe diaper rash and glasses, to the people living in the Guatemalan villages.

There was this little kiddo, he was like seven months old, and he had had eczema since he was born. I was able to give his mother some steroid cream and some emollient to help with his eczema  That's a big change for that kid, he's going to be way more comfortable now,  Gottschalk said. Hopefully, that treatment helped him and was able to help him for a long time.

Providing ointments was just one station the PA students and physicians were able to provide at their pop-up clinics.

Stations for glasses, ear cleaning, and pharmaceuticals were also set up.

All of these different stations kind of worked together, Gottschalk said. It's really dusty in the mountains and they do a lot of farming work, and these people have not had their ears cleaned in how many years and sometimes they will even find bugs in their ears. So that was kind of a big help for them.

A lot of these people have also never seen an eye doctor before.  I mean, it's minimal care to you and me like this is like the basics, right.  It made me realize how lucky we are in America to be able to have good medical care and access to medicine. And, in America, not everyone has access either, but a lot better access, Gottschalk said. What we saw in Guatemala for these people who never see doctors, how grateful they are for putting on a pair of glasses for the first time and all of a sudden, they can see now and they can cook again, work again, do everyday life.

The glasses, medicines, and other supplies are donated and gathered by the doctors and others who attend the trip.

For the glasses, we had an ophthalmologist, she had all these extra glasses that were just gonna get tossed. So she just brought them with her, and we used all of them, Gottschalk said.

Gottschalk also got to treat one of the village elders during her time in Guatemala.

There's a leader of every village, the elders are what they call them.  Again, I don't speak Spanish, so I was speaking through my translator, but he was thankful for the care I was able to give him. It was really cool to actually get to treat that patient, she said.

The Guatemalan medical mission trip for 2022 is already being planned between Nowak and the village elders.

Those are the people who know Dr. Nowak, and they communicate with him every year and they want him to come back and bring his students, Gottschalk said. As long as the villages will have (students) back, they'll keep going and providing care to people.
BRISTOL, Tenn.  The Bristol Tennessee School Board presented the Bristol Tennessee City Council with plans to renovate part of Tennessee High School during a joint meeting at the councils work session Tuesday. But the council said they do not believe the $44 million project is currently economically feasible.

The renovation plan is focused on redesigning the educational spaces at Tennessee High occupied by the Career and Technical Education (CTE) program, as well as creating more accessible shared spaces for Tennessee High students.

Tennessee High, which was constructed in 1939, has not seen any renovations since 1978. Dr. Annette Tudor, the director of schools for the Bristol Tennessee school system, said she believes the redesign of Tennessee High addresses the accessibility and flow issues at the facility, from disjointed shared spaces to compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

"We believe that all students at Tennessee High School should have access to all the facilities (in the school). You will notice that we've made some significant changes to the flow in the building so that all students can readily and easily access the cafeteria and the library. Those are not easy to access now," Tudor said. "Our goal is to prepare our youth for college and career. We need this facility to be able to do that. It's (currently) not fully ADA accessible. There is one elevator that's hard to get to, got to go through the library on the third floor in order to get to it."

Don Shell, the CEO of Community Tectonics Architects who designed the renovation plan, gave City Council a virtual tour through 3D renderings of the proposed redesign of Tennessee High's three-floor Career and Technical Education building with its various classrooms and offices, the library and the cafeteria that would all be connected by an open courtyard and a series of multipurpose spaces.

The projected cost of the Tennessee High renovation plan presented by the Bristol, Tennessee School Board to the City Council is $44 million. That is $24 million over the budget City Council had proposed for this project in prior discussions with the School Board.

Vince Turner, the vice mayor of Bristol Tennessee, pointed out that he understands the need from the School Board for a new high school, but also stressed that the city has already had to delay plans for a new fire station due to the rising regional and national construction prices.

"I understand that you can't afford to think you can't afford not to do it. But, we have put off our fire station because of the cost, "Turner said. I thought we originally talked about 20 (million)."

Councilwoman Lea Powers believes City Council should continue having conversations with the School Board about Tennessee High renovations and proposed the idea of bringing other potential collaborators to the table.

"We know that this is this is one option, a beautiful option, but you know, are there other options?" Powers asked. "We all want an outstanding CTE facility. We all want the high school to be the very best that it can be for our students. Realizing that the price tag is more than what we have wanted to do, that conversation involves collaboration, bringing other partners to the table."

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Recent data on illegal immigration under President Joe Biden reminds me of the ancient proverb, Physician, heal thyself.

On March 16, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy addressed members of Congress, including me. He asked for more assistance in his countrys war to repel Russian invaders. Later that day, President Biden announced that the United States would deliver $800 million more in aid to Ukraine.

I support helping Ukraine in its fight to defend its own borders. But our country has borders that need defending, too, a responsibility the Biden administration has abdicated.

For more than a year, new records have been set at the southern border. Illegal immigrants, seeing President Biden take office pledging to dismantle enforcement and following through on his promise, continue to make their way to the border in huge numbers.

February 2022 was no exception. U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) encountered 164,973 migrants last month, up 7% from January and 63% from February 2021. In fact, these numbers have not been seen in a February since the year 2000, during the second term of the Clinton administration.

President Biden entered office with a border under control and has presided over its undoing. More data from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) helps illuminate why so many illegal immigrants take the risks involved in traveling to the border.

In its report for fiscal year (FY) 2021, ICE revealed that it deported 59,011 illegal immigrants, a steep reduction from 185,884 in FY 2020. The Washington Post reported that deportations have not been so low since 1995, during the first term of the Clinton administration.

In another indicator of lax enforcement, ICE made 74,082 administrative arrests in FY 2021. This total contrasts with an average of 148,000 annually from FYs 2017 to 2019  a decrease of roughly half.

For individuals contemplating an attempt to cross the southern border illegally, these statistics offer an incentive to make that trek. If they are able to enter the country, they face a far less serious chance of being apprehended and deported than in recent years.

U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas defends weakened enforcement by claiming that his department prioritizes quality arrests of illegal immigrants, such as those with criminal records.

Yet a March 16 Washington Times article that obtained unpublished ICE data demonstrated that even by that metric, the Biden administration is failing. In FY 2021, ICE arrested 48% fewer convicted criminals, deported 63% fewer criminals and issued 46% fewer detainers, which are requests to other law enforcement agencies to turn over for deportation illegal immigrants who have been picked up for other offenses.

No wonder the Western States Sheriffs Association voted unanimously that it had no confidence in the performance of the Biden administrations border czar, Vice President Kamala Harris.

These indicators all suggest that the Biden administration does not take border security seriously. Other indicators emphasize why it should take border control seriously.

Take the latest tragic milestone in our country regarding drug overdoses. A new annual record was set for the 12-month period ending in October 2021: 105,752 drug overdose deaths. Fentanyl-related substances drove this increase. Many of these substances are sourced from China, manufactured in Mexico and smuggled across the border by drug cartels.

An unsecure border permits smuggling of deadly substances such as fentanyl undermines the rule of law, allows into our country individuals of unvetted background and makes a mockery of the legal immigration process. These problems are serious, and even if they do not rise to the immediate urgency of what is happening in Ukraine, they are happening here in our country, and under the Biden administration, they continue to worsen.

Just as President Zelenskyy wants to solve his countrys pressing problems, and so asked for our help, the president of our country should want to solve our countrys pressing problems. The evidence for that, however, is thin.
In February, Mitzi Gellman got an email offering a hefty donation for Habitat for Humanity of Catawba Valley.

Gellman, Habitat for Humanity of Catawba Valleys executive director, was suspicious. It was one of those emails youre not sure you should reply to, she said.

She put her doubts aside and responded, reminding herself not to reveal any personal information or account numbers, if asked. It paid off. The exchange started the process for Habitat for Humanity of Catawba Valley to receive a $2.5 million donation.

The donation, which was announced Tuesday, was part of a larger donation made to dozens of Habitat organizations worldwide by MacKenzie Scott, an author, philanthropist and ex-wife of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. Scott donated $436 million to 84 Habitat organizations. That donation list included Habitat for Humanity of Catawba Valley, according to a press release from Habitat.

When Gellman learned the organization would get the large donation, she cried, she said. The money landed in Habitat for Humanity of Catawba Valleys bank account in early March, Gellman said.

For Habitat for Humanity of Catawba Valley, the $2.5 million is equivalent to about one year of revenue, Gellman said.

MacKenzie Scotts generosity is transformational for Habitat Catawba Valley, and for disrupting the established philanthropy model. The unrestricted nature of this gift allows us to leverage its impact where its needed most, Gellman said in the press release. With MacKenzie Scotts help, Habitat Catawba Valley will act on long established priorities like revitalizing neighborhoods, expanding homeownership equity and access and forging strategic partnerships, while remaining responsive to the rapidly changing landscape of affordable housing needs.

The organization plans to use the money to continue its home-building program, especially in the Ridgeview area of Hickory. With assured funding, the homes can be built faster, Gellman said.

The local Habitat currently has five homes under construction in the Ridgeview neighborhood. The construction of nine more homes is expected to begin this year, the press release said.

The organization also plans to ramp up its home repairs program, Gellman said. Repairs often involve several fixes at each house. The organization currently has 14 repair projects in process and 24 families waiting.

The organizations staff has brainstormed in the past about priorities if money were no object. Making more repairs was at the top of the list, Gellman said.

The repairs program is so dramatic in how it impacts people immediately, she said. It transforms neighborhoods.  It really does make an impact on our community.

With the large donation from Scott, Gellman also wants to expand the organizations reach.

Weve always been Hickory-centric because of cost, she said. Now I want to see how we could expand to meet the needs of Conover, Sherrills Ford and the rest of Catawba County.

At an announcement event Tuesday at the Habitat Restore in Hickory, Gellman emphasized that the money would be transformational. It came in at the right time, she said.

It was a tough time for us, having been coming out of 2008, the recession, and then COVID hit just as we were recovering, she said. We hope to be able to leverage this gift to be able to do more with it.

Habitat organizations in York County and the Charlotte region also received donations from Scott.

The money is planned to be used to boost affordable housing and home repair in each region, the press release said.

There are no restrictions on how each organization can use the donation, Gellman said.
Gianella Romero has personal experiences with Centro Latino, the nonprofit that helps Latino families in Catawba County.

Her parents immigrated to the U.S. from Mexico. The family ended up in Hickory, where Romero grew up. Her family turned to Centro Latino for support when Romero and her sisters were young.

My parents learned from parenting classes they offer and then my sisters and I benefited from the tutoring classes and everything they offered back in the day, she said.

Now, Romero, who goes by Ginny, is heading up the nonprofit as its executive director. Its been eight years since the organization had an executive director, she said.

Romero stepped into the new role in early February. She said she hopes to grow the organization and expand its offerings. With Romero, Centro Latino now has three employees, she said.

It makes me feel really excited and blessed to be able to give back and influence people and let the Hispanic community know and learn that Centro Latino can be beneficial and can help you be successful, she said.

Her experiences growing up as a first-generation American will help guide her work, she said. Romero and her family experienced the roadblocks and difficulties that can arise for families who are new to the U.S. or dont speak English.

One of the biggest problems for Romero a was lack of knowledge about resources available to everyone, such as student aid for college, she said.

Centro Latino can help families find resources, including English classes and tutoring.

Romero said she hopes to find more funding and gather donations to expand Centro Latino. If people come here for assistance, instead of sending them away I would love to be able to provide that help and support for our community here, Romero said.

Additional funding could also mean turning the executive director job into a full-time position.

Romero has a background in senior care management. With that experience, she hopes to lend a hand to older immigrants.

Theres a lot of first-generation immigrants who come and dont know what to do once they reach a certain point in their life, and I feel like we can be a resource for them as well, Romero said.

The Hispanic population in Catawba County is the largest minority community  about 10% of the countys population, according to U.S. Census data. As the population grows, the demands on Centro Latino grow, as well.

Romero said she is eager to step up to meet those needs.

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NEWTON  Members of the Rotary Club of Newton-Conover believe that when a woman rises, those around her rise. The Rotary Club of Newton-Conover held a special celebration in March to celebrate International Womens Month. During the celebration the club honored a long-time member and first female Rotarian in the club, Patricia Gibson.

As the first female Rotarian in the Rotary Club of Newton-Conover there were hurdles to jump. Gibson also forged new ground as principal of the new middle school concept and later assistant superintendent of Newton-Conover City Schools. In addition, Gibson was one of the first recipients of the Red Blazer Award from the Newton-Conover School System and after retirement went on to mentor and supervise student teachers through Appalachian State University.

Gibsons drive does not stop with her love for education; she is passionate about church and many community organizations such as Dolly Partons Imagination Library, ECCCM, Nu Chapter Delta Kamma Gamma, and more. Gibson is the backbone of her family and a dear friend to many.

Celebrating International Womens Month isnt about giving empty accolades to women, said Donald Duncan, club president. It is about raising awareness around women and celebrating the women who make our communities great.

As the Rotary Club of Newton-Conover recognized and honored outstanding Women during International Womens Month, several notable women were mentioned  Amelia Everhart, Sally Ride, Maya Angelou, Jane Goodall, etc. Within our cities and counties, we also have many notable women who live among us that were trailblazers in their field and chose to lay a foundation for each of us to learn new things, be good humanitarians, and follow our dreams, according to Duncan.

Gibson was toasted by past educators, Larry Harris and Beth Bock. In addition, Bobby Boyd shared the process of Gibson becoming a Rotarian in a male-dominated organization.

The Rotary Club of Newton-Conover will honor Gibson with an education scholarship set up in her honor. The scholarship will be gifted to those men and women wishing to pursue the field of education. For more information or to donate to the Patricia F. Gibson Educational Scholarship, contact Joy Cline, jcline@bolickfoundation.org.

Rotary is a global network of 1.2 million neighbors, friends, leaders, and problem-solvers who see a world where people unite and take action to create lasting change. The Rotary Club of Newton-Conover meets every Tuesday at noon. Anyone interested in being involved in the international organization, may contact Joy Cline at jcline@bolickfoundation.org.
Gulf Print & Pack, the Mena regions leading trade show for the commercial and package print sectors, from May 24 to 26, 2022 at the Dubai World Trade Centre, will bring together suppliers of the full range of printing equipment.

This includes wide format roll and sheetfed digital presses, label and flexible packaging converting equipment, finishing and embellishing systems, and print productivity software. Registration has opened for the show.

Commenting Barry Killengrey, Gulf Print & Pack, show director, said: The eagerly awaited return of Gulf Print & Pack will once again provide the ideal platform to network and conduct business between print industry peers. Visitors will be able to see the latest innovations and trends and absorb the wisdom from our innovators and industry influencers.

Alongside a range of educational features on industry trends and workflow automation, a special feature of the show is the Decor Lounge, where suppliers will exhibit the full range of growth opportunities for commercial and packaging printers.

Visitors will be able to experience everything from digital textile and fabric prints, to digitally printed wallpaper, corrugated furniture and display units, digitally embellished luxury packaging and personalised photobooks.

Lisa Milburn, managing director of Labelexpo Global Series, the organiser of Gulf Print & Pack, said: Dubai is an excellent central location for visitors from across the Middle East and African continent to see the latest print industry technology. Dubai is already a hub for many global suppliers servicing the wider Africa and Mena region and all the key international players will be present at this exciting show.

-- TradeArabia News Service
Do we have to do this again?

Whenever I hear news about Russian nuclear threats, Im back in third grade. Its October 1962 and my family is watching President Kennedy give a speech about the U.S. blockade of Cuba over deployment of Soviet missiles. We wonder if this really is World War III.

My Dad, ever a pilot, will talk about prevailing winds and the danger of fallout should a nuclear warhead strike St. Louis, 100 miles away.

Thankfully, we never had to take cover. In the years since, Americans have looked back in amusement at the paranoia that sent our parents and grandparents into such a tizzy. From the easy chair of hindsight, weve laughed at the ridiculous duck-and-cover drills, rolled our eyes at crude bomb shelters full of cots and canned goods.

But the possibility of a nuclear winter was no laughing matter when we Baby Boomers were growing up. A current events writing exercise was assigned to my brother who was in eighth grade in 1962. It involved a bomb shelter. He was to write about what he would do if the neighbors wanted in and there was space and supplies for just one extra person. Whom would he save and why?

I remember this assignment all these years later because it was so perfectly horrible.

As an 8-year-old, I worried about our pet beagle. If we had to escape, could she come along? And what of my dolls? When the alarm sounded, would we have time to pack?

Yellow-and-black placards were displayed on courthouses and churches and other public buildings where shelters were set up. I feared the signs that looked like big bumble bees, marking a place to run along with everyone else in case the alarm sounded. I was never sure what the signal might be  maybe the town fire siren? Maybe the obnoxious buzz we hear today during tests of the emergency alert system?

Public fallout shelters gathered dust for years before officials declared them surplus. A few reporters, tongue-in-cheek, came to marvel at the vintage supplies being discarded.

Back in their Cold War heyday, fallout shelters were a booming business. I remember touring different models in grocery store parking lots and county fairs, amazed at what could be crammed into a space the size of a pickup camper.

Our neighbors installed one of the pre-fab shelters in their back yard. Like modern-day Noahs, they were going to have their ark ready for the big one. All was well until a heavy rain came and somehow pushed the thing up out of the ground. So much for well-laid plans.

The Harper family of Hickory was among those who took the nuclear threat seriously. In 1954, they built a fallout shelter on the basement level of their home at 310 N. Center Street. The property is now known as the Harper House, part of the Hickory History Center.

Plans are to open the subterranean piece of local history on Saturday, April 9, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. (Admission will be $5. For more information, contact the Catawba County Museum of History at 465-0383.)

After the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991, most assumed wed moved beyond the Russian bogeyman. In fact, one of the Minuteman missile silos has been turned into a tourist attraction in South Dakota.

The Cold War reared its ugly head again during the presidential debates of 2012. Republican candidate Mitt Romney claimed that Russia was the worlds top geopolitical threat. Then-president Barack Obama retorted, The 1980s are now calling to ask for their foreign policy back because you know the Cold War has been over for 20 years.

Romney was practically laughed off the stage, and most agreed with Obama until Feb. 24, 2022.

Tammy Wilson is a writer who lives near Newton. Her latest book is Going Plaid in a Solid Gray World: Collected Columns, published by Red Hawk Publications. Contact her at tamra@tamrawilson.com
" " The Seneca Falls Convention was held at the Wesleyan Chapel in Seneca Falls, New York, on July 19 and 20, 1848. The site is now a museum. Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)

In July 1848, a remarkable event took place in the town of Seneca Falls, New York. It was a women's rights convention  the first ever held in the United States. More than 200 women attended the event initially organized by five women  Lucretia Mott, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Martha Wright, Mary Ann M'Clintock and Jane Hunt  friends and comrades in the abolitionist movement. They hoped, but had no way of knowing, that their event, eventually known as the Seneca Falls Convention, would become the starting point for the women's rights movement in the U.S.

So, who were these women and why did they meet in Seneca Falls? Why not New York City, Philadelphia or Washington, D.C.? We talked to Janine Waller, chief of interpretation, education and outreach at Women's Rights National Historical Park in Seneca Falls.

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"Their connections were all familial and religious," Waller says. "And it's really because of the Quaker involvement that they were involved in the abolition movement."

The "first five" as the five friends were later called, were connected through the Quaker Society of Friends in Philadelphia. Lucretia Mott was a Quaker minister and one of the founders of the Philadelphia Female Anti-Slavery Society. She was a charismatic speaker and, at the time, one of the most well-known women in America. Mott met Elizabeth Cady Stanton, another ardent abolitionist (though not a Quaker), at the 1840 World Anti-Slavery Convention in London where she and her husband Henry Brewster Stanton, were honeymooning. Stanton's husband, a professional abolitionist speaker, was invited to speak at the conference but when the two women were blocked from participating fully in the convention, they turned their righteous anger into making plans to hold a women's rights convention in the U.S.

" " Lucretia Coffin Mott (1793-1880) was a Quaker preacher, American abolitionist and organizer of the convention, shown here in 1865. Universal Images Group/Getty Images

It was eight years before they met up again. By that time, the Stantons lived in Seneca Falls and Mott was invited to speak in the area. Mott's sister, Martha Wright, also lived in nearby Auburn. The M'Clintocks were renting a house and property from the Hunts in Waterloo, New York. The five women met together at the Hunt home in Waterloo and decided to organize the women's rights convention while Mott was still in the area.

"The five planners were well-schooled in activism from the abolition movement," Waller says. "It's where they learned about petitioning, conventions and professional speaking. It's where they learned the tools of activism."

Those tools came in handy as they had only 10 days, from the time they decided to hold the convention, until the convention itself  July 19 and 20 at the Wesleyan Chapel in Seneca Falls. Fortunately, they were women with networks  notably their abolition and Quaker networks. They also publicized the convention July 11th in the local newspaper, the Seneca County Courier, and in The North Star, a newspaper published by abolitionist, orator, writer and activist, Frederick Douglass. Douglass also was personally invited to the convention by M'Clintock. He accepted and was the only Black man and person of color recorded at the event. When July 19 rolled around, an estimated 300 women and men (mostly from the central New York region) were in attendance.

The first day of the convention was limited to women only and began with a stirring address from Stanton, setting the stage for what was to come:

We are assembled to protest against a form of government existing without the consent of the governed  to declare our right to be free as man is free, to be represented in the government which we are taxed to support.... We have met to uplift woman's fallen divinity upon an even pedestal with man's. And, strange as it may seem to many, we now demand our right to vote according to the declaration of the government under which we live.

" " Elizabeth Cady Stanton (1815-1902) was an American writer, activist and leading organizer of the convention, shown here in 1870. Universal Images Group/Getty Images

They presented the Declaration of Sentiments, which Stanton co-authored. The document was modeled on the Declaration of Independence and laid out the women's objections on subjects including women's suffrage, access to education, domestic violence, equal pay and equal justice in the courts including in inheritance and custody disputes. Though women's suffrage was an essential item on the agenda, it nearly broke the convention and Waller says the reasons were as diverse as the people debating them.

"Many folks felt that politics was unseemly for women who were viewed as the moral compass of the family," she says. "Participating in politics would sully them. Others felt women were not intellectually prepared to vote. They would just vote for whomever their husbands told them to. Still others thought that it just wasn't that important. They thought it was more critical to address issues of domestic violence, equal pay and family court and law; these were more immediate concerns. It was Frederick Douglass who supported Elizabeth Cady Stanton in her insistence that all these other things could not be changed without political and legislative power and that's what the right to vote would bring."

The Declaration of Sentiments was far more than a laundry list of grievances.

"It includes a list of resolutions, the things they resolve to do, and it's very explicitly laid out," Waller says. "It's very specific, visionary and unequivocal. Women and men should be equal. Full stop. They are equal. Full stop. [These sentiments] come out of the abolition movement and people asking what is the difference between one person and another, and what kind of power do they have to make changes in their own lives and society at large."

The Declaration of Sentiments was signed July 20, 1848 by 68 women and 32 men. The women signed the Declaration under the heading "Firmly relying upon the final triumph of the Right and the True, we do this day affix our signatures to this declaration," while the men signed under the heading, "... the gentlemen present in favor of this new movement."

" " The Wesleyan Methodist Church, or Wesleyan Chapel, built in 1843, was a local meeting place for political rallies, antislavery activity and free speech events. The original building was sold in 1871 and extensively altered by subsequent owners, forcing a reconstruction by the National Park Service in 1985. Wikimedia Commons (CC BY SA-3.0)

The new movement, the women's movement, was put on hold during the Civil War and immediately after due to Reconstruction. But Waller says a gradual opening up of society, including tangible gains in the legal system on behalf of women occurred in state houses even before 1920 when the 19th Amendment guaranteeing women's right to vote was finally ratified.

But the lasting legacy of the Seneca Falls Convention remains more than any one amendment or issue will ever contain.

"At some point these five women made a decision to do something different  they made a decision to take their concerns public," she says. "They seized the opportunity in front of them and that's something we all can do. That legacy of empowerment is what normal people can do when they get together and share things openly. They change the world."

Now That's Interesting Women's Rights National Historical Park located in Seneca Falls, New York, hosts Convention Days annually to commemorate the Seneca Falls Convention. Convention Days are held the weekend closest to the anniversary of the July 19-20 convention and feature speakers, researchers, music, drama and even activities for children. Many events are held in the Wesleyan Chapel, the building that was reconstructed based on the 1848 structure where the first convention was held.
Leading a business into the next generation or owner is a complex process that encompasses even more time and effort than the already complicated succession plans that help a transition happen smoothly. A leader must know who theyre working with and where the business is headed in addition to being able to talk about the future, explained Josh Keefer during the Pennsylvania Dairy Summit.

A consultant who has worked with many farms and other types of businesses, Keefer encouraged farm owners to really know the people working in their operation to be able to best serve their wants and needs. This means more than just asking about their weekend and their family, he said. Members of different generations (baby boomers, Gen X, Gen Y, and millennials) have different expectations of work/life balance, independence, and communication. There are no right or wrong answers to their perspectives, but its useful to acknowledge the ideas when youre working with these people, Keefer shared.

Knowing what motivates each person in your business and how they perform at their best is another piece of building trusting relationships with the people you work with. Keefer pointed out that this can be difficult when working with family because we might think we know them at one point in their life  for example, as a teenager  and not recognize the growth that occurs over time. We will relate with them in a box that never allows them to get out of the box, he said. Instead, he encouraged taking a learners posture with family to get to know them as an employee, too.

On the other hand, hiring outside help can create issues if we evaluate solely on experience without considering a persons character or skills. Starting with character, then moving to skill, and then to experience, can help a business be able to thrive, he said. If they have the character and the skill, you can give them experience, the consultant noted, reminding that when employees are performing at their best, so does the business.

Setting and communicating goals

The second piece of what Keefer described as generational leadership is knowing where the business is headed. Future employees and owners are going to want clarity on what the core purpose is of the business and why it exists.

Lay out what your goals and aspirations are for the business so that others can share in the vision of where you hope to go and help you get there. Just because youve never named them specifically doesnt mean you dont have them, Keefer said. This will also help you define what success looks like for employees. Without clear definition from you, youre asking them to define it for themselves, he explained.

Open, honest conversation is the greatest desire of employees, Keefer added. Both family and nonfamily members who work for you want to know your thoughts on the future, and even if you dont have all the answers, its helpful for them to know how you hope things will turn out. Honoring the relationships you have developed means opening your thoughts to them and being open to theirs, Keefer said. Everyone has expectations; being willing to talk about them is often whats best for the relationship and the business.

To comment, email your remarks to intel@hoards.com.

(c) Hoard's Dairyman Intel 2022

March 17, 2022
The information below has been supplied by dairy marketers and other industry organizations. It has not been edited, verified or endorsed by Hoards Dairyman.

The California Milk Advisory Board (CMAB) today announced the launch of the 2022 Real California Pizza Contest, the fourth annual search for the best pizza recipes using Real California Cheese. The contest, which will award prizes totaling $30,000 for the most innovative uses of cows milk cheeses from California, is open for entries by professional chefs and culinary students throughout the U.S.

Through April 24, participants can enter recipes in three categories: Cal-Mex, the REAL Californian and Plant-Forward. Cal-Mex recipes incorporate toppings that fuse flavors from California and Mexican cuisines and feature Hispanic-style cheeses from California. The REAL Californian will incorporate ideas inspired by the Golden State that showcase California cheeses and toppings. Plant-Forward pizza recipes will emphasize the delicious flavor combinations of fruits, veggies, and Real California Cheeses.

This years contest also will include innovative ideas from winners of separate Real California Pizza Contests in Mexico who will compete in the final bake-off event at the Culinary Institute of America at Copia in Napa, Calif.



With more than 78,000 pizzerias in the U.S. and another 100,000 plus restaurants serving some type of pizza or flatbread, pizza is an important category for California cheese and dairy and a perfect platform for showcasing innovation with Californias award-winning cheeses, said Mike Gallagher, Business and Market Development Consultant for the CMAB. Expanding the contest to include international pizza chefs and operators reflects the growth of the international market for pizza. And Mexico is just one example of countries where California cheeses and dairy products are available to culinary professionals.

Chefs desiring to submit a recipe can review the requirements and complete the entry at http://realcaliforniamilk.com/foodservice. In addition to the recipe, contestants are required to submit a short essay describing their personal and professional inspiration for their pizza creation. The deadline for contest submissions is April 24, 2022.

A professional panel of judges will select twelve U.S. finalists to compete alongside their colleagues from Mexico in the bake-off on June 22, 2022. All finalists will win a cash prize. Finalists who are not category winners will receive $500 each. The winners in each category will receive $5,000, and the best overall pizza recipe creator will receive an additional $10,000 grand prize award.



Interested chefs and culinary students in the U.S. can choose from more than 250 varieties and styles of cheeses that carry the Real California Milk seal, which means they are made with sustainably sourced milk from Californias more than 1,100 family dairy farms. For a list of qualifying cheeses and cheesemakers, contest rules and to enter online, visit http://realcaliforniamilk.com/foodservice.

California is a reliable, consistent source of dairy products used by chefs throughout the world. Check out the CMABs REAL Makers chefs who rely on California dairy for their dishes.


The information below has been supplied by dairy marketers and other industry organizations. It has not been edited, verified or endorsed by Hoards Dairyman.

The Dairy Business Association (DBA) and Edge Dairy Farmer Cooperative have hired an experienced leader in the agricultural cooperative system to serve as managing director, a new role for the advocacy organizations.

Jeremy Henkels will drive the day-to-day business operations as the sister organizations enhance their focus on strategic priorities, CEO Tim Trotter said.

Henkels most recently was executive vice president-shared services for Agfinity, a member-owned cooperative that provides agronomy, energy, feed, grain and retail services in Colorado, Nebraska and Wyoming. There, he oversaw human resources, marketing, safety and information technology.

Im excited to welcome Jeremy to our team, Trotter said. His keen understanding of the cooperative system and proven leadership experience will help elevate our internal operations. This is essential to exceeding our members needs now and in the future.

Henkels started his career as a human resources specialist for a pork producer based in Spring Green, Wis., then worked in HR roles in the radio broadcasting and health care industries. He returned to agriculture in leadership roles at Landmark Services Cooperative in Cottage Grove, Wis., before moving to Agfinity in 2018.



I am excited to join DBA and Edge in the managing director role, Henkels said. As a native of Wisconsin and having worked with best-in-class dairies in my past work experiences, it will be a wonderful homecoming to the Midwest.

Trotter had been executive director until January when he became CEO, a new role. His former position was reshaped into Henkels managing director role.

Im humbled the DBA and Edge team chose me to take the baton from Tim Trotter as he continues to transition into the new CEO role, Henkels said. I look forward to meeting and working with our members.



DBA and Edge advocate for farmers and allied businesses on governmental policy  DBA at the state level in Wisconsin and Edge at the federal level  and provide other services. DBAs members are in Wisconsin, and Edges members are located throughout the Midwest as part of the third largest dairy cooperative in the U.S.
The information below has been supplied by dairy marketers and other industry organizations. It has not been edited, verified or endorsed by Hoards Dairyman.

The Dairy Girl Network (DGN), an organization supporting all women in dairy by enhancing lives and creating opportunities, is excited to announce a DGN Connect Networking Event taking place at the Central Plains Dairy Expo.

The Connect Event during Central Plains Dairy Expo will be held in Ballroom A of the Sheraton Sioux Falls, Sioux Falls, South Dakota on Wednesday, March 30, 2022, from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. A short program will be held at 12 p.m. Join other dairywomen for a quick recharge to talk about your lives involving dairy farming. The event is for all women involved with any part of dairy  whether as a calf feeder, dairy owner, marketing or sale consultant servicing dairy farms or cheese producers, veterinarian, researchers, etc. If there is a dairy cow involved in what you do, youre invited. The DGN Connect event price for Central Plains Dairy Expo is $20.00. Attendees will enjoy lunch and receive a DGN special gift.



Registration for the Central Plains Dairy Expo DGN Connect Event is open. Those interested can visit DairyGirlNetwork.com/connect to learn more and to register. DGN asks that those who plan to attend pre-register for the event.

The Dairy Girl Network is supported by Sustaining sponsor: Dairy Management, Inc. Catalyst sponsors: Cargill, Diamond V, The National FARM Program, Farm Credit Systems, Land O Lakes, Merck Animal Health, and Michael Best, in addition to contributions by event sponsors. Event sponsors for the Central Plains Dairy Expo Connect event: Farm Credit Services, NovaMeal, and Sioux Nation Ag. Learn more about the organization and sponsorship opportunities at DairyGirlNetwork.com.


Today is National Ag Day, and at the heart of agriculture is the farmer.

I am privileged to have many past and present farmers among my family and friends. Hopefully, for the sake of all of us who want to keep eating, there will be some future farmers in my life, too.

After receiving a distinguished dairy breeder award a few weeks ago, one of my uncles who farms concluded his acceptance speech by saying, I am 70 years old now, and I wish I had 70 more years to do this.

That comment really stuck with me. How many people are so deeply connected to their career that they wish they could do it for another 70 years? That is one of the unique aspects of farming; it can be a job that starts in childhood and continues well past retirement age. While farming is a physically, mentally, and financially demanding occupation, it can also be rewarding, enjoyable, and challenging in many good ways.



Some people farm their whole lives because they have no desire to retire. Some farm their whole lives because they feel a responsibility to keep the operation going. Others may want to farm forever but end up leaving the farm or selling it for one reason or another.

No two farmers are the same, and neither are any two farms. Some operations may look picture perfect from the road, but struggles could be pulling the family apart. Another farm may seem disorganized but could be a successful business thats moving toward a profitable future.

No matter what the situation, these farmers will head out to the barn every day to get the work done. Animals will be cared for, crops will be tended to, and the daily tasks completed, no matter what. Because that is what farmers do. That is their commitment to their animals, their farm, and the consumer, and that is part of what we commemorate today.



National Ag Day was founded by the Agriculture Council of America in 1973. The first National Ag Day was celebrated by the organization in 1979. This day is meant to honor the efforts of people related to agriculture and promote awareness about this field of work among the general public.

Many people are involved in the important process of getting food from farm to fork. It all starts with the farmers, though. Whether they farm for a few years, a few decades, or their whole lives, these people are where production agriculture begins.

Thank you to the hardworking farmers everywhere. I am grateful for the job you do all year long, and theres no doubt you deserve to be celebrated every day.



Abby Bauer

The author is the senior associate editor and covers animal health, dairy housing and equipment, and nutrient management. She grew up on a dairy farm near Plymouth, Wis., and previously served as a University of Wisconsin agricultural extension agent. She received a masters degree from North Carolina State University and a bachelors from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
ASBURY PARK, N.J. (AP)  A wave of new electric vehicle charging stations across the country is coming as interest in alternatives to gasoline-powered vehicles is on the rise, though most of the plans were in the works before recent gasoline price spikes.

From coast to coast, cities big and small are adding charging stations for electric vehicles.

Strong demand is forecast for the vehicles, despite their higher prices and limited availability, meaning even more communities will feel pressure to add charging stations or risk having motorists pass them by in favor of plug-in-friendly places.

The charging stations aim to help drivers switch to electric vehicles from gasoline-powered ones, and public funding began several years ago before the current spike in gas prices.

But the investments come as gasoline prices in most of the country are above $4 a gallon and significantly more in some spots.

On Monday, New Jersey officials awarded $1 million in grants to install electric vehicle charging stations in 24 tourist areas around the state. The idea was to help spur tourism by reassuring visitors who own electric vehicles that they can come to a vacation spot in New Jersey and not run out of power to get back home.

"Don't worry about it," said Joseph Fiordaliso, president of the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities. "We have the equipment here so that you don't have to have range anxiety."

Spots getting money for new charging stations include Asbury Park, Atlantic City, Ocean City and several state parks and forests.

The money comes from the state budget. On Tuesday, NJ Transit, the state's public transportation agency, will unveil electric charging stations at a bus depot in Camden, outside Philadelphia.

There are now about 625 vehicle charging stations in New Jersey.

On the federal side, the city of Hoboken, just outside New York City, is getting up to six new charging stations in a deal also announced Monday. U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez said the money from a federal spending bill "will help ease our transition to electric vehicles, reduce emissions, and create a cleaner environment for our children."

Governments across the country are doing likewise. Bellingham, Wash., will add 90 charging stations over the next two years. Portland, Maine, recently entered into a 10-year agreement with a company that will install, operate and maintain more than 40 electric vehicle charging stations on publicly owned property.

Charleston, West Virginia, just added two charging stations at a public parking garage. Charlotte, North Carolina, Cleveland and Saginaw, Michigan, are among cities adding charging stations.

It's happening in other countries, too. Glasgow, Scotland, is adding 164 new stations this year.

Almost half a million electric vehicles were sold in the U.S. last year, according to Kelly Blue Book.
Abu Dhabi has launched a pioneering model to provide world-class, effortless customer experiences across the government and position the emirate as a leader in government customer experience.

The Abu Dhabi Programme for Effortless Customer Experience has been unveiled by Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, member of the Abu Dhabi Executive Council and Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Executive Office.

Building on Abu Dhabis human-centric approach, the new model will enable everyone living and working in the emirate, as well as visitors, to carry out tasks from buying a home, to starting a business, or exploring the emirate, quickly, seamlessly, and effortlessly.

First-of-its-kind venture

Saeed Al Mulla, Executive Director  Customer Experience Sector at Abu Dhabi Executive Office, said: Launching this first-of-its-kind programme in the Middle East reflects our commitment to transforming customer experience across government and to becoming a leader in this exciting, growing field. Abu Dhabi Government has always put people at the heart of everything it does. The launch of the programme is an extension of those efforts, making it even easier for people  whether they live here or are visiting  to carry out every task quickly, conveniently, and effortlessly.

The new model is benchmarked against international standards, including the first ever International Model for Customer Experience in Government, designed by the International Foundation for Customer Experience in Government (a non-profit organisation headquartered in Canada). This model is supported by 80 toolkits and case studies from 20 different countries.

Successful pilot phase

The launch follows a successful pilot phase in three government entities, the Department of Municipalities and Transport (DMT), the Department of Economic Development (DED), and the Department of Community Development (DCD), which streamlined customer experiences by almost 50% on average, enabling quicker completion times and fewer touchpoints. The launch also follows an extensive and full maturity review at a whole-of-government level to assess current customer experience performance and set suitable targets for the future.

The Abu Dhabi model uses a holistic and collaborative approach to address the entire customer experience holistically across four dimensions: direction, design, development and delivery.

Strategic thrusts

The programme also includes five strategic thrusts: Customer Experience Policy and Guidebook - outlining roles and setting service delivery standards; Priority setting - prioritising services for improvement to concentrate efforts and resources; Design lab - establishing a bespoke design lab in collaboration with best-in-class partners; Capability building - developing customer experience agents capabilities to enable them to provide world-class customer experiences; and Measurement - establishing a pioneering measurement model with a focus on the customer effort index.

To ensure long-term customer experience sustainability, the model will also see a comprehensive training programme delivered across government that will empower every Abu Dhabi Government entity to enhance its customer experience expertise, and will enable government entities to work collaboratively with all stakeholders to deliver effortless customer experiences across all delivery channels.-- TradeArabia News Service
Manufacturers of synthetic nicotine products have  for now  a short window for applying for Food and Drug Administration approval of a premarket tobacco product application.

Last week, President Joe Biden signed into law U.S. House Resolution 2471, a $1.5 trillion federal funding bill that contained language placing the use of synthetic nicotine under the FDAs authority.

That aspect of the law goes into effect April 14.

Specifically, the federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FD&C) now includes specific language that makes clear the Food and Drug Administration can soon regulate tobacco products containing nicotine from any source, which includes synthetic nicotine, the FDA said in a news release.

Currently, synthetic nicotine products can be sold in candy and fruit flavors not available to FDA-regulated tobacco and nicotine products.

Puff Bar has been a major distributor of flavored synthetic nicotine products, drawing the focus of anti-tobacco advocates as a favored option of high-school students. It is facing a similar level of scrutiny as top-selling e-cigarette Juul has in recent years.

Manufacturers of tobacco products containing nicotine not derived from tobacco will soon need to submit a premarket tobacco product application to the FDA and obtain authorization from the agency to market their product under the FD&C Act as amended by this legislation, or they will be subject to FDA enforcement.

The FDA, however, did not provide additional details about the new regulations would be implemented and the PMTA process for these types of products in the near future.

Purpose

The main regulatory focus on nicotine and tobacco products has been underage use, whether under age 18 or under age 21 as has been federal law since Dec. 20, 2019.

The FDA and federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released in October the 2021 National Youth Tobacco Survey, which had a major focus on electronic cigarette usage.

Current e-cig use among high school students dropped from 20% in 2020 to 11% in 2021  the rate it was at in 2017.

Analysts and observers said the decline likely was affected by two pandemic influences.

The first is that youths were allowed to participate online, rather than just in a classroom setting.

The second is that usage likely was curbed by youths being in virtual learning settings at home for most of the 2020-21 school year.

The FDA requested the regulatory language because of concerns that electronic-cigarette manufacturers were switching to synthetic-nicotine products in an attempt to evade FDA regulation (that) revealed a critical need to clarify FDAs authority over these products.

That has been accomplished, ensuring products that are similar except for the source of nicotine will be regulated as tobacco products.

Responses

Depending on which industry analysts is speaking, the inclusion of the synthetic nicotine language is either an important public-health victory or a blow to public health by limiting or extinguishing the product as an alternative to traditional cigarettes.

Before and after Biden signed the bill, there has been criticism from anti-smoking public health advocates of inserting synthetic nicotine into federal tobacco regulations.

The FDA has made clear there is no hope of reform in the near future, said Gregory Conley, president of American Vaping Association. The system has failed the smokers and vapers, and the answer isnt banning another 100,000 products and creating a new illicit market.

The fact is that with FDA so determined to destroy small- and- medium-sized businesses, nicotine alternatives are the only way for vapor specialty retailers to survive and keep adult ex-smokers off cigarettes.

Barclays analyst Jain Gaurav said a ripple effect of the new law is that all synthetic nicotine e-cigarettes, roughly 20% of the market, would likely go off market.

Matt Myers, president of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, said the language is necessary, claiming that synthetic nicotine poses a new and growing threat to the health of our nations kids.

In 2020, the FDA ordered Puff Bar to remove its flavored disposable e-cigarettes from the market because of their appeal to kids, Myers said.

In 2021, Puff Bar reentered the market as a synthetic nicotine product with kid-friendly flavors like Banana Ice and Cool Mint.

Congressional action is urgently needed to stop e-cigarette companies from using synthetic nicotine to blatantly evade FDA regulation and continue selling flavored e-cigarettes that are attracting and addicting kids, Myers said.

If left unaddressed, manufacturers of thousands of e-cigarettes  as well as other tobacco products  are likely to switch to synthetic nicotine to evade critical public health protections, including premarket review requirements for new tobacco products, the nationwide tobacco sale age of 21, and health warnings.

Amanda Wheeler, president of the American Vapor Manufacturers Association, said giving the FDA authority over synthetic nicotine would serve to slow down the shift of adult smokers toward vaping options.

Its already lunatic that FDA is prohibiting adult American smokers from switching to vaping, but this legislation is so absurd that it will extend FDAs reach to products that have no actual, physical connection to tobacco whatsoever, Wheeler said.
Moldova has opened its airspace with the possibility of performing flights to the west, spokeswoman for the Moldovan Civil Aviation Authority Irina Bodolica told Interfax.

According to her, the decision was made following a meeting of the Interdepartmental Commission on Airspace Management, whose members "after assessing the current security situation, decided to open part of the airspace so that passenger air transportation could be resumed." The decision to open airspace to the west comes into force on Monday at 12.00.

"This means that all air operators that operated regular flights at the Chisinau airport will be able to resume their activities in the near future. All flights will be possible only to the west - through Romania, since the airspace of Ukraine is closed, and therefore landing and take-off to the north, south and east cannot be performed. By opening this part of the airspace to the west, with Romania, it is possible to operate all regular flights that were made before the closure of the airspace, but with a change in the route of flights," Bodolica said.

The airspace of Moldova was closed on February 24, after the introduction of a state of emergency in the country in connection with the Russian military invasion of Ukraine.
Number of those who left Ukraine for EU, Moldova on March 19 remains at level of about 50,000 - Border Service

Almost 50,000 people crossed the state border from Ukraine to the EU and Moldova on March 19, while more than 50,000 crossed the day before, the State Border Service said on Sunday.

"Passenger traffic on the western section of the border has been stable in recent days," the report says.

At the same time, according to it, Poland accounted for 90% of those who left, while recently this figure was about 65%.

"We recommend choosing checkpoints on the borders with Hungary, Slovakia, Romania to cross the border in the EU," the State Border Service said.

According to the agency, the flow of people entering Ukraine continues to increase. In particular, on March 19, their number exceeded 21,000, including more than 17,000 citizens of Ukraine, while on March 13 these figures were 15,000 and 13,000, respectively.

"The vast majority are men who are ready to defend the country. In total, more than 334,000 of our compatriots have returned to Ukraine since the beginning of open armed aggression," the ministry said.

The State Border Service recalled that all checkpoints on the western border (except Dzvinkove) operate around the clock.

It also said that over the past 24 hours, over 970 vehicles with humanitarian cargo were registered at the western borders, while the day before - more than 900, and in previous days 800 such vehicles were allowed through.

According to the UNHCR, as of 13:00 on March 19, a total of 3.39 million people left Ukraine since the beginning of the war, of which Poland accepted 2.05 million, Romania and Moldova  600,450, Hungary  305,520, Slovakia  245,570.
100 years ago,

March 22, 1922

MATTOON  Sam Boruff is still police magistrate. The Mattoon City Council last night was told by City Attorney Hannah that the March 11 resignation of Boruff was not legal as it had not been filed with the Coles County clerk as required by law. As a result, Boruff still holds the office, the council was informed, and there is no vacancy by which the name of Aaron Abel might be placed on the ballot for the upcoming elections. As a result, the question of the police magistrate is still up in the air, so to speak. Boruff is still the legal magistrate, although he is not personally looking after the affairs of the office MATTOON  Kidnapping charges were filed against Herman and Louise Sanders yesterday by Mrs. Dessie Campbell, all parties being residents of Grant Park. The arrests were the result of a quarrel over custody of the 8 months old child of Mr. and Mrs. Huey Sanders. Huey Sanders is a brother of Herman and Louise. Huey Sanders wife had sued her husband for nonsupport. While they were in court, Herman and Louise were watching the baby at the home of their parents. After a court appearance, Mrs. Sanders went to pick up her baby but the Sanders family refused to yield the baby. As a decoy of peace, Mrs. Dessie Campbell, a friend of Mrs. Huey Sanders, went to the Sanders home. After a few minutes of chatting, she grabbed the infant and raced from the house, with the Sanders family chasing in pursuit. The chase continued until Mrs. Campbell stopped from exhaustion and Louise and Herman took the baby. A free-for-all fight followed, after which Mrs. Campbell filed charges.

50 years ago, 1972

MATTOON  Dan Walker, the upset victor in the Democratic primary race for the partys nomination for governor, defeated Lt. Gov. Paul Simon in Coles County by almost 1,000 votes. The vote for governor in Coles was Walker with 3,108 votes to 2,139 for Simon. On the Republican ballot, incumbent Gov. Richard Ogilvie had something less than a smashing victory in the county. Ogilvie received 1,487 votes to 1,147 for John Mathis of Peoria, a relative unknown who did not fare well in the state. Walker, former attorney for Montgomery Ward who campaigned by walking across the state, and Ogilvie will meet in the fallCHARLESTON  There are 235 homes and 10 commercial or industrial facilities in the proposed area of Lincoln Lake in Coles County, according to the Coles County Regional Planning Commission. Construction of the lake would also involve relocation of a segment of the Norfolk and Western Railroad southwest of Charleston. The planning commission estimates that 595 people living in the lake area will have to be relocated.

25 years ago, 1997

MATTOON  Blood donors in the Coles County area will have more frequent opportunities to donate with the opening Monday of the areas first donor center. Community Blood Services of Illinois, which has supplied blood products to Sarah Bush Lincoln Health Center for more than a year, will operate the center in Professional Plaza, just east of the hospital. The center will be open Mondays and Wednesdays from noon to 6 p.m. and 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Fridays. Sarah Bush Lincoln gets about 200 units of blood per month from Community Blood Services of Illinois CHARLESTON  The search committee created to find Charlestons first city manager will have a large task narrowing the candidate pool. The city has received 54 applications for city manager and only about five can be eliminated for lack of qualifications, Mayor Dan Cougill said. A search committee has been established to reduce the number of candidates to about five and then present its recommendations to the City Council. Fred Preston, professor at Eastern Illinois University and chairman of the Charleston Tomorrow steering committee, chairs the city manager search committee.

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Evil, when it knocks on the door, when it walks in the room, when it surrounds us and smiles at its likely victory, is one of the worst things in life. Still, we are seeing it in Russian President Vladimir Putin just as in Joseph Stalin, Adolph Hitler and too many others. As the United States seems to know, the only answers are outrage, analysis, courage, strength and determination even as evil employs any means that suit its ends.

Evil reaches beyond immorality. It is anxious, brutal, endlessly inhumane, without conscience, delivering as much pain as it takes to satisfy the never satisfied. In Ukraine, Putin is threatening not just democracy, sovereignty, national pride and world order, but attacking maternity wards, schools, crowds in the street and shelters for the homeless.

Evil, of course, is forever turning history hellish for the sake of gain and misery. Consider information on how the ethnically bigoted, power-crazed Ugandan dictator Idi Amin fed some of his 500,000 victims to crocodiles. Contemplate devoutly worshipped Mao Zedong of China who executed and starved tens of millions to put the enslavement of communism in place. Consult facts to recall how Cambodian Prime Minister Pol Pot ordered babies ripped asunder as a fourth of the population was murdered.

The list of modern-day and long-past evil leaders all over much of the world goes on and on, and one to keep in mind in the context of Russia is Ivan the Terrible of the 16th century. He was named grand prince of Moscow as a 3-year-old, and, at 16, named himself the first tsar of all Russia, gradually making it an empire and centralizing the government, historical accounts say. He actually improved Russia in some ways, such as placing merit over birthright in the military.

Challenged by aristocratic oligarchs, however, he had secret guardians out and about, massacring them and others in a reign of terror. He destroyed a whole city as he also went unsuccessfully to war with such other countries as Poland and Sweden. He enjoyed watching prisoners tortured by ripping out their guts, blinding them and setting them on fire, it is observed, and apparently killed at least two of his eight wives.

Now we come to Putin who glorifies Russia, loves it, notes that it helped destroy Nazism in World War II, saw it come to enormous, imperial power after the war, but then witnessed the end of the Cold War and the Soviet Union in 1991. He doesnt like communism any more than he likes democracy; a gangster economy has made him superrich and he is pretty much in charge of everything, with free speech punishable not just by prison, but by murders he is suspected of committing.

The countrys population has dwindled as much as its wealth and, like Ivan the Terrible, he wants a supremacist, menacing Russia. With puny Western response, Russia has taken control of Chechnya, occupies a major portion of Georgia and has annexed the Crimean section of Ukraine, all made independent with the end of the Cold War in 1991.

He is seeing his declining country impoverished as much of the world turns against him and supports the wonder of Ukraine, but has still maintained economic relations with self-serving nations and has united with two likewise propelled by evil, China and Iran. He is now playing games with hypersonic missiles and has more than whispered how his nuclear-armed military could destroy anybody, bringing us to Albert Einstein.

The world will not be destroyed by those who do evil, but by those who watch them without doing anything, he said.

Jay Ambrose is an op-ed columnist for Tribune News Service. speaktojay@aol.com

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The former 7-Eleven convenience store in Clemmons has been bought for $1.1 million by a Dallas group, according to a Forsyth County Register of Deeds filing Monday.

The 1.21-acre property at 2375 Lewisville-Clemmons Road contains 2,568 square feet of space. It has been occupied by a convenience store for much of its existence before being closed in May 2018.

The buyer is 2375 LCRD LLC, an affiliate of Petzoldt LLC. The seller is 7-Eleven Inc.

The convenience store chain is in the process of converting Speedway properties under its brand. There is a Speedway location in Clemmons less than a mile from the sold property.

7-Eleven acquired about 3,700 Speedway stores in the U.S., including 20 in Forsyth County and 58 in the Triad and Northwest North Carolina.

7-Eleven also has sold a Speedway property at 2201 N. Main St. in High Point for $325,000 to 2201 N. Main Street LLC of Boonton, N.J.

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Schneider Electric has received a certificate of approval for its EVlink Smart Wallbox charging stations from the Saudi Standards, Metrology and Quality Organisation (SASO). EVlink highlights the companys commitment towards Saudi Arabias vision to leverage Electric Vehicles (EV) to cut vehicle emissions.

Schneider Electrics reliable and durable EVlink Smart Wallbox charging stations increase energy efficiency while optimising electrical costs with smart features that provide added convenience and an enhanced charging experience for both the station owners and drivers.

Mohamed Shaheen, Cluster President for KSA & Yemen at Schneider Electric commented: The electrification of transportation will play a critical role in Saudi Arabias journey to a net-zero destination. SASO accreditation is a significant achievement as Schneider Electric continues to create the right electric vehicle infrastructure and ensure that our solutions are on the cutting edge of the kingdoms emerging electric transportation sector.

Saudi Arabias EV sector

Saudi Arabias EV sector is fundamental to the countrys Vision 2030 and its focus on a transition to clean, sustainable energy sources. Electric vehicles are also essential to meeting Saudi Arabias Green Initiative objectives, which aim to reduce carbon emissions by 60% region wide.

Research carried out at the King Abdullah Petroleum Studies and Research Centre that if all of the vehicles in Saudi Arabia were to be replaced with EVs, emissions would reduce by half, amounting to 35 million tonnes .

SASO regulations are the only EV specific regulations in Saudi Arabia  outlining the requirements necessary for vehicles and chargers to meet safety standards and ensuring that they are tested in accordance with the specifications set in line with the kingdoms climatic conditions. -- TradeArabia News Service
Est! Est!! Est!!! Italian restaurant opened March 16 on the ground floor of ROAR, 633 N. Liberty St.

Along with the opening of the rooftop bar, The Mayfair Club, on March 17, all of the food businesses in ROAR are up and running. The final space, the ROAR Brands Theater on the lower floor, will open March 24 with a series of three performances by the Shamrock Tenors.

Est! Est!! Est!!! is run by chef de cuisine Simone Conosciani, a native of Rome.

Est! Est!! Est!!! is the name of a famous Italian white wine, but the phrases origin comes from an old story about a German bishop on his travels. He directed a boy to travel ahead and scout the places that had good wine, writing Est! (Italian for There is!) on the walls of inns that served good wine. When the scout arrived in Montefiascone, where Est! Est!! Est!!! is made, he found the wine to be so good that he wrote Est! Est!! Est!!!

Conosciani also runs Zero Sei, a food stall in ROAR that features the piadinas, or flatbreads, of his homeland. Conosciani came to the United States in 2015 to work for his uncle Vinnie Mari at Vinnies Pizzeria on Peters Creek Parkway.

At Est!, Conosciani wants to offer fine Italian dining, with an emphasis on the seafood dishes he remembers from his childhood. Im from Rome, but the side of Rome near the coast, and I used to go to the markets to get fresh seafood. So, I want to do a lot of seafood here.

The Est! menu is divided into antipasti, insalate e zuppe, primi and secondi, as with standard menus in Italy.

Antipasti, or appetizers, include cozze e vongole (mussels and clams, $16), with white-wine sauce with cherry tomatoes and garlic.

Soups ($7 to $9) include pasta e fagioli (pasta and white beans), zuppa di mare (seafood) and minestrone (vegetable). Salads incude insalata di polpo (octopus, $16), and insalata di tonno (tuna, $15). The octopus is very tender, Conosciani said, because were doing it in the sous vide (a method of slow cooking in a vacuum-sealed bag). Were using the sous vide a lot  like for the ossobuco.

Primi, or first courses, include rigatoni alla carbonara ($18), orecchiette alla Pugliese (pasta with broccolini and sausage, $15) and risotto alla pescatora (seafood risotto, $23).

Secondi, or second courses, include ossobuco (braised veal shanks with polenta, $36), pollo alla Romana (chicken thighs with roasted potatoes and white-wine sauce, $18) and salmone alla Siciliana (salmon with capers, tomatoes and olives, $23).

Est! also has a brick oven for pizzas and more, but the oven installation probably wont be complete for at least a couple more weeks.

Desserts ($8 to $10) include cannoli, tiramisu, hazelnut gelato and panna cotta. The latter uses coconut and pear to make it gluten-free and dairy-free.

Conoscianis sous chef is George Ruiz. George and I want to give Winston-Salem elevated Italian cuisine  still comfort food but fancier, Conosciani said.

As with JL Caspers, Simon Burgess is the principal owner of Est!, with Joseph Correll as operating partner.

Burgess and Correll also own ROAR's Mayfair Club rooftop bar, which is open from noon until closing Thursday through Saturday and noon until 5 p.m. Sunday.

336-727-7394 @mhastingswsj

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Neighbors who were kept in the dark for more than eight months about exploratory drilling on a 500-acre tract of rural land in Yadkin County will get a firsthand look Wednesday at plans for a proposed rock mining operation on the site.

Representatives of Three Oaks Quarry, a newly created Winston-Salem company that would operate the mine  including a fully exposed, 61-acre extraction pit just a few hundred yards from West Yadkin Elementary  will host an all-day drop-in session to share information on the project Wednesday at the Yadkin County Agricultural and Educational Building.

The 322-acre operation would remove deposits of stone, gravel and sand used to create aggregate, a key ingredient in concrete, asphalt and similar road-building and construction materials.

Three Oaks Quarry President Jack Mitchell revealed his plans for the site  northwest of the intersection of Old U.S. 421 and U.S. 21 near Hamptonville  in a letter this month to neighboring property owners and residents.

The site is a combination of forest and farmland.

Any mining operation would need a county rezoning and special-use permit, as well as state approval.

A group of neighbors have been pushing Yadkin officials to strengthen current county mining ordinances or ban new mining altogether before Mitchell submits rezoning and special-use permit requests.

Current county mining regulations require a 500-foot setback from the nearest homes or public buildings.

Yadkin County Board of Commissioners Chairman Kevin Austin told the Journal in January he and his colleagues would weigh all aspects of any rezoning request, and that open-pit mining is always a possibility if it is considered good for the county.

The drop-in information session will be from 9 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Yadkin County Agricultural and Educational Building banquet hall, 2051 Agricultural Way, Yadkinville.

John Deem covers climate change and the environment in the Triad and Northwest North Carolina. His work is funded by a grant from the 1Earth Fund and the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation. 336-727-7204

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Another expected, but telling, ripple effect from the COVID-19 pandemic is that North Carolinas Medicaid program is headed to a budget shortfall for 2021-22.

Kody Kinsley, the states health secretary, offered that projection last week to the joint legislative oversight Health and Human Services committee.

If that occurs, it would be the first non-surplus in eight fiscal years.

Medicaid currently covers 2.7 million North Carolinians with a $20.14 billion budget for 2021-22.

That represents about a 480,000 enrollment increase since the beginning of the pandemic in March 2020.

Enrollment also is up 32% from 1.84 million at the start of the 2013-14 fiscal year.

There have been Democratic-led efforts since 2014 to expand Medicaid coverage to another 450,000 and 650,000 through the federal Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare.

Healthinsurance.org estimates about 621,000 North Carolinians would benefit from expansion, with 212,000 of those individuals being listed as having no other realistic option for health coverage.

The nonprofit group also estimates that North Carolina is losing out on $5.9 billion in federal Medicaid funds that could gained through expansion.

Reasons for shortfall

Kinsley cited several factors for the potential shortfall, including: actual enrollment over the past nine months exceeding projections; temporary rate increases in response to the pandemic continuing longer than planned; additional expenses to resolve staffing shortages in skilled nursing facilities; and changes in state hospital assessment fees.

Through January, the state Medicaid program has spent 59% of its 2021-22 budget, or $11.95 billion out of $20.14 billion.

At the same time period in 2020-21, the program had spent 51%, or $9.18 billion of $18.2 billion.

Kinsley said the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services is actively pursuing FEMA reimbursements for eligible COVID-related costs to maximize and extend support for services across North Carolina.

For the 2009-10 through 2013-14 fiscal years, the state Medicaid program had nearly a $2.4 billion financing gap that had to be filled through additional legislative funding.

At that time, the state Medicaid program had a $14 billion budget.

The budget overrun and additional funding requirement was a key issue during the 2012 governors race won by Republican Pat McCrory.

The McCrory administration credited improved budgeting forecasts and more conservative spending for beginning what became eight years of Medicaid funding surpluses that has continued through the first five years of the Cooper administration.

Although Kinsley said he couldnt project when a budget surplus would resume, he told legislators it is likely to resume in a post-pandemic period.

Kinsley said the Medicaid programs budget priorities for 2022-23 will include:

n Expanding access to treatment and services for those most at need, including those involved in the justice system and child welfare system.

n Assisting individuals gain access to the right level of high-quality services for their needs, including care in their community;

n Combating the increase in behavioral health crises, including overdoses and youth suicides, with expanded crisis supports and investing in prevention and resilience initiatives;

n Increasing access to child and family well-being services;

n Sustainable pay for early childhood care workers; and

n Building a more robust local public-health infrastructure that can be prepared for the next crisis.

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Former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, a one-time member of the U.S. House of Representatives for North Carolinas 11th district, has been a disappointment and an embarrassment. Hes assisted some of former President Trumps worst instincts, including his participation in the infamous phone call in which Trump pushed Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to find enough votes to overturn his loss in the state and the corrupt scheme to overturn the results of the 2020 election by throwing out legitimate state electors. Now we find that, despite his support for the Big Lie of widespread voter fraud, Meadows himself may have dipped his toe into that pool in a substantial way.

N.C. Attorney General Josh Stein has asked the State Bureau of Investigation and the State Board of Elections to look into whether Meadows violated voting laws by listing a home he never owned as his residence on his voter registration form.

Meadows listed a used mobile home in rural Scaly Mountain, about 90 miles west of Asheville, as his physical address in 2020 before casting an absentee ballot for the general election by mail.

Though members of the Meadows family did stay in the home in the fall of 2020 when they were in the area for a Trump rally  still not their legal residence  The New Yorker reported earlier this month that neither the current owner of the Scaly Mountain residence, the previous owner nor any neighbors ever saw Meadows there. I looked up this Mcconnell Road, which is in Scaly Mountain, and I found out that it was a dive trailer in the middle of nowhere, which I do not see him or his wife staying in, Melanie Thibault, the director of Macon Countys Board of Elections, told The New Yorker.

The matter was brought to the attention of Macon County District Attorney Ashley Welch, who rightly recused herself because of her ties to Meadows and referred it to the attorney generals office. She, at least, is wise enough to avoid the appearance of impropriety.

As we write, Meadows has not commented on the investigation. But if hes guilty of lying on his voter registration form, its all the more hypocritical, given how vociferous and unforgiving he and other members of the GOP have been about voter fraud, even when such fraud boils down to a simple misunderstanding.

A North Carolina woman and former felon, Lanisha Bratcher Jones, was charged with felony voter fraud in 2019 after voting in the 2016 election. After entering an Alford plea, she served six months unsupervised probation.

Others have not been so fortunate.

A Memphis woman and former felon, Pamela Moses, was initially sentenced to six years in prison after an election official mistakenly told her that she was eligible to register to vote in 2021. A Texas woman and former felon, Crystal Mason, was sentenced to five years after casting a provisional ballot with the help of a poll worker in 2016. Many of the election integrity bills being passed by state legislatures increase the penalty for those convicted of illegal voting substantially.

Should Meadows be judged any less harshly?

Meadows action also seems one more demonstration of the Trump administrations law and order for thee but not for me attitude, which was regularly exemplified by repeated violations of the Hatch Act meant to prevent the politicization of federal workers and Trumps insistence that his former staff refuse to obey subpoenas from the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection.

Then theres Trump himself, who portrayed voting by mail as unreliable and ripe for fraud while voting by mail himself; refused to preserve records as required by the Presidential Records and the Federal Records acts; took boxes full of classified information home with him after his ouster from the White House; illegally withheld defense aid from Ukraine in an attempt to extort election assistance from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy; and, as we mentioned at the start, attempted to coerce state election officials into overturning election results.

Meadows has more problems. Last week, a witness who helped plan the Jan. 6, 2021, rally told House investigators that Meadows was involved in efforts to encourage the presidents supporters to march on the Capitol  which led to the attack that Meadows, in his recent memoir, called the actions of a handful of fanatics across town.

Some may appreciate Meadows unwavering loyalty to Trump  you gotta dance with the one what brung ya  but ultimately, Trump seems to have been a bad influence. Wed prefer loyalty to the truth.
While concerns are rising across the globe about a new omicron subvariant, Nebraska continues to see falling COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations.

Cases fell by nearly half in Nebraska last week, from 650 to 354, according to a World-Herald analysis of federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data. The last time Nebraska saw so few cases in a week was nine months ago, in early June 2021.

Nebraska cases have now fallen eight straight weeks since the highly contagious omicron variant peaked in January at more than 29,000 reported weekly cases. They're down almost 99% since then.

Nebraska also continues to have one of the nation's lowest per-capita case rates, ranking fourth after South Carolina, Kansas and Nevada.

In a number of European countries, cases once again are on the rise as the new omicron subvariant BA.2 takes hold. It's thought to be 30% to 50% more contagious than omicron.

The subvariant also has been on the increase in some parts of the United States, making up 39% of cases in New York and New Jersey as of March 12, according to CDC forecasting. In New England, the subvariant accounted for 38.6% of cases. BA.2 also had gained ground on the West Coast. In the four-state region made up of Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas and Missouri, however, an estimated 13.8% of cases were BA.2. Nebraska as of Monday was reporting 18 cases of BA.2.

Cases in the U.S. as a whole remain at their lowest point since just after July 4, before the delta wave began. Only a half-dozen states are seeing an increase in cases right now, all at relatively modest levels.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, President Joe Biden's chief medical adviser, said Sunday on ABC's "This Week" that the U.S. likely will see an uptick in cases, as has been seen in some European nations, particularly the United Kingdom.

COVID trends in the U.S. have tended to follow those in the U.K. by three or more weeks.

"Hopefully, we won't see a surge," Fauci said. "I don't think we will."

Fauci told "PBS News Hour" on Thursday that the rollback of COVID restrictions in the U.K. and BA.2's increased transmissibility are fueling the increase in cases there.

Such restrictions also have been increasingly peeled back in the United States, including in Nebraska. Even schools that once required masks have made them optional. Many are allowing kids to eat in lunchrooms, turning on drinking fountains and planning proms and field trips.

Fauci said the key question is whether an increase in cases in a few weeks would lead to an increase in severe disease that could result in more hospitalizations and deaths.

Some health experts think the immunity provided by vaccination and the vast number of omicron cases will tamp down potential increases. Others warn that the large number of Americans who haven't gotten boosted could leave vulnerable pockets.

Nebraska health officials have been encouraging residents who haven't done so to get vaccinated and boosted. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced Monday that its advisory committee will meet April 6 to discuss possible future booster doses and the process for selecting what strains to include.

Fauci and other federal health officials have been urging Congress to pass an additional $22.5 billion in COVID relief funds for treatments, tests, vaccines and research, warning that health officials will have to scale back without it.

Republican leaders in Congress, however, have argued the administration should repurpose COVID funds that haven't yet been spent.

How an impasse on funding might affect Nebraska is not yet clear. State health officials said in a statement they are talking with their federal counterparts and are closely monitoring the proceedings in Congress.

Meanwhile, the number of Nebraskans hospitalized with COVID-19 dropped to an average of 161 a day last week, down 24% from the previous week. By Sunday, the figure had dropped to 123.

Nebraska recorded 21 confirmed or probable COVID-19-related deaths last week, bringing the total for the pandemic to 4,047. The state has reported 477,198 cases.
A continued, sustained drop in COVID-19 cases has moved the local risk dial to a place it's rarely been during the pandemic: green.

Lincoln-Lancaster County Health Director Pat Lopez on Tuesday said the local situation has improved enough to justify moving the dial to the green range, which represents a low risk of the spread of the disease.

"Our local indicators have dropped rapidly," Lopez said, noting that the risk dial was in the red range, or severe, as recently as early February.

Last week, Lancaster County recorded only 89 COVID-19 cases, the lowest weekly total since July 2. The test positivity rate also was at its lowest level since July 2021 and has now been below 5% for three weeks in a row.

Weekly cases have declined more than 98% since hitting a pandemic high of 4,961 the week ending Jan. 15.

The drop in cases has also led to a sharp drop in hospitalizations and deaths.

The rolling daily average number of COVID-19 patients in Lincoln hospitals was 29 at the end of last week. And the county has had only two deaths in March, compared with 32 in February and 39 in January. The last coronavirus-related death was reported nearly two weeks ago.

We have reached this milestone because of you  our residents  and the positive actions you have taken to protect yourself and others, said Mayor Leirion Gaylor Baird.

Gaylor Baird also made a point to thank the public health team for its work throughout the pandemic, her emotions showing as she singled out Lopez as "my favorite nurse of all who led the way from Day 1."

The dramatic improvement in local case numbers mirrors statistics statewide. Total COVID-19 cases in Nebraska last week hit their lowest level since early June, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data, and the 119 hospitalizations as of Monday night were the fewest since late July.

Moving the local risk dial to green is mostly symbolic, as all county-mandated COVID-19 restrictions have already been eliminated.

The risk dial returning to green will, however, mean some minor changes at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, which will do away with its remaining mask requirements.

People are still required to wear masks on city buses and on other forms of public transportation, and Lincoln's hospitals still require all visitors to wear masks.

Since the risk dial was implemented in May 2020, it hasn't enjoyed much time in the green. It debuted in the orange range and did not move into the green for the first time until mid-May of last year, and it stayed there for a little more than two months.

How long the risk dial will stay in green this time is anybody's guess.

"Green is a great place to be, and I really want to thank everyone who helped us get there," Lopez said. "However, the future course of the pandemic remains uncertain."

She said it's important for everyone to stay flexible and expect that if conditions change, "we will reevaluate current recommendations and make adjustments as necessary."

Lopez and Gaylor Baird both recommended that people get vaccinated if they haven't yet and/or get their booster shot.

Though case counts have continued to drop both locally and nationally, many experts predict the U.S. will see another wave caused by the BA.2 strain of the omicron variant, which has caused surges over the past few weeks in countries in Asia and Europe.

About one-third of cases in the U.S. last week were attributed to BA.2, according to the CDC, but the strain accounted for about half the cases in the Northeast.

Also, many cities have shown upticks in the amount of virus particles found in wastewater sampling, which is often a precursor to an increase in cases.

Dr. Eric Topol, head of Scripps Research Translational Institute, said he believes it's inevitable that the U.S. will see an uptick in cases soon due to BA.2.

Keep your guard up, Topol said. This is not over.

The good news locally is that wastewater monitoring done by Lincoln Transportation and Utilities so far has not shown an uptick in viral particles, Lopez said.

The first BA.2 case in Lancaster County was reported Tuesday.

"Our community's in a better place, at least for now," Lopez said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Reach the writer at 402-473-2647 or molberding@journalstar.com. On Twitter @LincolnBizBuzz.

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COLUMBUS  Felipe Vazquez, the teenager who fired the shot that killed Lincoln Police Officer Mario Herrera in August 2020, will go to prison for first-degree murder.

A jury in Platte County District Court, where this month's trial was moved, returned the verdict just before 8:30 p.m. Monday.

Twelve hours earlier, in closing arguments, the jury of five men and seven women heard Herrera's voice, captured on an audio recorder in the investigator's pocket, the moment he was wounded.

First came a smash, the sound of glass breaking from a bedroom window.

A shot followed. Boom. Then, immediately, Herrera's pained screams.

His family and Lincoln police officers in plain clothes had filled the courtroom Monday morning, at least one wiping away tears at the dramatic audio that showed how quickly everything went tragically wrong.

Many were back in the Columbus courtroom Monday night, awaiting the jury's response to the question of premeditated first-degree murder or manslaughter, as attorneys for Vazquez had suggested throughout the two-week trial.

Vazquez showed no emotion as the seven guilty verdicts were read, including assault, escape and firearm charges that could net a sentence of life plus 194 years at a hearing scheduled for May 25.

Following the verdicts, Herrera's family watched as deputies put handcuffs on Vazquez and led him out of the courtroom. Herrera's widow, Carrie Herrera, tearfully hugged Lancaster County Attorney Pat Condon and other supporters, including current and former LPD officers.

Family members declined comment outside the courtroom and attorneys offered no statements.

The verdicts followed 19 months after officers first went to Vazquez's father's house at 3255 Vine St., looking to serve a warrant.

In the seconds leading up to the audio clip played Monday, Condon said Mario Herrera and two other officers were behind a tree in the yard talking. A captain said he didn't think Vazquez  the teen who locked himself in a bedroom when they came to arrest him  had a gun inside.

"What does he do? He does what he's been trained to do," Condon said of Herrera, who stepped out from behind the tree when he heard the crashing noise of Vazquez's escape attempt. "He's also drawing Mr. Vazquez's fire."

He said in the 20 to 25 minutes holed up in the house, Vazquez had time to think this whole thing out, showing premeditation necessary for first-degree murder.

"He's not trying to scare the officers. He's trying to kill the officers that are trying to stop him from leaving," Condon said.

Vazquez's first shot was the one that tore through Herrera's liver. Then there was a pause and a second boom from the stolen .45-caliber handgun.

In closing arguments, defense attorney Nancy Peterson said Vazquez didn't intend to shoot Herrera or anyone.

"All he wanted to do was to get away," she said.

She said if he had planned to have a shootout with police, why would he leave an extra magazine for the gun behind? And why didn't he shoot at an officer blocking off Vine Street a block away?

In an interview with a Lancaster County Sheriff's deputy later that day, after Vazquez was chased out of a house nearby and found hiding on a porch, he denied he'd had a gun or fired it.

"I just got out the window. I heard gunshots and I kept running. I don't know, bro," the then-17-year-old said.

But last week on the stand, Vazquez said he remembered firing the gun twice  police found three .45 casings. He said the plan was to aim at the tree to cause officers to take cover, allowing him and his friend, Orion Ross, to get away.

On Monday, Peterson asked the jury to find Vazquez guilty of manslaughter for Herrera's killing.

Peterson also asked jurors to find Vazquez not guilty of attempted assault on Officer Cole Jennings, who ended up with bruising on his legs.

Prosecutors believe Vazquez shot at Jennings' feet, causing debris to hit him, before Jennings returned fire, shooting four times but missing Vazquez as he ran away.

Peterson argued against that claim and against trusting testimony from two convicted felons who stood to benefit by, one, saying Vazquez had previously said he would shoot police if they came to arrest him and, by another, saying he'd said "it was me or the officer."

"Your verdict doesn't rest on maybes and possiblys and could've-beens," she said.

Condon countered that Vazquez wasn't shooting in the air or at a van or a tree.

"Felipe Vazquez was shooting at the officer who was going to stop him," he said. "That was his intention. To not get caught and to shoot ... whichever police officer he needed to."

The jury in Platte County, where the case was moved because of pretrial publicity, entered deliberations at 11:49 a.m.

Reach the writer at 402-473-7237 or lpilger@journalstar.com. On Twitter @LJSpilger

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A 41-year-old Nebraska woman was arrested last week after she allegedly smuggled synthetic marijuana into the State Penitentiary in September.

Sandra Daws, of Murray, visited the Lincoln prison at about 1:50 p.m. Sept. 3, when staff saw an inmate retrieve an item from her pants, according to the affidavit for her arrest.

Staffers found a discolored, folded piece of paper that pre-tested positive for the drug commonly known as K2, State Patrol Investigator Nate Eymann wrote in the affidavit. Authorities sent the paper to the state lab for testing.

Test results came back in mid-February confirming the presence of K2, Eymann wrote.

Daws was charged in Lancaster County with delivering a schedule 1 controlled substance and unlawful acts.

She was arrested March 14 and bonded out of jail the next day.

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The City Council passed a controversial ordinance Monday that will provide incentives on city projects to contractors who have apprenticeship programs, something supporters said will help increase Lincoln's skilled workforce.

But several months of negotiations and some changes made before the final vote still failed to convince the Lincoln Independent Business Association, the Lincoln Chamber of Commerce and many of the citys contractors to support it.

We still oppose this amendment, said Scott Lockard, president of construction for Hampton Enterprises. We recognize the need for more labor in our industry, and most of us have made great efforts to encourage people into our industry. ... It doesnt solve the problem.

Instead, Lockard and others said, the ordinance will create administrative costs for the city, and will cost both contractors and taxpayers.

The ordinance will give a 5% credit on city bids to contractors that use apprentices for at least 10% of their labor hours. The company must use an apprenticeship program registered with either the federal or state departments of labor, or be a training program authorized by a union.

It would not apply to contracts that use federal or state money in addition to city money. In 2020-21, there were 55 city contracts of more than $500,000, Assistant City Attorney Chris Connolly told the council, though he was unsure how many of those included federal or state money.

Council members met with contractors and others in an attempt to find middle ground on the ordinance, including a round-table discussion last week.

Amendments approved Monday stemmed from those discussions, including increasing the minimum bid for incentives from $250,000 to $500,000; including training programs at Southeast Community College and similar institutions as qualified apprenticeship programs; and delaying implementation until Jan. 1, 2023.

LIBA and local chamber officials said even with those changes the ordinance will put Lincoln businesses at a disadvantage, many of whom use training programs other than those approved of in the ordinance.

Councilwoman Jane Raybould tried unsuccessfully to expand the ordinance to include qualified training programs run by the Associated Builders and Contractors and similar organizations.

Opponents claim the ordinance unfairly favors unionized shops and would hurt Lincoln businesses, many of which arent unionized.

But supporters said it will help workers.

Several people testified that apprenticeship programs allowed them to get the training they needed but never received even after years of working in the business.

Matt Scott said people are trying to make the issue about unions but its not. Instead, he said, such programs will help keep workers in Lincoln, rather than having them leave for Omaha or other cities that offer better pay.

Former Councilman Roy Christensen made an appearance to testify in favor of unions and their apprenticeship programs, which he said add value to the community in the way of quality work and higher wages.

The amendment to delay implementation of the ordinance was modified to include only the portion of the ordinance dealing with the incentives. Other parts of the ordinance intended to protect workers, including requiring contractors to provide workers compensation and pay through direct deposit, will go into effect as soon as Mayor Leirion Gaylor Baird signs it.

Councilman Richard Meginnis was the only council member who voted against the ordinance, saying one of his major concerns is that the ordinance carves out exceptions in the citys bidding process.

Weve never done that. This is opening Pandoras box, he said. Its one step toward helping with the workforce shortage, but I dont think this is how we should be using taxpayers money, he said.

Meginnis urged his fellow council members to be open to revisiting the ordinance if it has unintended consequences, which several council members said they would be willing to do.

The other council members said this is one way to address a critical need in Lincoln.

I think workforce development is critically important, said Councilwoman Sandra Washington. We know this will help a little bit. Its not the end-all, be-all. I am exceedingly open to looking at other programs that will help increase workforce numbers here in Lincoln.

Reach the writer at 402-473-7226 or mreist@journalstar.com. On Twitter @LJSreist

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Developers laid out plans Monday to build a large "luxury, resort-style apartment community" in Waterford Estates near 98th and O streets, a plan some residents in the east Lincoln neighborhood oppose.

None of those residents testified at a public hearing Monday, though several sent letters to the Planning Commission and the City Council.

Aristos Apartments wants to build a 505-unit complex at approximately 98th Street and Boathouse Road, with the possibility of adding 48,000 square feet of commercial space on the 24-acre site if the market dictates, said Ann Post, an attorney representing the developers.

The complex, which is similar to one the same group built near 40th Street and Yankee Hill Road, would include green space, a swimming pool, parking and a dog run.

Post said residents of the apartment complex would not have access to Waterford Lake for recreational purposes  one of the concerns of residents.

Developers are seeking a use permit and a zoning change  both of which the Planning Commission unanimously approved, and Post said a portion of the project site already has the needed zoning.

Developers asked for two changes to the plan approved by the Planning Commission: one involves requiring the developers to pay for a street Post said wouldnt be used by apartment residents but would be necessary when Southeast Community College developed the nearby area. The other was to either eliminate the need for the developer to add a left-hand turn lane at 98th Street and Waterford Estates Drive or delay it 6-8 years when it would be necessary, and use impact fees to pay for it.

Construction of the Aristos project would likely not begin until 2024, and it would be built in three to four phases, Post said, with full buildout likely taking 8-10 years.

Most of the neighborhood residents complaints focused on the potential for additional traffic, although people also mentioned concerns about potential declines in property values and the height of the proposed apartment buildings. Some simply said they don't think apartments are appropriate in the neighborhood.

In January, Waterford Estates residents joined those living in the adjacent Dominion at Stevens Creek to oppose a 462-unit apartment complex near 105th and O streets. The City Council denied their appeal of Planning Commission approval and OK'd a special permit for the apartments.

Residents, who sought more time to clarify what land was covered by covenants, threatened to go to court.

The City Council will vote on the zoning change and permit for Aristos  including the proposed amendments  on March 28.

Reach the writer at 402-473-7226 or mreist@journalstar.com. On Twitter @LJSreist

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Equate, a producer of petrochemicals and the worlds top supplier of ethylene glycol, is hosting a safety awareness campaign until month-end that will focus on the potential fire hazards in homes.

As part of its commitment to the health, safety and wellbeing of the communities in which it operates, Equate Groups decade-long support of the Kuwait Fire Force (KFF) continues with its latest home safety awareness campaign this month.

The initiative, which runs until month end, includes KFF education booths at The Avenues Mall (until March 23) and in Kuwait University (March 28 to 31) in bid to increase awareness and understanding of potential fire hazards in the home, and how to ensure safety measures are followed.

Equates sponsorship includes participation by its Emergency Response Team (ERT) responsible for health and safety at the global petrochemical company, which will be present on the stands to share information and actively support KFF teams.

Also Equate has donated vital safety equipment, such as fire extinguishers, fire blankets and smoke detectors, for distribution on the stands.

"Kuwaits Fire Force has been providing a critical service in order to keep both community and industry safe and also at our homes and work environments. Equate too is proud to have been helping to promote its safety initiatives for more than 10 years," remarked Equate Vice President Nawaf Al Khaldi.

"We hope that this new campaign will help our community to become more aware of potential hazards in the home, learn what measures should be taken to prevent accidents from happening, and what to do should a situation occur, he added.-TradeArabia News Service
The Republican race for governor in Nebraska is heating up, with the debut of third-party attack ads and recent polls indicating three top contenders.

Taken together, they appear to signal a competitive race involving Conklin Co. CEO Charles Herbster, University of Nebraska regent and livestock producer Jim Pillen and state Sen. Brett Lindstrom, an Omaha financial adviser. Its an especially high-stakes contest in Nebraska, where the Republican nominee is likely to become the next governor.

Third-party ads targeting Herbster and Lindstrom surfaced online Friday.

The ad against Herbster, from a group called Conservative Nebraska, echoes frequent criticisms of his campaign: That he has weak ties to the state and a track record of paying Nebraska property taxes late.

While he heads Carico Farms and Herbster Angus Farms in his hometown of Falls City, Conklins administrative offices are in Kansas City, Missouri. Other companies he leads are also based out of state.

Nebraskas just flyover country to Missouri millionaire Charles Herbster, the ad says.

Gov. Pete Ricketts confirmed at a news conference Monday that he contributed funds to Conservative Nebraska for the ad. The governor told the Nebraska Examiner that he and his father, TD Ameritrade founder Joe Ricketts, gave a total of $600,000 to the group.

Conservative Nebraska filed a statement of organization March 17, Nebraska Accountability and Disclosure Commission records show. Mark Fahleson, a former chair of the Nebraska GOP, is listed as its treasurer.

Gov. Ricketts admitted to dipping into his familys billions to fund a dark-money, negative attack ad against me and the hardworking men and women I employ, Herbster said in a statement. Hes not just attacking me, hes attacking President Donald J. Trump, who has endorsed me to be the next governor.

Herbster took a shot at Pillen, whom Ricketts endorsed, saying the governor picked a successor who "cannot defend his record or speak for himself.

A spokesperson for Pillens campaign  which has not been the target of a third-party ad  said the campaign was not involved in either of the ads aimed at his opponents.

The Pillens have not contributed to, and are not involved with, any independent expenditure in the gubernatorial race, campaign manager Kenny Zoeller said. A Lindstrom spokesman said that campaign also wasnt involved in the Herbster ad.

The ad targeting Lindstrom labels the senator a liberal tax-and-spender. Its paid for by another group, Restore the Good Life Inc.

The nonprofits articles of incorporation were filed with the Secretary of States Office on Jan. 12 by Tanner Lockhorn, a banker in Lincoln. He declined to comment when reached by phone Monday.

The ad targets Lindstrom for voting to raise the states gas tax and override Ricketts veto in 2015. The bill (LB610) was written to incrementally increase the gas tax by 6 cents a gallon over four years to generate funding to address a growing backlog of bridge and road work.

A conservative lawmaker, Sen. Jim Smith of Papillion, led that effort, which was supported by the Nebraska Farm Bureau, Nebraska Farmers Union, Nebraska Trucking Association and Nebraska Association of County Officials. It was opposed by Americans for Prosperity-Nebraska and Nebraska Petroleum Marketers.

The ad also alleges that Lindstrom voted to expose you to new sales taxes on everything you buy, referring to his vote in the Revenue Committee to advance a resolution to put a constitutional amendment in front of voters that would end all taxes (including taxes on income and property) except consumption and excise taxes. Lindstrom has said the idea, called the EPIC consumption tax plan, in its current form would create too many problems.

And it targets a bill Lindstrom sponsored this session, LB891, that was part of a joint effort with Sen. Lynne Walz of Fremont to deliver property tax relief by revamping the state school aid formula. Walz abandoned the effort, and Lindstroms bill is stalled in the Revenue Committee.

Lindstrom campaign spokesperson Pat Trueman called the allegations baseless, anonymous smears, pointing to Lindstroms record of supporting tax cuts as a state senator. Trueman specifically mentioned a bill Lindstrom sponsored last year to eliminate state taxes on Social Security income.

With nothing to offer but more mudslinging, its understandable but disappointing that some of Bretts opponents have decided to hide their attacks behind a third party, Trueman said. They must be seeing the same thing we are in polling: Nebraskans are ready for a new generation of leadership."

Randall Adkins, a political scientist at the University of Nebraska at Omaha, said individuals may donate to a candidate because they sincerely support them or for strategic reasons  but outside groups only spend strategically.

When people are spending outside money against you, that typically means that theyre fearful of you, he said. That means youre doing well.

Polling from February and March is another indicator the race is close.

A poll of more than 1,000 Nebraska voters by Data Targeting for Neilan Strategy Group in February found that Herbster received support from 27%, Pillen from 26% and Lindstrom from 21%.

The poll was conducted via phone and online surveys, and the results have a margin of error of plus or minus 2.9%. Perre Neilan, owner of Lincoln-based Neilan Strategies, did not disclose who paid him to do the polling but said they arent affiliated with any of the candidates or their campaigns.

Over the weekend, the Herbster and Lindstrom campaigns released polling that indicated the gap between Pillen and Lindstrom has narrowed.

The Lindstrom campaign released results from a poll of 500 Republican voters conducted from March 7-9 by 3D Strategic Research. It indicated that Herbster was leading with 30%, followed by Pillen with 23% and Lindstrom with 20%. Eighteen percent of respondents were undecided.

His campaign emphasized another finding in the poll: That Lindstrom was ahead by six points among voters who had seen, read or heard about the three candidates and second among voters who had voted in at least three of the last four GOP primaries.

The margin of error for the overall sample in that poll is plus or minus 4.38%.

A phone survey from the Herbster campaign of 600 Republican voters, conducted by Herbster supporter Kellyanne Conways KAConsulting between March 8 and 10, told a similar story.

Herbster received support from 27%, according to the polling memo, and Pillen and Herbster were neck-and-neck at 18% and 17%. It showed a bigger chunk of undecided voters than the Lindstrom campaigns poll: 35%.

The margin of error for the Herbster campaigns overall survey was plus or minus 4%.

Along with the margins of error, Adkins said its important to remember these are coming from campaigns. But, even then, he said, the takeaway is that the race is close.

Its still an open contest, he said.

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LOS ANGELES  It took place three years before the fateful Jeff Fortenberry fundraiser that has the nine-term Nebraska congressman facing a federal trial.

But it was singed on Alexandra Kendricks brain.

The political fundraising consultant  who counts Fortenberry among her many elected clients  testified Monday that she will never forget taking a phone call in 2013.

From the other end of the phone, the host of a fundraising party for then-Rep. Jack Kingston relayed some horrifying news to Kendrick: All the money they raised at a fundraiser was dirty, siphoned to the campaign through a foreigner. Different nationalities had been at the fundraiser. The FBI was involved.

And she remembers precisely where she was when she got that phone call: at an Atlanta T.J. Maxx, the discount department store. In the purse section.

That call felt like an hour  it was probably five minutes, Kendrick said. Its just a worst-case scenario. Its like a betrayal.

It stuck with her. So much so that in early 2016, she hesitated over several factors connected with a fundraiser that was being thrown for Fortenberry in suburban Los Angeles.

There were some red flags, Kendrick said. I had many concerns. For one, we werent given an RSVP list before the event. ... Thats not normal. I was apprehensive.

She said she shared that story as a sort of storm warning to Fortenberry. But she doesnt remember his reaction. She just remembers her apprehension.

Whether Fortenberry shared, or should have shared, that apprehension is the focus of a trial in a downtown Los Angeles courtroom. A jury will decide whether Fortenberry is guilty of three felonies: that he tried to conceal illegal foreign donations and that he lied during two interviews with FBI agents investigating such contributions to his campaign. The trial is expected to wrap up Wednesday or Thursday.

Monday afternoon, Dr. Eli Ayoub took the stand and admitted to funneling Nigerian billionaire Gilbert Chagourys cash to Fortenberrys campaign. He gave a rich detail: the cash from Chagoury came in a brown paper bag.

A go-between handed the money to Ayoub, who set the bag of cash in the back seat of his car. After arriving for lunch following a funeral, Ayoub handed his keys to a valet and went inside the restaurant.

Then he remembered: the brown bag of $30,000 cash was still sitting on the seat.

So you left $30,000 cash in the back seat of your car? Prosecutor Mack Jenkins asked.

Yes, I remembered I forgot it in the car during lunch, and I was very nervous about it, Ayoub testified.

Kendrick, a key witness for the government, was nervous about something else. Her client, Fortenberry, finally felt like he had gotten recognition for a cause he had been championing for years: the protection of Christians and other religious minorities who are subjected to religious persecution in the Middle East.

Kendrick said Fortenberry, a Republican representing Nebraskas 1st District, felt his mission in Congress was acting on behalf of those folks. Among those religious minorities are the Yazidis, who were persecuted, abused and sometimes killed by IS members. About 3,000 Yazidis have resettled in Lincoln  and Fortenberry says Lincoln has the largest population of Yazidis outside of Iraq.

Fortenberry often said that it is a constituency that has no natural elected official.

After introducing congressional resolutions of support for such religious minorities, Fortenberry was about to get financial recognition.

He was excited because he finally had a group of people who were willing to financially support him to thank him for the work that he had done, Kendrick said.

Whether Fortenberry should have sensed that he was getting dirty money was a subject for several of the trials witnesses.

Kendrick said the lead-up to the Feb. 20, 2016, L.A. fundraiser blared all sorts of sirens to her. Biggest thing: She couldnt get the fundraisers host, Ayoub, to tell her who was attending. She knew the attendees included a number of nationalities. The event for Kingston, a former Georgia congressman, involved several Palestinians, Kendrick said.

Fortenberrys attorney, John Littrell, noted that many of the Fortenberry events attendees were U.S citizens of Lebanese descent. Littrell asked Kendrick if her real concern amounted to racial profiling. Was she simply concerned because the fundraiser involved Lebanese people?

It was more than that, Kendrick said. Any time you cant get a list of names and know where the money is coming from  its concerning for a multitude of reasons.

Frustrated, she eventually sent a brief to Fortenberry outlining the upcoming fundraiser with this asterisk: *We have been unable to get an rsvp list from the hosts.

Kendrick referred in court Monday to that asterisk as one-part call for help, one-part cover my bottom.

She said her concerns were threefold: whether anyone would attend the fundraiser; whether any money would be raised after all the work to get to LA; and, most importantly, whether the fundraiser would comply with Federal Election Commission laws, especially against foreign money.

At the time, the limit on individual donations was $2,700 per individual or $5,400 from couples.

In turn, Kendrick set up a table at the back entrance of the home. Required campaign forms were there, she said, because she didnt want a repeat of the Kingston episode.

She collected names and forms and money. Lots of it: $36,000.

It was in the top tier of fundraisers, Kendrick said.

Kendrick and Fortenberry were thrilled  until Fortenberry noticed something. At least a half-dozen of the donations came from either Ayoub or his relatives. Ayoub and his wife wrote a check for $10,000.

In the wake of that discovery, Fortenberry asked Toufic Baaklini, who described himself Monday as the in-between who passed along Chagourys money, if there was anything wrong with the fundraiser.

Baaklini said he assured them there was not.

Later Monday, Ayoub, 77, took the stand. He described his long-ago connection to Nebraska. The ear-nose-and-throat specialist received his training at Creighton University, spending nine formative years of his career in Omaha.

Some 30 years later, the Los Angeles physician got involved with In Defense of Christians  the group supporting religious minorities in the Middle East.

Eventually, Ayoub doled out more of Chagourys money to other politicians campaigns: $50,000 to former presidential candidate Mitt Romney, $30,000 to California Rep. Darrell Issa, and $20,000 to former Nebraska Rep. Lee Terry.

Those elected officials disgorged the money  the official term for purging dirty donations from a campaign, usually by turning them over to charity. Fortenberry took more than two years to do the same.

Ayoub said he initially didnt disclose anything about Fortenberry or the 2016 fundraiser to FBI agents. In fact, it wasnt until he received a March 2018 text message from Fortenberry that he informed the FBI that he had funneled Chagourys money to a fourth politician: Fortenberry.

Jenkins asked Ayoub, now cooperating with prosecutors, if he knew what he was doing was wrong.

At that time, I believed it was illegal, but I was too blinded by the events in the Middle East, by the persecution of the Christians in the Middle East, Ayoub told jurors. I failed myself, I failed my friends and I failed my values. What I did was against my values.

Littrell did what the defense team has done with all prosecution witnesses. He tried to: 1) establish that Fortenberry was never expressly told about Chagourys money; and 2) get each witness to vouch for Fortenberrys character.

Judge Stanley Blumenfeld Jr. blanched at those efforts. Typically, witnesses are not permitted to testify to the general character of a defendant. In other words, judges wont allow hes a good guy testimony, just as they wont allow hes a bad guy testimony.

Littrell: Fortenberry is an honest person?

Kendrick: Yes.

Littrell: He is a law-abiding person?

Kendrick: Yes.

Littrell: He is a devout Catholic. You are a devout Catholic?

Kendrick: Trying to be.

Littrell: He helped you on your faith journey?

Finally, prosecutors objected. The judge sustained the objection, ordering jurors to disregard commentary on Fortenberrys reputation.

That is essentially (character) testimony by the defense, Blumenfeld said sternly. You should move on.

Testimony Tuesday is expected to turn to prosecutors allegations that Fortenberry lied in two interviews with the FBI over the investigation into the fundraiser.

Fortenberry denies he lied. It is not yet clear whether he will take the stand.

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Sen. Steve Lathrop of Omaha on Tuesday urged the Legislature not to "kick the can down the road once again" while it avoids the growing need to address Nebraska's "prison overcrowding crisis," completing his filibuster of a state budget bill.

Lathrop's filibuster was designed to make his case before the budget proposal (LB1013) was moved on to second-stage consideration on a 39-4 vote.

That bill includes $25 million in funding for development of an agricultural innovation facility at Nebraska Innovation Campus.

Lathrop said the Legislature has dodged the challenge of addressing a rapidly growing inmate population that has led to overcrowding of the state's prisons well beyond designed capacity "for two administrations," a reference to the governorships of Dave Heineman and Pete Ricketts.

At one institution, Lathrop said, "people are literally sleeping on the floor."

Earlier this week, Ricketts described the proposed parole and sentencing reforms contained in the package emerging from a study by the Crime and Justice Institute and proposed by a majority of the members of a study committee as a "soft-on-crime package."

Lathrop, who is chairman of the Legislature's Judiciary Committee, has urged the Legislature to support investments in programming with "modest changes in sentencing (and) earlier parole eligibility."

Pending in the Legislature is a bill (LB920) to implement those reforms, but it faces opposition from two lawmakers who served on the study committee, Sens. Suzanne Geist of Lincoln and Julie Slama of Sterling.

Geist has filed five proposed amendments to the bill.

Sen. John Cavanaugh of Omaha said proposed reforms would "decrease the number of people going in" the state's prisons.

Proposed reforms can be accomplished "without sacrificing public safety," Lathrop argued.

"We have no plan," Sen. John McCollister of Omaha said.

McCollister said he was hopeful when leaders of all three branches of state government participated in the Crime and Justice Institute study, but now the process is being blocked "by a governor casting aspersions on the process."

Building new prison beds does not solve the problem, Lathrop said.

"We need to be responsible," he said.

Ricketts has proposed building a new state prison to replace the aging State Penitentiary in Lincoln and the Appropriations Committee has set aside money to be able to fund it without yet appropriating the money.

Reach the writer at 402-473-7248 or dwalton@journalstar.com. On Twitter @LJSdon

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RACINE  The mother of Malcolm James, the 27-year-old who died in the Racine County Jail on June 1 while suffering a multiday mental health crisis, on Friday filed a $20 million civil lawsuit against the Racine County Sheriffs Office, accusing its officers of excessive force and negligence causing death.

Sheriff Christopher Schmaling and the Sheriffs Office itself are accused of negligent training and thus subjected Malcolm James to these deprivations of his rights either maliciously or by acting with reckless disregard for whether his rights would be violated.

James mother, Sherry James; the Rainbow PUSH Coalition, founded by Rev. Jesse Jackson; and Sherry James attorney, Kevin OConnor, say they are also pressuring Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul to launch a state investigation with a special prosecutor to look into the Racine County Jail.

Money is not the object of this case, OConnor said during a press conference Friday in Chicago. We need to change. We need to make them make changes within their system  way too often in this country, people just try to make these cases go away. There has to be new legislation. There has to be consequences. This qualified immunity for officers has to stop, because there is no consequences to whats happening. We have to do something.

A jury trial is being demanded.

Malcolms life mattered, Sherry James said. This should never happen again.

Racine County Sheriffs Public Information Officer Lt. Michael Luell said in an email Monday: In light of the pending Federal litigation, the Sheriffs Office and Racine County will be referring all inquires or related questions into the Malcolm James matter to our legal counsel. The legal counsel, attorney Samuel Hall of Crivello Carlson S.C., did not immediately respond to an email Monday afternoon. Also not promptly responding for comment were the Wisconsin Department of Justice, Kauls office and a spokeswoman for Gov. Tony Evers.

June 1, 2021

Malcolm James stopped breathing while his 335-pound body was being pressed forward for several minutes and multiple officers placed their weight on him as they struggled to remove Taser prongs from his back. According to the lawsuit, the officers did not realize James had stopped breathing for about 3 minutes prior to rendering aid.

By moving somebodys head forward, youre compressing their esophagus, OConnor said.

Racine County authorities referred to the position James was put in as the flex forward position. The lawsuit filed Friday refers to it as an inverted chokehold.

Officers and a contracted jail nurse were aware that James was not breathing for approximately 4 minutes before paramedics were called, video shows. CPR was not attempted until paramedics arrived.

Within hours of James death, the nurse was effectively fired and correctional officers were placed on paid leave following James death; it is unclear how many if any of them have returned to work in the jail since June 1, 2021.

Racine County District Tricia Hanson, in a decision issued 7 months after James died, declined to press charges against the officers involved. Prior to making her decision, Hanson consulted with two experts who disputed the Milwaukee County Medical Examiners Office conclusion that James died of asphyxiation. One of them, Dr. Darrell Ross, testified that The actions of the officers did not cause nor contribute to the death of Mr. James and that James actions caused force to be used against him.

The other expert, Dr. Tom Neuman, was included in an extensive 2021 New York Times investigation that listed him as being in a network of legal and medical experts repeatedly hired to defend the police. That report quoted Neuman as saying, during a court hearing when questioned on his one-sided record, that a relative of someone who died in police custody hiring him to testify would be like trying to retain (Christopher) Columbus to testify that the Earth is flat.

Allegations of false narrative

Upon the case being closed in Racine, it was clear that James self-harming behavior  having repeatedly hit his head against the wall of his cell  played no role in his death. Schmaling had implied, in a video released while the investigation was still ongoing, that James behavior had played a role.

Instead of trying to provide comfort to the family  they put out a video of Malcolm in his mental health crisis, hitting his head against the wall, saying he killed himself, said Bishop Tavis Grant, national field director for the Rainbow PUSH Coalition.

They put out a false narrative about Malcolm, Sherry James said through tears Friday. She called the limited video that was released humiliating.

In the video the RCSO released June 23, Schmaling talks repeatedly about Malcolm James suicidal ideations and him having hit his head against the wall, but does not mention the actions of officers pressing down on him minutes later that the medical examiner ruled likely caused his death. Schmaling said that the short video was released because of the advancement of serious misinformation about the case, including that the direct use of a Taser may have contributed to James death as OConnor.

No evidence presented supports the claim that electrical shock caused by the Taser directly contributed to the 27-year-olds death, a fact that OConnor now acknowledges after hed made claims about it in the month following James death.

Regarding the sheriffs video, which connected James behavior with his cause of death, Dr. S. Todd Yeary of Rainbow PUSH called it an inaccurate filing and alleged that it was obstruction and lying on an official government document.

Differences

All personnel  were trained in CPR, and yet the supervisor sergeants did not direct the (officers named in the lawsuit) to perform CPR or any other life-saving techniques, the lawsuit states. The Racine County Sheriffs Department, and Sheriff Christopher Schmaling knew that the officers at the jail had not been given adequate training in the use of a restraint chair, use and removal of Tasers, submission holds on inmates, or proper CERT (Community Emergency Response Team) training and knew or should have known of a pattern and practice through its direct and/or indirect actions acquiesced and/or promoted such conduct of using excessive force by its officers when they knew or reasonably should have known was continuous and escalating.

The Racine County Jail has long been facing a staffing shortage, which local authorities say makes the jail less safe for guards, inmates and others. In August, the county approved an emergency pay raise which raised the minimum hourly jail guard wage from $21.46 to $28.96.

Most correctional officers are not sworn law enforcement officers, and thus usually have lower levels of training. Those supporting Sherry James called for that policy to be changed and have only full-fledged, sworn officers staffing jails.

These are people who are not sworn police officers who run that jail, Tavis Grant said, adding that economic savings should be foregone in favor of safety.

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RACINE  The Racine County Sheriffs Office has denied the allegations in the the lawsuit filed by the family of Malcolm James, the man who was suffering a mental health crisis when he died in the Racine County Jail on June 1.

James stopped breathing while multiple correctional officers bent his body forward and pressed their weight down on him as they struggled to remove Taser prongs from his back.

A federal civil suit filed Friday by James mother seeks $20 million. However, money is not the object of this case, said Kevin OConnor, an attorney representing James family, during a press conference Friday in Chicago. We need to change. We need to make them make changes within their system.

In response, Samuel C. Hall, Jr., an attorney with the firm Crivello Carlson S.C.., which is defending the Racine County Sheriffs Office in the case, said in an email: While we understand that the James family is grieving, we deny the allegations in the lawsuit that was recently filed.

The plaintiffs are demanding a jury trial. There has been no official response filed in the federal case as of Tuesday.

Internal probes ongoing

Hall explained that there are multiple ongoing reviews of James death.

One of them is an internal administrative review conducted by the RCSO itself. That ongoing internal review seeks to examine the performance of all personnel as it relates to the Sheriffs Office policies and procedures. The staff originally placed on leave immediately after the incident remain on administrative leave, Hall wrote.

Additionally, Hall continued, we believe that the Wisconsin Office of Detention Facilities at the Wisconsin Department of Corrections is continuing its review of the circumstances surrounding Malcolm James death.

James family and their supporters say they are pressuring state Attorney General Josh Kaul to launch an investigation, with a special prosecutor, to look into the Racine County Jail.

Kauls office did not reply Monday to a request for comment on the case.

Mental health

Halls email concluded: As Sheriff (Christopher) Schmaling has noted many times since this tragedy occurred, upon completion of the reviews of this incident, he welcomes the opportunity to continue these discussions with mental health professionals and the community at large to determine how we can all better assist people experiencing mental health issues.

Among the criticisms of the events surrounding James death was that jail was not a good environment for him to be in. He had been arrested May 28 after setting his own apartment on fire and calling 911, saying he was suicidal. He was briefly taken to a hospital twice, but spent the majority of his final 96 hours in law enforcement custody.

No specialized mental health help was made available to him, as is the case for most people jailed in America. Multiple studies have shown that more than half of all inmates have some mental problem, according to the U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics.

Having a mental health crisis is not a crime, Bishop Tavis Grant, national field director of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition, said after the Racine County District Attorneys Office declined to press charges against anyone involved in the incidents preceding James death. Its not a crime to be suicidal ... we must stop criminalizing people with mental health issues.

James had been tased after officers pepper-sprayed him and entered his cell because he had been exhibiting self-harming behavior, included hitting his head against the wall of his isolation cell. James having hit his head against the wall is not believed to have played any direct role in his death.

Three days prior to James death, Ronquale Ditello-Scott died in the Racine County Jail. His death has been blamed on acute fentanyl toxicity.

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RACINE  It appears the City of Racine and Racine County were undercounted in the 2020 U.S. census because census takers forgot to count the Racine County Jail.

The apparent error was caught by Racine County Board Supervisor Tom Kramer of Waterford. He was on the countys redistricting committee and was curious about how many people were living in area incarceration facilities. When he looked at the numbers for the block where the Racine County Jail is located Downtown, it said that zero people lived there.

We got a problem here, he remembers thinking.

In the U.S., jail inmates and prisoners are controversially counted as residents of where they are locked up, not where their primary address is or had been.

An appeal has been filed with the Census Bureau to correct the error, Racine County officials said. City Council President John Tate II said the jail not being counted was an oversight by the Census Bureau.

If and when corrected, it could mean the city and county would receive slightly increased revenue when the state and federal governments  among others  distribute money based on population. However, it is too late to change voting districts already put in place locally, local public officials interviewed for this story said.

Each of the citys 15 current aldermanic districts includes approximately 5,139 residents.

If even 100 residents are added to the City of Racines population, the citys population will have gone from slightly decreasing between the 2010 and 2020 censuses to increasing. According to the initial count that didnt include the jail, the citys population dropped by 44 residents from 77,860 in 2010 to 77,816 in 2020, a 0.06% decrease.

The Racine County Jail has room for 876 inmates but has a current goal of reducing its population by around 250, to allow for more social distancing amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to a February 2021 release from the RCSO, the average daily population of the Racine County Jail is 600, with the average length of stay 26 days. There are 150 staff, contractors and volunteers in the building daily, in addition to more than 150 Racine County deputies and support staff.

The Racine County Sheriffs Office did not reply to a request last week for the jails current population.

This isnt uncommon, Racine County Communications Director Andrew Goetz said of mistakes in the Census that are caught and appealed. Its not my understanding that its going to have any significant impact to the county.

Tatyana Warrick of the Wisconsin Department of Administration said in an email, The Demographic Services Center (which is tasked with estimating and projecting Wisconsin communities populations) suspects there were between three to five instances where 2020 Census data may have misallocated populations, and is submitting a Count Question Resolution case to address the suspected misallocation for Racine County Jail.

Since DSC does not have access to all the internal data that the Census Bureau has, we cannot say with 100% certainty that there were people living in the Racine County Jail on April 1, 2020; the DSC can only argue what seems more likely.

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UNION GROVE  Union Grove Village Administrator Mike Hawes is resigning after three years on the job to take a similar position in the Milwaukee suburb of Greendale.

Hawes has been named the new village manager in Greendale, where he will get the chance to lead a community with a larger population and a larger budget than Union Grove.

Greendale has about 15,000 people and an annual village budget of $24 million  both approximately three times larger than Union Grove.

Hawes salary will be increasing, too, from $93,000 to $127,000, as he succeeds Village Manager Todd Michaels, who is retiring after 15 years as Greendales top non-elected local official.

Hawes said he was not actively searching for a new job, but he heard Michaels was retiring, and he had always been interested in Greendale.

It just felt like the right time and the right fit, he said.

The Greendale Village Board voted on Friday to approve a contract with Hawes. His last day on the job in Union Grove will be April 19.

The Union Grove Village Board has scheduled a special meeting at 6 p.m. Thursday to consider the search for a new village administrator.

Union Grove Village President Steve Wicklund said he credits Hawes with bringing new development to the community, including the Canopy Hills project, which could attract more than 300 new families.

Weve proud of him and the work that hes done here, Wicklund said. Hes just been a Johnny-on-the-spot.

Hawes, 37, became Union Groves village administrator in February 2019, after serving five years as village administrator and clerk-treasurer for the Village of Wind Point. He also had previously served as Lake Genevas city clerk.

He was among an estimated 20 applicants for the Greendale job.

Greendale Village President Jason Cyborowski said the Milwaukee County village has a limited amount of vacant land remaining, and officials were impressed with Hawes enthusiasm for pursuing developers to make good use of the land.

Everybody thought he was very energetic and had a very positive attitude, Cyborowski said.

As a village manager, Hawes will enjoy more authority than a village administrator typically has, with all department heads reporting to him as opposed to reporting to the village board.

Greendale has about 100 full-time employees, compared to 15 in Union Grove.

Michaels, who plans to work with Hawes on the transition until July, said his successor takes over as Greendale is undergoing property re-evaluation and a changing environment for its shopping malls.

Its going to be challenging, Michaels said. I think he can do it.

Hawes said he is proud of having worked to improve Union Groves economic development, as well as parks, communications and capital planning.

He also said he enjoyed working with his village colleagues and members of the community.

It has been an awesome experience, he said. There is so much in Union Grove to feel positive about, and I wish them the best going forward.

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Dane County has joined a nationwide relaxing of COVID-19 restrictions, but the immunocompromised and their doctors worry the absence of guidelines puts those with vulnerable immune systems at increased risk.

Dr. Jeannina Smith, medical director of the Transplant Infectious Disease Program at UW Hospitals and Clinics, said the updated guidelines leave her patients behind.

They really matter and theyre worth protecting, Smith said. And our current plan does not protect them at all.

Dane County let its indoor mask mandate expire on March 1 in accordance with updated guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which redefined how it evaluates community-level risk and now only recommends universal masking in high-risk areas.

The Wisconsin Department of Health Services said earlier this month it supports the CDCs new guidelines. Dr. Ryan Westergaard, chief medical officer for the department, said the end of a mask requirement doesnt mean people hosting events or otherwise bringing people together should disregard the needs of people with increased risk from COVID-19.

When we gather together, we can be mindful of that, and ... we should incorporate that perspective on decisions about groups that share an indoor space about wearing masks, he said.

Smith emphasized the CDC is no longer aiming to prevent infection, but rather its goal is to reduce the number of patients who are hospitalized, which she said doesnt take into account the increased risk for immunocompromised people. While the CDC previously evaluated community transmission using case counts and percent of positive tests, they now focus on COVID-related hospital admissions and the percentage of hospital beds occupied by COVID patients, along with new cases.

A study from July found that vaccinated transplant recipients are more than 80 times more likely to get a breakthrough COVID infection than the general population of vaccinated adults, and they are 485 times more likely to face hospitalization or death as a result.

Immunocompromised people include more than just transplant patients. Smith said they also include cancer patients receiving chemotherapy or people suffering from immune system-related diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis and lupus. For the latter, patients often take medication that suppresses their immune system. The CDC has a list of other medical conditions that may increase ones risk of serious illness from COVID-19, including disabilities, diabetes, pregnancy and others.

Its estimated 3% of the U.S. population is immunocompromised, but theres a misconception that people who are immunocompromised are sick or not healthy, Smith said. Theyre really active and productive members of society who therefore get exposed to COVID in their activities.

Patient perspective

Natalie Gaba, a 56-year-old Verona resident with chronic cancer, is very disappointed that Dane County dropped its mask mandate and said shes even more cautious about going out in public now that its gone.

At least with the mandate, there was a certain modicum of protection, Gaba said.

When grocery shopping, Gaba said she looks to see if employees are wearing masks or if the store is crowded before deciding to enter. Once inside, she tries to shop as quickly as possible.

I just wish more folks would understand and think about other people that are involved, said Gaba, who is also a retired health care worker.

Smith recommended that all individuals continue to wear masks in places that are hard to avoid such as grocery stores, pharmacies and clinics.

You dont know if the person whos in front of you in line at the checkout is a mother whos receiving chemotherapy for her breast cancer, and you dont know if its a kidney transplant recipient, Smith said, adding that COVID can still spread from those who are asymptomatic.

Dane County Board Sup. Michele Doolan, 48, a Cross Plains resident with primary progressive multiple sclerosis, which requires her to take medication that suppresses her immune system, said the pandemic has forced her to limit her social interactions significantly.

I want to meet people, I want to do things, but gosh, its kind of a calculated risk, Doolan said.

Doolan said she caught COVID at her job in January, even while wearing a mask, and said she has a harder time walking now as a result.

I worry because I wont go (door-to-door), personally, for my campaign (for reelection for county supervisor), Doolan said. Instead, shes opting to call voters or pick a public place where voters can talk to her while socially distanced.

Dave Ogden, a Madison financial adviser with type 1 diabetes, said he feels comfortable and confident going out in public, sometimes without a mask, because he was able to get vaccinated and boosted and maintain his diabetes well. However, Ogden also said he would comply with any future mask mandates.

Jesika Bornsen, a 48-year-old Madison resident with the autoimmune disorder Guillain-Barre syndrome, said shes OK with the lifting of mask mandates because she feels masking should be a personal choice. She takes issue with vaccine mandates, because she said they often discount those who are unable to get vaccinated due to various medical conditions, like herself.

Child challenges

There are special considerations for how COVID-19 can affect children, especially since a recent study in New York state found that the Pfizer vaccine isnt as effective at preventing infection for children ages 5 to 11, and children under 5 still dont have a vaccine available to them.

Its harder, because now Im like, can I really go out in the community with my kids? said Anna Stevens, one of the founders of Madtown Mommas, an advocacy group for parents of children with disabilities.

The Madison School District is requiring masks until after spring break, though the district is already taking a phased approach to modifying COVID restrictions.

Martha Siravo, another founder of Madtown Mommas, said lifting the county mask mandate felt like a huge turnaround from previous masking guidance.

Its concerning, because there was never really any middle ground for it, she said, adding that previous decisions have often been walked back. In June, Dane County lifted all COVID restrictions only to reinstate an indoor mask mandate by mid-August.

Smith emphasized that due to the nature of COVID-19, I can tell my patients to wear a mask, but we do know that its most effective when everyone masks.

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Adnoc is an early mover in production of clean hydrogen and the expanded German partnerships build on its strong position in Asian clean hydrogen markets.

Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) has announced that it has signed new memorandum of understanding (MoU) and joint study agreements (JSA) with counterparts in Germany to accelerate and deepen collaboration in clean hydrogen.

As part of its ambitious decarbonisation drive, the German governments National Hydrogen Strategy expects clean hydrogen demand of up to 3 million tons per annum (Mtpa) by 2030, of which around 60% is expected to be imported. Demand may grow to over 11 Mtpa by 2050.

Adnoc, an established hydrogen producer with plans to significantly grow its clean hydrogen production, continues to develop its footprint in the fast-growing clean hydrogen export markets of Asia, such as Japan and South Korea, where Adnoc and Fertiglobe, a strategic partnership between OCI and Adnoc that is listed on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX), have already sold multiple low-carbon ammonia pilot cargos for potential use in a wide range of industrial applications.

With its planned expansion in Europe, Adnoc is expected to further accelerate the delivery of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Hydrogen Leadership Roadmap, which has identified Germany as a key export market with a target of providing up to 25% of the countrys imported clean hydrogen.

The agreements, which were announced during the visit to the UAE of Dr Robert Habeck, German Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate Action, build upon the longstanding Emirati-German Energy Partnership as well as the Ministerial Emirati-German Hydrogen Task Force that was inaugurated in November 2021.

Dr Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, UAE Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology and Adnoc Managing Director and Group CEO, said: The UAE and Germany have a deep, longstanding bilateral relationship and a growing partnership in clean energy, helping to enable and accelerate the global energy transition. At Adnoc, we have ambitious growth plans for clean hydrogen, a critical tool in efforts to decarbonize hard-to-abate sectors, which we are actively delivering on to meet demand in Asia, and through todays partnerships, Europe as well. We remain committed to working with like-minded partners across the public and private sectors to implement tangible projects that will supply the worlds energy needs, while reducing carbon emissions and the carbon intensity of the energy that supports our everyday lives.

Dr Habeck underlined the importance of the Emirati-German cooperation for advancing on climate action and said: The accelerated scale-up of hydrogen supply chains is key for our transition to sustainable energy and for achieving the decarbonisation goals in line with our commitments under the Paris Agreement. Todays agreements signal a decisive milestone towards meeting our climate action ambitions.

The following agreements were announced during the visit:

Cooperation agreements and low-carbon demonstration cargos

Individual agreements with German companies Aurubis, RWE, GETEC and STEAG to explore opportunities for collaboration in low-carbon and renewable hydrogen derivatives, including the execution of the first low-carbon (blue) ammonia demonstration cargos, produced by Fertiglobe, from the UAE to Germany in 2022 for use in a variety of applications.

Fertiglobe is a key strategic partner for Adnoc in ammonia, and Adnoc will provide low-carbon ammonia to its partners in Germany that is produced by Fertiglobe at its Fertil plant in the Ruwais Industrial Complex in Abu Dhabi. The sales represent a further milestone in the planned scale-up of blue ammonia production capabilities in Abu Dhabi. In addition, Adnoc and its partners are investing in a new world-scale 1 million metric tons per annum blue ammonia project at TAZIZ in Ruwais, subject to regulatory approvals. Adnoc, with its partners, is also exploring various opportunities in green hydrogen.

Joint study agreement between Adnoc, Hydrogenious, JERA, Uniper

Adnoc has entered into a JSA with Uniper and Hydrogenious of Germany and JERA to explore hydrogen transportation between UAE and Germany using Hydrogenious Liquid Organic Hydrogen Carrier (LOHC) technology. Under the agreement, the parties will explore the opportunity to scale up existing LOHC technology to help meet growing global demand for the transportation of hydrogen.

MoU between Adnoc, HHLA and AD Ports Group

Adnoc has entered into a MoU with HHLA, a Hamburg-based logistics and transportation company specializing in port throughput and container and transport logistics and AD Ports Group to work on realizing Hamburgs ambition to become a hydrogen import hub in Germany.
Nearly seven years after the Dane County district attorney's office declined to prosecute the Madison police officer who shot and killed 19-year-old Tony Robinson, Robinson's grandmother is employing a rarely used state law in the hopes that a judge will authorize charging the officer with homicide.

Sharon Irwin-Henry filed a petition Monday under a section of state law that allows a judge to review evidence and approve charges in a case if a district attorney refuses to do so. Irwin-Henry wants Madison police officer Matt Kenny charged with either first- or second-degree reckless homicide in the March 6, 2015, death of Robinson at a friend's home on Williamson Street on Madison's Near East Side.

According to reports of his behavior at the time and toxicology tests, Robinson, who was Black, was high on a mixture of hallucinogenic mushrooms, marijuana and an anti-anxiety medication and allegedly assaulted two people. Kenny, who is white, was the first officer to arrive on the scene and encountered Robinson in a darkened stairwell leading up to the home's second-floor apartment.

There, he told investigators, Robinson ambushed him by punching him in the head and Kenny was left with no choice but to protect himself by firing seven times, killing Robinson.

Irwin-Henry, however, points to expert analysis and other evidence uncovered as part of a federal civil rights case filed by Robinson's mother after Dane County District Attorney Ismael Ozanne announced on May 12, 2015, that Kenny would not be charged with a crime in state court.

She contends that evidence shows Kenny lied about what happened in the stairwell  including that Robinson hit him hard enough to give him a concussion and that he fired his weapon at the top of the stairs  and questions his decision to enter the home without waiting for backup.

"When the case reached federal court, the factual landscape changed dramatically from the initial ... investigations and charging decision," Irwin-Henry's petition states. "In the end, this case ultimately turns on one question  what happened between Robinson and Kenny in the stairwell on March 6."

Irwin-Henry's attorney, Syovata Edari, said if there was no confrontation between Robinson and Kenny in the stairwell, that removes any justification Kenny had for opening fire.

Robinson's mother, Andrea Irwin, settled the civil rights case in February 2017, with the city's insurer agreeing to pay $3.35 million  at the time the largest such award in state history  but without Kenny or the city admitting any fault. Irwin-Henry was not party to that case and said she reaped none of its financial reward.

In a statement filed with the petition Monday, she said she waited seven years to seek charges against Kenny because she wasn't aware of the state law that provides a way for her to do that and didn't have the money to hire an attorney. Edari has agreed to work pro bono but Irwin-Henry and her supporters are fundraising to compensate her, Irwin-Henry and Edari said.

Ozanne, Kenny and the Madison Police Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the filing. Kenny has long been assigned to a non-public-facing role at the department's training center.

A legal maneuver similar to the one being employed by Irwin-Henry is also being employed in Milwaukee County by the family of a 2016 Wauwatosa police shooting victim in an effort to have the officer, Joseph Mensah, charged. Mensah has said the man he shot, Jay Anderson Jr., reached for a gun after he discovered him sleeping in a park.

Special prosecutors reviewing the case said Friday that a decision on whether to file charges should come in four to six weeks.

Irwin-Henry is looking to have a judge declare there's probable cause to charge Kenny and appoint a special prosecutor with no ties to law enforcement to prosecute him.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

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ST. PAUL, Minn.  The damage to public groundwater resources in Minnesota from missteps during construction of the Line 3 oil pipeline is more severe than previously known, state environmental regulators said.

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources says Enbridge Energy faces sanctions after crews ruptured three groundwater aquifers while building the 340-mile pipeline across northern Minnesota last year.

The DNR continues to work on a comprehensive enforcement resolution, with the goal of addressing restoration, mitigation and additional penalties associated with the three breach locations, the agency said in a statement Monday after completing its investigation into the aquifer breaches.

Line 3 starts in Alberta, Canada, and clips a corner of North Dakota before crossing Minnesota toward Enbridges terminal in Superior, where it connects with Line 61, which carries oil to Illinois through northeastern Dane County.

The punctures led to nearly 300 million gallons of groundwater flowing to the surface, and the most serious breach occurred near the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Reservation in St. Louis County. That rupture has discharged more than 200 million gallons so far and the groundwater continues to flow, the Star Tribune reported.

The first breach occurred during the winter of 2021 at a major pipeline junction near Clearbrook, although regulators did not learn about it for several months. About 50 million gallons of groundwater flowed from that rupture, endangering a rare wetland area nearby. State regulators ordered Enbridge to pay $3.3 million and fix the damage.

The DNR learned about a second breach Aug. 5. The breach occurred a few days earlier near LaSalle Creek in Hubbard County and discharged an estimated 9.8 million gallons of groundwater. That flow also has been stopped, the DNR said.

Regulators learned about the third breach Sept. 15, about five days after it was identified. That rupture occurred very close to the Fond du Lac Bands reservation boundary. It had been gushing about 330 gallons of groundwater per minute but the flow has been reduced to about 6 gallons per minute, according to the DNR.

Enbridge has repaired two of the three puncture sites and repairs at the site affecting the Fond du Lac Band are nearing completion, said Juli Kellner, a spokeswoman for Enbridge.

Enbridge takes protecting the environment seriously. We regret this happened and are taking steps to improve our procedures to prevent this type of occurrence in the future, Kellner said.

The project was pronounced complete in September.

The Wisconsin DNR is currently evaluating the environmental impacts of a proposed 41-mile reroute of Enbridges Line 5 through northern Wisconsin, where the company is working to bypass the Bad River reservation.

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1. Yes. Raising the bar for future developments will boost the citys housing market.

2. Yes. It will help in newer areas, but more needs to be done to change Killeens image.

3. No. The new standards will just slow down homebuilding and drive away developers.

4.No. The ordinance will do little more than drive up the price of new homes in the city.

5. Unsure. Its hard to say what the effect will be until they have been in place for a while.

Vote

View Results
1. Yes. Raising the bar for future developments will boost the citys housing market.

2. Yes. It will help in newer areas, but more needs to be done to change Killeens image.

3. No. The new standards will just slow down homebuilding and drive away developers.

4.No. The ordinance will do little more than drive up the price of new homes in the city.

5. Unsure. Its hard to say what the effect will be until they have been in place for a while.

Vote

View Results
1. Yes. Raising the bar for future developments will boost the citys housing market.

2. Yes. It will help in newer areas, but more needs to be done to change Killeens image.

3. No. The new standards will just slow down homebuilding and drive away developers.

4.No. The ordinance will do little more than drive up the price of new homes in the city.

5. Unsure. Its hard to say what the effect will be until they have been in place for a while.

Vote

View Results
Killeen, TX (76540)

Today

Scattered thunderstorms this morning, then strong thunderstorms likely during the afternoon hours. Damaging winds and large hail with some storms. High 79F. SSW winds shifting to NW at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 100%..

Tonight

Mainly clear skies. Low near 60F. Winds WNW at 5 to 10 mph.
1. Yes. Raising the bar for future developments will boost the citys housing market.

2. Yes. It will help in newer areas, but more needs to be done to change Killeens image.

3. No. The new standards will just slow down homebuilding and drive away developers.

4.No. The ordinance will do little more than drive up the price of new homes in the city.

5. Unsure. Its hard to say what the effect will be until they have been in place for a while.

Vote

View Results
Killeen, TX (76540)

Today

Variable clouds with thunderstorms - possibly severe in the afternoon. Damaging winds and large hail with some storms. High 79F. SSW winds shifting to NW at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 100%..

Tonight

A mostly clear sky. Low around 60F. Winds NW at 5 to 10 mph.
1. Yes. Raising the bar for future developments will boost the citys housing market.

2. Yes. It will help in newer areas, but more needs to be done to change Killeens image.

3. No. The new standards will just slow down homebuilding and drive away developers.

4.No. The ordinance will do little more than drive up the price of new homes in the city.

5. Unsure. Its hard to say what the effect will be until they have been in place for a while.

Vote

View Results
The Airbus A350, a leader in sustainable long-range air travel, will be the focus of attention at the Wings India airshow to be held at Begumpet Airport in Hyderabad from March 24 to 27, 2022.



Showcasing the future of long-haul travel, Airbus will put the A350 on a static display along with its portfolio of world-class products and services that are fostering the growth of commercial aviation in India. Hyderabad will also be the last stop of the A350s demonstration tour of India beginning on March 21, 2022.



Air travel in India is at an inflection point with a growing middle class, an increasing propensity to travel and a geographical advantage all conducive to opening up the long-haul potential. It is the time for the renaissance of international travel solutions in and out of India, said Remi Maillard, President and MD of Airbus India & South Asia.



The A350 offers the greatest range capability combined with the lowest fuel burn, and is the strategic enabler for Indian airlines to regain market share in the lucrative long-haul segment and to profitably grow their operations. We believe the A350 will shape the future of long-range travel. So we are delighted to be showcasing the A350 aircraft at Wings India 2022.



At Hyderabad, Airbus will be present at Stand 12 in Hall A. The company will also display a scale model of its single aisle A220 aircraft, purpose-built for the 100-160 seat market that can prove to be a game changer for regional connectivity in India. Alongside it will be a cutaway model of the A350-900.



Airbus Helicopters will showcase scale models of the ACH130 from its corporate portfolio and the multi-role H160. Visitors to the stand can also learn about an array of material, airframe and training services offered by Airbus and gain knowledge about its open digital platform for aviation - Skywise.



On the public days on March 26-27, Airbus will host a Meet-and-Greet recruitment event at its stand. Company executives will meet candidates for prospective positions in digital and engineering streams. The company will be looking for specific skill sets, including in Big Data, IoT, avionics software and airframe engineering.  TradeArabia News Service
Killeen, TX (76540)

Today

Scattered thunderstorms this morning, then strong thunderstorms likely during the afternoon hours. Damaging winds and large hail with some storms. High 79F. SSW winds shifting to NW at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 100%..

Tonight

Mainly clear skies. Low near 60F. Winds WNW at 5 to 10 mph.
KEARNEY  Emily Saadi and Zach Zavodny will serve as the next student body president and vice president at the University of Nebraska at Kearney.

They were elected following two rounds of student voting. After advancing past the initial round, Saadi and Zavodny received 465 of the 901 votes cast, to edge out Aidan Weidner and Olivia Koenig.

Saadi and Zavodny will take office March 29, succeeding current President Noah Limbach and Vice President Tristan Larson.

As student body president, Saadi will represent UNK as a student regent on the University of Nebraska Board of Regents and serve as the official student body representative to the administration and public. The president also has the power to approve or veto legislation passed by the Student Senate.

A junior from Kearney, Saadi is a pre-law student majoring in political science with minors in social work and global peace and security. Shes involved in the UNK Honors Program, Locke and Key Society, Undergraduate Research Fellows, Phi Eta Sigma honor society, Pre-Law Society and campus intramurals. Saadi also serves as service chair for the Catholic Newman Center, secretary of Student Senate, public relations chair for Model United Nations and social affairs chair for the Honors Student Advisory Board.

Shes a Chancellors Ambassador and student worker for the American Democracy Project.

A junior from David City, Zavodny is a pre-medical student studying chemistry with a health science emphasis. Hes involved in the UNK Honors Program, Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity, Undergraduate Research Fellows and Student Government, serving as a senator and as a member of the Chief Diversity Council and Faculty Senate Committee for the Library.

Additionally, Zavodny is a Chancellors Ambassador, Learning Commons tutor, Honors Program mentor and vice president of external affairs for the Honors Student Advisory Board.

Members of the executive cabinet, pending Student Senate approval, are:

Joseph Hiatt of Spencer  Chief of staff

Allie Daro of David City  Secretary of community relations

Luke Sykes of Clatonia  Secretary of the treasury

Earlen Gutierrez of Lexington  Secretary of student organizations and affairs

Student Senate

In addition to the presidential election, 15 students were selected to serve on the UNK Student Senate. This organization is the legislature for the student body, with representatives elected from each of the three academic colleges at UNK. There are also freshman and deciding/pre-professional senators.

Student Senate has the power to pass legislation for the campus, approve new student organizations, appoint student representatives to the UNK Faculty Senate and other administrative committees and perform other duties concerning student issues.

Those elected to Student Senate are:

College of Arts and Sciences

Alex Danson of Waverly

Trenten Theis of Superior

Olivia Koenig of Lakeville, Minnesota

Gracie Luebbe of Columbus

Temo Molina of Stanton

Esther Uma of Kearney

Noah Shackelford of Clay Center

College of Business and Technology

Emily Hall of Columbus

Emma Bond of Kearney

Omar Sanchez of Lexington

Keenan Obed Torres of Bellevue

College of Education

Aidan Weidner of Humphrey

Jacob Howe of York

Tristan Larson of Trumbull

University College (Deciding)

Zoie Jacobsen of Elkhorn
KEARNEY  A Buffalo County warrant has been issued for an Omaha man charging him with seven felonies, including murder, in the Jan. 16 shooting of Jared Shinpaugh in Kearney.

In addition to murder, Romeo Chambers, 24, of Omaha is charged with three counts of using a firearm to commit a felony, possession of a firearm by a prohibited person, first-degree assault of Joseph Garcia and second-degree assault of Joshua Morris. The warrant was issued Friday.

The murder charge alleges Chambers killed Shinpaugh with malice, but without premeditation.

Shinpaugh, 31, and Joseph Garcia, 29, both of Lexington, were both shot in the Jan. 16 incident. Shinpaugh died, while Garcia was treated at CHI Health Good Samaritan for his injuries and released.

At the request of Buffalo County Attorney Shawn Eatherton court records detailing the murder are sealed because of the sensitive nature of the investigation and because it could jeopardize the safety of material witnesses. Judge Gerry Jorgensen granted Eathertons request.

Violent crime is not acceptable in this community, said Bryan Waugh, Kearney police chief. Im proud of the effort by all involved in this case leading to multiple felony arrests. Members of KPD and our allied law enforcement partners have worked tirelessly on this case, leading to the issuance of an arrest warrant for Chambers. The information shared from our community, leads cultivated throughout this investigation, the use of technology, and quite frankly, good old fashion police work led to this felony arrest warrant.

Around 8:38 p.m. Jan. 16, KPD responded to the 800 block of West 23rd Street to investigate a report of gunshots in the area. The investigation revealed one person was killed and two other subjects had been shot in an attempted robbery.

It later was discovered that a resident, Joshua Morris, 18, of Kearney, also was shot during the attempted robbery. Morris and Mariah Chamberlin, 19, also of Kearney, were wanted for questioning in the incident, and later were arrested.

Also arrested in connection to the murder/armed robbery are:

- Joseph Garcia, 29, of Lexington, charged with felony attempted robbery of Joshua Morris and Mariah Chamberlin on Jan.16.

- Morris and Chamberlin were arrested nine days after the robbery/shooting in Grand Island and both face charges of possession of a defaced firearm, possession of a stolen firearm, possession of marijuana with the intent to distribute while in possession of a firearm and possession of more than one pound of marijuana  all felonies. The incidents are alleged to have occurred Jan. 17, records indicate.

- Chenoa Snow Lemburg, 22, of Grand Island, charged with felony attempted robbery of Joshua Morris and Mariah Chamberlin on Jan.16.

Court records detailing the allegations against all those charged in connection to the murder/armed robbery also are sealed. The investigation continues as law enforcement has followed up on leads, interviewed witnesses, and compiled forensic and digital evidence leading to the warrant for Chambers.

The Kearney Police Department was assisted in this investigation by Buffalo County Sheriffs Office, University of Nebraska Kearney Police Department, Omaha Police Department, Lexington Police Department, Grand Island Police Department and Nebraska State Patrol Crime Lab.

Anyone with information about the robbery/shooting are asked to contact KPD at 308-237-2104, Crimestoppers at 308-237-3424 or the See It, Say It app.
According to the complaint, La Crosse police were alerted to the allegations and set up a March 17 forensic interview with a child identified as the victim. The child said the assaults occurred when Highsmith approached her bed after she went to sleep. She said the assaults left her emotionally uncomfortable and in physical pain. Police interviewed Highsmith in La Crosse County Jail, where he was being held on a separate offense. The complaint says Highsmith denied the charges and offered no other information. Highsmith is being held on a $50,000 cash bond.
Police arrested a 25-year-old La Crosse man accused of attacking a woman Monday on a walking trail in La Crosse.

Joseph A. Grzegorek was referred to the La Crosse County District Attorney on charges of false imprisonment, battery and disorderly conduct.

According to the La Crosse Police Department, officers responded around 2:30 p.m. to the Gundersen Health Walking Trail, where a woman said that Grzegorek chased her from behind, grabbed her, pulled her to the ground and dragged her toward the river.

The woman broke free and got the attention of two people who ran to help her. Grzegorek then turned around and walked away. Police located Grzegorek a short distance away and placed him under arrest.

La Crosse Police Chief Shawn Kudron said the department believes the attack was an isolated incident.

La Crosse police and Gundersen Health continue to partner for the safety of all staff, campus visitors and community members, Kudron said. This egregious act is the type that can have an impact on an entire community and will not be tolerated. We will continue to work with all community members to provide a safe and vibrant community.

Kudron offered the following safety tips for pedestrians: Be alert and aware of the surroundings, always carry a cell phone, let someone else know of your plans and where you are, plan your route, remove any distractions such as earbuds or talking on your phone and trust your instincts.

A search of court records shows Grzegorek with no previous criminal offenses in Wisconsin. He has an initial court appearance scheduled for Wednesday.

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La Crosse residents can learn more about the citys climate action plan at a public meeting Wednesday night, where new engaging artwork will also be dedicated.

The public meeting will be held at the Black River Beach Neighborhood Center in the Maplewood Room from 6-7 p.m. on Wednesday, March 23.

There, staff will give a presentation and host a question and answer session for its climate action planning, which began earlier this year when the Climate Action Plan Team was formed.

This in-person event will give residents insight into the process and an opportunity to share their priorities for a cleaner, greener future, the city said in its announcement.

At the meeting, the city will dedicate four banners which will rotate around the city and engage the public with sustainability and link them to a survey on climate action.

The banners were created by artists Monica Durr, Tylar Oehler and Matthew Bergs and funded by the City of La Crosse Arts Board.

Residents will be able to find the banners at their first stops at city hall, the Main Public Library, Peoples Food Coop and Pump House Regional Arts Center.

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The FDA has warned of increased reports of adverse effects -- and an uptick in calls to Poison Control -- due to certain THC products, and Gundersen Health System in La Crosse is seeing a rise in associated ER visits.

Manufacturers can use delta 8 THC, a psychoactive substance found in cannabis (marijuana or hemp), in concentrated form to make ingestible products like gummy candies, which have grown in popularity. Delta 8 products are not evaluated or approved by the FDA for safe use in any form, and can be especially harmful to children and animals.

"A year ago, we essentially never saw cases of (THC ingestion) in children, and now it's a regular occurence," says Gundersen emergency medicine physician Dr. Benjamin Orozco. "We've absolutely seen cases needing hospitalization."

Technically legal in Wisconsin, there is a gray area. A July 2021 article from the Wisconsin Legislative Council notes "although a substance meeting the definition of 'hemp' is legal for purposes of state and federal controlled substances laws, uncertainty surrounds whether delta 8 THC, when converted from hemp-derived CBD, falls within the definition of hemp or instead constitutes synthetic THC."

The 2018 Farm Bill removed hemp and derivatives of cannabis with less than 0.3% delta 9 THC from the definition of marijuana in the Controlled Substances Act. But if the conversion of delta 8 THC from hemp derived CBD "renders the substance synthetically or chemically synthesized," if would be classified by the DEA as a Schedule I drug.

While adults may be able to use cannabis products without issue -- some studies have shown delta 8 THC could help with select medical conditions -- these products are much more potent than hemp cannabis raw extract and can cause poor reactions. And adding the substance to edible goods makes it more enticing to children, who may think they are normal sweets.

While the FDA has received a relatively low number of reports of adverse events to delta 8 products, with a total of 104 between Dec. 1, 2020, and Feb. 28, 2022, 55% of those cases required medical evaluation or hospitalization, with side effects such as hallucination, vomiting, tremors, and loss of consciousness.

Calls to national Poison Control centers were significantly higher, with 2,362 cases between Jan. 1, 2021 and Feb. 28, 2022. Over 40% of cases involved individuals under age 18, with 82% of unintentional exposure cases among children. Among all cases, 70% required health care evaluation and 8% resulted in admission to a critical care unit. One pediatric death was reported.

Gundersen, part of the Wisconsin Poison Center Network, has seen a rise in both adult and child ER visits due to consumption of edible THC. Overdose is possible, Orozco says, as, unlike with smoking marijuana, the effects may not kick in for a half hour or more, which can lead to overconsumption.

"We've had adults come in with stroke-like symptoms," Orozco says.

Delta 8 products, sold in the form of sweets in non-child safe packaging, are a recipe for non-fatal pediatric poisonings, Orozco says.

"If you have a small child who has enough delta 8 THC to make a regular, habitually using adult that weighs (many times more) feel (the effects), it's pretty obvious you can expect to have a problem," Orozco says. Side effects in children include non responsiveness or agitation.

If adults do purchase THC products, Orozco emphasizes the need to keep what is "essentially candy flavored poison" to children out of reach and locked away out of sight. Usage is a personal choice for adults, Orozco says, but he cautions just because these items are sold in a store doesn't mean there can't be side effects or safety concerns.

To reach the Wisconsin Poison Center, call 1-800-222-1222. Text POISON to 797979 to save the contact information for poison control in your phone.

Emily Pyrek can be reached at emily.pyrek@lee.net.

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Hospitality Sales And Marketing Association International (HSMAI) is offering industry professionals with platforms to network, share best practices, strategize and discuss upcoming trends through specially curated events in UAE & KSA.



In Dubai a Thirsty Thursday monthly networking event was hosted recently by HSMAI and attended by prominent figures from the hospitality and travel industry. Following the success of this first edition the event will now take place on the third Thursday of every month.



Open to members and non-members the event aims to bring together influential leaders and hospitality professionals to network and connect with peers.



HSMAI Middle East has also successfully introduced the association and launched its KSA Chapter through an inaugural Power Breakfast in Riyadh on March 14 and Jeddah on March 16 respectively. Key benefits and the value that the association brings to the KSA market were highlighted at these events that were co-sponsored by OTA Insight.



The events also featured a 10-minute keynote on Revenue Management & Data Insights which was followed by a 20-minutes interactive panel discussion with 3 commercial leaders from KSA on how Revenue, Sales and Marketing functions can put data insights into action.



The non-profit association now aims to make the Power Breakfast in Saudi Arabia a monthly event, inviting professionals from across Revenue, Sales, Distribution, Marketing and Operations, to unite for education, collaboration, and innovation in the industry.



As HSMAI aims to bring tremendous value to its members, and the industry as a whole, these in-person gatherings are appreciated more than ever, said Mona Faraj, Managing Director, HSMAI Middle East



Its a great way to not only share expertise but to keep a finger on the pulse of the latest trends happening both in the region and globally, with some of the leading industry figures on board. she added.



Moustafa Manoon, Director of Operation Support  KSA, Accor MEA & Chair of HSMAI KSA Chapter Advisory Board, said: We are so happy to have seen such a great turnout at the inaugural events which really reflect peoples hunger to return to this in-person way of working again. He added It is extremely important to bring professionals from Saudi Arabia together with an aim of supporting the Kingdoms Vision 2030. Such platforms encourage open conversations and discussions that are crucial for the growth of the industry.



Sign-ups are already open for the next events for both members and non-members, an HSMAI statement said.



Founded in the US in 1927, HSMAI is an individual membership organization comprised of nearly 5,000 members from 35 countries and chapters worldwide.  TradeArabia News Service
Florence Nightingale (1820-1910) was born in Florence, Italy, to an affluent British family. From a young age she was interested in philanthropy, and by the time she was 16, she believed nursing was her divine purpose.

Despite her parents insistence that she marry a man of means, Nightingale enrolled as a nursing school in Lutheran Hospital of Pastor Fliedner in Kaiserwerth, Germany. She returned to London in the early 1850s and after taking a job at a hospital in Middlesex, she was promoted to superintendent in just a year. This was during the time of a cholera outbreak, and Nightingale made it a priority to optimize sanitation to improve patient outcomes.

In the fall of 1854, a year after the Crimean War broke out, Nightingale was asked to assemble a team of nurses and report to the war front. She was shocked at the filth of the medical units there, and immediately got to work improving the conditions. This resulted in the death rate of the hospital being reduced by two-thirds.

Because she spent many nights walking through the hospital checking on patients, she was nicknamed The Lady with the Lamp and The Angel of Crimea. Nightingale went on to use data from her experiences to help create the Royal Commission into the health of the Army, and was the first female member of the Royal Statistical Society.

Sponsored by AAUW La Crosse; researched by Ann Brice.

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A former substitute teacher in the Verona School District pleaded guilty to sexual assault and other charges Monday for inappropriately touching two girls at a district middle school more than two years ago.

Dustin D. Schallert, 32, of Stevens Point, would have to give up his teaching license and promise never to apply for one again as part of a plea deal with prosecutors. It would also require that he serve six months in jail but would allow him to avoid becoming a felon if he completes two years of court supervision without getting into further trouble.

Schallert was initially charged with first-degree sexual assault of a child under the age of 13 for a March 5, 2020, incident at Badger Ridge Middle School in which an 11-year-old girl and some of her classmates told police Schallert grabbed the girls buttocks. He was also charged with sexual assault of a child under 16 for a March 6, 2020, incident at the school in which a 13-year-old girl told police Schallert put his hand down the top of her shirt and touched the top of her chest.

Those charges, both felonies, were dismissed as part of the agreement and Schallert instead pleaded guilty to two counts of fourth-degree sexual assault, a misdemeanor, and a felony charge of causing mental harm to a child and misdemeanor disorderly conduct.

Dane County Circuit Judge Josann Reynolds scheduled a sentencing hearing for May 6, when she will decide whether to go along with the plea deal and when at least one of the two victims in the case will testify, Deputy District Attorney William Brown said.

Schallert declined to comment after the hearing. The state Department of Public Instruction lists his current license as under investigation.

According to the original criminal complaint in the case, the alleged victim and a witness in the March 5 incident told police they reported it to a teacher and then-associate principal, and current principal, Jamie Thomas, but Schallert was still at school the next day when the second alleged incident occurred.

A school district spokesperson at the time said that prior to the afternoon of March 6, no teacher made any report to any Badger Ridge administrator of any concern regarding Mr. Schallert and Thomas was not informed by any student or staff member of any concern regarding Mr. Schallert. The district also said Schallert was removed from the school within 15 minutes of getting the complaint and the district called county child protective services about 30 minutes after that.

Verona police, though, raised questions about the schools response, saying they first learned of the March 6 incident after being contacted by the father of one of the victims at about 6 p.m. March 6, according to the complaint. Police said at the time that such delays can impede their investigation.

Schallert had been hired Jan. 2, 2020, according to the district, and had subbed 18 times at four district schools  Badger Ridge, Core Knowledge Charter School, Country View Elementary School and Savannah Oaks Middle School  between Jan. 6 and March 6.

Assistant District Attorney Patrick Winter in March 2020 said Schallert was previously a teacher at a school district in Lafayette County but that he left that job in Lafayette County in part after being criticized by other employees for having an inappropriate relationship with a then-7-year-old child.

A Verona schools spokesperson on Monday reiterated the districts policies for reporting cases of suspected abuse in the schools but did not immediately say whether any of those policies had been updated in response to the Schallert case.

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With its first Ukrainian art auction in the books, the International Owl Center announced it raised $100,052 for UNICEF to aid in their relief efforts in the Ukraine.

Of the total, $95,152 was the winning bids on the artwork.

There were 59 pieces up for bidding in this first auction, which ran from March 17 through March 20, closing at 8 p.m. on Sunday.

The top pieces sold for $8,005, $7,660 and $7,505. The centers executive director Karla Bloem said she was utterly blown away by the interest and generosity of everyone who participated in an email sent out Sunday after the closing of the first auction.

Who knew that all the wonderful kids owl art in our storage could wind up in loving homes where people will truly care for and be concerned about the individual artists, while making a substantial sum of money to help the kids in Ukraine? Bloem said.

The second auction will begin Wednesday and will end on Sunday, March 27.

Bloem said they were planning on having at least two more auctions, as the center has over 200 more pieces of art, along with a set of 20 greeting cards the center plans to make.

Some of those cards will stay in the centers collection. All of the proceeds of the auctions will be donated to UNICEF, and Bloem added that the center plans to try to contact the children and schools to update them on how much money their art raised.

Bloem did emphasize that many of the schools that participated are in eastern Ukraine, so they arent sure if theyll be able to reach them. For more information about the International Owl Center, visit https://www.internationalowlcenter.org/.

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Within a half-hour of a special Manheim Township board of commissioners meeting, only one member was left.

Four out of five commissioners had one by one recused themselves from a zoning case for the $120-million, 76-acre Oregon Village development handed back down to them by a higher court.

Its unprecedented, said Bill Cluck after the meeting. Cluck is an attorney representing the appellant Mary Bolinger in the case that the Commonwealth Court remanded back to the commissioners in December. Bolinger owns a bed-and-breakfast near the Oregon Village site.

Only newly elected Republican Commissioner Mary Jo Huyard did not recuse herself, leaving the townships solicitor Dwight Yoder to propose a second time to meet on April 4, so he and the attorneys of both sides have a chance to find any relevant precedents or statutes accounting for such a scenario.

When hearing zoning applications like the one from the Oregon Village development, commissioners are expected to act as judges, not their normal role as legislators.

On April 4 we should be able to reconvene the meeting and have a direction in terms of how this process moves forward, Yoder said.

The case is over Oregon Villages conditional use application  a measure that allows certain uses on a given piece of land, if the developer can first prove they are meeting stipulated conditions in the ordinance. One of those conditions for the Oregon Village site is that the developer has to show the project wont negatively affect any nearby historic properties.

In December, the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court overturned a prior ruling that upheld the boards 2019 vote. The three-judge panel wrote that the board did not adequately consider Bolingers claim that her property was historic. It ordered the case to go back to the township, so the board could reconsider the evidence of the case and redo the vote.

The remaining commissioners, Republicans Donna DiMeo, John Bear, Stacey Morgan Brubaker and Democrat Barry Kauffman cited different reasons for their recusals.

Morgan Brubaker was the townships solicitor at the time of the 2019 board vote and said that she was recusing herself based on rules of professional conduct.

Bear cited an issue raised by Cluck that he was a legislative officer of the Pennsylvania Builders Association, an interest group that represents the states residential construction industry.

Even though I dont feel I have a conflict of interest, I am concerned about public opinion of conflict of interest no matter what decision I render.

DiMeo and Kauffman both cited rhetoric during past political campaigns for the board. Kauffman said he had spoken out quite vociferously about the development. I feel public perception is that I wont be seen as objective.

As the only commissioner left from the 2019 vote, DiMeo said her vote to approve the conditional zoning application for Oregon Village in 2019 had been used against her in campaigns.

I dont want whatever I decide to taint this, so at this point I am going to recuse myself, DiMeo said.

Issues of public perception are not in themselves a reason for recusal, Yoder told the board, but it was up to them to make the decision.

Kauffman said based on the reasoning other commissioners cited, he felt he too should recuse himself.

The recusals throw another wrench in the controversial Oregon Village development, which some township residents have complained at public meetings that it will be too big for the area.

The developer group has been led by the current owners of the Oregon Dairy site: brothers Victor, Rich, George, Willie and Curvin Hurst.

Victor Hurst was at the Monday night meeting, but declined to give any comment.

The development plan would replace the Oregon Dairy supermarket and restaurant with larger facilities, develop homes and redevelop the idle Shawnee Resort site diagonal from the dairy into a 120-room hotel and more housing. In total, 554 housing units would be built.

The April 4 meeting will take place at the Manheim Township Library at 5 p.m., before a Zoning Hearing Board meeting at 6:30 p.m.

Like Monday nights meeting, the township has to decide how to meet the courts order to reconsider the Oregon Village application, most importantly whether to simply vote again on the application, or open the record to new testimony.
The discovery+ streaming service and a true-crime podcast are delving into the 1992 Christy Mirack murder in a companion production starting Wednesday.

Unraveled: Once a Killer looks at the killing of the 25-year-old school teacher as part of an examination of killers who strike only once and somehow blend into society.

Alexis Linkletter, a true-crime documentary producer and her partner, true-crime investigative reporter Billy Jensen, look at two cases: Miracks killing and the 1987 killings of Jay Cook and Tanya Van Cuylenborg, a Canadian couple whose bodies were found in Washington state.

Linkletter also hosts The First Degree podcast, and she and Jensens previous Unraveled focused on the Long Island serial killer.

I think whats especially interesting about the Christy Mirack case is what most profilers are looking for in cases like this are loners, sort of the traditional perception of what a killer is, Linkletter said in a phone interview Monday. About 70% of the project focuses on Mirack's killing.

But Miracks killer, Raymond Rowe, was a well-known local disc jockey known as DJ Freez.

It kind of defies all of the traditional characteristics of what youre looking for in one of these sexually-motivated killings, Linkletter said.

The production features interviews with Miracks brother, Vince Mirack, prosecutor Christine Wilson, detective Chris Erb, and Miracks principal, Harry Goodman, and a friend, Kim Alpert.

Goodman found Mirack beaten and strangled in her East Lampeter Township townhouse the morning of Dec. 21, 1992, after growing concerned when she didnt show up for work that day. Police later learned Mirack had also been raped.

The case would remain cold for 25 years.

In Miracks case, advances in genetic genealogy produced a DNA match in 2018 that linked crime scene evidence to Rowe. Specifically, DNA collected at the 1992 crime scene matched DNA that one of Rowes half sisters had uploaded to a public genealogy database. Investigators then surreptitiously obtained Rowes DNA from chewing gum and a water bottle to make the link.

Linkletter said cases such as Miracks and the killing of the Canadian couple show the limitation of profiling and growing importance of genetic genealogy in solving crimes.

And with an estimated 250,000 unsolved murders in the United States, who knows how many may have been done by once-and-done killers, Linkletter said.

Rowe was an early case using genetic genealogy. So was the other case featured. William Earl Talbott II was arrested based on the technology a month before Rowe and charged with killing the Canadians.

Rowe, 53, pleaded guilty to Miracks murder in January 2019 and was sentenced to life in prison.

However, Rowe is now challenging his conviction, arguing that he and Mirack had consensual sex and she was alive when he left her townhome, so someone else killed her.

A court hearing into Rowes challenge spanned three days in August and September, followed by the defense and prosecution submitting supporting legal briefs.

Lancaster County Judge Dennis Reinaker has yet to rule on the challenge.

Linkletter doesnt buy Rowes claim.

He has nothing better to do. Hes in prison for life, she said. Rowes timeline for his theory doesnt add up, Linkletter said.

Hes callous and hes cruel  (Miracks) family doesnt deserve this, Linkletter said.

The Unraveled podcast is a five-part series, with a new episode dropping each Wednesday starting March 23. Then, a two-hour documentary will begin streaming April 22 on discovery+.

As for Talbott, though he was convicted in 2019 and sentenced to two life prison terms, a Washington appeals court in December ordered a new trial. The court found that one of the jurors should have been dismissed because she said she might not be able to be impartial given she had experience with violence against women, according to the court ruling.

The Mirack case has been featured in a number of television shows, including A&Es "Cold Case Files" last September, Nancy Graces Bloodline Detectives in 2020, Investigation Discoverys On the Case with Paula Zahn in 2019, NBCs Dateline in 2019, and on ABC's "20/20" in 2018.
A Columbia man and woman ambushed a woman along a Lancaster Township road and robbed her of her belongings in the process, according to Manheim Township police.

Kathy D. Mills, 45, and Howard Ernest Chapman, 46, attacked the woman as she was walking along the 1100 block of Millersville Pike around 7:15 p.m. Saturday, according to an affidavit of probable cause.

The woman was walking along the street when she was approached by Mills and Chapman, who punched her in the head and face and forced her to the ground by pushing her and pulling her hair, police said. Mills and Chapman then ordered the woman to empty her pockets and took her cigarettes and $200 cellphone before driving away together.

Mills later told investigators she had planned the ambush with Chapman ahead of time, planning on stripping the woman and taking her belongings, according to the affidavit. Court records show they were both arrested sometime Saturday.

The woman suffered a bloody nose after Mills punched her in the face several times.

Police charged Mills and Chapman with robbery and conspiracy to commit robbery  both felony offenses  as well as harassment. Chapman, who has a suspended drivers license and was seen driving the vehicle after the incident, was also charged with summary traffic violation.

Judge Brian Chudzik set Mills and Chapmans bail at $100,000 each during a preliminary arraignment Sunday, court records show. They are both still in Lancaster County Prison, unable to post that amount.

Attorneys were not listed for either Mills or Chapman in court documents.

They will each face a preliminary hearing before Judge Mary Sponaugle on March 30.

Chapman previously pleaded guilty to burglary twice in 1997 in Delaware County, being sentenced to 30 to 60 months of confinement both times, according to court records.
Wading ankle deep into the Conestoga River, Todd Umstead bent over and placed an electronic device into the water, recording its chemistry before later scrawling the results into a handwritten spreadsheet.

Just feet away, beakers, vials and other scientific equipment sat scattered across a pebble-covered shore where the river passes near Windolph Landing Park in Lancaster Township.

All of those items, he said, are necessary  used to record conditions in the waterway as part of an effort to monitor its overall health.

But Umstead isnt a scientist. Hes a volunteer, one of about five dozen conservation-minded residents who help track the quality of countywide rivers and creeks for the Lancaster County Conservation District.

I love to fish. Fishing is my passion. And fish need clean water to live, Umstead said, explaining why he got involved with the program, which tracks impairment in rivers and their tributaries.

Its work thats become increasingly important as county officials and conservation organizations strive to meet federal mandates, which demand the reduction of steam-impairing pollutants  harmful sediment and nutrients, specifically nitrogen and phosphorus  to clean local waterways.

Early this year, state figures showed that 89.4% of 1,432 assessed stream miles in Lancaster County are considered impaired, according to the Department of Environmental Protections draft 2022 Pennsylvania Integrated Water Quality Report. There are 1,438 total stream miles in the county.

That high percentage stood out earlier this month to Matthew Kofroth, a Conservation District watershed specialist who oversees the volunteer monitoring program, called the Water Quality Volunteer Coalition.

The goal of the program, Kofroth said, is to keep a running record of those impairments, as well as hoped-for improvements as environmental restoration work takes place throughout the countys watersheds.

The idea of this group, as it kind of always has been, is to gather baseline water quality data, kind of citizen science-based data, Kofroth said.

50 to 60 volunteers

On the Conestogas pebble-covered riverbank, Umstead showed off that process, collecting water samples and using all of that scientific equipment to record water-quality indicators  acidity, temperature, flow rate, clarity, oxygen levels and other factors, including the concentration of certain pollutants like nitrates and phosphates.

The pollutants impair both local waterways, and those downstream, including the Susquehanna River and Chesapeake Bay.

And that sampling work is in addition to volunteers biennial collection of pollution-sensitive aquatic insects, like mayflies and caddisflies, whose presence is a positive indicator of good stream health.

Umstead is just one of 50 to 60 volunteers collecting data from about three dozen monitoring sites, Kofroth said.

Ideally, those samplers will return to the same exact spots in their chosen waterways every month, recording a continuum of data that would show changes overtime, Kofroth said. Its unlikely that drastic improvements or setbacks would be recorded from one month to the next, he said.

You are not going to see that. It took hundreds of years to degrade, and its going to take a long time to improve. We are kind of The Tortoise and the Hare, Kofroth said. Its slow and steady wins the race.

Currently, volunteers are allowed to pick their own sites, as long as the streams they sample are within Lancaster County, Kofroth said, explaining that district officials would like to track watersheds countywide.

But increasingly, he said, DEP officials have urged program leaders to direct samplers to waterways near areas where restoration work  like streambank repairs, legacy sediment removal and riverside tree and shrub planting  has been implemented in an attempt to meet pollution reduction mandates.

Kofroth guessed that request stems from a hope that sampling results might prove that restoration projects have been successful in reducing impairment by capturing pollutants, which are often carried to streams form urban and agricultural land by stormwater.

By itself, data collected by the volunteers isnt enough to have a river or stream added or removed from the states list of impaired streams, but if results show continued changes, when submitted, they could draw attention from state and federal regulators, Kofroth said.

No, we are not delisting a stream, but in essence we are because we are providing water quality data thats out there, and then, we  pass that along to those that are legally able to take it off of that list, he said. From a citizen science standpoint, thats what were doing.

Something like a social club

Still, the work is not always so serious, Kofroth said, describing the program also as something like a social club.

That was clear earlier this month during a Water Quality Volunteer Coalition meeting at the Farm and Home Center in Lancaster, where a small group of samplers spoke about their work and shared funny stories about testing trips gone awry.

There, they also heard from Kofroth, who showed off newly purchased sampling kits full of scientific equipment that will add to and replace older kits, many of which havent been updated for at least 15 years, he said.

They have been taking very good care of it, but it does wear, Kofroth said, applauding volunteers. It was time to upgrade.

Those new kits came at a price of about $20,000, Kofroth said, explaining the cost was covered with state funding.

All told, the group now has about 10 kits, which are shared among volunteers, he said.

Speaking for the volunteers, Kofroth said many of them are like-minded, environment-conscious county residents who are attracted to the opportunity to get outside and possibly contribute to the stream improvements.

Among them is Mary Kay Phillips of the Octoraro Watershed Association, which is responsible for testing numerous sites, most surrounding the Octoraro Reservoir, she said.

A lot of them are just tiny, little feeder streams, she said, adding that there is ample room for growth. We are trying to expand the number of sites we are working in.

Increased interest in the outdoors following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, has led to an uptick in participating volunteers, Kofroth said, noting recent partnerships with recreation and conservation groups like the Conestoga River Club, of which Umstead is a member.

Still, he said, newcomers are welcome.

Those interested in the program, including sampling results, can visit lancasterwatersheds.org/volunteer-water-quality-monitoring/, officials said.
Federal prosecutors say evidence they obtained via two search warrants earlier this month could be enough to charge more members of the Proud Boys, a violent right-wing extremist group, for conspiring to plan the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.

As LNP | LancasterOnline has previously reported, one of those search warrants, executed on March 8, targeted Carlisle resident John Charles Stewart, whom prosecutors have identified as an upper tier member of the Proud Boys, an all-male group whose members support former President Donald Trump.

[The above image, taken on Dec. 12, 2020, shows John Charles Stewart standing with other Proud Boys members in Washington, D.C.]

In a new court filing made public Monday, the Department of Justice said evidence gathered by agents executing two search warrants leads prosecutors to believe additional defendants could be charged in the case it is building against the groups former leader, Henry Enrique Tarrio.

Tarrio and several other of the groups leaders have been charged with conspiring to plan the Jan. 6 attack in an effort to stop Congress from certifying Joe Bidens victory in the 2020 presidential election.

Prosecutors said one Proud Boys member participated in a private online chat group where he advocated targeting the U.S. House of Representatives. According to the filing made public on Monday, that member stated in the private chat that the main operating theater should be out in front of the House of Representatives. It should be out in front of the Capitol building. Thats where the vote is taking place and all of the objections.

This statement was attributed to Person 3 in a previous filing, whom LNP | LancasterOnline identified as Stewart. Prosecutors say this statement articulated the criminal objective of the groups intentions.

Tarrio, prosecutors allege, responded in the chat on Jan. 4, 2021, to echo the recommendation to target the House.

Mondays filing also said any new charges in the case would be filed by May 20.

A man who answered the door at Stewarts home Tuesday afternoon told reporters to get off his property.

The previous filing in the case revealed that two recent search warrants were sought in the Proud Boys investigation  one for the Carlisle resident, believed to be Stewart, and a second for a North Carolina man.

Investigators have not confirmed that Stewart was the target of one of the search warrants. But a source reported seeing approximately 6-10 cars outside of Stewarts Carlisle home on March 8. The source spoke to LNP | LancasterOnline on the condition he not be identified by name because he was concerned for his safety in the event of retaliation.

Another Pennsylvania Proud Boy, Richard Schwetz of Reading, told LNP | LancasterOnline, that Johnny Blackbeard was the Carlisle Proud Boy targeted by the search warrant. Blackbeard is Stewarts online persona.

Separately, the news organization Raw Story reported the warrant targeting the North Carolina man, Jeremy Bertino, was executed the same day.

Meanwhile, the U.S. House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack is continuing its investigation into the Proud Boys alleged role in the attack.

Asher Meza, an associate of Tarrios and a member of the Miami Proud Boys chapter, told LNP | LancasterOnline he testified before the committee last week for about six hours. He said House investigators questioned him about events between the November 2020 election and Jan. 6, as well as his feelings on the election and conservatism.

He said investigators were most interested in Tarrio and did not ask him about other individuals. He said he was shown a video said to be taken of Tarrio in his Baltimore hotel room on Jan 6. In the video, Tarrio can be heard saying, Oh, look, they are marching the way I showed them to march as he watched live media coverage of the attack on television.

Meza said he believes the committee is looking to use this as evidence of Tarrios role in planning the attack, though Tarrio maintains there was no such plan.

Sean Quinn, an investigator with the committee whom Meza said he spoke with, declined to comment on the video. Timothy Mulvey, a spokesperson for the committee, declined to comment as well.

This reporters work is funded by the Lancaster County Local Journalism Fund. For more information, or to make a contribution, please visit lanc.news/supportlocaljournalism.
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First human milk bank debuts in Hanoi capital

A human milk bank was inaugurated at the Vietnam National Hospital of Pediatrics in Hanoi on March 22 after a four month trial period.













The bank, the first of its kind in Hanoi and Vietnam operating inside the pediatrics hospital, is being sponsored by the Irish Government, as well as the Alive & Thrive and Newborns Vietnam organisation.



The milk bank has been designed to support over 1,000 premature, low birth weight, and pathological children who are receiving treatment at the Vietnam National Hospital of Pediatrics, enabling them to enjoy the full benefits of breast milk.



The bank is expected to supply pasteurised breast milk to hospitals in Hanoi and other cities and provinces across the north of the country.



Assoc. Prof. Dr. Tran Minh Dien, director of the Vietnam National Hospital of Pediatrics, said pasteurised breast milk is considered a special medicine given to infants who are seriously ill and treated at the hospital.



After four months of trials, the facility received 600 litres of breast milk from 38 mothers, helping to provide pasteurized milk for 280 children, including 62 children infected with COVID-19 or whose mothers had tested positive for COVID-19.



The human milk bank is one of seven breast milk banks and satellite breast milk banks which are currently operating in Vietnam.
Marriott International has signed an agreement with Baraka Lodges to enter the safari segment in Africa and set up JW Marriott Masai Mara Lodge within the Mara National Reserve, a top wildlife conservation and wilderness region.



Offering discerning travellers an unparalleled setting, the elegant retreat expects to welcome guests in 2023.



Overlooking the famed banks of the River Talek and on the edge of the reserve, JW Marriott Masai Mara Lodges prime location will offer guests a distinctively elevated camp from which to discover the Masai Mara National Reserve, its stunning vistas, abundant wildlife, and endless plains.



Plans for the new-build lodge feature 20 private tents, including one presidential canvas-topped pavilion and two interconnecting canopied suites, ideal for families, each with a private terrace overlooking the river. Shared spaces will include a restaurant, lounge bar, spa, and a large outdoor terrace with fire pits that will play host to traditional Masai dance performances in the evening.



The untamed landscape will offer guests the opportunity to observe the Big Five that Masai Mara is home to: lions, leopards, buffalos, rhinoceros and elephants. Between June and September, the reserve is also host to the annual great wildebeest migration, when more than 10 million animals travel a distance of 1,800 miles from the Serengeti in neighbouring Tanzania.



As a brand rooted in mindfulness, we cannot think of a more perfect retreat for the mind, body, and soul than the Masai Mara National Reserve in Kenya, said Bruce Rohr, Vice President and Brand Leader, JW Marriott.



JW Marriott Masai Mara Lodge will offer guests a luxurious backdrop to make once-in-a-lifetime memories as they connect with nature and wildlife as never before. We are thrilled that the JW Marriott brand will be welcoming adventure travellers, including families, to this breath-taking part of the world.



Conservation of the land and its inhabitants will be at the heart of JW Marriott Masai Mara. The safari lodge aims to employ up to 50 locals from the Masai community, and will offer robust learning opportunities for guests looking to immersive themselves in the destination.



The signing of JW Masai Mara Lodge is a milestone in Marriott Internationals growth in Africa as the company enters the luxury safari segment. This landmark project is in response to travellers' growing desire for experiential offerings that enable them to build a deeper connection with their chosen destination. JW Marriott encourages guests to be mindful and present, which perfectly lends itself to meaningful safari holidays, said Jerome Briet, Chief Development Officer, Europe, Middle East & Africa, Marriott International.



A nod to the captivating surroundings, guests can expect an authentic sense of place through artful design and architecture. Sophisticated, interiors will be led by Kristina Zanic. The location and surrounding landscape will be reflected at every turn, creating harmony with the natural world and drawing inspiration from the elements: earth, wind, fire and water. Warm touches of neutrals and natural materials, will lend to a warm ambience, while an earth tone colour palette promises to sit in harmony with the landscape, inviting guests to connect with nature and focus on their wellbeing.



During their stay, guests will enjoy the immersive, holistic approach to wellness while being mindful of the environment and their impact on the land.



Were delighted to collaborate with Marriott International to debut this stunning luxury lodge and their first Safari offering in the Masai Mara, said Shivan Patel of Baraka Lodges.



Marriott International currently operates more than 120 properties in Africa across its portfolio. JW Marriott Masai Mara Lodge will join Marriott Bonvoys growing portfolio of 8,000 hotels globally.  TradeArabia News Service
Most children who get COVID-19 show few to no usual signs of sickness.

Eight-year-old Brooklynn Chiles of Washington, D.C. is one such child. The young girl has tested positive for the virus three times. She is fully vaccinated against the coronavirus. She has never shown serious signs of the disease.

Today, doctors are trying to understand why she keeps getting infected.

One time when she caught the virus, her father also got sick. He later died. Her mother, Danielle, is worried that Brooklyn could also get very sick the next time she catches the virus.

Chiles said she wonders if her daughter is going to die, too. Is this the moment where I lose everyone? she asked.

The COVID-19 pandemic started in late 2019. It is linked to more than 6 million deaths around the world. But its effects on children are not well known.

Over 12 million children in the U.S. are estimated to have tested positive for the virus. However, the virus does not seem to be as dangerous for children as it is for older adults.

Some people call what happens to children bizarre. Some children suffer from what is known as long COVID. Others get re-infected, like Brooklynn. Some even seem to get sick and then recover, only to have severe organ inflammation later on.

At Childrens National Hospital in Washington, D.C., Brooklynn and other children are subjects of a study. Doctors at the hospital are getting money from the National Institutes of Health to study the long-term effects of COVID-19 on children.

The hospital has about 200 children up to age 21 in the study, which will go on for three years. They undergo many tests on their first visit to the hospital. Doctors take blood, listen to their heart and check their lungs.

Roberta DeBiasi is the doctor leading the study. She said the researchers are trying to understand the problems children suffer after getting COVID, and how common they are.

Another girl in the study is Alyssa Carpenter. She is three years old. She had COVID-19 two times and also has unusual symptoms, such as high fevers and foot pain. Sometimes she lies down and points to her chest and says she has pain there, too.

Alyssas parents, Tara and Tyson Carpenter, have two other daughters. They said the pandemic caused a lot of problems in their lives. But they are most worried about Alyssa whom they do not know how to help.

Tara Carpenter called the situation super frustrating. She said she has been looking for answers to her daughters problems, but no one is able to provide them.

Some days, the little girl is doing just fine. Other days, she has a fever or pain. But lately, the family says she is doing a little better.

One doctor working on the study is Linda Herbert. She does a psychological test. She talks to the children about things like the quality of their sleep, the worries they have, how they get along with other children and whether they have trouble remembering things.

She said there are many symptoms, adding that many children are worried about getting sick again.

Herbert said psychological symptoms are just as common as physical symptoms, like pain. And it is not just the children who have a lot of worries. The parents, brothers and sisters of the children have stress and anxiety, too.

Brooklynns mother, Danielle, is working hard to keep her emotions from affecting her daughter. She is working to support her family now that her husband died. She also is dealing with her sadness and trying not to show her feelings to her daughter.

She wanted to put Brooklynn in the study so more people would learn about the need for vaccines, especially among Black people. Her husband Rodney was not vaccinated. He suffered from pre-existing conditions and died at the age of 42.

Chiles said one of the last things her husband said before he died was forgive me.

She said it is true that many children are not getting sick if they catch the virus. However, they are losing, she said.

Theyre losing parents, social livesyears. Chiles said: Yes, kids are resilient, but they cant go on like this. No one is this resilient.

Im Dan Friedell.

Dan Friedell adapted this story for Learning English based a report by The Associated Press.

Do you know any stories about children affected by COVID-19? Let us know. Write to us in the Comments Section and visit our Facebook page. Quiz - Children, Families Struggle With Repeated COVID-19 Infections Start the Quiz to find out Start Quiz

Words in This Story

test positive  v. show the presence of a germ, virus or condition through a medical test

moment  n. a certain point in time

bizarre adj. very unusual or strange

inflammation  n. a condition in which a part of your body becomes red, swollen, and painful

symptom  n. a change in the body or mind which indicates that a disease is present

fever  n. a body temperature that is higher than normal

frustrate  v. to cause someone to feel angry or upset because they cannot do what they want to do

stress  n. a state of mental tension involving worry

anxiety  n. fear or nervousness about what might happen

resilient  n. able to become strong, healthy, or successful again after something bad happens
Ukrainian officials rejected a Russian demand that their forces in Mariupol surrender Monday in exchange for safe passage out of the port city.

Russia has intensified its efforts to force the surrender of Mariupol. But the Russian ground offensive in other parts of Ukraine has failed to move forward. Western officials and experts say the conflict is turning into a war of attrition, with Russia bombarding cities.

In the capital Kyiv, a shopping center in the Podil neighborhood near the city center was a smoking ruin after being hit late Sunday. The shelling killed eight people, said emergency officials.

Ukrainian officials also said Russia shelled a chemical production center in northeastern Ukraine, sending toxic ammonia into the air. Russian forces also hit a military training base in the west with cruise missiles.

The surrounded southern city of Mariupol has seen some of the worst horrors of the war. It has been under Russian attack for more than three weeks. Ukrainian and Western officials have called the Russian attacks on the city a war crime.

Russia offered to open the city so people could escape in exchange for surrender. Hours before the offer came, Ukrainian officials said an art school where some 400 people were taking shelter was hit by an airstrike.

They are under the rubble, and we dont know how many of them have survived, Ukraines President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.

Russian Colonel-General Mikhail Mizintsev had offered two escape paths  one heading east toward Russia, the other west to other parts of Ukraine  in return for Mariupols surrender. He did not say what Russia would do if the offer was rejected.

The Russian Ministry of Defense said officials in Mariupol could face a military tribunal if they sided with what it described as bandits, the Russian state news agency RIA Novosti reported.

A tribunal is a person or group given the power to serve as a court.

Ukrainian officials rejected the proposal before Russias deadline.

There can be no talk of any surrender, laying down of arms, Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Irina Vereshchuk told Ukrainian Pravda.

The strike on the art school was the second time in less than a week that officials reported an attack on a public building where Mariupol residents had taken shelter. On Wednesday, an airstrike destroyed a theater where more than 1,000 people were believed to be sheltering.

Mariupol officials said at least 2,300 people have died in the siege, with some placed in mass burials.

City officials and aid groups said Russian bombardment has cut off Mariupols electricity, water and food supplies. It also has cut off its communications with the outside world.

Whats happening in Mariupol is a massive war crime, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said.

Mariupol had a population of about 430,000 before the war. About 25 percent were believed to have left in the opening days of the war. Tens of thousands fled over the past week through a humanitarian escape path.

The United Nations said Russias invasion has driven nearly 3.4 million people from Ukraine. The U.N. has confirmed over 900 civilian deaths but said the real number is probably much higher. There are many estimates of the number of Russian deaths, but most are in the low thousands.

Some who were able to escape Mariupol met relatives as they arrived by train Sunday in Lviv in western Ukraine.

Battles took place over every street. Every house became a target, said Olga Nikitina, who met her brother as she got off the train.

Mariupol is an important target for Russia. Its capture would let Russian forces in southern and eastern Ukraine join together. It would also help Russia establish a land bridge to Crimea, which was taken from Ukraine in 2014.

More than three weeks into the invasion, the two sides seem to be trying to wear each other down, experts said. Russian forces continue to launch long-range missiles at cities and military bases as Ukrainian forces carry out hit-and-run attacks.

Talks between Russia and Ukraine have continued by video link. But they have failed to produce agreement. Russia is demanding Ukraine disarm and declare itself neutral. Ukraine is saying Russian forces must withdraw from the whole country.

U.S. President Joe Biden was expected to talk Monday with the leaders of France, Germany, Italy and Britain about the war.

The Russian Foreign Ministry warned that relations with the U.S. are nearing a breach. Putin is reportedly angry that Biden called him a war criminal.

Im Susan Shand.

The Associated Press reported this story. Susan Shand adapted it for Learning English.

__________________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

attrition  n. the act or process of weakening and gradually defeating an enemy through constant attacks and continued pressure over a long period of time

toxic  adj. containing poisonous substances

rubble  n. broken pieces of stone, or brick from walls or buildings that have fallen

bandit  n. a criminal who attacks and steals from travelers and who is often a member of a group of criminals

siege  n. a situation in which soldiers or police officers surround a city or building in order to try to take control of it

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The United States says Myanmar is carrying out a genocide of its countrys Rohingya Muslims.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken made the declaration Monday morning in a speech at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington D.C. He had just visited its exhibit, Burmas Path to Genocide.

Blinken said it is his responsibility as Secretary to investigate possible atrocities in foreign countries. He said his examination of Burma found its military guilty of genocide and crimes against humanity against Rohingya.

Beyond the Holocaust, the United States has concluded that genocide was committed seven times. Today marks the eighth, Blinken said.

He called Burmese attacks against the Rohingya population "widespread and systematic." He said they pointed to evidence of a clear goal to destroy the mainly Muslim minority group.

In 2017, suspected Rohingya militants launched attacks against security forces in Myanmars western state of Rakhine. The attacks led the government to launch military operations against the rebels and their supporters. More than 700,000 Rohingya fled the area to escape the violence. Most are now living in refugee camps in neighboring Bangladesh.

The United Nations described the governments military operation as genocidal and a well-organized example of ethnic cleansing. Other countries have also recognized the conflict as a genocide.

Myanmar officials have denied the military carried out human rights abuses. The government said the campaign was necessary to defend against attacks by Rohingya militants.

The U.S. State Department has documented many cases of Myanmar security forces destroying villages and carrying out rapes, tortures and mass killings of civilians.

Blinken said of the security campaign, The militarys attacks in 2016 forced nearly 100,000 Rohingya to flee to Bangladesh. In 2017, attacks killed more than 9,000 Rohingya, and forced more than 740,000 to seek refuge in Bangladesh.

The latest U.S. declaration is not expected to result in immediate, new measures against Myanmar's military-ruled government. The government is already facing numerous U.S. sanctions over its military activities against the Rohingya population.

But the declaration could lead to increased international pressure on Myanmar, which also faces accusations of genocide at the International Court of Justice in The Hague. Human rights groups and lawmakers had long pressed the U.S. government to make the genocide declaration.

As we lay the foundation for future accountability, were also working to stop the militarys ongoing atrocities, and support the people of (Myanmar) as they strive to put the country back on the path to democracy, Blinken said.

Thousands of civilians across Myanmar have been killed and imprisoned as part of an ongoing campaign of repression against those opposed to the ruling military government.

Tun Khin is president of the Britain-based Burmese Rohingya Organization. He said in a statement he sees the U.S. declaration as a momentous moment and must lead to concrete action to hold the Burmese military accountable for their crimes.

Past U.S. declarations of genocide include campaigns against Uyghurs and other largely Muslim minorities in China, as well as atrocities carried out in Bosnia, Rwanda, Iraq and Darfur.

Im Caty Weaver.

The Associated Press and Reuters reported on this story. Bryan Lynn adapted the reports for VOA Learning English.

We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments section, and visit our Facebook page.

___________________________________________________

Words in This Story

atrocity  n. a very cruel or terrible act or action

conclude  v. to decide something after carefully studying all the information about it

commit  v. to make a firm decision to do something

sanction  n. an order that is given to force a country to obey international laws by limiting or stopping trade with that country

foundation  n. the main idea or principle that something is based on

accountable  adj. being responsible for what you do and being able to explain your actions

strive  v. to try very hard to do or complete something

momentous  adj. very important

concrete  adj. certain or based on facts
Jake Matthews helps catch bad guys on TV as a high-tech crime solver and he's running for Congress to build a high-tech Oregon for the 21st Century.

The co-star of CBS's "Wisdom of the Crowd" might be a familiar face for fans of "Bosch," "Legends" and "NCIS: Los Angeles."

His real life role running to replace U.S. Rep. Peter DeFazio, one of the longest-serving Oregonians on Capitol Hill representing House District 4.

Born and raised in Northborough, Massachusetts, Matthews, studied economics and government at Boston University and came to Corvallis about two years ago where he attended flight school. He believes he can best serve it on the national stage.

There are eight Democrats and one Republican running to replace DeFazio, who is retiring after 18 terms in office and winning reelection by five points in 2020. DeFazio, 74, is a co-founder of the U.S. House Progressive Caucus and a longtime advocate for education funding, health care expansion and transportation.

The communities spanning U.S. House District 4--parts of Lane, Jackson, Linn and Benton Counties--are among the poorest in Oregon. Combined, their average household income amounts to around $24,000, based on U.S. Census Bureau data.

That $24,000 per capita rate is what Matthews promises he will live on while representing House District 4 in Congress. The rest of his $174,000 congressional salary, he said, will go towards helping Afghan refugees.

"We are not getting any richer," Matthews said. "But the rich are definitely getting richer."

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Matthews believes those figures are proof DeFazio has been ineffective in bringing jobs to his own district and that's something he wants to change.

According to DeFazio's office, the representative has voted against every congressional salary increase since he first came to Capitol Hill. His office reports he bases his salary to cost-of-living adjustments for Social Security recipients and spends the difference funding scholarships for southwestern Oregon community colleges.

At the core of Matthews campaign is his goal of building a city of the future in House District 4. The project would see Congress would award contracts to companies with the best ideas for renewable cities where incomes would be adjusted by algorithms for cost of living and other factors.

Matthews, 34, wears a lot of hats on and offscreen as an author, producer and community organizer. A Democrat, he's campaigned for President Barack Obama, Hilary Clinton and Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick.

This year, he's running to dismantle the political machine churning out what he calls cookie cutter politicians who lack new ideas.

The son of Indian immigrants, Matthews wants to be defined by his passion and ideas, not his race.

"I know more about JFK than I do about Mahatma Gandhi," Matthews said. "I think we can get to a place where we just stop talking about race."

Matthews believes racial inequalities are real and wrapped up in economics. The solutions, for him, are creating more jobs for more people.

As a Sunday school teacher, Matthews recalls an instance in which his white students could name hundreds of jobs they imagined doing when they grew up. Black students, he remembers, named only two or three.

Biased journalism, according Matthews, is what's fueling extremism across the political spectrum. To that end, he wants to revive some or most of the Fairness Doctrine, a former federal rule which required TV broadcasters to air controversial issues of public importance in a fair and balanced way.

For Matthews, Democrats needs to be more open about bridging America's divides in the age of Black Lives Matter, not less.

"I feel like the left thinks they can't support cops," Matthews said. "There is a future solution to all these things that isn't just so black and white."

The Republican Party, according to Matthews, no longer deserves bipartisan good will from across the political aisle. Its general ambivalence to the Jan. 6 insurrection, he said, is proof the party has failed its voters.

"Who are we reaching across the aisle to?" Matthews said. "This is not a respectable party anymore."

For Matthews, this House race is about raising the bar for what people want from their government.

"Expect more from your congressmen, expect more from your politicians," Matthews said. "Watch where your money's going, make sure that you get your money up, care about the economics."

Tim Gruver covers the city of Albany and Linn County. He can be contacted at 541-812-6114 or Tim.Gruver@lee.net. Follow him on Twitter via @T_TimeForce.

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The Lebanon Police Department has arrested a Prineville man for allegedly assaulting his wife and driving while under the influence of intoxicants.

According to Linn County Circuit Court documents, Ronald Jay Rich, 58, allegedly caused serious physical injury to his wife on or around Sunday, March 20. The document also alleges Rich drove while intoxicated with liquor the same night.

The Linn County Jail website lists Rich as being arrested on suspicion of second-degree assault and DUII. According to the booking information, Richs blood alcohol concentration was between 0.15 and 0.19.

Lebanon police call logs show Rich was the suspect in a domestic disturbance call that came in around 6:39 p.m. Sunday at Franklin Street. According to the call log, the reporting party said her husband had pushed her when she was going outside and she fell on the concrete. She reportedly told police she thought her hip was injured. The suspect allegedly left in a vehicle.

Medics were dispatched, according to the call log, and when police asked the woman for details about her husband, she allegedly said Just let him go, I dont even want to report this.

Medics transported the woman.

Officers then started looking for the suspect, later identified as Rich. Police were searching for a man driving a green Chevy Avalanche. Officers eventually located Rich at an apartment complex, according to the call log.

Quality journalism doesn't happen without your help Support local news coverage and the people who report it by subscribing to the Lebanon Express.

Rich has another DUII on his record from a 2020 incident in Crook County, according to Oregons online court database. He has also been convicted of harassment in multiple cases as well as fourth-degree assault in a 2020 case.

Rich was arraigned in Linn County Circuit Court Monday, March 21 on the same charges he was arrested on suspicion of.

Maddie Pfeifer covers public safety for Mid-Valley Media. She can be contacted at 541-812-6091 or Madison.Pfeifer@lee.net. Follow her on Twitter via @maddiepfeifer_

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LEXINGTON  A semi-trailer left Interstate 80 and rolled on its side two miles west of Lexington during the afternoon of Tuesday, March 22.

At 1:25 p.m., law enforcement and the Lexington Volunteer Fire Department were dispatched to mile marker 235 due to a report of a semi on its side in the ditch and unknown injuries.

Dawson County Sheriffs deputies arrived on scene first to find the semi and trailer on its right side in the south ditch along the eastbound lane.

On scene, winds were blowing at 20-25 mph with some gusts reaching 30 mph, measured via anemometer.

Any injuries related to the accident were not disclosed on scene.

Eastbound traffic was directed into the left lane while law enforcement was on scene.

The Dawson County Sheriffs Office was assisted by the Nebraska Department of Transportation.
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Lapwai, ID (83501)

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Lapwai, ID (83501)

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Siddiques parents have demanded punishment against culprits for torturing and killing him while he was on an assignment in Afghanistan.

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NEW DELHI  The Pulitzer prize-winning slain photojournalist Danish Siddiquis parents Akhtar Siddiqui and Shahida Akhtar have filed a complaint against the Taliban, including its six leaders and high-level commanders, before the International Criminal Court (ICC) to investigate his killing and bring those responsible to justice.

The complaint was filed through Avi Singh at Cicero Chambers, a lawyer with extensive experience in international criminal law.

On July 16, 2021, Reuters photojournalist Danish Siddiqui was embedded with the Afghan Special Forces in Spin Boldak where he was injured in an attack by the Taliban while covering the conflict..

According to reports, Siddiqui was taken to a mosque, traditionally a place of refuge, for medical treatment. Talibal attacked the mosque, took Siddiqui into custody, tortured and murdered him.

Reports also said that he was attacked by the Red Unit of the Taliban. After his killing, his body was mutilated, including being run over by a heavy vehicle in public. His body revealed marks of brutal torture and 12 bullet entry and exit points.

Danish, our loving son, was murdered by the Taliban for simply carrying out his journalistic duties, said Danish Siddiquis mother, Shahida Akhtar at a press conference on Tuesday, March 22. He was subjected to barbaric levels of torture and mutilation while in their custody. Danish always stood for honesty and integrity in his work. He always showcased the pain and suffering of the people. He was brave and courageous all along.

No crime should go unpunished, said Singh, the lawyer representing Siddiquis family. The Taliban targeted and killed Danish because he was a journalist and an Indian. That is an international crime.

In the absence of rule of law in Afghanistan, the ICC has jurisdiction to investigate and try the perpetrators of Danishs murder. As the Taliban strives for international legitimacy, it must face accountability for its past actions, Singh said.

The killing of Danish Siddiqui was not an isolated case. The Talibans military code of conduct, published as the Layha, has a policy of attacking civilians, including journalists.

The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan has documented over 70,000 civilian casualties attributed to the Taliban, according to a statement by Siddiquis family.

As parents, we feel emotionally and morally obliged to take this action, Prof. Akhtar Siddiqui, Danish Siddiquis father said.

The International Criminal Court has been engaged in an ongoing investigation on international crimes, including crimes against humanity and war crimes, in Afghanistan, over which it has jurisdiction after Afghanistans government acceded to the Rome Statute.
Lapwai, ID (83501)

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Lapwai, ID (83501)

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Lapwai, ID (83501)

Today

Cloudy with rain developing later in the day. High 59F. Winds NW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall near a quarter of an inch..

Tonight

Cloudy with showers. Low 47F. Winds SSW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 70%.
Lapwai, ID (83501)

Today

Cloudy with rain developing later in the day. High 59F. Winds NW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall near a quarter of an inch..

Tonight

Cloudy with showers. Low 47F. Winds SSW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 70%.
Lapwai, ID (83501)

Today

Cloudy with rain developing later in the day. High 59F. Winds NW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall near a quarter of an inch..

Tonight

Cloudy with showers. Low 47F. Winds SSW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 70%.
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By Jun Sheng

The Ukraine crisis is putting the whole world on tenterhooks. When the international community is calling for a cool-down, the US is busy with blame-shifting and mudslinging in the attempt to cover up its true color as the initiator and agitator of the chaos and calamity today. It is the US that ignited the fuse to the Ukraine war, and the evolution of the ongoing crisis has shown again how the hegemony-obsessed America has been sabotaging global peace and stability.

Historical facts tell us that hegemony and expansion are in the American DNA. The country was born and bred in war, slavery and slaughter on its way to becoming a superpower, and has made its way to the center stage of the international arena through numerous wars. All US administrations after WWII have upheld the hegemonistic policy  from Trumans containment to Nixons realistic deterrence to George Walker Bushs preemption, Washingtons core strategic goal has been consistent and unchanged  establishing and preserving Americas hegemony.

The recent administrations have given their strategies different names, including Obamas smart power, Trumps America first, and Bidens Build Back Better, which are still focused on maintaining hegemony. To do that, the US, leveraged on its military might, has directly waged wars and caused division and conflict in constant breach of the principles and purposes of the UN Charter and the rules of international law, throwing the world into turmoil and unrest.

In recent years, America has waged or participated in a series of wars overseas, including the Kosovo War, Afghan War and Iraqi War, causing a whopping amount of civilian casualties and property losses that led to excruciating humanitarian disasters. According to statistics from Watson Institute of International & Public Affairs, the Iraqi War started by the US in 2003 killed at least 180,000-200,000 Iraqi civilians. The massive use of depleted uranium bombs and white-phosphorus bombs by the US-led multilateral forces also destroyed the local ecological environment and peoples health.

The Smithsonian Magazine reported that the wars and military operations carried out by the US in the name of counterterrorism since 2001 cover about 40% of countries on the planet. Data from Brown Universitys Costs of War project showed that these so-called anti-terror wars have claimed more than 800,000 lives and razed the homes of more than 38 million.

To be able to throw its weight around the globe, the US has kept up the worlds highest military expenditure for many years, which is equivalent to nearly 40% of the military spending of all countries. In addition to conventional military forces, the US possesses the largest and most advanced nuclear arsenal in the world and is the only country with a stock of chemical weapons, not to mention its more than 800 military bases distributed in every corner of the world that threaten global security like time bombs.

The US is not only a downright warmonger, but also an addict to interfering in foreign countries internal affairs and a black hand instigating unrest on foreign lands. For many years, Washington has been meddling in others internal affairs in the name of democracy and creating humanitarian disasters under the banner of protecting human rights. It has staged the Color Revolution in some Asian and European countries, remotely crafted the "Arab Spring" in West Asia and North Africa, promoted the new Monroe Doctrine in Latin America, and incited peaceful evolution around the worldThe messes it has left are the reason for the political turmoil and mounting social conflicts across those regions.

Frequently putting its domestic law above international law and rules, the US has been exercising long-arm jurisdiction over other sovereign states and rampantly wielding the baton of unilateral sanctions, practicing the jungle law and hegemonism to the extreme. Since the outbreak of novel coronavirus, its long-term sanctions upon Venezuela, Syria and Iran have put a dire drain on their economy and medical conditions and aggravated their pandemic situation. Seeing this, the US has stepped up the sanctions rather than ease or lift them.

Facts have proved beyond doubt that the US is the true destroyer of international rules and world order and the root cause for all the instability and uncertainty mounting worldwide today. The fermentation and evolution of the Ukraine crisis is a fresh reminder that we must stay on high alert against the US that recklessly plays the tricks of tension-stoking, war-mongering and interference addiction.
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Authorities have identified the two people who were killed in a crash into a building in the 500 block of Albion Road in the town of Albion on Sunday night.

The Dane County Medical Examiners Office said the crash killed Melody R. Johnson, 49, of Janesville, and Amy L. Johnson, 45, of Edgerton.

Preliminary results of a forensic examination at the Dane County Medical Examiners Office on Monday confirmed that they died from injuries sustained in the crash.

The deaths remain under investigation by the Dane County Sheriffs Office and the Dane County Medical Examiners Office.

The Sheriffs Office reported that that the crash happened shortly before 9:30 p.m. Sunday when a black Chevrolet left the road on a curve and struck a building, causing both people to be ejected from the vehicle. Speed and alcohol appear to be factors in the crash.

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On Tuesday, nearly two years to the day since he was charged with killing UW-Madison student Brittany Zimmermann in her apartment in 2008, trial dates in 2023 were set for the man who faces a first-degree intentional homicide charge for her death.

David A. Kahl, 55, who was charged on March 20, 2020, with killing the 21-year-old student at her West Doty Street home, is set for jury selection on Jan. 17, with testimony to begin the next day before Dane County Circuit Judge Chris Taylor. The trial is scheduled to last for close to four weeks.

Taylor was assigned to the case after Kahls preliminary hearing last year, when Kahls attorneys requested Circuit Judge Josann Reynolds, who was originally assigned, be substituted.

Zimmermann died from stab wounds and strangulation on April 2, 2008. When Kahls trial begins it will mark nearly 15 years since police were called to her apartment by Zimmermanns boyfriend, Jordan Gonnering, who found Zimmermann and called 911 about 1 p.m. that day.

A criminal complaint filed against Kahl in March 2020 contains no direct eyewitness evidence of Kahls involvement in Zimmermanns death, but cites probable DNA matches found on some articles of Zimmermanns clothing. It also cites DNA  Kahls  on the envelope for a letter sent to police in April 2009 from Fox Lake Correctional Institution, where Kahl was incarcerated at the time, pointing investigators toward another Fox Lake inmate as having discussed killing Zimmermann.

The complaint placed Kahl, who had long been considered a suspect, in the area of Zimmermanns apartment at the time she was attacked. It also cited Kahls shifting statements about his activities that day, which included going door-to-door trying to scam money from people for a purported tire repair. The money was used to buy crack cocaine.

Kahls competency to assist his defense was questioned by his lawyers last year, but he was found competent. In July, after a preliminary hearing, Kahl was ordered to stand trial for Zimmermanns death.

Until November, Kahl had been an inmate at Oshkosh Correctional Institution, where he was serving a prison sentence for seventh-offense drunken driving. After his release from prison, he was transferred to the Dane County Jail, where he is being held on $1 million bail.

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Utilities seeking to build a controversial power line connecting Iowa and Wisconsin are appealing a court decision blocking the Mississippi River crossing and say construction delays could leave the power grid more vulnerable to blackouts, limit clean energy production and lead to higher electricity prices.

Earlier this year, federal Judge William Conley sided with four conservation groups that sued to stop the $492 million Cardinal-Hickory Creek line, finding the environmental review was inadequate and the project is incompatible with the Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge.

Conley also ruled that a proposed land exchange cannot be used to evade Congress mandate for the refuge, which covers 261 river miles between Wabasha, Minnesota, and Rock Island, Illinois.

Attorneys for American Transmission Co., ITC Midwest and Dairyland Power Cooperative have appealed Conleys decision and asked the appeals court to suspend his order blocking the land swap, which they say will delay the December 2023 completion date.

In a court brief filed Monday, the utilities argue a delay would increase construction costs, which are passed on to ratepayers, compromise reliable operation of the Midwestern power grid, and contribute to ongoing congestion that prevents the delivery of cheap wind energy from Iowa.

The utilities also say project delays could result in the regional grid operator capping output from new clean energy projects that could power millions of homes.

Even a two-month delay, they say, would result in up to $20 million in losses for Madison Gas and Electric and the WEC Energy Group, the owners of the Badger Hollow Solar Farm in Iowa County. Both utility companies are owners of ATC.

The last of 17 transmission lines approved by the Midwest grid operator in 2011, Cardinal-Hickory Creek is needed more than ever, said Beth Soholt, executive director of Clean Grid Alliance, a renewable energy advocacy group.

This unnecessary litigation is holding up the delivery of clean, low-cost renewable energy in Wisconsin and across the Midwest, Soholt said. We cannot stand in the way of delivering the clean energy future the country demands.

The utilities argue Conley exceeded his jurisdiction when he nixed the proposed land swap because it has yet to be approved by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and that his ruling rests on a fundamentally flawed application of federal laws that are likely to be reversed.

Ruling defended

Howard Learner, the lead attorney for the conservation groups, said Conleys ruling was well grounded in law and facts and accused the utilities of using overheated rhetoric as they continue construction.

They are wasting money that they are charging to ratepayers and they are causing unnecessary environmental damage and property damage, Learner said. What they ought to be doing is pausing and stop wasting money.

Learner also noted the federal agencies that were targets of the lawsuit have not appealed and did not support the utilities request to put Conleys order on hold.

Work begins

The utilities, which have already spent more than $161 million on the project, began cutting trees last fall to make way for the Wisconsin portion of the 101-mile line and plan to begin pouring foundations this spring, according to the most recent progress report filed with state regulators. They planned to build the river crossing next winter in order to minimize harm to birds and wetlands.

After Conleys order, the Citizens Utility Board asked the Wisconsin Public Service Commission to halt construction, calling the 101-mile line between Dubuque and Middleton a bridge to nowhere.

The PSC, which unanimously approved the Wisconsin portion in 2019, has not taken any action.

Though his order does not prohibit construction outside of federal waters, Conley wrote that the ongoing construction on either side of the refuge amounts to little more than an orchestrated trainwreck at some later point in this lawsuit.

Other challenges

The case was filed by the Environmental Law and Policy Center on behalf of the National Wildlife Refuge Association, Driftless Area Land Conservancy, Wisconsin Wildlife Federation, and Defenders of Wildlife.

DALC and WWF are pursuing separate challenges in state and federal court.

One of those cases is now before the Wisconsin Supreme Court, which has been asked to decide if a former regulators personal relationships with utility executives constitutes a conflict of interest that could invalidate the construction permit.

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Election deniers are scheduled to head to the Capitol on Thursday and in May in an ongoing effort to cast doubt on the outcome of the 2020 presidential election by continuing to press baseless claims that the vote was stolen.

The dogged efforts despite numerous audits, reviews and court filings that found no more fraud in 2020 than is typical in any other election reflect a common tendency to double down on beliefs even when evidence suggests otherwise, said a social psychologist who studies cognitive dissonance.

On Thursday, members from the self-proclaimed election integrity group True the Vote will address a hearing before the Assembly elections committee.

Last Thursday, activist Jefferson Davis promised a packed room of supporters that True the Vote would drop a bomb this week proving the existence of widespread fraud. Thats despite no evidence coming before legislative committees  or anywhere else  leading to any finding of widespread fraud that would suggest former President Donald Trump won Wisconsin in 2020.

A Republican review of the election by conservative former Supreme Court Justice Michael Gableman was the latest to fall short of proving widespread fraud. Gableman claimed 100% of registered voters in Dane and Milwaukee county nursing homes cast absentee ballots in 2020, insinuating at least some of those votes had to have been cast fraudulently by others. But a closer look by the Wisconsin State Journal found only one nursing home where all 12 registered voters cast ballots; turnout among all the others ranged from 42% to 91%.

Some have conflated policies or decisions on election administration that they opposed or which werent explicitly authorized in state law with fraud, even though some of the practices were consistent with past elections, were approved by government bodies in open session or were found to be legal by a court.

Those include grants from the Mark Zuckerberg-funded Center for Tech and Civic Life to help cover the cost of conducting an election during a pandemic. While the grants went to about 214 municipalities, including many that went for Trump, the bulk of the money went to the states five largest cities, which turned out strongly for Joe Biden. Multiple courts have ruled the grants were legal. The grants were also not denied to any municipalities that requested them.

Deniers also have called for jailing members of the bipartisan Wisconsin Elections Commission for advising local clerks they could fix minor errors on ballot envelopes and use ballot drop boxes, which arent addressed in state law. The measures were approved by both Democratic and Republican members of the commission.

Assembly elections committee chair Rep. Janel Brandtjen, R-Menomonee Falls, has long derided the way the 2020 election was conducted, requesting information from Wisconsin counties as a first step toward what she described as a full, cyber-forensic audit of tabulators and inspection of the physical ballots from the election. She has also provided a platform for a man convicted of mail and bank fraud to give a presentation featuring false and unprovable claims about the 2020 election.

She did not respond to a request for comment.

A recount, routine post-election audits and court decisions have affirmed that Biden defeated Trump in Wisconsin by almost 21,000 votes. A review by the nonpartisan Legislative Audit Bureau as well as the conservative Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty also found no evidence of widespread fraud, and multiple court rulings have found no evidence of irregularities.

Only 24 people out of nearly 3.3 million who cast ballots have been charged with election fraud in Wisconsin, The Associated Press reported last week.

Excellent optics

Thursdays Assembly election hearing comes after Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, last week noted the election cant be decertified but nevertheless expressed a belief that there had been widespread fraud in 2020.

Vos and his spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

In addition to decertifying the election  which is legally impossible  many of those who persist in denying the outcome of the 2020 election are calling on the Legislature to enact stricter voting laws, which are all but certain to be vetoed by Democratic Gov. Tony Evers, and draw attention to their cause.

In an online chat, some called for supporters to take the day off work and rally to the Capitol on Thursday.

We want to pack it out and show the liberal media and press that we support election integrity, Justice Gableman, Rep. Brandtjen, Rep. Ramthun and True the Vote, Davis said in a statement posted on the messaging platform Telegram. Standing room only and packing the hallway would be excellent optics.

In May, a different group says it plans to bring a Canadian Trucker Style convoy to the Capitol, Where the start of the end of our enslavement will begin!!! according to the groups website.

The group is calling on Wisconsin to ban voting machines, prohibit outside grants for election administration and decertify the 2020 election, among other things. Its also calling for the arrest, prosecution, and severe punishment for those who have and would violate these and existing voting laws.

The group  calling itself Grandma and Grandpa  is calling on the Legislature to pass the measures in a special session and vowed to camp out at the Capitol until its demands are met.

Evers has said he wont sign legislation that would make it harder to vote.

Speaking at a WisPolitics luncheon last week, Evers, who is up for reelection in November, said repeated claims of fraud in the 2020 election by top Republicans, including Vos, have only encouraged the call for decertification  something that has also been urged by Gableman, who Vos hired last year to conduct a one-party review of the election at a cost to taxpayers of $676,000.

I think hes one of the smartest people Ive ever met and I think this is one of the dumbest things hes ever said, Evers said in reference to Vos claim of widespread fraud.

Cognitive dissonance

Many people who persist in claiming there was widespread voter fraud despite all evidence to the contrary may be beyond being swayed by the facts, said Carol Tavris, a social psychologist who studies cognitive dissonance and co-author of the book, Mistakes Were Made (but Not by Me).

People dont arrive at most of their beliefs through reasoned reflection or even the best science, Tavris said. They rely on the opinions of their tribe, and nowadays the most salient tribes in our country are political camps.

Thats true of people across the political spectrum, Tavris said, from liberals to conservatives.

In that tradition, she said, theres nothing unique about delusionally believing that voter fraud is widespread, especially as national Republican leaders peddle that claim.

Changing ones beliefs, even when presented with contrary evidence, is difficult, she said. Saying I was wrong is harder to admit than They are wrong, Tavris said.

Tavris describes what happens next as a pyramid of choice: At the top of the pyramid, a person chooses whether to believe something. The person will then seek more evidence to support that initial choice, broadening the support for it, while rejecting any information that questions it.

That initial decision can be made for impulsive or trivial reasons, but over time, throwing more justifications at that decision, its harder to change your mind without feeling you were stupid at the outset, she said.

Still, with no evidence supporting widespread fraud, more Republicans are becoming confident in the accuracy of the 2020 election, with 38% saying they are confident now, up from 29% who said they were confident in August 2021, according to the latest Marquette Law School Poll.

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Q: Im married to Zachary Hilty, grandson of Edwin Ralph Hilty, who used to be a casino manager at Horseshu Club. Grandpa Ed said that naming the town Jackpot was actually his idea because Petes dog was named Jackpot. Grandpa Ed also told stories about taking Johnny Cash (many times) out to the surrounding fields to shoot jackrabbits. Im not sure whats true but I wanted to reach out to see if you have additional information, or if Edwin Ralph Hilty has come up in any history of Jackpot?

A: The Hilty family lore is much more funand I can neither prove nor disprove it! The name Hilty doesnt even come up in any of our resources, said Toni Mendive, archivist at Northeastern Nevada Museum in Elko, Nevada. She referenced two books.

According to Edna Pattersons Nevadas Northeast Frontier, Needing a name for the newly established gaming center, trouble developed over the choice. Some from Jackpot wanted to call it Horseshu others Cactus Petes and another group favored the use of a local topographical name. To settle the dispute, in 1958 the Elko County Commissioners officially called it Unincorporated Town Number One. The name had little public appeal, so A. L. Gurley and Dale Wildman of Cactus Petes and Harvey Wright of the Horseshu Club petitioned county commissioners for a change of name agreeable to all parties. On April 7, 1959, the commissioners officially changed the name to Jackpot.

Carl Haydens History of Jackpot, Nevada, said Howd Jackpot come by its name? By chance. It could have been Horseshu, after the first casino established beside U.S. Highway 93 at the Idaho border in 1954. But the U.S. Postal Department said it would rather not have a name already in commercial use. You can see why. The town would be advertising the businessSo the selectors subscribed Jackpot after the cascade of coins when given sets of symbols are achieved on the reels of slot machines.

Unfortunately, I cant find anything about Edwin Hilty in our collection or in the newspaper, said Jennifer Hills, a department head for the Twin Falls Public Library.

Have a question? Just ask and well find an answer for you. Email your question to Kimberly Williams Brackett at timesnewscuriousmind@gmail.com with Curious Mind in the subject line.

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BELLEVUE  A representative serving his first session will seek to retain his seat in the Idaho House of Representatives this November.

Rep. Ned Burns filed paperwork with the Secretary of State ahead of the March 11 filing deadline to declare his candidacy.

Burns, a Bellevue Democrat, is serving his first legislative session as Representative for District 26. Gov. Brad Little appointed Burns to fill the seat of former Rep. Muffy Davis in December.

As a freshman legislator, Burns said he feels he is growing into his role as a representative.

Its been great being over here, Ive learned a lot, Burns said. I feel like Ive made good progress on the things Ive been tasked with making progress on.

The district Burns is currently representing includes Blaine, Gooding and Lincoln Counties. New legislative districts were approved earlier this year, and District 26 will now be composed of Blaine, Lincoln and Jerome counties.

A native of Twin Falls, Burns moved to the Wood River Valley in 2000 after graduating from the University of Montana. He is a real estate agent and was elected to the Bellevue City Council before being elected mayor in 2018. He was reelected in 2020.

Prior to the start of the session in January, Burns said he was optimistic that it wouldnt be too contentious. There are a number of aspects about legislating that Burns said have gone well. But the increase in hot topics in recent weeks have increased tension in the House.

When it comes to the majority of the appropriations, its pretty easy to get the work done, Burns said. But its always the hot-button issues and the election-year issues that really bring out the real disagreements among people, he said.

In the past two weeks, the House has been busy discussing bills, some of which fall into that hot-button category. Bills like a ban on transgender treatments for minors, a bill that eliminates ballot drop-boxes, a bill that would hold librarians criminally liable if children accessed harmful materials, and a bill that would allow people to sue physicians for providing an abortion after about six weeks have been debated on the House floor.

Burns has had his share of debates on these topics and more. He said he is committed to not limiting the rights of anyone.

I will never be supportive of legislation that infringes on peoples personal freedoms, Burns said. I felt like that anti-trans legislation was very hurtful, I felt it was dangerous.

One of his priorities for this session has been to help craft meaningful tax relief. A bill currently under consideration would remove property tax for homeowners and increase the state sales tax. Burns said this bill may not have the support to pass this year, and it may see some more work over the summer and come back next year.

With the legislative session nearing its end, Burns said he will be happy to return home to Bellevue, where he will spend the spring campaigning, as well as getting into the outdoors as much as possible.

Im excited to get to get to spend some time in southern Idaho in the spring,  Burns said Its one of the prettiest times of year.

Burns is the only Democrat contesting the seat, and will face the winner of the May 17 Republican Primary in Novembers general election.

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BOISE  Legislation giving Idaho wildland firefighters hazard pay when confronting wildfires headed to the governors desk on Monday after it was unanimously approved in the state Senate.

State senators voted 35-0 for the bill that would give state-employed wildland firefighters hazard pay of up to 25% above their hourly wages. The bill to increase pay for Idaho Department of Lands wildland firefighters passed the House 49-19 last month.

The spokesperson for Republican Gov. Brad Littles, Marissa Morrison, declined comment on whether he will sign the bill because the governor has a policy not to comment on pending legislation.

Supporters said the raises are needed to retain firefighters who get training from the state but leave to take better-paying firefighting jobs with other agencies that give hazard pay.

The result is a revolving door of employees that come and move on to other jobs, said Republican Sen. Jim Woodward. At two years, we see 40% turnover.

Supporters also said firefighters deserve hazard pay because they face significant risks on the job.

The Idaho Department of Lands is responsible for fire protection on 9,800 square miles (25,000 square kilometers) of state, federal and private land. It had one of its worst wildfire seasons in 2021 with some 225 square miles (580 square kilometers) burned, which was six times the 20-year average. Fighting the wildfires cost the state $75 million.

New Idaho wildland firefighters make $15 an hour. The hazard pay that firefighters would receive is expected to cost the state up to $390,000 a year.

I will tell you that the fiscal statement on this bill seems very small by the offset to the massive forest fires that we have seen in north Idaho  the value of our timber going up in the air, said Republican Sen. Mary Souza.

Republican Sen. Van Burtenshaw recalled a fire that was moving 35 mph (56 kph) and injured numerous cattle that couldnt get out of the way and had to be euthanized.

Those men and women out there in front of that are risking their lives, he said. This is a small amount for what we pay for fire suppression in the state of Idaho.

Little sought to boost the Idaho Department of Lands budget this year due to increasingly destructive wildfires that he has blamed in part on climate change.

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Appalachian Power will hold public information sessions Monday and Tuesday on area power grid upgrades.

The Stuart Area Improvements Project provides a new electrical source to support current electrical needs in the region and increases electric reliability for customers, according to a press release. The project involves constructing several components in the next few years.

The first component of the Stuart Area Improvements Project, announced in October, is the Stuart-Willis Gap Transmission Line Project.

The second component, announced in February, is the Stuart-Floyd Transmission Line Rebuild Project.

The third component is the Stuart-Bassett Transmission Line Project, located in Patrick and Henry counties. That involves:

Rebuilding about 22 miles of 69-kilovolt (kV) transmission line to 138 kV in or near the existing right-of-way

Building approximately 3 miles of 138-kV transmission line in new right-of-way

Upgrading the Fieldale Substation off Appalachian Drive in Henry County and the Philpott Dam Substation off Dam Spillway Road near the Philpott Dam in Henry County

Building the proposed Mayo River Substation off Commerce Drive in Patrick County (announced as part of the Stuart-Willis Gap project) and the proposed Stoneleigh Substation northwest of Fieldale in Henry County

Retiring four substations

Transmission system improvements like these are critical to ensure reliable power delivery to our customers in southwest Virginia, stated George Porter, Appalachian Power spokesperson, in the release. This component increases electric capacity in the area, modernizes equipment to reduce service interruptions and enhances the lines resiliency if outages do occur.

Next week Appalachian Power will hold public information sessions on the projects. Area landowners can expect to receive in the mail packets that includes additional project details and comment cards to return with feedback.

Sessions for the Stuart-Bassett Transmission Line Project are scheduled for 5-7:30 p.m.:

Monday at the Stuart Rotary Field, Rotary Memorial Building, 420 Woodland Drive in Stuart

Tuesday at the Bassett Train Station Event Center, 3536 Fairystone Park Highway in Bassett

Appalachian staff will wear face coverings at the sessions and encourage those who plan to attend to also wear face coverings. The project team continues to monitor the situation and plans to adjust recommendations in accordance with federal, state and local COVID-19 guidance, the release states.

Interested citizens also can visit AppalachianPower.com/Stuart to learn more about the project and provide feedback.

The company plans to upgrade the majority of the transmission line in or near existing rights-of-way, which may require new or updated property easements. Appalachian plans to build about 3 miles of new 138-kV transmission line and are evaluating study segments to determine the best possible route.

Work for the third component begins at the proposed Mayo River Substation (announced as part of the Stuart-Willis Gap Transmission Line Project) off Commerce Drive in Patrick County and travels northeast 10 miles to the proposed Patrick Henry Substation at the Patrick-Henry county line. The project continues 9 miles northeast towards the existing Fieldale and proposed Stoneleigh substations before traveling northwest 6 miles to the proposed Smith River and existing Philpott Dam substations.

The Virginia State Corporation Commission requires Appalachian Power representatives to file an application for project approval. The project team plans to file the application in fall 2022. If the project receives approval, crews are expected to begin construction on the Stuart-Bassett Transmission Line Project in fall 2026 and conclude by fall 2028.

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Average winter temperatures in Caledonia, Michigan, hover around freezing, and youre lucky if you see the sun. But at Revolution Farms, winter is peak growing season. Rows of crisp romaine and bibb, delicate arugula, frilly red and green sweet crisp, and other varieties are sprouting, maturing or being harvested and packaged before making the short trip to local grocers, restaurants and a few wholesalers within a few hours drive.

The greens are able to grow no matter whats happening outdoors, thanks to the farms three-acre, state-of-the-art indoor facility. Not your typical greenhouse, Revolution relies on two methods of farming: a fully hydroponic deep-water culture system and a hybrid, known as a moving gutter system. If we can grow in Michigan, where we have extreme temperature swings between winter and summer and major humidity level and sunlight changes, we could grow anywhere, says John Green, Revolution Farmss aptly named co-founder, chairman and CEO.

When weather doesnt matter

The idea for Revolution Farms grew from another unlikely place: Eleuthera, Bahamas, where Greens daughters attended the Island School, a high school program focused on sustainability and environmental education. I was amazed when I saw how they were growing lettuce in these extreme temperatures, with no soil as part of the process, says Green, who is on the schools board. I thought, Wow, if we could do that in Michigan, we could provide 12 months of consistent, predictable growing.

At the time, Green was also the board chair of the Grand Rapids Downtown Market, and he and his partners were already exploring ways to improve the quality of produce in their community. Ninety-five percent of the lettuce being purchased was coming in from California, so there was a freshness issue, plus cost and the environmental impact, he says. After having conversations with local retailers, we found that there was definitely interest in alternatives.

After researching new agriculture and farming methods, hydroponics seemed to be the best fit. Using their current methods, greens take between 22 and 28 days from seeding to harvest before the cycle can start over again. That means about 12 turns of lettuce a year, whereas traditional farming might yield only three. So in 2017, we jumped off the cliff and started to design the greenhouse and put the systems in place, Green says. The farm now produces about one million pounds of greens per year.

Floating crops, moving greens

Revolution Farmss deep-water culture area includes eight large pools, each filled with 30,000 gallons of water. Romaine, butterhead bibb, sweet crisp and arugula float on rafts, their roots plunged not in soil, but water infused with a custom mix of nutrients blended to optimize flavor and quality, says head grower, Tam Serage.

Recently the farm added the hybrid moving-gutter system, which is used to grow various types of lettuce used in its salad mixes. The greens are nestled in long gutters filled with a soilless mixture and through which nutrient-rich water flows. The greens start out close together to maximize space, then spread out thanks to gutters that move from growing to harvesting stations.

The two systems maximize versatility and quality. If we see consumer tastes are changing, we can very quickly pivot, Green says. What hasnt changed, however, is his customers taste for his greens balanced and predictable flavor. Its not as harsh, and its very consistent because of the enclosed environment, where we dont have the effects of wind or sun, he says.

Crops are also processed and packaged on-site, which reduces the risk of contamination, like the listeria outbreak recently linked to packaged romaine, Serage says. And without the need for a cross-country journey to your salad bowl, during which nutrient levels and freshness wane, you get fewer wilted leaves and highly nutritious greens.

Green growing methods

Hydroponic farming isnt new, but it is becoming more popular. The global hydroponics market is expected to roughly double its 2020 market share of $9.5 billion to nearly $18 billion by 2026. And while the ability to grow crops year-round is a big part of that growth, of course, so are the environmental benefits.

For starters, driving produce across town or even across the state rather than from far-flung, warmer climates cuts fuel usage and pollution. Hydroponic farming also, ironically, requires a lot less water  about 90 percent less than traditional farming methods. We use a closed-loop system, meaning we filter and recirculate our water, Serage says. That means we also dont have the discharge or runoff into the environment that can otherwise impact lakes and rivers. And, because Revolution Farms grows in a greenhouse using hydroponics and a moving gutter system, it uses only about 10 percent of the land that would otherwise be required to grow the same amount on a conventional farm.

Salad days

Green admits to making mistakes along the way, like all start-ups do. But by staying focused on what he and his team does best, Revolution Farms has fulfilled a need in its community while championing sustainable farming methods. At the end of the day, we believe in the product were putting out there, he says. We are representative of our consumers, and we all have the same goals in terms of flavor, nutritional value, cost and environmental impact.
Some McDowell County property owners are eligible for exemptions on their property taxes.

The state of North Carolina requires counties to treat all properties the same for taxation, with very few exceptions. There are several options available to reduce property tax payments to qualifying property owners, according to a news release.

The first available exemption is for property owned and occupied by McDowell County residents who are older than the age of 65 and have a disposable household income of $31,900 or less. Disposable income includes all income received, other than gifts or inheritances received from a spouse, lineal ancestors or lineal descendants.

Another exemption is available for property owned and occupied by McDowell County residents who are totally and permanently disabled. The same disposable income limit of $31,900 applies to this exemption.

Both the elderly and disabled exemptions exclude the first $25,000 or 50%, whichever is greater, of the residence and the corresponding home site up to one acre. Any property over one acre is assessed at 100% value.

Counties are also able to offer property tax exemptions for honorably-discharged 100% disabled veterans with a military service-related disability. This exemption excludes the first $45,000 of residential property owned and occupied by the qualifying veteran or a surviving spouse who has not remarried, according to the news release.

I encourage anyone who believes they may qualify for one of the exemptions to contact the Tax Assessing staff soon, said Commission Chairman Tony Brown. Tax Assessor Tammy Wylie and her staff will ensure qualifying taxpayers receive the exemptions for which they are entitled.

The deadline to be approved for the exemptions is June 1. Property owners who are currently qualified and receive the exemptions are not required to reapply each year.

Applications are available at the McDowell County Services Building at 60 E. Court St. in Marion or online at www.ncdor.gov/taxes-forms/property-tax/property-tax-forms#exemption-and-exclusion-forms.

Those with questions can call Tax Assessing staff at 652-0700.
Two people died and three others were injured in a shooting early Saturday morning in downtown Norfolk. The gunfire allegedly stemmed from an argument over a spilled drink.

Thats what Police Chief Larry Boone told a meeting of the Downtown Norfolk Civic League on Monday night.

Chief Larry Boone stated that the shooting that left two dead on Granby Street was the result of an argument over a spilled drink, Sgt. William Pickering confirmed.

Sierra Jenkins, a 25-year-old reporter for The Virginian-Pilot and Daily Press, and 25-year-old Devon M. Harris, of Portsmouth, were caught in the line of fire and killed. Three men were injured.

Neither Pickering nor Boone indicated whether the altercation began at Chichos Pizza Backstage, the popular Granby Street nightspot where gunfire erupted outside at about 2 a.m. Saturday.

Pickering did confirm that Norfolk police will step up patrols downtown starting Thursday in response to the spate of violence over the weekend that spanned Norfolk, Newport News, Chesapeake, Portsmouth and Suffolk.

Four of the shootings occurred in Norfolk, including the Granby Street shooting outside of Chicos Pizza Backstage. Of the three other Norfolk shootings, one was fatal and two were nonfatal.

Virginian-Pilot reporter among those killed in Granby Street shooting in downtown Norfolk Saturday would have been Sierra Jenkins turn to cover the breaking news shift for The Virginian-Pilot.
Scully, who earned an MBA at Loyola in 1979, will take the helm of the he Rev. Joseph A. Sellinger, S.J., School of Business and Management on July 1. (Algerina Perna / Baltimore Sun)

Mary Ann Scully, former chairwoman and CEO of the recently sold Howard Bank, will become the next dean of Loyola University Marylands business school, the university announced.

Scully, who earned an MBA in 1979 at what was then called Loyola College, will take the helm of the Rev. Joseph A. Sellinger, S.J., School of Business and Management on July 1.

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The Howard Bank founder has a proven track record of helping organizations thrive, succeed, and evolve in challenging times, said Cheryl Moore-Thomas, Loyolas interim provost and vice president for academic affairs.

Moore-Thomas cited Scullys deep appreciation for Loyolas Jesuit values, as key to preparing students for job opportunities and personal and professional success.

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Mary Ann Scully, CEO of Howard Bank. Baltimore Sun Civic Hall of Fame publication. Photo by John J. Coyle (John J Coyle Jr.)

Scully co-founded Howard Bank, which became Baltimores largest locally based bank. She served as chair and CEO until the bank was recently sold to F.N.B. Corp., the parent of First National Bank of Pennsylvania, for $418 million. That deal was announced in July.

During her 18 years with the bank, she grew its assets from $17 million to $2.6 billion. Scully previously worked in leadership and management roles for First National Bank of Maryland, which became Allfirst Financial, where she led international growth. She told The Baltimore Sun last year that she founded the bank in 2004 to help small- and medium-sized businesses and others create legacies.

Scully said in the announcement that she was looking for a new opportunity to make an impact. She said her liberal arts education has been key to serving in leadership roles and building relationships throughout her career.

This opportunity at Loyola offers an important intersection of the expertise that Ive built up over the years, the experiences that Ive had, and  very importantly  the networks Ive built, Scully said.

Part of her role will be to listen to what the faculty are looking to do and then take that out into the business community with the connections I have, she said.

Scully serves as vice chair of the Greater Baltimore Committee and on the boards for the Enoch Pratt Free Library, Mount Saint Joseph High School and the Inner Arbor Trust, which manages Merriweather Park at Symphony Woods in Columbia. At Loyola, Scully has been a trustee and member of the Sellinger Board of Sponsors.

Mary Ann Scully has had tremendous business success throughout her career, and she brings to the role a wealth of expertise and experience in forging relationships, said Robert Cawley, a Loyola trustee who co-chaired the universitys search committee.
Saudi Arabias Minister of Foreign Affairs Prince Faisal bin Farhan revealed Monday the kingdoms plan to mediate between Russia and Ukraine caught in a conflict after Russian President launched last month a military invasion to denazify the former soviet country.

Prince Faisal, the Saudi Press Agency reported, held a telephone conversation with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov. The Saudi top diplomat the agency added reaffirmed the Kingdoms support for a peaceful resolution through negotiations.

The Saudi official also discussed achieving this through the mediation proposed by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MbS). The kingdoms de facto leader on March 3 discussed the leaders of Ukraine and Russia and offered to exert all efforts to mediate between parties in the conflict in Ukraine, the agency notes.

Russian President Vladimir Putin late last month ordered the military intervention in neighboring Ukraine with the aim of flashing out Nazis that he believes have taken control of the former soviet country. Putin also argues that operation is also launched to prevent the NATO from expanding its footprint.
The former Malian Prime Minister, Soumeylou Boubeye Maiga, died on Monday at the age of 67 in Bamako where he was in detention in a case of alleged fraud, after warnings launched by his family on the deterioration of his health, said his entourage.

Mr. Maiga, detained since August 2021, died in the morning in a clinic in Bamako, surrounded by guards, said a family member, without further details.

After a deterioration of his health, doctors had requested his evacuation abroad for treatment. In December the family had stressed, citing the conclusions of doctors, the imperative need for the evacuation of Mr. Maiga abroad, which the authorities did not give their green light.

His wife had written an open letter to the head of the Malian junta, Colonel Assimi Goita, on March 2 about her husbands critical condition.

A heavyweight in Malian politics, Soumeylou Boubeye Maiga, was between 2017 and 2019 the Prime Minister of President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, who came to power in 2013, was overthrown in August 2020 by a military coup, then died in January.

Maiga, a former journalist trained in Senegal and France, had previously served as foreign minister, defense minister and head of the intelligence services.

Since August 2021, the former Prime Minister had been detained in the central prison of Bamako. He was transferred in December to the clinic in Bamako where he died on Monday.

Nigers President Mohamed Bazoum said he learned with dismay the death of Mr. Maiga, on Twitter. His death in prison is reminiscent of President Modibo Keita (1960-1967). I thought that such assassinations were from another era, he said.
Zambias Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) on Monday announced the arrest of former Justice minister Given Lubinda for embezzling $539,000, the latest twist in a series of prosecutions of executives of the previous executive, which was defeated in the August 2021 elections.

Given Ludinda, 58, is currently acting chairman of the Patriotic Front (PF), the main opposition party in Zambia.

The anti-corruption agency said Mr. Lubinda had been charged with five counts of possession of property suspected to be derived from criminal activity. He faces five years in prison.

The charges relate to property belonging to him as well as several deposits in bank accounts that are reasonably suspected to be the result of criminal activity, according to a statement from the ACC.

Mr. Lubinda has been released on bail, pending his trial, the commission said.

Zambias new president, Hakainde Hichilema, elected in August, has pledged to fight corruption head on.
The National Conferences are starting this Tuesday, March 22 in Guinea. These meetings initiated by the Ministry of Territorial Administration and Decentralization aim to build a new institutional framework in the country. The president of the transition, Colonel Mamadi Doumbouya, is scheduled to deliver a speech to inaugurate these wide-ranging consultations, which are expected to last several weeks.

On December 31, Colonel Mamadi Doumbouya announced the holding of National Conferences, which he conceived as days of forgiveness and truth. In other words, meetings to discuss reconciliation. No information was given on how this aspect will be addressed.

Experts and civil society agree on one point: this work should take up the recommendations of the report published in 2016 and complete it by directly setting up a Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission. This approach would be more productive, said the National Front for the Defense of the Constitution, which is concerned that new resources would be mobilized for work that has already been done.

In addition, a few hours before the conference begins, political actors and technical partners are overwhelmed with questions: all of them are unaware of the precise content of the conference and the purpose of these discussions. Why linger on these meetings when we are still waiting for a timetable for the transition, asks one observer, who doubts the follow-up to these meetings.
The U.S. Treasury Department Undersecretary for Terrorism and Intelligence said his country is monitoring the financial movements of the Islamic State organization in the Democratic Republic of Congo in an effort to effectively disrupt them.

Brian E. Nelson visited Kinshasa from March 16-18, during which the fight against corruption, money laundering and terrorist financing were among the issues discussed, the statement said.

Regarding the link between corruption and terrorist financing, the statement added, the United States is monitoring the ability of Daech (EI) to raise, retain, and transfer funds into and out of the DRC and the region.

We want to work closely with the DRC government to combat Daech-DRC and make the DRC a hostile environment for Daech. This effort includes effectively tracking and disrupting their finances, the text added.

The Ugandan-born group Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) is portrayed by the jihadist organization Islamic State, or Daech, as its Central African branch (ISCAP). Since March 2021, the United States has placed the ADF on its list of terrorist groups affiliated with the IED.

Members of this group are accused of numerous massacres in eastern Congo, particularly in the Beni region of North Kivu (east), where they have been established since the 1990s, and in Ituri (northeast). They are also accused of being responsible for recent jihadist attacks on Ugandan soil.
Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain

In the summer of 2021, as the third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic wore on in the United States, infectious disease forecasters began to call attention to a disturbing trend.

The previous January, as models warned that U.S. infections would continue to rise, cases plummeted instead. In July, as forecasts predicted infections would flatten, the delta variant soared, leaving public health agencies scrambling to reinstate mask mandates and social distancing measures.

"Existing forecast models generally did not predict the big surges and peaks," said geospatial data scientist Morteza Karimzadeh, an assistant professor of geography at CU Boulder. "They failed when we needed them most."

New research from Karimzadeh and his colleagues suggests a new approach, using artificial intelligence and vast, anonymized datasets from Facebook could not only yield more accurate COVID-19 forecasts, but also revolutionize the way we track other infectious diseases, including the flu.

Their findings, published in the International Journal of Data Science and Analytics, conclude this short-term forecasting method significantly outperforms conventional models for projecting COVID trends at the county level.

Karimzadeh's team is now one of about a dozen, including those from Columbia University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), submitting weekly projections to the COVID-19 Forecast Hub, a repository that aggregates the best data possible to create an "ensemble forecast" for the Centers for Disease Control. Their forecasts generally rank in the top two for accuracy each week.

"When it comes to forecasting at the county level, we are finding that our models perform, hands-down, better than most models out there," Karimzadeh said.

Analyzing friendships to predict viral spread

Most COVID-forecasting techniques in use today hinge on what is known as a "compartmental model." Simply put, modelers take the latest numbers they can get about infected and susceptible populations (based on weekly reports of infections, hospitalizations, deaths and vaccinations), plug them into a mathematical model and crunch the numbers to predict what happens next.

These methods have been used for decades with reasonable success but they have fallen short when predicting local COVID surges, in part because they can't easily take into account how people move around.

That's where Facebook data comes in.

Karimzadeh's team draws from data generated by Facebook and derived from mobile devices to get a sense of how much people travel from county to county and to what degree people in different counties are friends on social media. That matters because people behave differently around friends.

"People may mask up and social distance when they go to work or shop, but they may not adhere to social distancing or masking when spending time with friends," Karimzadeh said.

All this could influence how much, for instance, an outbreak in Denver County might spread to Boulder County. Often, counties that are not next to each other can heavily influence each other.

In a previous paper in Nature Communications, the team found that social media data was a better tool for predicting viral spread than simply monitoring people's movement via their cell phones. With 2 billion Facebook users worldwide, there is abundant data to draw from, even in remote regions of the world where cell phone data is not available.

Notably, the data is privacy-protected, stressed Karimzadeh.

"We are not individually tracking anyone."

The promise of AI

The model itself is also novel, in that it builds on established machine-learning techniques to improve itself in real-time, capturing shifting trends in the numbers that reflect things like new lockdowns, waning immunity or masking policies.

Over a four-week forecast horizon, the model was on average 50 cases per county more accurate than the ensemble forecast from the COVID-19 Forecast Hub.

"The model learns from past circumstances to forecast the future and it is constantly improving itself," he said.

Thoai Ngo, vice president of social and behavioral science research for the nonprofit Population Council, which helped fund the research, said accurate forecasting is critical to engender public trust, assure that communities have enough tests and hospital beds for surges, and enable policy makers to implement things like mask mandates before it's too late."The world has been playing catch-up with COVID-19. We are always 10 steps behind," Ngo said.

Ngo said that traditional models undoubtedly have their strengths, but, in the future, he'd like to see them combined with newer AI methods to reap the unique benefits of both.

He and Karimzadeh are now applying their novel forecast techniques to predicting hospitalization rates, which they say will be more useful to watch as the virus becomes endemic.

"AI has revolutionized everything, from the way we interact with our phones to the development of autonomous vehicles, but we really have not taken advantage of it all that much when it comes to disease forecasting," said Karimzadeh. "There is a lot of untapped potential there."

Explore further Using AI to forecast COVID-19 cases further into the future

More information: Benjamin Lucas et al, A spatiotemporal machine learning approach to forecasting COVID-19 incidence at the county level in the USA, International Journal of Data Science and Analytics (2022). Journal information: Nature Communications Benjamin Lucas et al, A spatiotemporal machine learning approach to forecasting COVID-19 incidence at the county level in the USA,(2022). DOI: 10.1007/s41060-021-00295-9
The city of Shenyang in northeastern Liaoning province was ordered to lock down late Monday.

China locked down an industrial city of nine million people overnight and reported more than 4,000 virus cases on Tuesday, as the nation's "zero-Covid" strategy is confronted by an Omicron wave.

Health authorities reported 4,770 new infections across the country, the bulk in the northeastern province of Jilin, as the city of Shenyang in neighbouring Liaoning province was ordered to lock down late Monday.

China has moved fast in recent weeks to snuff out virus clusters with a pick-and-mix of hyper-local lockdowns, mass testing and citywide closures. It reported two Covid-19 deaths on Saturday, the first in over a year.

Authorities have warned of the risk posed to growth by persistent lockdowns as the country strives to balance the health crisis with the needs of the world's second biggest economy.

Shenyang, an industrial base home to factories including carmaker BMW, reported 47 new cases Tuesday as authorities put all housing compounds under "closed management" and barred residents from leaving without a 48-hour negative test result.

Last week Chinese President Xi Jinping stressed the need to "minimise the impact" of the pandemic on China's economy, but also urged officials to "stick to" the current zero-Covid approach.

But Beijing's virus playbook has been stretched to the limit by the latest Omicron surge, which has forced authorities to free up hospital beds from mild-symptom patients.

Some cities such as Shanghai have avoided a full lockdown and instead imposed a web of individual building lockdowns, even as new daily asymptomatic infections there spiral into the hundreds.

Jilin provincial officials announced Monday that the first 10,000 doses of Pfizer's oral Covid drug arrived on Sunday, marking the first time Paxlovid has been used in China.

The province last week imposed strict travel curbs banning locals from leaving their cities and counties, while several cities have already confined residents at home.

The southern tech powerhouse of Shenzhen on Monday announced it would lift its week-long lockdown "in an orderly manner", after having partially eased measures on Friday to minimise the impact of virus shutdowns on factories and ports.

Health officials last week revealed only around half of Chinese aged over 80 have been double-vaccinated, as the spectre of Hong Kong's dire Covid mortality ratesmainly among the unvaccinated elderlyhangs over Beijing's decision making.

Explore further China locks down millions more as COVID spreads

 2022 AFP
Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain

In an article published in eNeuro, fifteen leading scientists of the European Human Brain Project (HBP) outline how a new culture of collaboration and an era of digitalization has transformed neuroscience research over the last decade.

"The way we study the brain has changed fundamentally in recent years," says first author Katrin Amunts, HBP Scientific Director, Director of the C. and O. Vogt-Institute of Brain Research, Dusseldorf and Director at the Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine at Research Centre Julich. "In the past, separate communities have often focused on specific aspects of neuroscience, and the problem was always how to link the different worlds, for example, in order to explain a certain cognitive function in terms of the underlying neurobiology."

The HBP has brought together communities from different disciplines and countries to work collaboratively on common goals. In the new eNeuro article "Linking brain structure, activity and cognitive function through computation", the HBP researchers outline their scientific approach and illustrate the potential of the EBRAINS infrastructure for neuroscience research.

The human brain is one of the most complex systems known, and many of its most basic functions are still not fully understood. There is an urgent need to gain deeper insights into the complexity of the brain in order to target mental and neurological diseases. This requires the integration of insights from multiple scales both on the spatial and temporal level. To address this challenge, the HBP has built the digital research infrastructure EBRAINS in a co-design approach between neuroscientists, developers, engineers and informaticians.

The authors highlight the increasing need for digital tools and describe how HBP scientists employ highly advanced methods from computing, neuroinformatics, simulation and artificial intelligence to carry out cutting-edge brain research. "The HBP is the first large-scale project that systematically connects brain research, medicine and information technologies," says Viktor Jirsa, Director at the Institut de Neurosciences des Systemes of Inserm and Aix-Marseille University and last author of the eNeuro article. "The HBP has challenged us to think beyond the boundaries of our own laboratories and domains and has enabled us to go much further than we could have ever gone by ourselves."

The development of neuro-inspired technologies hugely benefits form the growing body of insights into perception, plasticity and learning. In this way, brain research is becoming a key driver of technological advances in computing, artificial neuronal networks, cognitive computing and neurorobotics. "Basic neuroscience research is the rocket fuel for advances in medicine and IT," says Jirsa.

Together with the broader neuroscience community, the authors are now drafting a position paper outlining their scientific vision for the next decade of digital brain research. Researchers across Europe are invited to contribute to the living paper that has recently been published. "We will continue to make neuroscience more open, cooperative and participatory," says Amunts.

Explore further Human Brain Project: Researchers outline how brain research makes new demands on supercomputing

More information: Katrin Amunts et al, Linking Brain Structure, Activity, and Cognitive Function through Computation, eneuro (2022). Katrin Amunts et al, Linking Brain Structure, Activity, and Cognitive Function through Computation,(2022). DOI: 10.1523/ENEURO.0316-21.2022

Provided by Human Brain Project
Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain

COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations remain low in Chicago and in other parts of the country, but cases are rising in parts of Europe and Asia, thanks to the omicron subvariant known as BA.2.

Does that mean we could see another COVID-19 surge this spring? It's possible, because spikes in Europe tend to foreshadow trends in the United States, says Hannah Barbian, Ph.D., a virologist and genomic epidemiologist who is studying SARS-CoV-2 for the Regional Innovative Public Health Lab (RIPHL) at RUSH.

What we know about the BA.2 subvariant

"BA.2 has been rising globally for more than a month, and now it's over 50% of cases in many places in Europe, Asia and Africa," Barbian says. China is also seeing outbreaks from BA.2. "The U.S. has been lagging behind a little bit, but now we're seeing a steady increase in BA.2 in the U.S. as well." Wastewater samples across the country have shown this trend.

At RIPHL, Barbian developed a type of test called a rapid variant PCR assay to detect BA.2 in samples from hospitals across Chicago. During the week of March 14, Barbian estimated that BA.2 was responsible for about 15% of cases in the city, similar to projections by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Will BA.2 create a new wave of COVID-19 cases in Chicago and the rest of the country? "Many places in Europe saw increases in cases when BA.2 reached around 50% prevalence. So, if that were true for the U.S., we might see BA.2 reaching 50% prevalence in the next month or so, although it is really difficult to predict the exact timing of it," she says. One factor that could help slow the rise of infections is warmer weather, which means more people will be meeting outdoors and reducing the likelihood of transmission.

So far, BA.2 appears to be more transmissible than the original omicron BA.1 variant, although the surge in COVID-19 abroad could also be driven by countries "opening up" and eliminating their mask mandates, Barbian says. Also, more time has passed since many people received their last vaccine or booster, which could contribute to waning immunity.

Will vaccines and treatments work against BA.2?

The good news is that BA.2 does not appear to be any more severe than the original omicron, and vaccines are just as protective against BA.2, Barbian says. And if you were among the nearly half of the U.S. population infected with the original omicron variant, you have some protection against BA.2, although this wanes over time, Barbian says.

However, certain COVID-19 treatments, such as current monoclonal antibodies, may be less effective against BA.2 because the subvariant has about 20 mutations in its spike protein that differ from BA.1.

"Fortunately, the FDA granted emergency use authorization a few weeks ago to bebtelovimab, a monoclonal antibody with activity against BA.2," says Mary Hayden, MD, chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases at Rush University Medical Center and co-principal investigator of RIPHL. "But given the ongoing evolution of the virus, developing monoclonal antibody therapies is like trying to hit a moving target."

No need to worry about 'deltacron' yet

Although there have been several media reports about a recombinant SARS-CoV-2 virus that's a mix of the delta and omicron variants, Barbian says such viruses are to be expected. "When two very different viruses are circulating, it's the perfect situation to observe recombinants," she says.

The recombinant virus doesn't seem to be spreading or have unexpected biological properties, so Barbian doesn't think it warrants much concern for now. "The entire spike protein of the recombinant virus is basically all omicron, which means it will function just like omicron," she says.

Yes, there is already a BA.3 subvariant

Because viruses mutate, a BA.3 subvariant is also in global circulation, although it doesn't seem to be spreading much, Barbian says.

For now, it's unclear what the next major variant or subvariant will be. "It could be a new variant that's much less severe. It could be a new variant that's much more transmissible. It's hard to predict what's going to come next," she says.

But what does seem clear is that SARS-CoV-2 will never be eliminated. That's because the virus can also infect animals like deer and mink. "Even if we eradicated it in humans, which would be an almost impossible feat, then it could just leap back into humans from the animal population," she explains.

Are we over the COVID-19 pandemic yet?

When asked whether we're any closer to the end of the pandemic and having COVID-19 become an endemic disease that we learn to live with indefinitely like the flu, Barbian says scientists and the public tend to define the terms differently.

"A lot of people want endemic to mean that we don't need to wear masks ever again or that hospitals will never be swamped ever again, and that's probably not true yet," she says. "We're still in the stage where there could be large outbreaks that are difficult to anticipate. An endemic virus is very predictable, and we're not at the point yet."

Whatever the next major variant or subvariant is, Barbian stresses that we already have the tools we need to control it. "If a new variant comes up, we may have to wear masks for a few months instead of throughout the whole year, and we may have to keep social distancing when it's important instead of all of the time," she says. "With every new variant, those measures will remain effective and might be necessary from time to time."
Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain

Doctors tend to overestimate the progress made towards gender equality in UK medicine, suggest the results of a snapshot survey published in the open access journal BMJ Open.

These misperceptions are associated with greater reluctance, particularly among male doctors, to back initiatives to promote gender equality in the profession, the survey responses show.

The recruitment of women doctors to several specialties has failed to keep pace with their representation in medicine in general in the UK. Women are well represented in general practice/primary care, yet remain underrepresented in medical and surgical specialties, particularly at senior level.

The researchers wanted to find out whether doctors are accurately able to gauge women's representation in different specialties and roles, and whether these perceptions affect their willingness to support initiatives to promote gender equality in medicine.

The researchers surveyed online 425 UK-based consultants, GPs, specialist trainees/junior doctors on their perceptions of doctors within the UK medical profession. Nearly half (47%) the respondents were women.

Respondents were recruited via social media; a dedicated doctors' web forum; and through listservs maintained by the 24 medical royal colleges and faculties, 214 health service trusts, and 46 medical subspecialty and social societies.

Respondents were asked to indicate what proportion (0-100%) of doctors in different grades, including trainees, and in different specialties, were female.

To calculate the extent to which participants under- or over-estimated true proportions, the researchers subtracted from their responses the actual percentages of women working within each area/role.

To gauge support for initiatives designed to promote gender equality in the UK medical profession, respondents were asked to indicate how much they (dis)agreed that these activities were necessary, fair, excessive/'over the top' or put men at a disadvantage on a scale of 1-7, where 1 equals strong disagreement and 7 equals strong agreement.

Analysis of the responses showed that both men and women tended to overestimate the proportion of female consultants and GPs.

They estimated the proportion of female consultants to be 43% (actual proportion 37%) in medicine and 25% (actual proportion 14%) in surgery. The estimated proportion of female consultants/GPs in general practice was 58% (actual proportion 54%).

Estimated proportions of female trainees varied more by specialty area, but overestimates were still evident when limiting analyses for a given area to the respondents who were themselves in that particular area of medicine.

Respondents underestimated the proportion of female GP trainees (63.5% vs 69%) and more or less accurately estimated the proportion of female medical trainees (54% vs 53%).

But they overestimated the proportion of surgical trainees (37.5% vs 33%) and female medical school graduates (60% vs 55%).

Overestimating female representation in medicine across areas and roles was associated with greater reluctance to back initiatives to promote gender equality, particularly among men.

Among female respondents, regardless of their estimates of the proportion of women in medicine, there was no systematic difference in their level of support for gender-based initiatives.

The gap in support for gender equality initiatives between male and female respondents who correctly estimated female representation was small, with men's support nominally lower than women's.

Yet among those who overestimated female representation by just 10%, that gender gap grew by 150%, reflecting a significant drop in support among male doctors. Women's support remained steady.

The researchers checked to see whether this pattern was associated with stereotypical beliefs that male doctors are inherently better than female doctors.

Those who more strongly endorsed this belief were less supportive of gender-based initiatives, overall. But even after accounting for this, support for gender-based initiatives among the men was still significantly tied to the tendency to overestimate the proportion of women in medicine.

This is an observational study, and as such, can't establish cause, added to which the areas/roles included weren't comprehensive, so the findings may not translate to the whole of the UK medical profession, say the researchers.

But they write: "Men who overestimate the true progress that has been made in women's representation are at highest risk of undermining it."

They add: "This points to an insidious consequence that can arise when women's representation grows within a given field. It seems to prompt some to misperceive and overstate the actual degree of change, and following from this, particularly for men, mistakenly infer that gender equality initiatives in the field are no longer worth supporting.

"This ultimately hinders efforts to promote true equality, whether it be promoting women's representation in areas of the field where they are still under-represented or combating issues of gender bias that exist independent of women's numerical representation."

Explore further Achieving gender parity will take another 60 years for some UK surgical specialties

More information: Overestimating women's representation in medicine: a survey of medical professionals' estimates and their (un)willingness to support gender equality initiatives, BMJ Open (2022). Journal information: BMJ Open Overestimating women's representation in medicine: a survey of medical professionals' estimates and their (un)willingness to support gender equality initiatives,(2022). DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2021-054769
I wrote last month about the weirdness that has been Woodberry Kitchen since the pandemic. The restaurant has basically been in hibernation since last fall, mainly hosting private events. This week there appeared to be signs of life. Well, at least a past life.

Alex Cooper is hosting an online auction of items from Woodberry Kitchen, including commercial kitchen pieces, banquets, chairs, tables, serving trays, whiskey barrels and a custom made iron meat smoker.

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Some of the contents of Woodberry Kitchen are part of an upcoming auction. (Kenneth K. Lam / Baltimore Sun)

It all seems like the end but it may be the beginning. On Monday, we reached out to owner Spike Gjerde, who said in an email that Woodberry is still planning to reopen after a renovation. The furniture, tableware, artifacts, and equipment at the auction have been consigned to make room for our new look and operating model. He did not elaborate.

Items in the auction are on display at a gallery in Cockeysville.

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The idea is to capitalize on the nostalgia of Woodberry Kitchen, said Lisa Jones of Alex Cooper. People who were fans of the food and dining experience would want a piece of that in their own home.

Bidding closes March 29 at 7 p.m.

The Shark on the Harbor sells

I recently caught up with Ocean City restaurateur Jody Wright.

For those unfamiliar, Shark on the Harbor, the restaurant Wright founded with her late husband, chef Travis Wright, has for around two decades been one of OCs top dining destinations, known for its commitment to locally-sourced produce and seafood. Its fabulous view doesnt hurt, either.

Travis died in 2019, and Jody found herself running the restaurant solo. That would be a monumental undertaking under any circumstances, but then COVID-19 hit.

Shark On The Harbor restaurant overlooks the West Ocean City harbor. (Barbara Haddock Taylor/Baltimore Sun)

Jody says she almost welcomed the stress and chaos that the pandemic brought, since she was so busy navigating various crises that she didnt have time to even think about her grief. But as the world has returned to something resembling normal, shes begun contemplating life after the restaurant.

Last week, Jody announced on Facebook that she is selling the Shark to three longtime employees: bartender Victoria Sperry, executive chef James Samataro, and Krystle Meehan, who deals with sales and reservations.

After running the restaurant with her husband, and then solo, Jody says she was adamant about turning the business over to three people. She told them: Three is a magic number because it allows all of you to have beautiful lives no one will be swallowed whole with the demands of running the restaurant.

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At 52, Jody says the business of running a restaurant is a young man, young womans game.

As for her own next chapter, Jody intends to pursue a long held dream of being a full-time writer and novelist. Shes working on a book about her life in the restaurant industry entitled Seconds: My codependent restaurant life.

In it, she plans to reflect on her husbands years-long struggles with bipolar disorder and death by suicide. She wants to break the taboos around topics of mental health, which she thinks just create more barriers for people getting the treatment they need. Why shouldnt it be as easy to talk about dealing with as cancer?

Shell discuss how his passion for the restaurant both put pressure on him and gave him a productive way to manage his mental illness.

We never had children probably because we were so consumed by the restaurant, she said. While running a restaurant came with pressures, The neediness of that restaurant saved him. It needed him and it kept him on track.

Supply chain woes hit The Local Oyster

The pandemic is getting us used to waiting. Last week, I reported on delays business owners have seen getting needed permits from city agencies. Other business operators in Baltimore say theyre noticing backlogs from manufacturers as they try to get new restaurants furnished and ready to open.

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Anything thats metal or structural steel - custom pieces have been delayed, said Patrick Hudson who is opening a new branch of The Local Oyster in South Baltimores Anthem House this summer. Some ovens, steam machines and walk-in refrigerators have taken up to nine months to ship. The project, which has been in the works for around 3 years, is set to open in June. Its been a long journey.

The companys planned restaurant in Remington is delayed indefinitely, Hudson says both due to supply chain issues and an overall increase in construction, as well as staffing. We couldnt staff that place if we wanted to.

Where do you eat pizza?

Barfly's loaded pies are no joke. The restaurant is also a low-key spot for local drafts and a game of darts. (Gene Sweeney Jr., Baltimore Sun photo)

I received several responses to my question about readers favorite places to eat Baltimore pizza.

Harry Bosk proclaims Hershs to be among the best in Bmore, along with Hampdens Birroteca. He adds: Cheezys Pizza on Joppa Road and or Remos of N.Y in Carney.

Matthews is the classic, but my favorite is Barflys, writes Stanley Feldman. Make sure to dip it in the special sauce. Dont sleep on the Fra Diavolo.

I love many many things about my adopted home town, but pizza is not one of them, writes Philadelphia native Mitchell W. Feldstein. For whatever reason pizza is not one of Baltimores charms. And dont even get me started on the falafel!

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Baltimore Sun reporter Lorraine Mirabella contributed to this report.

Dish Baltimore Weekly Get the scoop on that new restaurant, learn about chef changes and discover your favorite new recipe. All your Baltimore food news is here. >
Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain

What are the most important factors to consider for developing effective drug use prevention programs? Many current programs for adolescents focus on elements including peer and family relationships, school connection, and youth's self-confidence and self-assertion. However, a new study from the University of Illinois (U of I) suggests another factor may be equallyor even moreinfluential: whether the youth believes drug use is wrong.

"Inherent to the success of drug use prevention programs is ensuring activities are targeting those risks and protective factors that are most influential and salient for youth substance use," says Allen Barton, assistant professor and Extension specialist in the Department of Human Development and Family Studies at U of I and lead author on the study.

"As we aim to develop more effective drug use prevention programming, we have to ask whether any pertinent factors have been overlooked."

Barton and his colleagues found individual beliefs that drug use is wrong had twice the magnitude of impact compared to other risk and protective factors examined in the study. Thus, influencing adolescents' beliefs about drug use may be an important but relatively underemphasized key to modifying their behavior.

The researchers based their work on cognitive dissonance theory, which has not been used commonly to inform drug prevention efforts.

"The basic idea of cognitive dissonance theory is that individuals strive for harmony or agreement between their beliefs and their behavior. When there's a disconnect or dissonance, they try to reconcile either by changing their behavior to match their beliefs, or by changing their beliefs to allow for their behavior," Barton explains.

The researchers analyzed information from the 2018 Illinois Youth Survey, which measured risk behaviors among middle and high school students. The study included more than 128,000 youths in grades 8, 10, and 12 from schools across Illinois. Respondents noted whether and how frequently they had used alcohol, cannabis or tobacco in the past year. They also answered a range of questions about their attitudes, school, family and health.

"It is not surprising that drug use beliefs are linked to behavior; we certainly would expect a correlation between them. What's most noticeable is the magnitude of the effect, particularly in comparison to more established factors included in the analyses," Barton states.

In the survey, youth were asked how wrong they think it is for someone their age to consume alcohol or drugs, ranking from "not wrong at all" to "very wrong" on a four-point scale. For each unit increase in response, the likelihood of past-year drug abstinence increased by 39% for 8th graders, 50% for 10th graders, and 53% for 12th graders.

Beliefs not only correlated strongly with past usage, but also with frequency of use.

"Even among individuals who used drugs in the past year, individual beliefs that drug use is wrong were associated with less frequent use," Barton says.

The researchers found parents' beliefs also had a protective effect, albeit smaller than individual beliefs, while peer acceptance of drug usage was a risk factor. Perhaps more surprisingly, parental communication about drugs was associated with higher usage.

"These conversations may be happening because parents are already suspicious that youth are using drugs or trying to experiment," Barton notes. He suggests parents might want to speak with their kids about drugs at an earlier age, perhaps during the middle school years, rather than wait until they perceive a problem.

The study's findings can inform research and prevention efforts in various ways, the scientists say. First steps are to investigate how youths' beliefs about drug use are formed and influenced. Practitioners might also consider how they can support parents and caregivers in transmitting their beliefs to youth.

"Our work suggests this is a construct that warrants more attention in both the research and practice communities as it demonstrates a strong protective effect when it comes to drug use," Barton says. "As we are trying to improve drug use prevention programming for youth, these results suggest it may be useful to think about how educators, mentors, and parents can help instill the belief that drug use is wrong."

The Illinois Youth Survey is administered every other year to schools across Illinois. Reports are available at the Illinois Youth Survey website. Schools can also register online for participation.

The article, "Adolescent substance use and individual beliefs that drug use is wrong: A statewide epidemiological study" is published in Substance Use & Misuse. Authors include Allen Barton, Qiujie Gong, Naya Sutton, Jordan Davis, and Doug Smith.

Explore further Illinois youth opioid use linked with other substance misuse, mental health issues

More information: Allen W. Barton et al, Adolescent Substance Use and Individual Beliefs That Drug Use Is Wrong: A Statewide Epidemiological Study, Substance Use & Misuse (2022). Allen W. Barton et al, Adolescent Substance Use and Individual Beliefs That Drug Use Is Wrong: A Statewide Epidemiological Study,(2022). DOI: 10.1080/10826084.2022.2034877
Graphical abstract. Credit: The Lancet Public Health (2022). DOI: 10.1016/S2468-2667(22)00004-4

A decline in mobility associated with aging can greatly reduce quality of life, lead to loss of independence, generate substantial health and social care costs, and reduce overall life expectancy. Pressure on healthcare systems is set to be exacerbated by the rapid expansion of the older population. Currently, three in 10 people of state pension age are classified as disabled due to mobility limitations.

REACTotherwise known as the REtirement in ACTion programis an innovative, behavior change intervention targeted specifically at older adults who are beginning to experience mobility limitations (e.g., those who are beginning to find climbing upstairs, walking to the shop, or getting up from a chair more of a challenge). It aims to prevent further decline in mobility through exercises that target lower limb strength, balance, and stamina.

The program focuses on fun, social interaction and building a community through the group-based sessions whilst providing accessible strength, balance, mobility, and cardio-vascular exercises tailored to each participant's needs.

Based on results from a large, randomized control trial, the international research team from the universities of Bath, Birmingham, Exeter, and the University of the West of England (UWE) (UK) and the University of Maryland School of Medicine and Wake Forest (US) say that REACT can help older people avoid a downward spiral of declining mobility, which can accelerate and lead to social isolation and loss of independence.

REACT ran across three sites (Bath / Bristol, Birmingham, and Devon) over four and a half years. It involved 777 participants aged 65 and over (the oldest participant was 98). Participants were split into either an intervention or a control group.

Those in the intervention group attended REACT twice a week for three months and then once a week for a further nine months. Those in the control group attended three separate "healthy aging" classes over the course of the year. By comparing the two groups, researchers were able to test the effectiveness of REACT on lower limb mobility, as well as looking at health and social care usage.

Their results, which are published today in two papers in the Lancet Public Health, show that:

At 24-months (12 months after the completion of the REACT intervention), the participants who had attended sessions had significantly greater mobility than those who did not, suggesting both a short and long-term positive effect.

This meant REACT participants found it easier walking, climbing stairs, and had greater independence performing daily activities.

At least one strength, balance, and mobility exercise session per week (a fairly low level of commitment) was sufficient to provide meaningful benefits on lower limb physical function.

Per person, the cost of delivering the program was 622, but the health care savings were 725 over two years. Longer-term savings could be far higher.

Professor Afroditi Stathi, REACT Chief Investigator from the University of Birmingham explains: "Physical activity carries a wide range of benefits for older people including a longer and healthier life, prolonged independence and autonomy, better mobility and improved wellbeing. Yet, many older people face a downward spiral of declining mobility, whereby the less active they are, the more limited they become.

"Through REACT we have shown that this steady decline is avoidable. It can be prevented, or in many cases be reversed through an exercise program that is individually tailored and progressive.

"At least one REACT exercise session per week seems sufficient to provide clinically meaningful benefits on lower limb physical function and it is highly cost-effective. This is a strong public health message to give to older adults, both in the UK and around the world."

Bath-based REACT participant, Mr Fayek Osman, aged 74, said: "The program improved my wellbeing as my walking ability and stair climbing are improving. REACT has been of great benefit to me and encouraged me to continue with advanced level of activities. It also strengthens my belief that some exercise is better than nothing at all."

Dr. Tristan Snowsill of the University of Exeter, who examined the economic data from the study with Professor Antonieta Medina-Lara, said: "We found clear evidence that quality of life was improved in the REACT group. This alone would most likely have been enough to justify the cost of the program using the standard rule for cost-effectiveness. To also find that REACT participants used fewer health and care services makes the REACT program one of the clearest cases of value for money I have come across."

The team now hope REACT can be rolled out nationwide via community activity providers based in local areas.

Dr. Max Western of the University of Bath's Department for Health explained: "The aim of REACT was always to have real impacts on people's lives. Given these significant results we are calling on healthcare professionals and policymakers to draw on our findings and implement similar REACT sessions in other parts of the country. Our studies show just how effective REACT can be; we hope many more people will soon be able to benefit from it in the way our participants did."

Dr. Janet Withall, of the University of Birmingham, is the REACT Trial Manager. She added: "We would like to thank all 777 REACT participants who contributed their time and enthusiasm, and without whom the study would not have been possible. We also could not have conducted the REACT study without all our delivery partners who supported us with their time, resources and expertise."

Explore further Keep moving to prevent major mobility disability

More information: Afroditi Stathi et al, Effect of a physical activity and behaviour maintenance programme on functional mobility decline in older adults: the REACT (Retirement in Action) randomised controlled trial, The Lancet Public Health (2022). Afroditi Stathi et al, Effect of a physical activity and behaviour maintenance programme on functional mobility decline in older adults: the REACT (Retirement in Action) randomised controlled trial,(2022). DOI: 10.1016/S2468-2667(22)00004-4 Tristan M Snowsill et al, Cost-effectiveness of a physical activity and behaviour maintenance programme on functional mobility decline in older adults: an economic evaluation of the REACT (Retirement in Action) trial, The Lancet Public Health (2022). DOI: 10.1016/S2468-2667(22)00030-5 Journal information: The Lancet Public Health
Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain

Spanish health authorities are moving closer to normalizing life in coexistence with COVID-19, by scrapping mandatory quarantinesfrom next weekfor those infected with the virus but showing no or mild symptoms of the disease.

Under current regulations, seven days of isolation are mandatory for anybody who tests positive for the coronavirus.

Starting March 28, free COVID-19 tests will only be conducted on high-risk groups, at health facilities and nursing homes, and on patients with the worse conditions, Spain's Health Ministry said Tuesday.

It said the decision was taken by the country's Commission on Public Health.

Amid high levels of vaccination, the rate of coronavirus contagion remains still above 400 new cases per 100,000 residents in 14 days, a high-risk level but way down from the mid-January record. Fueled by the omicron variant, the two-week variable surged then above 3,400 new cases per 100,000 residents.

Since the first case was identified in early 2020, Spain has officially reported 11.3 million infections and just over 100,000 confirmed deaths, although the accuracy of record-keeping has varied during the pandemic.

Explore further Spain ends mask mandate outdoors as coronavirus surge ebbs

 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Following a recent trip to Poland and Germany, U.S. Sen. Steve Daines is urging the Biden administration to do whats necessary to transfer Polish MiG fighter jets to Ukraine.

Daines, who traveled over the weekend with 10 senators, met with Germany's parliament and the deputy foreign minister of Germany, as well as representatives from Ukraine. Daines said that more lethal weapons were needed. Citing the missiles the United States has already supplied Ukraine to fight the invading Russian Army, Daines, a Republican, said getting the Polish fighter jets to Ukraine wasnt an escalation. He called the Biden administration timid for not delivering the MiG 29 fighters it originally indicated it was willing to do.

Remember, we have provided the Javelins, the Stingers, a long list of lethal aid already to the Ukrainians that allowed them to destroy Russian tanks. And, the Ukrainians have been very successful in doing that, Daines said. And so I'm not quite sure what the argument is with the MiG 29 being different from the other lethal aid we have provided. This is about peace through strength.

The United States had sought MiG 29 fighters from Poland and other NATO countries to transfer to Ukraine because Ukrainian pilots are familiar with the Russian-built jets. The arrangement fell apart when Poland announced that it wouldnt transfer the MiGs directly to Ukraine, but would deliver the jets to a U.S. Air Force base in Germany. The United States said transfer of the jets from a U.S. Air Force base to Ukraine fighter pilots was too direct of a confrontation between the United States and Russia.

Daines said German officials who met with the senators likened Russias invasion of Ukraine to the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States.

In Germany, I heard from several, as well as other Europeans, who said that Feb. 24, when Vladimir Putin launched his invasion into Ukraine, was their 9/11, Daines said. By the way, I do not think it was a coincidence that Vladimir Putin waited until the Beijing Olympics were over on Feb. 20. It seems as if the Chinese sent a save-the-date card to Putin, to make sure that they knew they should not start the invasion prior to the end of the Beijing Olympics. I don't think it's a coincidence it happened four days right after the Beijing Olympics had their closing ceremonies.

There is a very big difference in the expected NATO response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the 9/11 attacks on the United States. Because the United States is a NATO member, the organization invoked Article 5, meaning that the members recognized the attack on the United States as an attack on all NATO members. They joined the United States in war, something NATO members havent done for Ukraine, which isnt a member.

Daines also said the Russian invasion proved that Germany made a mistake in transitioning away from coal and nuclear energy and toward natural gas-fired power plants fueled by Russian natural gas.

"What's happening with energy, I think, is a wake-up call for Germany, a wake-up call for the United States, a wake-up call for the EU." Daines said. "We must reverse this anti-fossil fuel energy course," Daines said. "And we need to be thinking about renewable sources of energy as additive to our energy portfolio, not replacing our energy portfolio."

Germany is bringing coal-fired power plants out of mothball in case the energy is needed. It continues its planned exit from nuclear power. It plans to expedite construction of two liquid natural gas terminals to reduce its dependence on Russian natural gas delivered by pipeline. The Associated Press reported Tuesday that Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Germany isn't ready to fully boycott Russian oil and gas, but would diversify its energy supply enough over time to do without Russian fuels.

It would be incorrect to describe Germany's energy "wake-up call" as a pivot back to fossil fuels. Scholz, addressing the Bundestag on Feb. 27, said the security threat posed by Russia's invasion of Ukraine meant Germany must accelerate its pivot away from fossil fuels.

"After all, the events of recent days and weeks have shown us that responsible, forward-looking energy policy is not just crucial for our economy and our climate. It is also crucial for our security," Scholz said in prepared remarks published by the German federal government. "This means that the faster we make progress with the development of renewable energies, the better. And we are on the right track. We are an industrialized country aiming to become carbon-neutral by 2045."

The trip to Poland and Germany was led by Iowa Republican Joni Ernst. In the days ahead of the trip, Ernest lobbied 41 senators to put their names to a letter calling on President Joe Biden to facilitate the transfer of MiG 29 fighters to Ukraine. Six of the senators on the trip, including Daines, signed onto the letter.

The other members of the traveling delegation were Susan Collins, R-Maine; John Cornyn, R-Texas; Kirsten Gillibrand, D-New York; Jerry Moran, R-Kansas; Angus King I-Maine; Shelley Moore Capito, R-West Virginia; Jacky Rosen, D-Nevada; and Roger Marshall, R-Kansas.

Concerning the $13.6 billion aid package to Ukraine passed by Congress earlier this month, Daines and Marshall were the only senators on the trip to vote against it. The aid for Ukraine was tucked into a $1.5 trillion omnibus bill to fund the federal government through September. Daines opposed the omnibus and voted no on the package after joining a few Republican lawmakers in attempting the put the Ukraine aid to stand-alone vote.

Democrats presented the priorities of the Ukraine representatives differently. Gillibrand said the representatives asked for four things, the first being increased sanctions, particularly on people closest to Russian President Vladimir Putin. The second priority was an increase in the number of weapons as well as the lethality of the weapons. A third request was that Putin and his military leaders be declared war criminals. The fourth request was that the Senate talk about what it will do for Ukraine, not what it won't do.

Republican Senator Collins said the United States needed to allow Ukraine refuges temporary protective status in the United States if refugees had family already here.

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A man is appealing a conviction for killing his former on-and-off partner in 2013 to the Montana Supreme Court, according to an appellate brief filed on Monday. He is also asking for a new trial.

Cody Wayne Johnston was found guilty in October 2016 in a four-day jury trial of one count of deliberate homicide and one count of tampering with physical evidence, both felonies.

Nicole Waller, a 31-year-old mother of three, disappeared Feb. 14, 2013, on her way to Kalispell from Fairview, after telling family and friends she was coming home after breaking up with Johnston, according to court records. That same day, authorities found her car on the side of a road near Poplar on the Fort Peck Indian Reservation. She was reported missing two days later, the Missoulian reported in 2017.

Johnston was charged in connection to Wallers disappearance in August 2015.

Several agencies investigated Wallers disappearance, including the Fort Peck Tribes Criminal Investigations; Flathead, Richland and Roosevelt county sheriffs offices; Sidney and Fairview police departments; the Montana Department of Justices Division of Criminal Investigation and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Johnston was handed a life sentence to the Montana State Prison following the 2016 conviction. He has maintained his innocence in the case throughout the criminal justice process.

The appellants opening brief, filed by Johnstons attorney Joseph Howard on Monday, alleges that misconduct on the part of state prosecution during the trial violated Johnston's rights. It further raises issue with Johnstons defense attorneys, who the brief says did not object to the prosecution when they should have.

The brief contends the prosecutor in question, Brant Light, inserted his personal opinion as to Johnstons credibility and guilt and attacked his character in closing arguments. Light died in December 2020.

The prosecutors decision to repeatedly inject these character flaws and shortcomings into the States closing clearly invited the jury to scrutinize and consider Johnstons character in determining his innocence or guilt, the brief reads.

It goes on to say the state's closing arguments "improperly inflame(d) the passions of the jury where (it) repeatedly and explicitly appealed to its sympathies for Waller and her family. These emotional appeals were clearly calculated to produce a dramatic and emotional impact on the jury." The brief provides an example of "inflaming passions" when the prosecutor highlighted Waller's unknown whereabouts in saying "her body now rests in some dirty and disrespectful location."

The appeals argument cites the Sixth Amendments guarantee that criminal defendants receive a fair trial by jury and says the prosecutions alleged misconduct may be grounds for reversing the conviction and granting a new trial.

The second prong of the appeal is that the Office of the Public Defender attorneys Clark Matthews and Casey Moore provided ineffective assistance of counsel. Specifically, Johnston says they failed to object to prosecutions misconduct when appropriate. The brief argues the attorneys pursued a "strategy" of foregoing objections during closing, something that wasn't reasonable and allowed Light to inundate the state's closing arrangements with his personal opinion and commentary.

A response brief from the state has not been filed yet.

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A district court judge on Monday declared unconstitutional a bill passed by the Montana Legislature proposing to elect Supreme Court justices by regional districts.

Gallatin County District Court Judge Peter Ohman's order strikes down the proposal in House Bill 325, which would have put the question of eliminating at-large voting for Supreme Court candidates on the ballot in November. The bill was passed and signed into law in 2021.

It's so far unclear if Montana Secretary of State Christi Jacobsen, the defendant named in the case and represented by the Montana Attorney General's Office, will appeal the ruling; a spokesperson for the AG did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.

Opponents to the bill during the legislative session warned eliminating the statewide vote on justices would not pass muster in court, pointing to a state Supreme Court decision nine years earlier that found Montana's high court was not intended to be a government body representative of regional interests.

The Legislative Services Division's legal team, too, issued a legal analysis while the bill was working its way through the Legislature finding that HB 325 presents issues that were found unconstitutional in the earlier case, known as Reichert, and would likewise present problems by proposing amendments to the structure of the Supreme Court through statutory changes rather than a constitutional amendment. Legal notes are intended to inform legislators of potential constructional conformity issues, but do not make determinations of constitutionality.

The plaintiffs who challenged HB 325 in court include the Montana League of Women Voters, as well as a Butte nun, a former Democratic lawmaker, the former Confederated and Salish Kootenai Tribes chairperson and a Republican member of the 1972 Constitutional Convention. They were represented by Bozeman attorney Jim Goetz and Billings attorney Cliff Edwards.

Jacobsen was the lone defendant. Solicitor general David Dewhirst and assistant solicitor general Christian Corrigan argued at a hearing in January that ruling on the proposal before voters cast their ballots in November would have been premature. Ohman rejected that argument with previous Supreme Court decisions finding courts have accepted challenges to initiatives before elections when that initiative is unconstitutional "on its face."

Additionally, lawmakers passed HB 325 as a legislative referendum, which requires only a majority approval from both chambers to send to voters and potentially change state law. A constitutional amendment, which Ohman notes would have been required to accomplish the substance of HB 325 given the Reichert ruling, would have required a much higher bar: a combined two-thirds of the members in state House and Senate. Had lawmakers attempted to pass HB 325 as a constitutional amendment, they would have been four votes short.

"In this case the subject of the challenged initiative already has been found to be facially unconstitutional," Ohman wrote. " As to the argument that it would be more 'prudent' to wait until after the election, the opposite is true  it would be a waste of time and resources and deceive the voters."

Monday's order marks the third time since the Legislature adjourned that a judge has struck down a new law lawmakers passed last year. One law, Senate Bill 140, was upheld by the Supreme Court and a district court judge last month declined to block a law prohibiting employers from mandating vaccines in the workplace. Several other high-profile laws, like those limiting access to abortions, have been blocked while the legal process plays out.

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Gov. Larry Hogan announced Monday that the Maryland Department of Health donated 50 ventilators to Ukraine to help hospitals treat the wounded during Russias invasion.

The Republican governor said the Astral portable ventilators were donated to the Paul Chester Childrens Hope Foundation  a Dickerson-based grassroots medical organization that provides surgical care to people in developing countries.

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The State of Maryland continues to stand in solidarity with President Zelensky and the people of Ukraine, Hogan said in a news release. We are proud to make this donation to help save lives and aid the Ukrainians in the fight against Russian aggression.

Russias war in Ukraine, now in its 26th day, shows no signs of abating. The invasion has wreaked devastation and destruction, exacting a heavy toll on civilians. The U.N. says nearly 3.4 million people have fled Ukraine. Since the start, the U.N. human rights office recorded 925 civilians killed and 1,496 injured. Thousands of Russians have also died.

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The Maryland Department of General Services helped sort the logistics of transporting the ventilators, which are leaving the country Monday and expected to arrive at front line hospitals throughout Ukraine later in the week.

Maryland Secretary of Health Dennis R. Schrader said in a statement that donating medical equipment was the least we can do.

Dr. William Chester, PCCHF co-founder, thanked the elected officials for the donation.

Without the help of truly dedicated individuals in the state and the assistance of the Maryland Society of Anesthesiologists, this would not have been possible, Chester said in a statement. These ventilators will save lives during and after this terrible, senseless crisis.
It is no secret that Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and the Wests infusion of arms in response, has moved the Doomsday Clock ever closer to midnight. Putting it differently, it is becoming more likely that an ill-conceived move on either side could escalate what is already a disaster into a nuclear catastrophe. It is time to rethink the role of nuclear weapons in how powerful nations resolve their differences.

The war in Ukraine may have opened a door that has remained somewhat closed since the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962. Early in his war on Ukraine, President Putin warned that countries standing in Russias way would face consequences such as they have never seen in their history. He also announced that Russia's nuclear weapons were being put on a special regime of combat duty. This was considered by many world leaders to be a threat to use nuclear weapons if NATO's military support for Ukraine becomes too significant for him to tolerate. Russia is thought to have about 2000 non-strategic nuclear weapons. These weapons, designed for tactical, or battlefield, use still have many times the destructive power of the bombs dropped on Japan in World War II.

While we have no way of knowing how the current conflict will play out, we do know that escalating it further cannot be good. We must also recognize that continuing the development of nuclear weapons technology will not make us safer and that multiple choices of weapons and their delivery systems also may give our leaders to more incentive to use them.

Our current military spending calls for around $1.5 trillion to upgrade and maintain our nuclear arsenal over the next 30 years. Plans also call for the development of a new non-strategic nuclear-armed sea-launched cruise missile at a cost of at least $10 billion through 2031. Given how few of these weapons that would make our Earth uninhabitable were they detonated, an average person might think this dollar cost is excessive.

The Nuclear Posture Review (NPR) is written periodically to establish when and how nuclear weapons would be used by the United States. However, reworking these plans regularly gives us scant hope that these weapons will not be used when leadership deems it necessary. Now, since nuclear armed powers are involved in conflict in various ways, it is first essential to stop this war. After achieving this, we, and all nuclear nations, must come to the table to end this dangerous and wasteful enterprise.

If you are as concerned as we are, we urge you to contact President Biden. We are calling for the President, with Putin and other world leaders, to end this war and secure a just peace for Ukraine and the greater Europe. But of equal importance, Biden needs to begin serious and lasting efforts to reduce the world's nuclear arsenal with the achievable goal of eliminating these weapons from our planet. We owe our children and grandchildren a world safe from the threat of nuclear disaster and wars of all kinds. Contact President Biden by email at whitehouse.gov/contact or by phone at 202-456-1111.

For detailed information, visit The Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft  Achieving a Safer U.S. Nuclear Posture by Joseph Cirincione quincyinst.org/ or the Veterans For Peace site veteransforpeace.org/ to read the Veterans For Peace Nuclear Posture Review.

Western Montana Chapter 133 of Veterans for Peace: Pat Vaughan, Rob Holden, John Snively, Dexter Aspevig, John Garrity, Walter Honan, Steve Hutchins

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VERO BEACH  A two-time Vero Beach mayor died from what police said was a self-inflicted gunshot wound at his home Sunday evening.

Paramedics and police officers were called to the Avalon Avenue residence around 6:30 p.m. by a woman who said she found her husband with a gunshot wound in a bedroom.

Master Police Officer Darrell Rivers said Allen Craig Fletcher, 79, who went by Craig, was pronounced dead at 6:39 p.m. from a head wound.

Fletcher was twice mayor of Vero Beach from 2002 to 2003 and 2012 to 2013 and held four terms on the City Council between 2000 and 2014. He served as mayor 20 years after his father, Alfred Fletcher.

Former mayor's arrest: Craig Fletcher charged with assault after dispute with lawn care worker

From July 2019: Fletcher begins veterans court to get assault charge dropped

From March 13, 2002. Craig Fletcher looks at a coin that was tossed to decide whether he or Tom White would be the mayor of Vero Beach during an organizational meeting at City Hall the day after the election. Craig Fletcher won the toss. He gained the title 20 years after his father, Alfred Fletcher, served as Vero Beach mayor.

Rivers said Fletchers wife called 911 and said she found him as she went into a bedroom to look for movies. She told detectives he asked her to look for movies for them to watch and became angry because she couldnt find one.

She said he went into a bedroom, slammed the door and several minutes later she heard a loud noise.

Detectives talked with another family member at the residence who said Fletcher had repeatedly made threats to shoot himself and also made threats to shoot his wife.

(The family member) explained Vero Beach police officers had filed a risk protection order several years ago because of his behavior  and the judge denied it, according to Detective Jennifer Brumley in the report.

Floridas so-called red flag law, was enacted in March 2018 after the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland a month earlier.

The law allows law enforcement agencies to ask judges to temporarily seize firearms from people who show warning signs of violence

The last time police were at the home was in late 2021, Rivers said, when officers were called because of an argument between Fletcher and tree trimmers. Rivers said that instance did not involve a gun.

Story continues

In July 2019 Fletcher was ordered to attend veterans court on an aggravated assault charge stemming from accusations he pointed a loaded handgun at a lawncare manager who knocked on the door of his home following a dispute with workers.

Craig Fletcher, former Mayor of Vero Beach, along with his attorney Andy Metcalf, stand before Judge Cynthia Cox while in veterans court on Tuesday, July 23, 2019, at the Indian River County Courthouse in Vero Beach.

His attorney at the time said Fletcher was a U.S. Army veteran during the Vietnam conflict.

A veterans court program outcome can include counseling or therapy and is a collaboration between courts and the Department of Veterans Affairs, a circuit clerk felony division official said. The charge was dropped and removed from state records.

Among many issues before him over the years, Fletcher signed an initial agreement in 2013 to take Vero Beach out of the electric business. That sales agreement eventually fell through because at the time the city couldnt get out of its other contracts. FPL bought the electric system in 2018.

Fletcher also worked to preserve from development islands just south of Indian River Shores within the Indian River Lagoon. He signed a deal in 2003 that preserved the Lost Tree Village Islands.

If you or someone you know may be struggling with suicidal thoughts, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 any time day or night, or chat online.

Corey Arwood is a breaking news reporter for TCPalm. Follow Corey on Twitter @coreyarwood, or reach him by phone at 772-978-2246.

This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Craig Fletcher, former Vero Beach mayor dead of self-inflicted gunshot
Burke County commissioners shot down using the countys American Rescue Plan Act funds for broadband expansion in the area.

Some counties in North Carolina have approved using the funds for broadband expansion but Burke County Board of Commissioners members say the county has more pressing things that it needs to use the money on. The county received around $17 million in ARPA funds, with about $2 million of that already earmarked for projects, county officials said.

But the board agreed last week not to use the countys federal ARPA funds for expansion, as there is state money already allocated for broadband expansion.

In 2021, the General Assembly passed legislation that appropriated $350 million from the American Rescue Plan Act for the GREAT Grant program. That state grant program allows for each county in the state to receive up to $8 million for broadband expansion into unserved areas.

The counties dont actually receive the money. The GREAT grants is a competitive program that provides funding to private broadband providers, the N.C. Department of Information Technology said.

Burke County Manager Bryan Steen told commissioners that because of proprietary restrictions of the private companies, they are not allowed to have a great deal of information to make a clear decision on awarding the ARPA funds for broadband expansion. The two private companies mentioned during the meeting was Spectrum and CenturyLink.

Board Vice Chairman Johnnie Carswell said private companies that provide broadband services already have been able to apply for GREAT grants to expand the service to unserved areas in the county. Each of the state grants could be as much as $4 million. Carswell said there have been interest from the companies to expand their services in Burke County.

Commissioners agreed to write a letter of support for the applications from the companies but without any county ARPA money used.

During its budget retreat earlier this year, the board discussed the possibility of using county ARPA funds to address facility needs for social services and the health department. Commissioners havent made any decisions yet on how the remainder of its ARPA funds will be used.
ICARD  Residents serviced by Icard Township Fire and Rescue now have a new station providing service to them.

The station sits at Old N.C. 10 and Miller Bridge Road, off Exit 116 on Interstate 40. It comes in addition to the departments first station on First Avenue in Hildebran.

Members of the department and community gathered at the new station Sunday for a dedication ceremony, where Todd Eckard, chairman of the departments board of directors, said the new station came as the community continues to experience growth with new businesses, schools and neighborhoods calling the Icard area home.

He presented a plaque to the community, which was accepted by Chester Berry, dedicating the station to the residents served by Icard Township Fire and Rescue who made the departments success possible.

Brand Lingerfelt, chief of the fire department, said the new station should help the department obtain a lower Insurance Services Office rating at its next review. A lower rating would result in residents in the area served by the station getting a lower rate on their homeowners insurance.

The celebration not only marked the dedication of the new fire station, but also saw two lifelong firefighters be recognized for more than 50 years each in the fire service.

Mike Causey, state insurance commissioner and fire marshal, presented Carroll Reed and George Hollowell with the Order of the Guardian, an award that recognizes those who have dedicated more than 30 years of service in either the fire or insurance industry.

The firefighters also were recognized with awards from the department.

Fifty years is a long time for any of us, and just bear in mind, how old we are, Lingerfelt said. George, Carroll, they both came to the fire department within just a couple months of each other, and are still with us, still active.

Lingerfelt said Hollowell has served the department in just about every capacity imaginable, and still runs calls today.

I see George every day on calls, that tells you the level hes been for 50 years, Lingerfelt said.

Reed served as an active firefighter for more than 20 years before joining the board of directors, on which he has served for more than 30 years, Lingerfelt said.

As a fire chief, it just gives you that good, constant leadership, Lingerfelt said. The same folks, theyre experience in knowing what to do and how to do it.

It was a little more special for Lingerfelt, who said both Hollowell and Reed served on the departments board of directors when he was hired in 1990.

Both firefighters said they didnt realize they were going to be receiving the awards they did Sunday. They said it felt good to be recognized that way, and were excited to see whats next for the department.

Hang in there, Reed said. Theyve done good, theyre a good bunch of people.

Lingerfelt said he was proud to see so many members of the community turn out to support the department Sunday.

I really appreciated the turnout yesterday, Lingerfelt said. We had over 100 folks there. Number one, the community recognizing that its theirs just as much as it is ours, and any time they want to stop by and take a look at things, make a visit, theyre more than welcome.

Chrissy Murphy is a staff writer and can be reached at cmurphy@morganton.com or at 828-432-8941. Follow @cmurphyMNH on Twitter.

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Historic landmark destroyed by fire

The old Henry River Boarding House, a landmark for 65 years in the Henry River community, was destroyed by fire late Friday night.

Firefighters with the Icard Township Fire Department brought three fire trucks and battled the blaze for about two and a half hours, making a great effort to keep the fire from spreading to the Henry River Mills Store next door. Harold Perry, Icard fire chief, said the heat was so intense between the buildings that firefighters standing there had to be hosed down with water to withstand the heat.

The boarding house was unoccupied at the time of the fire. Marvin Sawyer, Burke County fire marshal, was sent to investigate the remains of the building for evidence of arson. Some people were said to have been seen around the area prior to the fire, and efforts are being made to contact them for questioning.

Second new high school receives contract approval

Final contract documents for the eastern high school in Burke County were approved by the Burke County Board of Education at a special meeting last night. The documents will be sent to the North Carolina Department of Education and the North Carolina Department of Insurance for final approval. The board expects to be ready to advertise and send out invitations to bid by March 27.

Jack Swindell, project engineer, said the eastern site will be developed differently than the site where Freedom High School is being constructed, since it will need much more grading work. The plans for the waste treatment and water supply systems will include the possibility of development of municipal services being extended from Valdese into the school area. There will be provisions for later additions of a swimming pool, greenhouse and planetarium.

Oak Hill man buys giant tractor

Jack Gragg, a resident of the Oak Hill community of Morganton, is the new proud owner of the largest four-wheel-drive tractor in the state of North Carolina, a Model 1470 TK made by the JI Case Co. The tractor has 145-horsepower motor of 504-cubic-inch diesel that can plow 100 acres in 15 hours with as little as one gallon of fuel per acre, Gragg reported. It features four-wheel power steering and power brakes. The cab has both heat and air conditioning options. A roll bar inside the cab will keep it from collapsing if the tractor is overturned. Gragg said he will use the tractor, which cost him nearly $20,000, in his large corn farming operation. Now, he said, he has to build a new garage to house the tractor.

Bear sited on deaf school campus

Traditionally, the senior class of the North Carolina School for the Deaf gives a gift to the school. The senior class of 1972 chose to buy a statue of a bear, the NCSD mascot. Class members earned the funds to purchase the bear through various projects started during their sophomore year. The bear, measuring 6-feet by 5 1/2-feet, has been mounted on a concrete slab in front of Crutchfield Hall. The class had enough money left over to take a trip to Florida for a week and to the Ice Capades and Disney on Parade in Charlotte.

Lifelines  compiled by the Rev. W. Flemon McIntosh

Sometimes one pays most for the things one gets for nothing.

If more people drove right, we would have more left.

Unless a man is a recipient of charity, he should be a contributor to it.

Middle age is the time when the average man is going to start saving next month.

Drive-in banks give the cars a chance to see their real owners.

This article is sponsored by the History Museum of Burke County, where the archives of The News Herald are stored.
Organizers of a new exhibit featuring an important part of Burke County history are asking for the communitys help in preserving the legacy of local workers.

The Workers Legacy Project was started in 2017 by Morganton native Jim Warlick as a way to honor his mother, Mary Harrison Warlick, who worked as a sewing machine operator at Garrou-Morganton Full-Fashioned Hosiery Mills for 33 years, workerslegacy.org, the projects website, says. His mothers hard work and dedication inspired him to create an exhibition called Dignity of Work. The exhibit will honor the many employees who worked in textile and furniture factories and hosiery mills in the county spanning many decades.

The exhibition is about the history of mill work in Burke from the late 1800s until recently, and the types of honorable work done, the period of child labor, and the friendships and communities built for their children and future generations, Warlick said.

Warlick and others working on the project through the Workers Legacy Foundation would like people in the community to submit photos of people who worked in Burke County mills and factories by uploading digital images through a link on the project website at bit.ly/3wbWVDK.

Portrait photos of the mill workers are preferred, but an individual photo of someone working on the job works also, Warlick said. They will be uploaded for permanent viewing at workerslegacy.org and shown during the run of the exhibition.

He added that it can be a simple wallet photo or an informal photo taken by a family member or friend if they do not have a professional portrait.

Those who need to have a photo scanned for the project may do so by contacting Laurie Johnston, curator of the North Carolina Room at the Morganton branch of the Burke County Public Library, at 828-764-9266 or ljohnston@bcpls.org and making an appointment by Thursday, March 31. Photos will be returned immediately, and it takes less than one minute to scan a photo. The deadline to upload photos to the link on the projects website is April 10.

Warlick outlined the goals of the project, which include recording video of former mill workers sharing stories about their experiences in the local mills and factories, which they need community participation in as well.

We have video recorded over 15 multiple hourlong sessions that will resume soon after being interrupted for more than two years because of the COVID pandemic, he said. Our goal is to record as many as we can for posterity. We will be publicizing times for people to make appointments for me to begin recording their stories in the near future now that COVID restrictions are being lifted and it is safer.

He encouraged former factory and mill workers to volunteer to go on video, even if they feel their experience was not significant enough for posterity.

When I began my first interview with Evelyn Newton, who worked and lived in Henry River Mill Village, she said as we began: Mr. Warlick, Im just a mill worker, I dont have a story, Warlick said. I said, Evelyn, you give me a little time and well find some stories from you that are rich.

She proceeded to talk for three hours, and she was the one most surprised about how proud she was of the work she had done, the family she raised and the contributions she had made in her community. No one had ever asked her about her life, so it could be shared.

If you are like Evelyn Newton and never thought you had a story, you are wrong. The Workers Legacy Project is eager to hear about your work or your familys work in the mills so future generations will look back and appreciate and honor the life you lived by working in the mills of Burke County.

Another goal was to produce a short video, and eventually a longer one to show members of the younger generation in Burke County so they can better understand their ancestors contribution to the area. The short version has been completed, and work has begun on the extended version.

They reached yet another goal by establishing a scholarship fund for descendants of Burke County mill workers at Western Piedmont Community College in its third year of funding through the Mary Warlick Workers Legacy Foundation.

The fourth goal is to design and implement the Dignity of Work exhibition so it can be showcased at the History Museum of Burke County for two years. Warlick said he and the others organizing the display hope to have it set up for public viewing by June 1. Beside photos and videos, the exhibit will include artifacts from workers.

The final goal Warlick has is to build a Dignity of Work monument showcasing three past millworkers, each representing furniture, textile or hosiery, which would be installed on the grounds of the History Museum.

This monument is in production now in California with an installation and unveiling target date also of June 1, he said. This project is self-funded as a way to honor my mother, Mary Warlick, and other mill workers like her who worked hard, raised their children to have a better life, and built the county as we know it today. It is an ongoing collaborative project with the History Museum of Burke County and would not be possible without their generous and tireless support and assistance.

Warlick shared his hopes for how the exhibition will impact the community.

Workers Legacy is creating an invaluable archive for future generations, he said. How might you wish to be remembered? Let us share your story.

Staff writer Tammie Gercken can be reached at tgercken@morganton.com.
A local ministry recently unveiled three new houses to the community to allow some local families get a new start.

Open Hearts Place will use these newly constructed homes as part of a three-year program that will help low-income families take the first steps on the path to home ownership.

According to Madelyn Russ, the ministrys executive director, approximately 75 people gathered on March 12 in the fellowship hall of Saint Matthews United Methodist Church for a brief ceremony and a walk-through tour of the houses, which are down the street from the church.

Russ said she was thrilled with the turnout.

I was very pleased with the number that showed up, she said. We had a really good representation of people from the community.

During the 15-minute ceremony, Russ introduced the families who would be staying at Open Hearts Place and thanked the sponsors whose donations have made the ministry possible. Russ told The News Herald that Rick Oxford, Unifour Consortium director at Western Piedmont Council of Governments, provided major funding that was instrumental in getting Open Hearts Place up and running. She said the ministry also received significant donations from:

The Community Foundation of Burke County

The Rostan Family Foundation

The Huffman Cornwell Foundation

Grace Episcopal Church Foundation

St. Matthews United Methodist Church

The Mull Foundation at First United Methodist Church

Salem United Methodist Church

Russ also recognized many individuals throughout the community who donated time and money to the project.

Russ said these three houses represent only the first phase of Open Hearts Places impact in the community.

This is phase one and we do want to repeat this, she said. Our next step would be to find some more land, either in the city or in the county, as long as its somewhere in Burke County.

After the brief ceremony, participants walked through the new houses. Russ said there are still a few minor cosmetic touches that need to be made, but the families should be settled in their new home before the end of the month.

At Open Hearts Place, families pay rent based on their income, with no family being required to pay more than 30% of their income. Participating families already have been assigned a caseworker who will help them develop and accomplish goals that will help them move closer to home ownership. After their time at Open Hearts Place, families will receive 25% of the rent they had paid during their stay to put toward a down payment on a new home.

Russ said more details about the ministrys future plans for growth and expansion will be made available soon. For more information about Open Hearts Place, email madelynruss@gmail.com or call 828-430-0417

Jason Koon is a staff writer and can be reached at jkoon@morganton.com
VALDESE  Trae Holland and Heather White visited the Rotary Club of Valdese at its most recent meeting to share their experiences helping disadvantaged children in Guatemala.

Holland and White work with World of Safe Passage, an organization helping students living near the largest dump in Central America to further their education. Holland said thousands of families live there and have to rely on what they can glean from the dump in the way of recyclable materials daily just to earn $3 a day per family, only to lose about half due to extortion by gangs.

Between 2006 and 2014, Safe Passage used a donation from Rotary International to purchase a new fleet of vehicles to transport students safely to the school and to build safe playgrounds for preschoolers. Later projects included a sanitation system, food and school materials.

Holland and White said the coronavirus pandemic had an extremely detrimental effect on the organizations progress. When the dump closed during the pandemic, the ripple effect throughout the communities surrounding the dump site was devastating.

Though the Safe Passage School was closed, learning continued. Due to the lack of computers and other items, the school resorted to the old-fashioned style of learning when homework and lessons were delivered to each child in person. Newer teachers had to be taught to work that way.

The efforts paid off well. Ninety-two percent of their students successfully advanced to the next grade level, whereas only 17% of the students in the public high school were able to advance.

Hollands slide show and enthusiastic presentation were felt by all Rotarians. He said he and his staff appreciate everything that Rotarians worldwide have done to support this effort.
A man reacts standing near his house ruined after Russian shelling in Kyiv, Ukraine, Monday, March 21, 2022. At least eight people were killed in the attack. (Efrem Lukatsky/AP)

Ukrainian forces fought off continuing Russian efforts to occupy Mariupol and claimed to have retaken a strategic suburb of Kyiv on Tuesday, mounting a defense so dogged that it is stoking fears Russias Vladimir Putin will escalate the war to new heights.

Putins back is against the wall, said U.S. President Joe Biden, who is heading to Europe this week to meet with allies. And the more his back is against the wall, the greater the severity of the tactics he may employ.

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Biden reiterated accusations that Putin is considering resorting to using chemical or biological weapons, though Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said the U.S. has seen no evidence to suggest that such an escalation is imminent.

The warnings came as attacks continued in and around Kyiv and Mariupol, and people escaped the battered and besieged port city.

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The hands of one exhausted Mariupol survivor were shaking as she arrived by train in the western city of Lviv.

Theres no connection with the world. We couldnt ask for help, said Julia Krytska, who was helped by volunteers to make it out with her husband and son. People dont even have water there.

Explosions and bursts of gunfire shook Kyiv, and heavy artillery fire could be heard from the northwest, where Russia has sought to encircle and capture several the capitals suburban areas.

Early Tuesday, Ukrainian troops drove Russian forces from the Kyiv suburb of Makariv after a fierce battle, Ukraines Defense Ministry said. The regained territory allowed Ukrainian forces to retake control of a key highway and block Russian troops from surrounding Kyiv from the northwest.

Still, the Defense Ministry said Russian forces partially took other northwest suburbs, Bucha, Hostomel and Irpin, some of which have been under attack almost since Russia invaded nearly a month ago.

A Western official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss military assessments, said Ukrainian resistance has brought much of Russias advance to a halt but has not sent Moscows forces into retreat.

Western officials say Russian forces are facing serious shortages of food, fuel and cold weather gear, leaving some soldiers suffering from frostbite. Ukrainians have reported hungry soldiers looting stores and homes for food.

The invasion has driven more than 10 million people from their homes, almost a quarter of Ukraines population, according to the United Nations.

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Thousands of civilians are believed to have died. Estimates of Russian military casualties vary widely, but even conservative figures by Western officials are in the low thousands.

On Monday, Russias pro-Kremlin Komsomolskaya Pravda newspaper, citing the Defense Ministry, reported that almost 10,000 Russian soldiers had been killed. The report was quickly removed, and the newspaper blamed hackers. The Kremlin refused to comment. The Western official said the figure is a reasonable estimate.

Facing unexpectedly stiff resistance that has left the bulk of Moscows ground forces miles from the center of Kyiv, Putins troops are increasingly concentrating their air power and artillery on Ukraines cities and civilians.

Talks to end the fighting have continued by video. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said he would be prepared to consider waiving any bid by Ukraine to join NATO  a key Russian demand  in exchange for a cease-fire, the withdrawal of Russian troops and a guarantee of Ukraines security.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he saw progress in the talks.

From my outreach with various actors, elements of diplomatic progress are coming into view on several key issues, and the gains are enough to end hostilities now, he said. He gave no details.

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The Western official, though, said that there were no signs Moscow was ready to compromise.

In the last update from Mariupol officials, they said March 15 that at least 2,300 people had died in the siege. But there are fears the toll could be much higher. Airstrikes over the past week devastated a theater and an art school where many civilians were taking shelter.

Thousands have managed to flee Mariupol, where the bombardment has cut off electricity, water and food supplies and severed communication with the outside world. The city council said Tuesday that more than 1,100 people who had escaped the siege were in a convoy of buses heading to a city northwest of Mariupol.

But the Red Cross said a humanitarian aid convoy trying to reach the city with desperately needed supplies still had not been able to enter.

Perched on the Sea of Azov, Mariupol is a crucial port for Ukraine and lies along a stretch of territory between Russia and Crimea. The siege has cut the city off from the sea and allowed Russia to establish a land corridor to Crimea.

But its not clear how much of the city Russia holds, with fleeing residents saying fighting continues street by street.

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A senior U.S. defense official, speaking condition of anonymity to give the Pentagons assessment, said Russian ships in the Sea of Azov were shelling Mariupol. The official said there were about seven Russian ships in that area, including a minesweeper and a couple of landing vessels.

Ukraines Defense Ministry said that troops defending the city had destroyed a Russian patrol boat and electronic warfare complex. Britains Defense Ministry said Ukrainian forces continue to repulse Russian attempts to occupy Mariupol.

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Those who have made it out of Mariupol told of a devastated city.

They bombed us for the past 20 days, said 39-year-old Viktoria Totsen, who fled into Poland. During the last five days the planes were flying over us every five seconds and dropped bombs everywhere  on residential buildings, kindergartens, art schools, everywhere.

Beyond the terrible human toll, the war has shaken the post-Cold War global security consensus, imperiled the world supply of key crops, and raised worries it could set off a nuclear accident.

Wildfires broke out near the decommissioned Chernobyl nuclear power plant, but Ukraines natural resources minister said the flames had been extinguished and radiation was within normal levels. Chernobyl in 1986 was the scene of the worlds worst nuclear disaster.

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As part of a series of addresses to foreign legislatures, Zelenskyy urged Italian lawmakers to strengthen sanctions against Moscow, noting many wealthy Russians have homes in the country.

Dont be a resort for murderers, he said from Kyiv.

Anna reported from Lviv, Ukraine. Associated Press writer Yuras Karmanau in Lviv, and other AP journalists around the world contributed to this report.
A jury deliberated more than two hours Tuesday night before convicting a 31-year-old Butte man accused of raping a young woman in her house on a December night in 2019.

The jury found Dillon Patrick Pierce guilty of sexual intercourse without consent, which in this case carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. District Judge Robert Whelan ordered a presentence investigation and set sentencing for May 4.

Pierce listened without emotion as the verdict was read and after hugging two supporters was cuffed and taken to jail. He had been free on bond and his attorney, Suzanne Marshall Malloy, asked that he remain free pending sentencing, but Whelan denied that. He said she could put the request in writing and he would consider it later this week.

The victim lives in Colorado now but was in Butte to testify Monday, and when prosecutors learned a verdict had been reached Tuesday night, they called her so she could be in the courtroom when it was announced.

The woman testified on the first day of the trial Monday that she was too drunk to remember much on the night of Dec. 5, 2019, but knows she awoke in her house with a man on top of her and told him to stop.

Malloy said the woman was so drunk she couldnt recall driving home but was claiming she was raped when she was not.

She invited Mr. Pierce to her home, she asked him to come in for a sexual encounter and he did, Malloy told jurors. She consented.

The woman was in her 20s when the alleged assault took place. The Montana Standard is not naming her to protect potential victims of sexual assault.

In closing arguments Tuesday, lead prosecutor Mike Clague acknowledged the alleged victim drank a lot of alcohol  so much so, he said, there was no way she could have given consent to sex.

But she could recall waking up, he said, and her accounts of what was happening then were consistent during two interviews with police and during a rape exam at the hospital.

The only person during the trial who said it was consensual was the defense attorney, Clague said, and she blamed the victim for everything. Pierce did not take the stand and the defense called none of its own witnesses.

When you drink as much alcohol as she did, you cannot consent, Clague said in an amplified voice. Dont let Ms. Marshall blame this young lady for what Dillon Pierce did.

The woman acknowledges she was drunk and said she did not immediately know it was Pierce who was on top of her when she awoke.

But prosecutors say she exchanged Facebook messages with Pierce earlier that night, told him where she lived, left her door unlocked, and DNA from semen found on items in the bedroom matched Pierce.

The state crime lab completed its DNA profile in November 2020, the match was confirmed the next month and prosecutors filed the rape charge a month later in January 2021.

Prosecutors said the woman called a friend after the alleged assault and several hours later, while at St. James Hospital for an exam, her blood-alcohol content was 0.148 percent. A person is considered drunk at 0.08 percent.

But the woman testified Monday she does recall waking up in her bed that night with someone on top of her having intercourse and telling him to stop. She said she was face down.

He pushed my head down and said I asked for it, she said. My entire body froze.

When it was over, she said she pointed him toward the bathroom and he soon left. She called two friends, among others, one of them called police and an officer came to the house to investigate. Facebook messages were preserved.

She told police she had gone to the Acoma bar around 3 p.m. that day and drank three or four Blue Moon beers. She said she then went to the Dublin and had a mixed drink and had four more mixed drinks at Maloneys and then drove home.

She had received a waving-hand emoji from Pierce around 8:50 p.m. and replied with a message that said, Come drink.

He replies by inviting her to his place, she says hes welcome to join her at Maloneys and he responds by messaging, Ugghhh how and what would I get for doing so there lil lady?

They exchanged more messages and she indicated she was drunk and had to find her vehicle. She then called him but does not remember doing so and then sends messages saying she was home and the door was unlocked. He says he will be over in 20 minutes.

Two of the womans friends testified Monday that she called them and was extremely upset, and on Tuesday, a female police officer who went to the home that night took the stand.

Officer Michelle Knopp had a body cam operating when she arrived and 20 minutes of footage was shown to jurors. It began with the alleged victim answering the door crying and upset.

Audio of what she was saying was unclear at times and Knopp said she was clearly intoxicated, but also showed signs consistent with trauma. They included the woman curling up and clutching a large pillow to her chest.

But she is heard telling the officer she woke up with someone on top of her and when she told him to stop, He said I asked for it, and pushed her face down.

Malloy, the defense attorney, said in opening arguments and through questioning that the woman was extremely intoxicated and actually drank at a bar before hitting the other three that afternoon and night.

A nurse who did a rape exam said she took swabs of secretions found on the alleged victims pelvic area, but the woman would not consent to a vaginal exam, saying she was tired and wanted her gynecologist to do that.

Malloy said the woman could not recall a lot of things that night, including leaving the last bar, calling Pierce, driving home or getting into bed. She couldnt even remember seeing Pierce at the house or recognizing his face, Malloy said.

But the one thing she wants you to believe is that he said, You asked for it, Malloy told jurors. The only thing she wants you to believe is she said no.

Malloy said in the Facebook messages, the woman invited Pierce over, gave him her address and said the door was unlocked.

Consent has to be viewed in light of everything, she said in closing arguments.

She also suggested throughout the trial that the officer who responded that night and a detective who investigated the case failed to ask many obvious questions or do follow-up interviews with bartenders and others.

One of the alleged victims friends texted Dillon later that night and asked if he had gone to her house. He texted back that she had invited him to go drinking but said he did not go to her house.

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The number of people cited for driving under the influence in and around Butte March 16 through March 20 was higher than previously reported.

Troopers with the Montana Highway Patrol were kept busy March 16-17, issuing 12 tickets in Butte-Silver Bow County. As the weekend came and went, nine more tickets were issued by the MHP, giving a total of 21 DUIs by Sunday.

People were not making good decisions, said Sgt. Dave Oliverson of the Montana Highway Patrol.

Oliverson said from March 16-20, 70 people were cited for driving under the influence throughout Montana, with 21 of those DUIs coming out of Butte-Silver Bow.

I believe we have had more arrests this year than we have had in the past five years, he said.

Although some people were booked, in some cases, due to the high numbers in the Butte jail, first offenders were issued citations instead and then released to a sober adult or taken home by a trooper.

Along with a number of troopers in Butte, a DUI enforcement team was in place, as was MHPs criminal interdiction team, which is responsible for investigating any criminal acts.

One such act was the felony arrest of two women from Fresno, California, who were traveling through Butte on their way to Chicago to allegedly illegally distribute 96 pounds of marijuana.

It was a busy time for sure, said Oliverson.

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A man was sitting in his truck near the Montana Tech campus late Friday afternoon when Ernest Count Two Moons, 43, of Butte reportedly got into the passengers side uninvited.

Two Moons allegedly pulled a knife on the truck owner and told him to take him to Sagebrush Sams near Rocker.

The driver reportedly took Two Moons to the Town Pump out in Rocker, so Two Moons could use the bathroom. When the unwanted passenger went into the store, the driver took off and called police.

Officers found Two Moons shortly after and he was jailed for felony assault with a weapon and felony intimidation.

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Since its formation in 2020, the Big Sky Passenger Rail Authority (BSPRA) has been successful in touting its mission to re-establish rail passenger service through southern Montana. Enthusiasm for the project was heightened in November 2021 with the passage of Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), which  for the first time in its 51-year history  has designated significant funding for Amtrak, Americas intercity rail passenger service.

But often lost in press releases by the BSPRA and in recent news articles are what should be the primary goals for the funding: Fixing the Amtraks infrastructure and placing it on a path of sustainability.

Contrary to highways, waterways and airports which receive recurring lavish funding from numerous government entities, Amtrak has always been a shoestring operation since its 1971 inception, and relies on private infrastructure (i.e. Americas freight railroads) for most of its routes, including in Montana.

Amtrak is currently broken. In the Northeast  where Amtrak owns and maintains its own trackage  routes need upgrades to handle more traffic and to repair deferred maintenance, some of which goes back to damage caused by Hurricane Sandy in 2012. On other routes (like the Empire Builder through Northern Montana) trains operate short of rolling stock with equipment over 40 years old. Many station facilities remain non-compliant with ADA guidelines, and the host freight railroads are undercompensated for operating Amtrak trains, resulting in timekeeping issues. Without repairing and stabilizing the Amtrak we have, adding additional routes like a North Coast Hiawatha is counterproductive.

Based on a 2009 study done by Amtrak, restoring the North Coast Hiawatha would cost about $1.4 billion in 2022 dollars. Much has changed in railroad operations since 2009 (during the Great Recession), so indeed a new study to determine cost would be needed. Even with that hefty price tag, the 2009 study dramatically understated cost for stations and some track infrastructure. The capital costs alone for this one route will consume a good portion of the funding available for new services.

The elephant in the room rarely mentioned by proponents of new routes is that operations funding is not perpetual. (For Amtraks current Chicago-West Coast routes  according to questionable Amtrak accounting  thats about $55 million annually per train.) The IIJA covers operations funding for only six years, covering 90% the first year declining to 30% by the sixth year before being discontinued. Any shortfall and funding beyond the sixth year must be covered by Congress in the annual Amtrak appropriation. This is why the North Coast Hiawatha was discontinued in 1979: It (and other trains) were added over the course of the decade; When Congress declined to no longer fully fund all the routes, some were discontinued. The same thing could happen again, possibly even to long-established well-patronized trains such as the Empire Builder.

We must urge that our elected and appointed officials see that the Amtrak we have is fixed and strengthened before building on a house of cards.

Mark Meyer has been a passenger train advocate for over 50 years. He had 40-year career in railroad operations at Burlington Northern and BNSF. He is a native of Cut Bank, and now lives in Portland, Oregon.

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ARCHIVED - Russian salad renamed in Spain after Ukraine invasion



Many bars and restaurants in Spain are changing the name of their ensaladilla rusa to Ukrainian salad or Kyiv salad

Strangely, Russian salad (ensaladilla rusa) has always been a staple of Spanish cuisine. Until now. For reasons connected with Vladimir Putins invasion of Ukraine, the signature Spanish dish is getting a makeover.

It all started last week, when the Meson Martin restaurant in Malaga changed its menu to read ensaladilla Kiev instead of ensaladilla rusa and added a little picture of the Ukraine flag beside it. The initiative has caught on fast, and other bars and restaurants have renamed their Russian salad as Ukrainian salad.

One restaurant is now calling it Olivier, though. Jacobo Vazquez, who owns La Caseria on Avenida Angel Caffarena, said, I hated calling it Russian salad but couldnt decide what to call it instead. So he put the question to social media and the resounding response was answer was Olivier, after the nominal creator of the salad, 19th century chef Lucien Olivier.

If they want to eat Russian salad, they can do it in Russia, said Vazquez.

Russian salad normally consists of a few core ingredients, such as potatoes, egg and mayonnaise, but can also contain tuna, olives, apple, carrot pepper and prawns, to name a few.

One meme that has been doing the rounds on social media plays on the word for egg in Spanish, huevo, which can also refer to testicles: In my house today, we ate Ukrainian salad. Its like the Russian one but it has more balls.

Actually, the dish wasnt even originally invented by Lucien Olivier, though he did create a salad of vegetables, game, seafood and a secret sauce for the Hermitage restaurant in Moscow. No, the first recipe for Russian salad actually appeared in The Modern Cook, written in the 19th century by Italian-British chef Charles Elme Francatelli, who was the head chef in the kitchens of Queen Victoria.

For that reason, the staff at El Balneario at Los Banos del Carmen have preferred to rename their dish Kyiv salad, in solidarity with the Ukrainian capital.

At Gutierrez Puerto in Malaga port, it was a Russian who came up with the idea to rename the Russian salad Ukrainian salad. A few days after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, a Russian man stopped off to enjoy a beer and a tapa on their terrace.

He said he was very upset about the situation, said staff at the restaurant, and would we mind changing the name Ensaladilla rusa on his bill to Ensaladilla ucraniana, because he wanted to photograph it and post it on social media as a gesture of support.

Since then, others have come and requested the same, and so Ukrainian salad was born.

Boycotting the names of dishes is nothing new; during the Iraq war, the USA changed French fries to Freedom fries after the French government opposed the intervention in 2003. The veto lasted while Saddam Hussein was in power, and was then changed back.

With any luck, the invasion of Ukraine will be over soon and we will be able to change back the name of Russian salad.

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ARCHIVED - Spain to resume repatriation flights for Moroccan immigrants



The flights from the Canary Islands were stopped almost a year ago due to Covid

After almost a year of non-operation, the Spanish government will resume repatriation flights of Moroccan immigrants arriving illegally to the Canary Islands.

Before Morocco closed its airspace to Spain in April last year to contain the spread of coronavirus , the government returned approximately 80 migrants to the capital of Rabat each week on four different flights. The repatriation agreement between the two nations was originally reached in December 2020 and required Spain to use Royal Air Maroc aircraft to fly the citizens back home.

According to a report by the European Commission, between December and April when the flights were operational, some 1,162 Moroccans were repatriated, whereas more than 11,000 migrants arrived in the Canary Islands throughout 2020.

Also of interest: Corvera airport resumes flights with Morocco

The Ministry of the Interior has always remained tight-lipped about the finer details of these flights, including their cost to Spain, and it has not yet been confirmed whether the Gran Canaria-El Aaiun route will be maintained.

In addition, an agreement is still pending regarding returning immigrants from the north African enclaves of Melilla and Ceuta, although some repatriations have taken place even when the airspace was closed, as was the case when 10,000 migrants stormed the Ceuta border in May last year

In 2021 alone, according to the data from the National Coordination Centre of the European Border Surveillance System (Eurosur) in Spain, 31% of the 42,000 immigrants who arrived irregularly in Spain were Moroccan.

You might also like: Spain-Morocco border in Melilla experiences its biggest illegal crossing attempt ever

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WAPELLO  The fiscal year 2023 budget for Louisa County was finalized by the county board of supervisors on Tuesday, following a public hearing that drew no public attendance or comments.

According to the published notice of public hearing, the county budget projects Total Expenditures and Other Uses of $13,392,267 and Total Revenues and Other Sources of $13,033,488. The budgets anticipated Beginning Balance of $3,652,124 is projected to drop to an Ending Balance of $3,293,345.

The proposed property tax asking for urban areas is slightly less than $6.64 per $1,000 taxable valuation, while for rural areas the proposed asking is a little above $9.21 per $1,000 taxable valuation. That compares with fiscal year '22 rates of just under $6.85 per $1,000 taxable valuation (urban) and $9.37 per $1,000 valuation.

According to previous discussions, part of the reason for the rate decreases is tied to the state of Iowa assuming mental health costs from the counties.

Part of the budget approval includes spending for the countys secondary roads department. Although that department is included in the overall county plan, it must also submit the spending plan to the Iowa Department of Transportation.

The supervisors approved signing and transmitting that document to the DOT after meeting with county engineer Adam Shutt.

The board also signed the countys revised five-year plan for the secondary roads department. Shutt initially presented the plan at last weeks board meeting and he told the board this week the revisions included changes in the surfacing for the Grandview Bypass and updated costs.

The board also reviewed a written monthly department update provided by emergency management director Brian Hall, who also administers the countys safety and E911 services. Hall was unable to meet in person because he was at an online training conference.

Under his emergency management duties, Hall reported a emergency preparedness grant allocation for the county had dropped from a planned $20,000 award to $6,300 because of heavier demand and a lower final distribution.

He also reported the Louisa County Ambulance Service was organizing a multi-agency exercise involving a downed aircraft in the county that would be held possibly in June.

Hall also reported that he had submitted a grant application for a new dispatch radio interface at the Louisa County Sheriffs Office. Although no federal funding has been approved yet, the state has opened the grant proposal window and Hall indicated it would be risky to wait.

Under his safety duties, Hall reported the countys workers compensation provider conducted a walk-through of the secondary roads departments Wapello shop and all recommendations had been addressed.

He also reported moving forward with bidding and other details to obtain another emergency generator at the County Complex.

Arin Jones, program coordinator for the Quad County Community Partnership for Protecting Children, also met with the board, which approved a proclamation declaring April as Prevent Child Abuse month.

During the individual supervisors updates on recent meetings attended, supervisor Brad Quigley reported a committee had been formed to provide input into a planned water system expansion into the county.

A $6,065 special claim for new computers was also approved by the board.

In final action, the board agreed to hold an April 12 public hearing on the requested transfer of five tax sale properties in Oakville to the Oakville Volunteer Foundation (OVF).

In an emailed communication to the board, county attorney Adam Parsons said a deed restriction on a separate flood buyout property would prevent its transfer to the OVF.

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When the nation celebrates our 250th anniversary in 2026, let us observe Alexander Clarks 200th birthday, too.

By 1890, when President Benjamin Harrison appointed him minister to Liberia, the Muscatine man was known throughout the U.S. as the colored orator of the West. His speeches and writings exhorted Americans to live up to the all-are-created-equal demands of the Declaration of Independence. It was one of his favorite themes.

People ask what Clark might have said about this or that, were he with us today. From all evidence Ive seen, I am pretty sure he would quote stirring passages from the report of President Trumps 1776 Commission, but he would not embrace the whole thing. Im also pretty sure he would skewer his fellow Republicans weaponizing of 1776 for their school-board battles against threats they perceive from so-called Critical Race Theory. (Unless hed become a Democrat.)

Several readers warned me we wont be able to tell the stories of Iowas Black History if we give in to lawmakers who would block every teaching that might make White kids feel bad. But I digress.

Ill just say I believe Clark would stand with Waterloo native Nikole Hannah-Jones as surely as he championed fellow Black journalist Ida B. Wells when her reports of lynching shocked readers of their time.

In her preface to the controversial anthology The 1619 Project: A New Origin Story, Hannah-Jones writes: Even as a teenager, I understood that the absence of 1619 from mainstream history was intentional. People had made the choice not to teach us the significance of the year. (The first enslaved Africans arrived in the Jamestown settlement that year.)

Along with other Muscatine folks, I attended her talk and book signing at her old high school last November. It was my second time hearing her speak. Please learn more about our fellow Iowan if you arent proud of her yet.

Lest you fear reframing our shared story at 1619 might be a new and divisive idea, I refer you to the full name of a four-day event that got lots of attention in Iowa in 1919: the Tercentenary Jubilee and Seventy-first Anniversary Celebration of Bethel A.M.E. Church.

From the Muscatine Journal (March 25): The occasion will commemorate the landing of the first negroes in America three hundred years ago, and the establishment of the African M.E. church in Muscatine, almost three quarters of a century ago.

From the Iowa Bystander (March 28): This is the oldest colored church in Iowa, having been organized in 1848.  One among the pastors of note who served this church was Rev. R.H. Kain [sic], a man of great energy and decided ability as a ready and eloquent speaker. He was sent to Congress and served two terms and was later elected fourteenth Bishop of the A.M.E. Church. He died in 1887 in Washington, D.C.  Some of the pioneer members were Hon. A. Clark, afterwards U.S. minister to Africa, and who died in Africa in 1891, and B. Mathews. Among the members who came with the inflow after the war were R. Hainey, Rosetta Watson, Abram Seabrooks, Peter Townley and Sawyer Lamb.

Readers who are following along will recall I introduced Bishop Cain as an Iowa pioneer earlier. Watch for these other names to reappear as I dig further into the story of Alexander Clarks historic congregation.

From the Journal (May 23): The pageant constituted the second nights program of the tercentenary jubilee. The negro race was traced from the early Bible to African days, through the dark days of slavery up to the American negro citizen of today. Three hundred years ago the first negro arrived at Jamestown, Va. Several southern plantation scenes in the days of slavery were shown to illustrate the event and its results, and the characters sang many of the songs of the plantation darkies of that day.

Speaking of centering slavery.

The third nights speaker was the Rev. D.W. Brown of Oskaloosa, Bethels 1912-13 pastor. He told of many interesting experiences in his early life when he was a slave and declared that success only crowned the efforts of those who took pride in themselves and their work.

Ill tell you what got more attention than that four-day celebration, though. A one-week run of D.W. Griffiths cinematic blockbuster The Birth of a Nation got huge attention in 1916. Along with a full-page ad, there was unabashed ecstasy from the Democrat-run Muscatine News-Tribune and only slightly less enthusiasm from the Republican Journal, which inserted a subhead claiming Not Reflection on Negroes.

Brought back to the A-Muse-U in 1922, the Journal reported: This big spectacle is being shown here in its entirety, with its accompanying symphony orchestra, its effect paraphernalia and its trained mechaniciansdown to the smallest detail that amazed New York and other cities.

Speaking of divisive narratives.

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MADISON, Wis.  A Wisconsin father wants prosecutors to charge an off-duty police officer who appears to have briefly pressed his knee into his 12-year-old daughters neck similar to how Derek Chauvin fatally restrained George Floyd. The hold may have violated the officers departments policies and a new Wisconsin law banning police chokeholds in most cases, but the ban doesnt provide any penalties and several legal experts say charges are unlikely.

Kenosha police Officer Shawn Guetschow was working his off-duty job as a security guard at Lincoln Middle School on March 4 when Jerrel Perezs daughter got into a lunchtime fight with another student. Surveillance video shows Guetschow rush over and separate the two.

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He scuffles with Perezs daughter, who appears to throw a punch at him. He falls to the floor and takes her down as other students crowd around. He gets on top of the girl and appears to press his knee into the back of her neck for about 25 seconds while he handcuffs her. He then hauls her to her feet and leads her off-camera.

Perez has threatened to sue. He posted on Facebook a screengrab from the surveillance video next to a photo of Chauvin pressing his knee into Floyds neck on a Minneapolis street; Chauvin was convicted last year of murdering Floyd.

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TELL ME WHATS THE DIFFERENCE LUCKILY HE AINT KILL MY BABIE, Perez wrote alongside the photos.

He told The Associated Press on Tuesday that Guetschow needs to be charged.

This is a grown man we are talking about, he said.

In this frame grab from surveillance video provided by the Kenosha Unified School District, an off-duty police officer escorts a 12-year-old student out of a school cafeteria following a lunchtime fight, in Kenosha, Wis., on March 4, 2022. (AP)

Perezs daughter is Black and Guetschow is white. The incident came in a city that was roiled by unrest in 2020 when a white police officer shot a Black man, Jacob Blake, in the back while responding to a domestic dispute. During protests that followed, 17-year-old Kyle Rittenhouse shot three men, killing two of them.

Rittenhouse pleaded self-defense and was acquitted of all charges by a jury last year.

Perez and his familys attorney, Drew DeVinney, have demanded that Kenosha County District Attorney Michael Graveley charge Guetschow. DeVinney didnt respond to messages seeking comment.

Wisconsin passed a law last summer prohibiting police from using chokeholds except as a last resort or to defend themselves, joining a host of other states that passed similar laws following Floyds death and the national protests that followed.

Technically, the law prohibits police departments from authorizing chokeholds in their use-of-force policies. The law doesnt specify any penalties for violating it, though.

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That means Graveley, who pressed the charges in the Rittenhouse case, cant charge Guetschow under the chokehold law. He could conceivably charge him with some other count, such as battery or assault or recklessly endangering safety, however. Graveley said Monday that no law enforcement agency had referred possible charges to his office.

Former Waukesha County District Attorney Paul Bucher said charging Guetschow would be an overreaction. He called the use of force reasonable and said the case isnt even remotely close to Floyd.

It was very short. It was to get (the girl) under control. Under the circumstances it was the fastest way to do it, Bucher said. I dont expect the officer to think, Hows this going to look to the media? Its, How do I get this subject under control as quickly as possible?

Julius Kim, a former Milwaukee County assistant prosecutor, said the restraint looks bad at first glance. But when a prosecutor considers the totality of the circumstances, including the dangerousness of the situation, whether some form of restraint was necessary, the amount of force used and the duration, criminal charges probably arent justified, he said.

While the officer may not have used the best judgment here in terms of how he restrained this girl or how he handled the situation, in the continuum of reasonable responses, I dont think the DAs office will find that a crime was committed, Kim said.

James Palmer, executive director of the Wisconsin Professional Police Association, the states largest police union, said officers are trained to legally restrain suspects by pressing their knee between a suspects neck and shoulder. He said its unclear from the video whether Guetschow was executing that move.

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Daniel Adams, another former Milwaukee County assistant prosecutor who now works as a defense attorney, felt differently. He called the video shocking and Guetschows use of force intolerable.

A law enforcement office may only use the level of physical force necessary to carry out their job, Adams wrote in an email to The Associated Press. Here, there was no necessity in using that level of force. ... In my view, the Kenosha District Attorney has probable cause to charge Guetschow with Strangulation/Suffocation and Battery under Wisconsins criminal code.

Even if Guetschow, a 36-year-old second-shift patrol officer, isnt charged, he could face sanctions from the Kenosha Police Department, which is investigating. The agencys use-of-force policy bars chokeholds except as a last resort and officers are required to follow policy even when theyre off-duty.

Guetschow resigned his security guard position on March 15, saying in an email to school district officials that the incident had caused mental and emotional strain on the community and his family, and that he felt the district hasnt supported him.

District spokeswoman Tanya Ruder said the district would have no comment since the incident might lead to a lawsuit.

Efforts to reach Guetschow for comment were unsuccessful. A possible phone number for him was disconnected, and Pete Deates, president of the Kenosha police union, declined to comment when asked if Guetschow has an attorney, citing the ongoing investigation.

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Perez said Tuesday that his daughter suffered a concussion and is still dealing with headaches. He said the family has a Thursday meeting with Graveley to learn whether his daughter will face charges in the lunchroom fight.
South Africas state power company is planning to propose that some of the funding the country secured to help tackle climate change take the form of loans to the government that could be converted to equity in the utility when needed.

The arrangement would enable Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd. to access the $8.5 billion pledged by the U.S., U.K., Germany, France and the European Union without adding to its debt burden, a person familiar with the proposal said.

The company wants to use the money to fund the closing of some coal-fired power plants and the construction of renewable-energy facilities to replace them.

Eskom has a proposed pipeline of almost 200 billion rand ($13.3 billion) of renewable energy, gas and battery storage projects and needs to spend at least 120 billion rand on transmission lines.

But with its debt forecast to reach 416 billion rand by the end of this month, it will struggle to take on more borrowing without breaching its bond and loan covenants.

Eskoms ability to transition away from coal, which it uses to supply more than 80% of South Africas power, is key to meeting the countrys ambitions to slash its greenhouse gas emissions, the 13th-largest in the world.

Still, the National Treasury will need to assess what the best arrangement is for all parties, including the government and taxpayers, rather than just meeting Eskoms needs, said the person, who asked not to be identified because theyre not authorized to comment on the matter.

Eskom referred questions to the presidency and the National Treasury didnt immediately respond to a request for comment.

The $8.5 billion was pledged at the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow in November. The aim is to conclude a deal, complete with investment plans, by the COP27 meeting in Egypt in November at the latest, a U.S. official familiar with the plans said earlier this month.

The deal was hailed as one of the standout achievements at COP26 and is seen as a prototype of a funding model that could be used to decarbonize other coal-dependent nations. Eskom accounts for about 40% of South Africas emissions, with almost all of those coming from its 17 coal-fired plants.

Now read: Court orders clampdown on Eskom and Sasol pollution
One of Africas most resilient hyperscale Data Centres, Digital Parks Africa, recently reported plans to grow its Samrand Data Centre campus capacity to 22MVA.

This follows a further investment of circa R500 million to meet the demands of the South African Data Centre market.

The fully developed campus will boast 9000m of dedicated white space and is currently undergoing Uptime Tier IV construct certification for its first of three phases (in Level 3) to guarantee the highest level of reliability.

The campus has already adopted modern technologies and energy-efficient backup power infrastructure that guarantees an uptime of 99.999%. With redundancy of 2(N+1), the site provides concurrent maintainability and fault tolerance.

Furthermore, Digital Parks Africa is supported by continuous shift-based, 24/7 plant specialists and manned by certified data centre professionals who span across multi-disciplinary teams to cater to all Data Centre infrastructure needs.

The campus has already adopted modern technologies and energy-efficient backup power infrastructure with a redundancy of 2(N+1) to maintain uptime despite grid instability.

In addition, Digital Parks Africa has invested in advanced monitoring and management technologies to create a secure environment for sensitive and specialised equipment.

The system improves and maintains the highest levels of resilience and includes intelligent automation to mitigate potentially critical issues.

As a proudly South African company, we are privileged to play a part in the Digital Economy that enables companies to succeed in their digital transformation programs. Data centres are the backbone of the digital economy, and it is our vision to ensure we play a key part to connect Africa.

Africa requires approximately 1000MW of data centre capacity, and we are thrilled to provide best-in-class infrastructure and Data Centre ecosystems to enable digital transformation. According to Menno Parsons, Managing Director of Digital Parks Africa.

The Samrand campus has been purpose-designed to quickly scale up to meet customer demands, in line with its commitment to grow the African Data Centre market.

The planning of future data centre facilities is already in progress to provide the country with the most reliable and redundant Data Centre facilities.

About Digital Parks Africa

Digital Parks Africa (DPA) is a carrier-neutral Uptime Tier III Design (L1) Certified Data Centre environment located in Samrand, Gauteng, South Africa.

The facility provides best-in-class Data Centre services with unrestricted interconnect between carriers and customers, creating an open-access network.

Thus, providing customers with a secure, flexible, high-available, and cost-effective Data Centre environment for their ICT infrastructure.

Digital Parks Africa  The Digital Heartbeat of Africa.

Visit Digital Parks Africas website here
A hacking group claiming responsibility for the attack on TransUnion last week has threatened to leak the personal data of President Cyril Ramaphosa, Julius Malema, and other political figures.

The group, N4ughtySecTU, has claimed to be based in Brazil and that they have four terabytes of data exfiltrated from a poorly-secured TransUnion server.

They have threatened to leak the data unless TransUnion pays $15 million (R225 million) in bitcoin by Friday, 25 March.

N4ughtySecTU has also threatened to separately leak the personal data of judges, prosecutors, police, lawyers, and advocates.

There lives will now be in danger [sic], the group told MyBroadband via text chat.

We will also link there family members. The President and his family information [sic], they said.

The group said that if TransUnion continues to refuse to pay, its corporate clients may negotiate to prevent their clients details from being posted online. These clients include South Africas major banks.

N4ughtySecTU posted the ID numbers of Julius Malema, and Cyril Ramaphosa and his wife to a public group chat on Telegram.

In a private chat with MyBroadband, the group also posted TransUnion Africa CEO Lee Naiks personal details, and those of Information Regulator chair Pansy Tlakula.

The data included what appears to be bank account numbers and vehicle registration information.

However, Tlaklula told MyBroadband that she doesnt recognise the bank accounts or vehicle licence plate numbers N4ughtySecTU provided as samples.

The Information Regulator said it is investigating the attack on TransUnion.

If it discovered any illegality or lack of proper safeguards for protecting the stolen data, the regulator said there could be severe consequences.

Possible repercussions after all of the required processes and steps have been followed by the regulator, is a fine of up to R10 million or imprisonment of up to 10 years, or both a fine and such imprisonment, the regulator stated.

TransUnion has maintained that the attack was on an isolated server holding limited data from its South African business.

At present, we understand the affected data may include personal information, such as telephone numbers, email addresses, identity numbers, physical addresses, and some credit scores, TransUnion stated.

N4ughtySecTU claims to have obtained a Department of Home Affairs database from the TransUnion server containing the identity records of 54 million South Africans.

They showed MyBroadband a sample to substantiate their claim.

TransUnion has said that the file did not come from its compromised server.

We believe that the 54 million records relate to a 2017 data incident unrelated to TransUnion, it stated.

TransUnion said that the attackers gained access to a South African server by misusing an authorised clients credentials.

N4ughtySec said they performed a simple brute force attack against the TransUnion South Africa file server.

They were able to guess the username and password of a TransUnion client. According to N4ughtySec, the password was password.

TransUnion said it is investigating the identity of the suspect.

As is common with criminal attacks of this nature, it is not always possible to identify who is responsible for this malicious conduct, TransUnion stated.

Should we identify the suspect we will work with law enforcement agencies and disclose the identity of the suspect only if law enforcement agencies think that it is appropriate to do so.

Now read: Police waste R100 million on tech they cannot use
President Cyril Ramaphosa will address South Africa at 20:00 on 22 March regarding developments in the countrys Covid19 response, the Presidency has announced.

This comes after Ramaphosa said in Parliament last week that he would soon address the nation regarding the process to end South Africas national state of disaster.

Calls have been mounting from civil society, opposition parties, and the medical fraternity to end the state of disaster.

Solidarity and the Democratic Alliance have launched legal action to have the state of disaster declared unlawful.

Ramaphosas address follows meetings today with his Presidential Coordinating Council and the South African Local Government Association.

It also comes after health minister Dr Joe Phaahla published proposed amendments to South Africas Regulations Relating to the Surveillance and The Control of Notifiable Medical Conditions.

The proposed amendments published last Wednesday include mask mandates for indoor gatherings and 1-metre physical distancing.

The regulations also include mandatory medical examinations, isolation, and treatments for people with notifiable medical conditions, with an option to self-isolate for those with a suitable home and Internet access.

They also require travellers entering and leaving South Africa to have a vaccine certificate or a negative PCR test no older than 72 hours.

Restrictions on funeral attendance remain, as do restrictions on indoor and outdoor gatherings.

During Covid19, some attendance restrictions on non-funeral gatherings are relaxed if attendees have vaccine certificates.

The regulations also allow the Department of Health to advise other departments relating to curfews, national lockdown, sports, economic activity, public transportation, religious and cultural practices, and the sale of alcohol.
Appellation St. Helena (ASH) invites the community to bASH 2022, an annual food and wine pairing competition to be held in the barrel room at the Culinary Institute of America in St. Helena on April 2 from 6 to 8:30 p.m.

bASH pairs an ASH members wine with food prepared by CIA student chefs or local restaurant chefs in a competition where you are the judge. Throughout the event, you will taste all the pairings and vote for your favorites. At the conclusion of the event, awards will be presented to the teams with the most votes.

The event also features an ASH instant wine cellar. With purchase of an event ticket, you are entered to win one of three 6-packs of wine from the ASH wineries competing in the event. Winners will be announced at the end of the evening.
Join the Saint Helena Forum for a free virtual discussion about the art, craft and science of storytelling at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 6.

The guests will be Margot Leitman, teacher, award-winning storyteller, and best-selling author; Rena Strober, known for her many appearances on and off Broadway, at Lincoln Center, and on television; and Jonathan Adler, Ph.D., Professor of Psychology, working on the relationship between narrative identity development and psychological well-being.

The event will be introduced by Forum President Doug Barr, and Board Member Michael Merriman will interview the guests.

For more information, or to register for this free event, go to shforum.org.
The city of Napas 313-page draft general plan, which will serve as the citys primary long-term planning document until 2040, has been available for public review since late February.

And feedback on the plan, which will be incorporated by city staff into the final document, is trickling in.

Napas Planning Commission last week held a meeting to give feedback on the land use, transportation and climate change elements of the plan  representing three out of 10 sections. The meeting served as something of a precursor to a rare joint meeting between the commission and the Napa City Council to discuss the plan, scheduled for March 28.

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At the Thursday commission meeting, about a dozen public commenters also shared their feedback on the plan with the commission. The majority of them advocated for more specificity in the general plans language, especially in the sections on climate change and transportation.

Bayard Fox, a member of the local environmental group Napa Climate NOW!, said the group would like to see two specific goals entered into the general plan. The first, he said, is achieve net-zero greenhouse gasses and short-lived climate pollutants by 2030. And the second, hire a sustainability director to oversee all aspects of city decisions, to focus on climate and sustainability.

Were kind of alarmed by the ambiguity of the verbiage, Fox said. And I understand that theres some wiggle room there for staff, but this is a document that is a precedent for implementation.

Other public speakers echoed Foxs comments, including other members of the climate group. Linda Brown said the city cant proceed as if climate change is yet just another challenge because of how broad the impacts of it are.

Everything we think were doing for the rest of this general plan  its housing, its dealing with transportation  its all impacted by this area of climate change, Brown said. So I urge you to consider being more specific than you might have otherwise, in prior times, considered necessary.

Representatives from Slow Down Napa and the Napa County Bicycle Coalition extended the concern about specificity to the transportation element. Maureen Trippe, a founder of Slow Down Napa, said the city should include a traffic calming strategy within the general plan, one that would essentially state how the problems of increased traffic activity have grown along with of Napas increase in tourism.

Commission chair Gordon Huether asked city staff to clarify the extent the general plan can be made specific in light of the feedback, given the broad focus of the plan.

I think the overarching theme here is that the general plan is too general, Huether said.

Senior planner Michael Walker said much of the type of language the commenters are seeking would be great to put in a more focused climate action plan, but doesnt necessarily work well in the general plan.

Walker added that the plan, to work, needs to be comprehensive, internally consistent and take a long-term perspective, in this case, 2040.

In terms of being internally consistent, that means all portions of the plan have legal weight and are fully integrated without conflict, Walker said. Because of this, its imperative that all the elements carry the same level of specificity. What we want to avoid are situations that create unintended consequences if we were to have a general plan that drills down into specifics in one element and which may adversely impact and influence other elements throughout the document. 

Community development director Vin Smith added that the city should be proud there were about 15 people from the public at the meeting interested in talking about the document.

The zero-emissions by 2030 timeframe, he added, seemed like something staff could add to the plan, in certain areas of the climate element. Staff could also add references to documents like the citys bike plan, Smith said, which serve to implement specific strategies that achieve the broad goals of the general plan.

Following the public comment portion of the meeting, the commissioners shared their feedback on each of the three elements before them in sequence.

On the land use element, commissioner Bob Massaro said all levels of housing need should be recognized by the plan, particularly to take into account the missing middle segment of the population, people who make too much money to qualify for affordable housing but not enough to buy a home in Napa.

Id like to see the general plan really address the whole spectrum of housing that we need, Massaro said.

Huether said one of the guiding principles of the land use section, to balance local and tourist needs, seems difficult. He said its been amazing to watch downtown Napa transform into a tourist destination over the past 20 years, but theres almost nowhere he wants to shop at in the area.

I dont know if the local needs are necessarily being met downtown, Huether said. Its not a criticism; its more of an observation.

Commissioner Paul Kelley noted that, since Napas downtown Safeway closed after sustaining damage from the 2014 south Napa earthquake, theres been no grocery store downtown, making the area something of a food desert. Adding a grocery store, he said, could serve to benefit both tourists and locals.

Commissioner Ricky Hurtado said he lived in downtown Napa when the Safeway existed, and it was amazing.

We have a great mixed-use in the downtown area that, you know, people with Section 8, people in a duplex, people in a single-family residence, people staying across the street for a night going wine tasting  all can benefit from (a grocery store), Hurtado said.

Walker said the city cant force local-focused stores to operate downtown. But, he said, the general plan policies can prioritize local needs, such as parks and providing the type of development that serves everyone.

There was talk during the focus area discussions that Jefferson, a reimagined Jefferson corridor, could be kind of for the locals' downtown, Walker said. Because its unique; its kind of the heart of the rest of the city outside of the touristy-focused downtown.

As for the climate change element, Massaro stressed the importance of being as specific as possible because Napa serves to lose a lot from the impacts of climate change. He said hed like to see a timeline for an action plan.

This is in ag-based community, and if theres anything threatened by climate change, its agriculture, Massaro said. Particularly ag thats on a river thats subject to sea-level rise. So between temperature change, fires, drought and increased sea level, were a community thats really at risk for climate change. And hospitality and First Street is all based on that. If our ag goes away or is seriously injured, this whole economy goes in the toilet.

Huether said climate change has risen to the level of a crisis, and because of that, he was in favor of the city hiring a staff person specifically focused on climate solutions.

As for the transportation element, commissioner Kelley said establishing a light rail system in Napa is a great idea, in part because such a system could connect the upcoming Napa Pipe development to the rest of the city and beyond.

Massaro also recommended that, as a way of raising money, the city should explore charging for parking downtown, in such a way that locals would be exempt from the charge.

What happens is the tourist, theyre paying $100 a person for dinner; I dont think theyre going to mind paying $5 to park, Massaro said. So its a suggestion of raising revenue without putting the burden on residents that takes that revenue and turns it into implementing some of these traffic or transportation suggestions.

You can reach Edward Booth at (707) 256-2213.

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A longtime community college leader in Sacramento is on track to become the next head of Napa Valley College, the institution announced this week.

Torence Powell will take the helm as NVCs president and superintendent effective July 1, the two-year school said in a news release. Pending an April 14 vote by the NVC board to approve his contract, he would become the permanent replacement for Ron Kraft, who retired in November after nine years. (Editor's note: NVC announced late Wednesday afternoon that the school removed Kraft due to fiscal mismanagement that included alleged withholding of financial information from the board of trustees.)

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Powell, 41, has spent the last 12 years in the Los Rios Community College District, where he is currently associate vice chancellor for instruction, workforce and economic development. He previously served as Los Rios interim vice president for student access and online engagement, a role in which he led efforts to create pathways for students to earn degrees entirely by remote instruction, according to NVC.

Napa Valley College has been led since Krafts departure by Rob Frost, an interim leader who earlier served at Chaffey College in Rancho Cucamonga and the City College of San Francisco.

In the colleges announcement, NVC trustee Jeff Dodd pointed to Powells long involvement in projects devoted to educational equity.

Rob Frost selected as interim president of Napa Valley College Rob Frost, whose higher education career spans more than 30 years, will lead Napa Valley College from Jan. 10 until a permanent head's expected selection in mid-2022.

Dr. Powell is a transformative leader who will usher in a new era for Napa Valley College, said Dodd. His passion for educational excellence and commitment to serving students with strategies deeply rooted in equity and inclusion make him an outstanding choice to lead college into the future.

According to NVC, Powell, who is Black, Native American and Latino, has served stints at the University of the Redlands as assistant director for diversity and inclusion, where he was an adjunct professor of environmental justice and involved students a Colorado River restoration project on his ancestral land, the Quechan reservation in Fort Yuma, Arizona.

Powell described his experiences as a first-generation community college student in Sacramento as the key to his career in education.

As a former community college student and a first-generation college graduate, I have dedicated my career to student success  because that is my story, and I know what it means firsthand, he said in the NVC announcement. I am honored and excited to be selected as the next superintendent/president at Napa Valley College, which has a demonstrated commitment to student success. I look forward to working beside the talented and dedicated staff and faculty at NVC to continue this most important work of transforming our students lives.
The decision of whether to offer algebra in eighth grade - and when, how and for whom to accelerate math instruction - is for individual school districts and charter schools to make, the latest draft of the California Mathematics Framework made clear this week. The 900-page document was never intended to be a mandate.

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With that controversy clarified, the addition of a couple of chapters and the deletion of politically charged references to racism behind past math policies and practices, the framework has now begun its third, and presumably final, 60-day review process.

It took 10 months, with hundreds of line edits and more substantial rewriting based on public comments and recommendations by a commission advising the State Board of Education, to revise this one. The State Board is expected to adopt the final version in July.

Advocates of the new guidance hope the changes will shift the focus away from criticism that the drafters sought to sacrifice rigor in the name of social justice. The goal, they say, is to make math interesting and relevant to students who have found it inaccessible and impenetrable.

"We really see equity as the future for better math learning for all students in California," said Brian Lindaman, co-faculty director of the Center for Science and Mathematics Instruction at Chico State, and the lead of five authors of the framework. The goals of making math more accessible and high achievement are an artificial dichotomy, he said.

"I hope the outcome (of the framework) will be to give schools and districts more latitude to develop math courses and sequences that excite students and help draw more of them into STEM fields or to sophisticated math, no matter what they choose to do in life," said Pamela Burdman, executive director of Just Equations, a nonprofit that promotes policies that prepare students with quantitative skills to succeed in college.

The framework provides voluntary guidelines to teachers and textbook publishers on how to teach the state's academic standards. The new math framework will replace one adopted in 2013, which served a specific purpose: to differentiate for teachers the newly adopted Common Core math standards from the previous state standards.

The new framework has a more student-centered goal - to build an understanding of math concepts and relationships across grades and subjects while developing students' critical thinking and reasoning skills.

That's a tall order, but doable, said Rebecca Pariso, a teacher on assignment from Hueneme Elementary School District, north of Los Angeles, who served on the committee of educators that advised the first draft of the framework. "The framework offers solutions to engage students more in math, to see context of math in their lives and where they belong in a world of numbers," she said.

Others question some principles of the framework, including the elimination of grouping students based on ability, and point to the recommendation to refrain from offering algebra until ninth grade as a source of their skepticism.

That issue was a flashpoint in the initial draft. Critics interpreted that position as a signal that the state was leveling down math instruction, delaying those ready for advanced math for the sake of misguided uniformity.

They said it would needlessly force students who want to major in science, technology, engineering or math in college to double up with an extra math course to fit in calculus as a high school senior. This could discourage Black and Latino students from pursuing those majors, in which they are already underrepresented.

In recommending that all students take Algebra I in ninth grade, the authors of the first draft heralded the success of San Francisco Unified. The district, which made the switch in 2014, released data showing an immediate improvement in math performance in ninth grade compared with eighth grade the year prior and in the number of students who subsequently enrolled in more advanced math courses as seniors. The district continued to argue that it was a sound policy.

But the district declined to make the data behind its findings public, and two analyses by critics of the policy, one by Ze'ev Wurman, a research fellow at the Independent Institute in Oakland, and the other by a San Francisco parents group with access to some unreleased information, concluded the data was flawed. The latest draft of the framework deleted mention of the San Francisco success.

"It's progress that the writing team now acknowledges the need for better pathways to calculus in California public schools. But this second revision of the framework simply rehashes the same arguments from the first revision while simply deleting all references to (San Francisco's) discredited claims of success," said Elizabeth Statmore, a math teacher at Lowell High School in San Francisco. "It may be time for the California State Board of Education to stop wasting taxpayer money on magical thinking."

A newly constituted school board in San Francisco, with appointees by Mayor London Breed following the recall last month of three of seven board members, is expected to reconsider the district's algebra placement policy.

How best to accelerate

The revised framework acknowledges that offering Algebra I, also called Integrated Math I under Common Core, in eighth grade is an option for math acceleration. But it adds the caveat that districts should assess the readiness of students to take it and consider requiring a summer course or additional preparation.

As another alternative to algebra in eighth grade, the framework proposes that math experts design a new high school course combining four years of courses into three by eliminating repeated material. That too would lead to an advanced math course in the senior year.

At the same time, in a new chapter, "Structuring School Experiences for Equity and Engagement," the framework urges districts not to create an advanced track for some students and a "separate track that filters most students out of high-level mathematics from a young age." This approach historically has denied opportunities to underrepresented minorities. "Any system that includes acceleration options for some students should do so without excluding most students from reaching higher level mathematics by the end of high school," it said.

Burdman said research is clear that a "race to calculus" can undermine the mastery and conceptual knowledge of math. The framework makes clear that students who take a standard math sequence starting in ninth grade should have options other than calculus to take as seniors - data science, financial algebra and statistics, which involve "how math is used in the real world, what it means to be quantitatively literate," Burdman said.

"It is unfortunate that many see these as inferior pathways when they are central to our future," she said.

Ellen Barger, assistant superintendent of curriculum and instruction at Santa Barbara County Office of Education, agrees.

"It would be useful, instead of fighting over theoretical dichotomies, that we start with common aspirations for children. We need to expand access to high quality math, including data science and statistics, because more students will need these applications" in their careers.

California ranks in the bottom third of states in math in the National Assessment of Educational Progress or NAEP. It now ranks 32 in the world, far below average, on the Programme for International Student Assessment.

Math mindset matters

The framework's authors emphasize that raising the level of performance in math statewide begins with raising students' self-confidence in math and their interest in it.

"All students deserve powerful mathematics; high-level mathematics achievement is not dependent on rare natural gifts, but rather can be cultivated," the framework's opening chapter reads.

Much of the framework details what equity in math looks like in the classroom - and what it takes to build a math mindset, particularly among students of color who have internalized that they're not capable of doing well. The writing of Jo Boaler, a professor of mathematics education at the Stanford Graduate School of Education and one of the five authors of the framework, is cited frequently.

Enjoyment, the framework says, "comes when students are actively engaged with mathematical concepts - when they are developing mathematical curiosity, asking their own questions, reasoning with others, and encountering mathematical ideas in multi-dimensional ways."

Teachers should give students open tasks that "allow all students to work at levels that are appropriately challenging for them." They should use examples that relate students' own lives because, the framework says, "mathematics is a quantitative lens through which to view the patterns that exist throughout the world."

Many teachers personally didn't experience math this way and will find it challenging to change how they teach math, Pariso acknowledged. "What will be important is helping teachers see value of what is in the framework; then they will want to make changes in the classroom," she said.

Lindaman said the teachers will determine whether the framework makes an impact.

"I hope the framework will bring about conversations about how to improve math instruction for more learners," Lindaman said. "Math is an animated, beautiful subject. We highlight how it can be made empowering."
Pikeville, KY (41501)

Today

A mix of clouds and sun. High around 80F. Winds light and variable..

Tonight

Cloudy skies with periods of rain late. Thunder possible. Low 66F. Winds ESE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 80%.
I am writing after a saddening recent article Maryland Democratic Party official resigns after sending email questioning the electability of Black candidates (March 14) to say the point for all Marylander should be who is the best candidate. And that is why, as a Democrat, I am supporting Wes Moore, who happens to be Black. Mr. Moore, a Rhodes scholar, Army officer and combat veteran, author, husband, father and CEO, will be a great governor because he knows what needs to be fixed and respects what needs to be preserved. And he has the power of personality to unite all Marylanders behind a stronger and more inclusive future. Bad ideas and exclusion may appear in other states, but not Maryland.

Stan Heuisler, Baltimore

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US President Joe Biden will try to emphasize unity during his visit to Europe this week, according to the White House.

But Biden's aides have never considered Biden visiting Ukraine, and the president remains opposed to sending US troops to that country.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki said that Biden hopes to emphasize cooperation with the West during his visit to Brussels and Warsaw.

What the [US] President is hoping to achieve is continued coordination and a unified response to the continued escalatory actions of [Russian] President [Vladimir] Putin, Psaki said at Mondays press briefing.

Asked about Poland's proposal to deploy an international peacekeeping force in Ukraine, Psaki argued that such a move could run counter to Biden's line.

Well, we, of course, will continue to work with Poland and other allies and partners in Europe to provide support for the Ukrainian people and help them defend their country against Russian aggression and provide relief to the people of Ukraine. And we will continue to impose severe consequences. The [US] Presidentweve beenhes been clear: Were not going to send American troops to fight Russian troops. Its not in the interest of the American people or our national security. But well continue to discuss a range of ideas, including this one out there, the White House press secretary said.

A number of Ukrainian leaders have called on Biden to visit Ukraine as part of his trip to Europe. But Psaki said that this option was never considered.

We have not explored that option, she said citing the security considerations and the "enormous amount of resources on the ground" that will be required for this.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said he is ready to talk to Russian President Vladimir Putinduring their first meetingon the temporarily occupied Donetsk and Luhansk regions and the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, but doubts that this dialogue will be effective. Zelenskyy made such remarks in an interview with public broadcasters, UNIAN reports.

"And in order to find a way out there, we must take that first step, about which I said: security guarantees, end of the war because everything is very heated, and this block is over, and then let's talk. At the first meeting with the President of Russia I am ready to raise these issues, they are urgent, they are important for us, about the occupied territories. But I am sure that decision will not be made at that meeting because, to be completely honest, we will talk about constitutional changes, changes in Ukrainian legislation on security issues. And if we talk about it, then, in any case, it will not be decided only by the president. This rather long process will be decided by both the Rada and the people of Ukraine," he said.

He also said that in case of a meeting with Putin "right now," there would be no "calls and historic speeches."

"I will discuss all the issues with him in great detail, leaving no opportunity for further risks of our state. I will try to go through all the issues that concern Russia and which it is dissatisfied with, and I will sayin detaileverything that the Ukrainian people think. If I have the opportunity and Russiathe desire, then we will go through all these issues. Will we solve all of them? No. But there is a possibility that some of it will be able to; at least stop the war. It is impossible without a solution," Zelenskyy said.

Putin, he added, "by destroying us, he is destroying himself."

Zelenskyy also said that the final compromise in the negotiations between Ukraine and Russia will be decided by an all-Ukrainian referendum, which concerns security guarantees, as well as the temporarily occupied territories of Donbas and Crimea.
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Defense Ministers of Armenia and Georgia sign cooperation program for 2022

Romanian President approves entry of Stryker Brigade and US fighter squadron into country

Dollar goes up, euro also rises in Armenia

EU studying possibility of providing military assistance to Moldova

Public demand for Nikol Pashinyan's resignation

Opposition supporters move toward Armenian parliament building

EU envoys can not agree on Russian oil

Armenia Security Council chief briefs Georgia PM on Karabakh conflict settlement process

Can Guardiola stop Benzema? (cartoon)

US comedian attacked on stage in Los Angeles

Armenia deputy police chief says law enforcement has right detain MPs

Large-scale opposition rally starts in central Yerevan

Kim Kardashian hints she dreams of marrying fourth time

Many teenagers in New Zealand are illiterate

WHO: Food delivery apps and online games cause obesity in children

AFP: EU proposes to impose sanctions on Patriarch Kirill

Arestovich says Israel could supply Ukraine with weapons Azerbaijan used in Karabakh war

Will Smith's Oscar speech disappears from official YouTube channel of film awards

Parliament speaker threatens Armenian opposition, clergy

Armenia opposition MP: Ex-President Serzh Sargsyan will not hold office in new government

Beijing closes over 60 subway stations due to COVID-19 outbreak

Bayramov, Roquefeuil discuss Azerbaijan-Armenia relations normalization process

Armenia FM meets with US National Democratic Institute president

Armenia ruling force MP: Opposition will not achieve its goal

Armenia 2nd president Robert Kocharyans son blocking road with citizens in Yerevan

Oklahoma bans almost all abortions

Premieres in May: Let's go to the cinema!

Number of children in Japan falls to record low

Karabakh President meets with of Free Homeland-UCA parliamentary faction members

Armenian judge waves Artsakh flag at Ironman Triathlon (PHOTOS)

There is still lot to do in 'October 27' case, says Armenia Prosecutor General

Ambassador Wiktorin to finance minister: EU ready to continue providing assistance to Armenia government

Inter reach agreement with Paulo Dybala

Armenia Prosecutor General admits there are difficulties in investigation of 'March 1' criminal case

Armens: Louisa Sharamatyan on cooking tolma on Food Networks Worst Cooks and being compared with Kim Kardashian

Copper price is stable

3 COVID-19 new cases confirmed in Armenia

American Armenian youth hold protest rally outside Armenia embassy in Washington

Scientists analyze unobvious consequences of wearing masks

Japan protests against North Korean missile

Klopp on par with Ferguson, Ancelotti and Lippi

Gold is getting cheaper

U.S.-Armenia Strategic Dialogue issues joint statement

4 surprising benefits of using Kiwi fruit daily in your diet

Roma intend to buy Atalanta forward

International premiere of animated film about Armenian Genocide survivor Aurora to be held during famous festival

Newspaper: Armenia Patrol Guard Service head to be summoned to Investigative Committee to give explanation

Armenia parliament regular sittings continue

Pregnant Rihannas statue appears at Metropolitan Museum of Art (PHOTOS)

Newspaper: Armenia opposition members falling into National Security Service trap by opening links

Civil disobedience protests resume in Yerevan

Liverpool set club record

Earthquake shakes Armenia-Georgia border zone

Microsoft urges to abandon Internet Explorer

Champions League: Liverpool reach final

Mark Milley: Potential for significant international conflict between great powers is increasing

Villarreal win Liverpool 2-0 (first half)

EU: Poland fines in rule of law dispute now top $170 million

Putin and Lukashenko discuss ongoing situation
President says Artsakh continues to maintain its vision for future, toward independence

Oppositions uncrowded marches show lack of public support, says Armenia ruling force lawmaker

Trade in Armenia increased by about $80 million, PM says

Pashinyan to Bennett: I am hopeful that Armenian-Israeli relations will flourish in near future

Civil disobedience motorcade being held in Yerevan

What illnesses threaten those who had COVID-19?

EU to ban Russians from buying European real estate

US defense industry facing problems due to supply of weapons to Ukraine

When can headache be sign of serious illness?

Armenia FM holds discussion at Atlantic Council, speaks about process of normalization of relations with Turkey

Newspaper: Armenia opposition MPs to lose their parliamentary mandates?

Newspaper: Artsakh President says we would not have had so many casualties if war had started half year later

Civil disobedience march kicks off in downtown Yerevan

Civil disobedience actions resume in Yerevan

Blinken tests positive for Covid

Denmark, Finland support European Commission proposal on Russian oil sanctions

Bulgaria to seek exemption from EU proposed Russian oil embargo

Biden says he is ready for additional sanctions against Russia

Switzerland braces for serious power shortage

Uruguay freezes ambassador appointment to Ankara after Cavusoglu's gesture

Czech Republic to seek exemption from proposed EU embargo on Russian oil imports

Charles Michel on the likelihood of Moldova's EU membership

Resistance Movement actions to resume tomorrow early morning

Elon Musk is invited to UK Parliament for buying Twitter

Madrid: Rafael Nadal's successful start

Disobedience march reaches France Square, rally starts

Diego Maradona's shirt sold for 8.5 million euros

US crude oil shipments to Europe hit highest level in April

NEWS.am digest: Large-scale protests being held in Armenia to demand PMs resignation

Armenia Defense Minister meets with Georgian PM

UK bans imposes sanctions on 63 individuals and organizations in Russia

EU plan to completely ban Russian crude oil threatens Hungary's energy security

Ter Stegen to miss next German team matches

EU interested in expanding energy cooperation with Azerbaijan

Germany: Gradual EU ban on Russian oil imports could lead to 'supply disruptions'

Nutritionists name healthiest vegetables for heart

Opposition demonstration reaches government residences

Aliyev insists so-called Zangezur corridor 'is already a reality'

Youth World Cup: Gor Sahakyan becomes bronze medalist

Justin Bieber about 'emotional breakdown' after marrying

Slovakia seeks exemption from EU oil embargo for three years

Defense Ministers of Armenia and Georgia sign cooperation program for 2022

Romanian President approves entry of Stryker Brigade and US fighter squadron into country

Dollar goes up, euro also rises in Armenia

EU studying possibility of providing military assistance to Moldova

Public demand for Nikol Pashinyan's resignation

Opposition supporters move toward Armenian parliament building

EU envoys can not agree on Russian oil

Armenia Security Council chief briefs Georgia PM on Karabakh conflict settlement process

Can Guardiola stop Benzema? (cartoon)

US comedian attacked on stage in Los Angeles

Armenia deputy police chief says law enforcement has right detain MPs

Large-scale opposition rally starts in central Yerevan

Kim Kardashian hints she dreams of marrying fourth time

Many teenagers in New Zealand are illiterate

WHO: Food delivery apps and online games cause obesity in children

AFP: EU proposes to impose sanctions on Patriarch Kirill

Arestovich says Israel could supply Ukraine with weapons Azerbaijan used in Karabakh war

Will Smith's Oscar speech disappears from official YouTube channel of film awards

Parliament speaker threatens Armenian opposition, clergy

Armenia opposition MP: Ex-President Serzh Sargsyan will not hold office in new government

Beijing closes over 60 subway stations due to COVID-19 outbreak

Bayramov, Roquefeuil discuss Azerbaijan-Armenia relations normalization process

Armenia FM meets with US National Democratic Institute president

Armenia ruling force MP: Opposition will not achieve its goal

Armenia 2nd president Robert Kocharyans son blocking road with citizens in Yerevan

Oklahoma bans almost all abortions

Premieres in May: Let's go to the cinema!

Number of children in Japan falls to record low

Karabakh President meets with of Free Homeland-UCA parliamentary faction members

Armenian judge waves Artsakh flag at Ironman Triathlon (PHOTOS)

There is still lot to do in 'October 27' case, says Armenia Prosecutor General

Ambassador Wiktorin to finance minister: EU ready to continue providing assistance to Armenia government

Inter reach agreement with Paulo Dybala

Armenia Prosecutor General admits there are difficulties in investigation of 'March 1' criminal case

Armens: Louisa Sharamatyan on cooking tolma on Food Networks Worst Cooks and being compared with Kim Kardashian

Copper price is stable

3 COVID-19 new cases confirmed in Armenia

American Armenian youth hold protest rally outside Armenia embassy in Washington

Scientists analyze unobvious consequences of wearing masks

Japan protests against North Korean missile

Klopp on par with Ferguson, Ancelotti and Lippi

Gold is getting cheaper

U.S.-Armenia Strategic Dialogue issues joint statement

4 surprising benefits of using Kiwi fruit daily in your diet

Roma intend to buy Atalanta forward

International premiere of animated film about Armenian Genocide survivor Aurora to be held during famous festival

Newspaper: Armenia Patrol Guard Service head to be summoned to Investigative Committee to give explanation

Armenia parliament regular sittings continue

Pregnant Rihannas statue appears at Metropolitan Museum of Art (PHOTOS)

Newspaper: Armenia opposition members falling into National Security Service trap by opening links

Civil disobedience protests resume in Yerevan

Liverpool set club record

Earthquake shakes Armenia-Georgia border zone

Microsoft urges to abandon Internet Explorer

Champions League: Liverpool reach final

Mark Milley: Potential for significant international conflict between great powers is increasing

Villarreal win Liverpool 2-0 (first half)

EU: Poland fines in rule of law dispute now top $170 million

Putin and Lukashenko discuss ongoing situation
The natural gas supply suspended in Artsakh since yesterday has not been restored yet, and the command of the Russian peacekeeping contingent is holding talks with the Azerbaijani side. Lusine Avanesyan, the press secretary of the Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) President, told about this to Armenian News-NEWS.am Tuesday morning.

The Artsakhgaz company had earlier informed that at around 1am on March 8, the natural gas supply to Artsakh was disrupted due to damage to the natural gas pipeline coming from Armenia. It turned out that this natural gas pipeline was damaged in the area that is currently under the control of the Azerbaijani armed forces.

The Azerbaijani side was creating obstacles for nine days to repairing this damaged natural gas pipeline. And finally on March 16, according to the Artsakh Info Center, thanks to negotiations with the assistance of the Armenian government and Russian peacekeepers, the Azerbaijani side began repairing this natural gas pipeline, and the repair was completed on March 19.

On Monday, however, the Artsakh Info Center informed that the natural gas supply to Artsakh was stopped againand due to the direct intervention of the Azerbaijani side.
President says Artsakh continues to maintain its vision for future, toward independence

Oppositions uncrowded marches show lack of public support, says Armenia ruling force lawmaker

Trade in Armenia increased by about $80 million, PM says

Pashinyan to Bennett: I am hopeful that Armenian-Israeli relations will flourish in near future

Civil disobedience motorcade being held in Yerevan

What illnesses threaten those who had COVID-19?

EU to ban Russians from buying European real estate

US defense industry facing problems due to supply of weapons to Ukraine

When can headache be sign of serious illness?

Armenia FM holds discussion at Atlantic Council, speaks about process of normalization of relations with Turkey

Newspaper: Armenia opposition MPs to lose their parliamentary mandates?

Newspaper: Artsakh President says we would not have had so many casualties if war had started half year later

Civil disobedience march kicks off in downtown Yerevan

Civil disobedience actions resume in Yerevan

Blinken tests positive for Covid

Denmark, Finland support European Commission proposal on Russian oil sanctions

Bulgaria to seek exemption from EU proposed Russian oil embargo

Biden says he is ready for additional sanctions against Russia

Switzerland braces for serious power shortage

Uruguay freezes ambassador appointment to Ankara after Cavusoglu's gesture

Czech Republic to seek exemption from proposed EU embargo on Russian oil imports

Charles Michel on the likelihood of Moldova's EU membership

Resistance Movement actions to resume tomorrow early morning

Elon Musk is invited to UK Parliament for buying Twitter

Madrid: Rafael Nadal's successful start

Disobedience march reaches France Square, rally starts

Diego Maradona's shirt sold for 8.5 million euros

US crude oil shipments to Europe hit highest level in April

NEWS.am digest: Large-scale protests being held in Armenia to demand PMs resignation

Armenia Defense Minister meets with Georgian PM

UK bans imposes sanctions on 63 individuals and organizations in Russia

EU plan to completely ban Russian crude oil threatens Hungary's energy security

Ter Stegen to miss next German team matches

EU interested in expanding energy cooperation with Azerbaijan

Germany: Gradual EU ban on Russian oil imports could lead to 'supply disruptions'

Nutritionists name healthiest vegetables for heart

Opposition demonstration reaches government residences

Aliyev insists so-called Zangezur corridor 'is already a reality'

Youth World Cup: Gor Sahakyan becomes bronze medalist

Justin Bieber about 'emotional breakdown' after marrying

Slovakia seeks exemption from EU oil embargo for three years

Defense Ministers of Armenia and Georgia sign cooperation program for 2022

Romanian President approves entry of Stryker Brigade and US fighter squadron into country

Dollar goes up, euro also rises in Armenia

EU studying possibility of providing military assistance to Moldova

Public demand for Nikol Pashinyan's resignation

Opposition supporters move toward Armenian parliament building

EU envoys can not agree on Russian oil

Armenia Security Council chief briefs Georgia PM on Karabakh conflict settlement process

Can Guardiola stop Benzema? (cartoon)

US comedian attacked on stage in Los Angeles

Armenia deputy police chief says law enforcement has right detain MPs

Large-scale opposition rally starts in central Yerevan

Kim Kardashian hints she dreams of marrying fourth time

Many teenagers in New Zealand are illiterate

WHO: Food delivery apps and online games cause obesity in children

AFP: EU proposes to impose sanctions on Patriarch Kirill

Arestovich says Israel could supply Ukraine with weapons Azerbaijan used in Karabakh war

Will Smith's Oscar speech disappears from official YouTube channel of film awards

Parliament speaker threatens Armenian opposition, clergy

Armenia opposition MP: Ex-President Serzh Sargsyan will not hold office in new government

Beijing closes over 60 subway stations due to COVID-19 outbreak

Bayramov, Roquefeuil discuss Azerbaijan-Armenia relations normalization process

Armenia FM meets with US National Democratic Institute president

Armenia ruling force MP: Opposition will not achieve its goal

Armenia 2nd president Robert Kocharyans son blocking road with citizens in Yerevan

Oklahoma bans almost all abortions

Premieres in May: Let's go to the cinema!

Number of children in Japan falls to record low

Karabakh President meets with of Free Homeland-UCA parliamentary faction members

Armenian judge waves Artsakh flag at Ironman Triathlon (PHOTOS)

There is still lot to do in 'October 27' case, says Armenia Prosecutor General

Ambassador Wiktorin to finance minister: EU ready to continue providing assistance to Armenia government

Inter reach agreement with Paulo Dybala

Armenia Prosecutor General admits there are difficulties in investigation of 'March 1' criminal case

Armens: Louisa Sharamatyan on cooking tolma on Food Networks Worst Cooks and being compared with Kim Kardashian

Copper price is stable

3 COVID-19 new cases confirmed in Armenia

American Armenian youth hold protest rally outside Armenia embassy in Washington

Scientists analyze unobvious consequences of wearing masks

Japan protests against North Korean missile

Klopp on par with Ferguson, Ancelotti and Lippi

Gold is getting cheaper

U.S.-Armenia Strategic Dialogue issues joint statement

4 surprising benefits of using Kiwi fruit daily in your diet

Roma intend to buy Atalanta forward

International premiere of animated film about Armenian Genocide survivor Aurora to be held during famous festival

Newspaper: Armenia Patrol Guard Service head to be summoned to Investigative Committee to give explanation

Armenia parliament regular sittings continue

Pregnant Rihannas statue appears at Metropolitan Museum of Art (PHOTOS)

Newspaper: Armenia opposition members falling into National Security Service trap by opening links

Civil disobedience protests resume in Yerevan

Liverpool set club record

Earthquake shakes Armenia-Georgia border zone

Microsoft urges to abandon Internet Explorer

Champions League: Liverpool reach final

Mark Milley: Potential for significant international conflict between great powers is increasing

Villarreal win Liverpool 2-0 (first half)

EU: Poland fines in rule of law dispute now top $170 million

Putin and Lukashenko discuss ongoing situation
The situation in Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) will be discussed at the session of the National Assembly (NA) of Armenia. The discussion will be held behind closed doors.

Those behind this initiative is the parliamentary opposition: the "Armenia" and "With Honor" Factions. They had petitioned to the NA speaker with a proposal to hold an urgent parliamentary consultation on "The humanitarian situation in Karabakh, threats, and urgent measures."

Also, NA opposition considered important the attendance of Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan and Deputy Prime Minister Mher Grigoryan, who should deliver reports on the aforesaid issues.

In addition, the opposition noted the need for the attendance of the Karabakh MPs who are still in Yerevan.

At the end of the sitting, the opposition will submit the draft of the respective NA statement.
President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has thanked US President Joe Biden for congratulating him on the occasion of Nowruz, AzerTac reported.

In the respective letter, Aliyev listed all the achievements of three decades of US-Azerbaijan cooperation, and paid special attention to the energy sector.

Even in this letter, however, Aliyev could not resist the temptation to distort the facts and blackmail. First, Aliyev deliberately singled out one from the whole list of principles. In diplomatic interpretation, the Azerbaijani president reminded the US president of the Azerbaijani oil and natural gas reserves, linking it to Washington's support to Baku's position in the peace agenda with Armenia.

Given that the collective West ranks energy security issues far higher than the values of democracy and human rights proclaimed by it, Aliyev might have chosen the right emphasis. Otherwise, the same West would somehow react to the "natural gas blockade" which Azerbaijan has subjected the people of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) to.
The foreign ministry of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) on Tuesday issued a statement on the occasion of the 102nd anniversary of the Armenian massacre in Shushi town. The statement reads as follows:

Today we bow our heads before the memory of the innocent victims of the Genocide of the Armenian population of the city of Shushi, carried out by the authorities of the artificially created Azerbaijan Democratic Republic 102 years ago, from March 22 to March 26, 1920. Tens of thousands of people became victims of this monstrous crime caused by Azerbaijan's expansionist aspirations - many of them were brutally murdered, the survivors were expelled from their homes. Most of the city, which was not only the capital, but also the historical and cultural center of Artsakh, was completely destroyed and lay in ruins for several decades until it was demolished by the Azerbaijani authorities in the middle of the twentieth century.

The Shoushi massacres, in which Turkish officers and emissaries took an active part, was aimed at transferring the Armenian Genocide to Eastern Armenia in the context of the implementation of pan-Turkic ideology.

This tragedy, horrifying in its cruelty, outlined the true goals of the Azerbaijani authorities in relation to Artsakh and the Armenian people and not only changed the demography of Shoushi, but also left an indelible mark on the atmosphere of the city and predetermined the subsequent processes.

After almost 70 years, the Azerbaijani authorities again resorted to a proven tool in their arsenal - the massacre and deportation of the innocent Armenian population, organizing mass killings and pogroms in Sumgait, Baku, Gandzak (Kirovabad) and other settlements of the former Azerbaijani SSR.

In 2020, the tragedy was repeated again. Having occupied the city of Shoushi during the 44-day aggression against the Republic of Artsakh, Azerbaijan again expelled the Armenian population of the city.

Both in 1920 and 2020, Azerbaijan sought not only to annihilate the Armenian population of the town of Shoushi and Artsakh as a whole, but also to erase its history, culture and spirit. Azerbaijan continues to adhere to this strategy to this day. However, it is impossible to destroy the Armenian spirit of Shoushi, which is inextricably linked with Artsakh. It was revived in May 1992 and will be revived again.
President says Artsakh continues to maintain its vision for future, toward independence

Oppositions uncrowded marches show lack of public support, says Armenia ruling force lawmaker

Trade in Armenia increased by about $80 million, PM says

Pashinyan to Bennett: I am hopeful that Armenian-Israeli relations will flourish in near future

Civil disobedience motorcade being held in Yerevan

What illnesses threaten those who had COVID-19?

EU to ban Russians from buying European real estate

US defense industry facing problems due to supply of weapons to Ukraine

When can headache be sign of serious illness?

Armenia FM holds discussion at Atlantic Council, speaks about process of normalization of relations with Turkey

Newspaper: Armenia opposition MPs to lose their parliamentary mandates?

Newspaper: Artsakh President says we would not have had so many casualties if war had started half year later

Civil disobedience march kicks off in downtown Yerevan

Civil disobedience actions resume in Yerevan

Blinken tests positive for Covid

Denmark, Finland support European Commission proposal on Russian oil sanctions

Bulgaria to seek exemption from EU proposed Russian oil embargo

Biden says he is ready for additional sanctions against Russia

Switzerland braces for serious power shortage

Uruguay freezes ambassador appointment to Ankara after Cavusoglu's gesture

Czech Republic to seek exemption from proposed EU embargo on Russian oil imports

Charles Michel on the likelihood of Moldova's EU membership

Resistance Movement actions to resume tomorrow early morning

Elon Musk is invited to UK Parliament for buying Twitter

Madrid: Rafael Nadal's successful start

Disobedience march reaches France Square, rally starts

Diego Maradona's shirt sold for 8.5 million euros

US crude oil shipments to Europe hit highest level in April

NEWS.am digest: Large-scale protests being held in Armenia to demand PMs resignation

Armenia Defense Minister meets with Georgian PM

UK bans imposes sanctions on 63 individuals and organizations in Russia

EU plan to completely ban Russian crude oil threatens Hungary's energy security

Ter Stegen to miss next German team matches

EU interested in expanding energy cooperation with Azerbaijan

Germany: Gradual EU ban on Russian oil imports could lead to 'supply disruptions'

Nutritionists name healthiest vegetables for heart

Opposition demonstration reaches government residences

Aliyev insists so-called Zangezur corridor 'is already a reality'

Youth World Cup: Gor Sahakyan becomes bronze medalist

Justin Bieber about 'emotional breakdown' after marrying

Slovakia seeks exemption from EU oil embargo for three years

Defense Ministers of Armenia and Georgia sign cooperation program for 2022

Romanian President approves entry of Stryker Brigade and US fighter squadron into country

Dollar goes up, euro also rises in Armenia

EU studying possibility of providing military assistance to Moldova

Public demand for Nikol Pashinyan's resignation

Opposition supporters move toward Armenian parliament building

EU envoys can not agree on Russian oil

Armenia Security Council chief briefs Georgia PM on Karabakh conflict settlement process

Can Guardiola stop Benzema? (cartoon)

US comedian attacked on stage in Los Angeles

Armenia deputy police chief says law enforcement has right detain MPs

Large-scale opposition rally starts in central Yerevan

Kim Kardashian hints she dreams of marrying fourth time

Many teenagers in New Zealand are illiterate

WHO: Food delivery apps and online games cause obesity in children

AFP: EU proposes to impose sanctions on Patriarch Kirill

Arestovich says Israel could supply Ukraine with weapons Azerbaijan used in Karabakh war

Will Smith's Oscar speech disappears from official YouTube channel of film awards

Parliament speaker threatens Armenian opposition, clergy

Armenia opposition MP: Ex-President Serzh Sargsyan will not hold office in new government

Beijing closes over 60 subway stations due to COVID-19 outbreak

Bayramov, Roquefeuil discuss Azerbaijan-Armenia relations normalization process

Armenia FM meets with US National Democratic Institute president

Armenia ruling force MP: Opposition will not achieve its goal

Armenia 2nd president Robert Kocharyans son blocking road with citizens in Yerevan

Oklahoma bans almost all abortions

Premieres in May: Let's go to the cinema!

Number of children in Japan falls to record low

Karabakh President meets with of Free Homeland-UCA parliamentary faction members

Armenian judge waves Artsakh flag at Ironman Triathlon (PHOTOS)

There is still lot to do in 'October 27' case, says Armenia Prosecutor General

Ambassador Wiktorin to finance minister: EU ready to continue providing assistance to Armenia government

Inter reach agreement with Paulo Dybala

Armenia Prosecutor General admits there are difficulties in investigation of 'March 1' criminal case

Armens: Louisa Sharamatyan on cooking tolma on Food Networks Worst Cooks and being compared with Kim Kardashian

Copper price is stable

3 COVID-19 new cases confirmed in Armenia

American Armenian youth hold protest rally outside Armenia embassy in Washington

Scientists analyze unobvious consequences of wearing masks

Japan protests against North Korean missile

Klopp on par with Ferguson, Ancelotti and Lippi

Gold is getting cheaper

U.S.-Armenia Strategic Dialogue issues joint statement

4 surprising benefits of using Kiwi fruit daily in your diet

Roma intend to buy Atalanta forward

International premiere of animated film about Armenian Genocide survivor Aurora to be held during famous festival

Newspaper: Armenia Patrol Guard Service head to be summoned to Investigative Committee to give explanation

Armenia parliament regular sittings continue

Pregnant Rihannas statue appears at Metropolitan Museum of Art (PHOTOS)

Newspaper: Armenia opposition members falling into National Security Service trap by opening links

Civil disobedience protests resume in Yerevan

Liverpool set club record

Earthquake shakes Armenia-Georgia border zone

Microsoft urges to abandon Internet Explorer

Champions League: Liverpool reach final

Mark Milley: Potential for significant international conflict between great powers is increasing

Villarreal win Liverpool 2-0 (first half)

EU: Poland fines in rule of law dispute now top $170 million

Putin and Lukashenko discuss ongoing situation
Xi orders all-out rescue efforts after plane crash

Xinhua) 07:53, March 22, 2022

BEIJING, March 21 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping has ordered all-out search and rescue efforts after a passenger plane with 132 people aboard crashed in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region Monday afternoon.

Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, said in his instruction that he was shocked to learn about the incident involving China Eastern Airlines flight MU5735.

He ordered the immediate launch of an emergency response, all-out search and rescue efforts and the proper settlement of the aftermath.

Xi ordered swift action to be taken to identify the cause of the crash and to strengthen the safety overhaul of the civil aviation sector to ensure the absolute safety of the sector and people's lives.

Premier Li Keqiang, also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, urged efforts to console the families of the victims and provide them with assistance, release accurate information in a timely manner, conduct a serious probe into the incident, and take strong measures to strengthen the safety of civil aviation.

Work teams have been dispatched to the scene by relevant departments. Rescue forces from Guangxi and neighboring Guangdong Province have been mobilized.

(Web editor: Xia Peiyao, Liang Jun)
If the new poll by Goucher College is correct, there should not be a problem in getting voters to approve it. So there should be no compunction about putting it to a vote in the next election and letting all the voters, and not just a small portion chosen for the poll, vote (Voters in Maryland support legalizing recreational marijuana by a 2-to-1 margin, March 14.

Of course there may be some problem with the way legalization is run and who gets to profit by it, but that is a problem to be solved if the marijuana legalization legislation gets passed. I personally would vote against it, as it can impair mental activity and that could be a real problem like drinking.

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Stas Chrzanowski, Baltimore

Add your voice: Respond to this piece or other Sun content by submitting your own letter.
The Yerevan court once again did not allow former deputy prime minister Armen Gevorgyan, who is now an MP of the opposition Armenia Faction in the National Assembly of Armenia, to attend the session of a subcommittee of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE).

At the start of Tuesdays court hearing on the criminal case against second President Robert Kocharyan and Gevorgyan, Presiding Judge Anna Danibekyan stated that Gevorgyan had submitted a petition, which his lawyer Lusine Sahakyan presented.

The petition asked the court to grant Armen Gevorgyan permission to travel to Rome to participate in the sitting of a PACE subcommittee.

The defense joined this petition.

But the prosecution objected to it, making reference to previous similar discussions.

The court denied the petition, arguing that Gevorgyan's behaviorin particular, his "disrespectful" absence from the previous court hearing and the decision to subpoena himraises fears that he would not return.
The steps of the Armenian authorities are bringing the war even closer. Tigran Abrahamyan, an MP from the opposition "With Honor" Faction in the National Assembly of Armenia and a security expert, stated about this during a discussion Tuesday.

According to him, what the Armenian authorities are talking about, and what Azerbaijan is harmoniously presenting, contains more threats of war rather than the possibility of peace.

Abrahamyan expressed a conviction that in reality there is a wrong opinion that there is a peace agenda for Armenia, and in the public perception there is an impression that there are forces that are for and against peace.

He reminded that after the proclamation of the "era of peace" the sovereign territory of Armenia was subjected to Azerbaijani military aggression, and a part was occupied. According to him, Azerbaijan demands more and will demand more.

Abrahamyan stressed that the Armenian authorities are now trying to fit into the agenda proposed by Azerbaijan and Turkey. He considered the absence of visits of Armenias high-ranking officials to Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) a targeted policy of alienation of Artsakh, so that in the future there would be the lowest possible level of resistance in Armenia to solve their issues.

Tigran Abrahamyan noted that Artsakh is in serious danger, whereas Armenias authorities do not seek to eliminate it, or at least reduce the risks.
The second president of Armenia, Robert Kocharyan, does not consider himself guilty, and says the charge against him has nothing to do with reality. He state about this at Tuesdays Yerevan court hearing on the criminal case against him and former deputy prime minister Armen Gevorgyan, who is now an MP of the opposition Armenia Faction in the National Assembly of Armenia.

Kocharyan emphasized that he does not know businesswoman Silva Hambardzumyan, and the charge against him has absolutely nothing to do with the powers of the president.

He reminded that according to the law in force at that time, the President of Armenia had no authority to sell licenses, and no agreement was required for the sale.

"It's just ridiculous. I do not know what to defend myself from. The accusation is based on one person's imagination. It is not clear why the prosecutor's office accepted such accusations as a basis," the second president said, adding that there is nothing in the case about such an agreement.

"I have been president, and I have never dealt with such issues," Kocharyan emphasized.

"This is a classic example of a political order," Kocharyan said, repeating what had been said earlier.

The accusation appeared at the last moment so that the investigation could seize the property, as the Criminal Code article on violation of the constitutional order did not imply material accountability.

"This is a political order, an absurdity, which has nothing to do with reality," Robert Kocharyan concluded.

Along the lines of the abovementioned criminal case, Robert Kocharyan and Armen Gevorgyan are charged with taking bribesand based on the respective testimony of businesswoman Silva Hambardzumyan.
President says Artsakh continues to maintain its vision for future, toward independence

Oppositions uncrowded marches show lack of public support, says Armenia ruling force lawmaker

Trade in Armenia increased by about $80 million, PM says

Pashinyan to Bennett: I am hopeful that Armenian-Israeli relations will flourish in near future

Civil disobedience motorcade being held in Yerevan

What illnesses threaten those who had COVID-19?

EU to ban Russians from buying European real estate

US defense industry facing problems due to supply of weapons to Ukraine

When can headache be sign of serious illness?

Armenia FM holds discussion at Atlantic Council, speaks about process of normalization of relations with Turkey

Newspaper: Armenia opposition MPs to lose their parliamentary mandates?

Newspaper: Artsakh President says we would not have had so many casualties if war had started half year later

Civil disobedience march kicks off in downtown Yerevan

Civil disobedience actions resume in Yerevan

Blinken tests positive for Covid

Denmark, Finland support European Commission proposal on Russian oil sanctions

Bulgaria to seek exemption from EU proposed Russian oil embargo

Biden says he is ready for additional sanctions against Russia

Switzerland braces for serious power shortage

Uruguay freezes ambassador appointment to Ankara after Cavusoglu's gesture

Czech Republic to seek exemption from proposed EU embargo on Russian oil imports

Charles Michel on the likelihood of Moldova's EU membership

Resistance Movement actions to resume tomorrow early morning

Elon Musk is invited to UK Parliament for buying Twitter

Madrid: Rafael Nadal's successful start

Disobedience march reaches France Square, rally starts

Diego Maradona's shirt sold for 8.5 million euros

US crude oil shipments to Europe hit highest level in April

NEWS.am digest: Large-scale protests being held in Armenia to demand PMs resignation

Armenia Defense Minister meets with Georgian PM

UK bans imposes sanctions on 63 individuals and organizations in Russia

EU plan to completely ban Russian crude oil threatens Hungary's energy security

Ter Stegen to miss next German team matches

EU interested in expanding energy cooperation with Azerbaijan

Germany: Gradual EU ban on Russian oil imports could lead to 'supply disruptions'

Nutritionists name healthiest vegetables for heart

Opposition demonstration reaches government residences

Aliyev insists so-called Zangezur corridor 'is already a reality'

Youth World Cup: Gor Sahakyan becomes bronze medalist

Justin Bieber about 'emotional breakdown' after marrying

Slovakia seeks exemption from EU oil embargo for three years

Defense Ministers of Armenia and Georgia sign cooperation program for 2022

Romanian President approves entry of Stryker Brigade and US fighter squadron into country

Dollar goes up, euro also rises in Armenia

EU studying possibility of providing military assistance to Moldova

Public demand for Nikol Pashinyan's resignation

Opposition supporters move toward Armenian parliament building

EU envoys can not agree on Russian oil

Armenia Security Council chief briefs Georgia PM on Karabakh conflict settlement process

Can Guardiola stop Benzema? (cartoon)

US comedian attacked on stage in Los Angeles

Armenia deputy police chief says law enforcement has right detain MPs

Large-scale opposition rally starts in central Yerevan

Kim Kardashian hints she dreams of marrying fourth time

Many teenagers in New Zealand are illiterate

WHO: Food delivery apps and online games cause obesity in children

AFP: EU proposes to impose sanctions on Patriarch Kirill

Arestovich says Israel could supply Ukraine with weapons Azerbaijan used in Karabakh war

Will Smith's Oscar speech disappears from official YouTube channel of film awards

Parliament speaker threatens Armenian opposition, clergy

Armenia opposition MP: Ex-President Serzh Sargsyan will not hold office in new government

Beijing closes over 60 subway stations due to COVID-19 outbreak

Bayramov, Roquefeuil discuss Azerbaijan-Armenia relations normalization process

Armenia FM meets with US National Democratic Institute president

Armenia ruling force MP: Opposition will not achieve its goal

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Oklahoma bans almost all abortions

Premieres in May: Let's go to the cinema!

Number of children in Japan falls to record low

Karabakh President meets with of Free Homeland-UCA parliamentary faction members

Armenian judge waves Artsakh flag at Ironman Triathlon (PHOTOS)

There is still lot to do in 'October 27' case, says Armenia Prosecutor General

Ambassador Wiktorin to finance minister: EU ready to continue providing assistance to Armenia government

Inter reach agreement with Paulo Dybala

Armenia Prosecutor General admits there are difficulties in investigation of 'March 1' criminal case

Armens: Louisa Sharamatyan on cooking tolma on Food Networks Worst Cooks and being compared with Kim Kardashian

Copper price is stable

3 COVID-19 new cases confirmed in Armenia

American Armenian youth hold protest rally outside Armenia embassy in Washington

Scientists analyze unobvious consequences of wearing masks

Japan protests against North Korean missile

Klopp on par with Ferguson, Ancelotti and Lippi

Gold is getting cheaper

U.S.-Armenia Strategic Dialogue issues joint statement

4 surprising benefits of using Kiwi fruit daily in your diet

Roma intend to buy Atalanta forward

International premiere of animated film about Armenian Genocide survivor Aurora to be held during famous festival

Newspaper: Armenia Patrol Guard Service head to be summoned to Investigative Committee to give explanation

Armenia parliament regular sittings continue

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Newspaper: Armenia opposition members falling into National Security Service trap by opening links

Civil disobedience protests resume in Yerevan

Liverpool set club record

Earthquake shakes Armenia-Georgia border zone

Microsoft urges to abandon Internet Explorer

Champions League: Liverpool reach final

Mark Milley: Potential for significant international conflict between great powers is increasing

Villarreal win Liverpool 2-0 (first half)

EU: Poland fines in rule of law dispute now top $170 million

Putin and Lukashenko discuss ongoing situation
President says Artsakh continues to maintain its vision for future, toward independence

Oppositions uncrowded marches show lack of public support, says Armenia ruling force lawmaker

Trade in Armenia increased by about $80 million, PM says

Pashinyan to Bennett: I am hopeful that Armenian-Israeli relations will flourish in near future

Civil disobedience motorcade being held in Yerevan

What illnesses threaten those who had COVID-19?

EU to ban Russians from buying European real estate

US defense industry facing problems due to supply of weapons to Ukraine

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Armenia FM holds discussion at Atlantic Council, speaks about process of normalization of relations with Turkey

Newspaper: Armenia opposition MPs to lose their parliamentary mandates?

Newspaper: Artsakh President says we would not have had so many casualties if war had started half year later

Civil disobedience march kicks off in downtown Yerevan

Civil disobedience actions resume in Yerevan

Blinken tests positive for Covid

Denmark, Finland support European Commission proposal on Russian oil sanctions

Bulgaria to seek exemption from EU proposed Russian oil embargo

Biden says he is ready for additional sanctions against Russia

Switzerland braces for serious power shortage

Uruguay freezes ambassador appointment to Ankara after Cavusoglu's gesture

Czech Republic to seek exemption from proposed EU embargo on Russian oil imports

Charles Michel on the likelihood of Moldova's EU membership

Resistance Movement actions to resume tomorrow early morning

Elon Musk is invited to UK Parliament for buying Twitter

Madrid: Rafael Nadal's successful start

Disobedience march reaches France Square, rally starts

Diego Maradona's shirt sold for 8.5 million euros

US crude oil shipments to Europe hit highest level in April

NEWS.am digest: Large-scale protests being held in Armenia to demand PMs resignation

Armenia Defense Minister meets with Georgian PM

UK bans imposes sanctions on 63 individuals and organizations in Russia

EU plan to completely ban Russian crude oil threatens Hungary's energy security

Ter Stegen to miss next German team matches

EU interested in expanding energy cooperation with Azerbaijan

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Nutritionists name healthiest vegetables for heart

Opposition demonstration reaches government residences

Aliyev insists so-called Zangezur corridor 'is already a reality'

Youth World Cup: Gor Sahakyan becomes bronze medalist

Justin Bieber about 'emotional breakdown' after marrying

Slovakia seeks exemption from EU oil embargo for three years

Defense Ministers of Armenia and Georgia sign cooperation program for 2022

Romanian President approves entry of Stryker Brigade and US fighter squadron into country

Dollar goes up, euro also rises in Armenia

EU studying possibility of providing military assistance to Moldova

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EU envoys can not agree on Russian oil

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Armenia deputy police chief says law enforcement has right detain MPs

Large-scale opposition rally starts in central Yerevan

Kim Kardashian hints she dreams of marrying fourth time

Many teenagers in New Zealand are illiterate

WHO: Food delivery apps and online games cause obesity in children

AFP: EU proposes to impose sanctions on Patriarch Kirill

Arestovich says Israel could supply Ukraine with weapons Azerbaijan used in Karabakh war

Will Smith's Oscar speech disappears from official YouTube channel of film awards

Parliament speaker threatens Armenian opposition, clergy

Armenia opposition MP: Ex-President Serzh Sargsyan will not hold office in new government

Beijing closes over 60 subway stations due to COVID-19 outbreak

Bayramov, Roquefeuil discuss Azerbaijan-Armenia relations normalization process

Armenia FM meets with US National Democratic Institute president

Armenia ruling force MP: Opposition will not achieve its goal

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Oklahoma bans almost all abortions

Premieres in May: Let's go to the cinema!

Number of children in Japan falls to record low

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There is still lot to do in 'October 27' case, says Armenia Prosecutor General

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Armenia Prosecutor General admits there are difficulties in investigation of 'March 1' criminal case

Armens: Louisa Sharamatyan on cooking tolma on Food Networks Worst Cooks and being compared with Kim Kardashian

Copper price is stable

3 COVID-19 new cases confirmed in Armenia

American Armenian youth hold protest rally outside Armenia embassy in Washington

Scientists analyze unobvious consequences of wearing masks

Japan protests against North Korean missile

Klopp on par with Ferguson, Ancelotti and Lippi

Gold is getting cheaper

U.S.-Armenia Strategic Dialogue issues joint statement

4 surprising benefits of using Kiwi fruit daily in your diet

Roma intend to buy Atalanta forward

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Newspaper: Armenia Patrol Guard Service head to be summoned to Investigative Committee to give explanation

Armenia parliament regular sittings continue

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Newspaper: Armenia opposition members falling into National Security Service trap by opening links

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Liverpool set club record

Earthquake shakes Armenia-Georgia border zone

Microsoft urges to abandon Internet Explorer

Champions League: Liverpool reach final

Mark Milley: Potential for significant international conflict between great powers is increasing

Villarreal win Liverpool 2-0 (first half)

EU: Poland fines in rule of law dispute now top $170 million

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Oppositions uncrowded marches show lack of public support, says Armenia ruling force lawmaker

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Pashinyan to Bennett: I am hopeful that Armenian-Israeli relations will flourish in near future

Civil disobedience motorcade being held in Yerevan

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EU to ban Russians from buying European real estate

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Newspaper: Armenia opposition MPs to lose their parliamentary mandates?

Newspaper: Artsakh President says we would not have had so many casualties if war had started half year later

Civil disobedience march kicks off in downtown Yerevan

Civil disobedience actions resume in Yerevan

Blinken tests positive for Covid

Denmark, Finland support European Commission proposal on Russian oil sanctions

Bulgaria to seek exemption from EU proposed Russian oil embargo

Biden says he is ready for additional sanctions against Russia

Switzerland braces for serious power shortage

Uruguay freezes ambassador appointment to Ankara after Cavusoglu's gesture

Czech Republic to seek exemption from proposed EU embargo on Russian oil imports

Charles Michel on the likelihood of Moldova's EU membership

Resistance Movement actions to resume tomorrow early morning

Elon Musk is invited to UK Parliament for buying Twitter

Madrid: Rafael Nadal's successful start

Disobedience march reaches France Square, rally starts

Diego Maradona's shirt sold for 8.5 million euros

US crude oil shipments to Europe hit highest level in April

NEWS.am digest: Large-scale protests being held in Armenia to demand PMs resignation

Armenia Defense Minister meets with Georgian PM

UK bans imposes sanctions on 63 individuals and organizations in Russia

EU plan to completely ban Russian crude oil threatens Hungary's energy security

Ter Stegen to miss next German team matches

EU interested in expanding energy cooperation with Azerbaijan

Germany: Gradual EU ban on Russian oil imports could lead to 'supply disruptions'

Nutritionists name healthiest vegetables for heart

Opposition demonstration reaches government residences

Aliyev insists so-called Zangezur corridor 'is already a reality'

Youth World Cup: Gor Sahakyan becomes bronze medalist

Justin Bieber about 'emotional breakdown' after marrying

Slovakia seeks exemption from EU oil embargo for three years

Defense Ministers of Armenia and Georgia sign cooperation program for 2022

Romanian President approves entry of Stryker Brigade and US fighter squadron into country

Dollar goes up, euro also rises in Armenia

EU studying possibility of providing military assistance to Moldova

Public demand for Nikol Pashinyan's resignation

Opposition supporters move toward Armenian parliament building

EU envoys can not agree on Russian oil

Armenia Security Council chief briefs Georgia PM on Karabakh conflict settlement process

Can Guardiola stop Benzema? (cartoon)

US comedian attacked on stage in Los Angeles

Armenia deputy police chief says law enforcement has right detain MPs

Large-scale opposition rally starts in central Yerevan

Kim Kardashian hints she dreams of marrying fourth time

Many teenagers in New Zealand are illiterate

WHO: Food delivery apps and online games cause obesity in children

AFP: EU proposes to impose sanctions on Patriarch Kirill

Arestovich says Israel could supply Ukraine with weapons Azerbaijan used in Karabakh war

Will Smith's Oscar speech disappears from official YouTube channel of film awards

Parliament speaker threatens Armenian opposition, clergy

Armenia opposition MP: Ex-President Serzh Sargsyan will not hold office in new government

Beijing closes over 60 subway stations due to COVID-19 outbreak

Bayramov, Roquefeuil discuss Azerbaijan-Armenia relations normalization process

Armenia FM meets with US National Democratic Institute president

Armenia ruling force MP: Opposition will not achieve its goal

Armenia 2nd president Robert Kocharyans son blocking road with citizens in Yerevan

Oklahoma bans almost all abortions

Premieres in May: Let's go to the cinema!

Number of children in Japan falls to record low

Karabakh President meets with of Free Homeland-UCA parliamentary faction members

Armenian judge waves Artsakh flag at Ironman Triathlon (PHOTOS)

There is still lot to do in 'October 27' case, says Armenia Prosecutor General

Ambassador Wiktorin to finance minister: EU ready to continue providing assistance to Armenia government

Inter reach agreement with Paulo Dybala

Armenia Prosecutor General admits there are difficulties in investigation of 'March 1' criminal case

Armens: Louisa Sharamatyan on cooking tolma on Food Networks Worst Cooks and being compared with Kim Kardashian

Copper price is stable

3 COVID-19 new cases confirmed in Armenia

American Armenian youth hold protest rally outside Armenia embassy in Washington

Scientists analyze unobvious consequences of wearing masks

Japan protests against North Korean missile

Klopp on par with Ferguson, Ancelotti and Lippi

Gold is getting cheaper

U.S.-Armenia Strategic Dialogue issues joint statement

4 surprising benefits of using Kiwi fruit daily in your diet

Roma intend to buy Atalanta forward

International premiere of animated film about Armenian Genocide survivor Aurora to be held during famous festival

Newspaper: Armenia Patrol Guard Service head to be summoned to Investigative Committee to give explanation

Armenia parliament regular sittings continue

Pregnant Rihannas statue appears at Metropolitan Museum of Art (PHOTOS)

Newspaper: Armenia opposition members falling into National Security Service trap by opening links

Civil disobedience protests resume in Yerevan

Liverpool set club record

Earthquake shakes Armenia-Georgia border zone

Microsoft urges to abandon Internet Explorer

Champions League: Liverpool reach final

Mark Milley: Potential for significant international conflict between great powers is increasing

Villarreal win Liverpool 2-0 (first half)

EU: Poland fines in rule of law dispute now top $170 million

Putin and Lukashenko discuss ongoing situation
EU leaders will agree at a summit this week on joint purchases of gas, liquefied natural gas and hydrogen until next winter, their draft statement says.

In the run-up to next winter, Member States and the European Commission will urgently work together to jointly purchase gas, LNG and hydrogen, EU leaders said after the March 24-25 summit, according to a draft summit statement cited by Reuters.

Last year, the European Commission proposed to the EU countries a system of joint purchases of strategic gas reserves as a way to provide a buffer against possible supply disruptions. Fears of supply disruptions have intensified since the Ukrainian crisis escalated. Russia supplies 40% of EU gas.

Brussels said it will help countries start joint gas purchases this year and is expected to propose rules this week requiring countries to fill gas storage facilities to 90% annually before winter. Storage facilities in the EU are currently 26% occupied.

The draft statement says countries have agreed to coordinate efforts to fill storage facilities and begin doing so as soon as possible.

The leaders will also consider new measures to protect consumers from skyrocketing energy prices and discuss how to potentially optimize the functioning of energy markets. They will ask the EC to take necessary initiatives to do so, the draft statement says.

European gas prices had already risen in the months before the Ukrainian crisis hit, prompting governments to spend billions in tax breaks and subsidies to shield citizens from the cost.

However, achieving a joint EU response has proved difficult. EU countries have a lot of responsibility for their national energy policies and disagree about whether EU-wide action is needed to keep prices down.

Spain, Belgium, Portugal, Italy and Greece are among those calling for intervention in European energy markets to cap prices or decouple electricity prices from soaring gas prices.

Other states, including Germany, the Netherlands and Denmark, oppose market intervention and warn of disruptions to energy markets that could undermine investment in clean energy.
An instrument of petty revenge has been discovered for the Azerbaijani policy of ethnic cleansing of Armenians of Artsakh. The Human Rights Defenders (Ombudspersons) of Armenia and Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh), Kristine Grigoryan and Gegham Stepanyan, have noted this in a joint statement they released Tuesday. The statement continues as follows:

Yesterday at night, yet again the Azerbaijani side deliberately stopped the operation of the only gas pipeline supplying gas from Armenia to Artsakh. The gas supply of Artsakh was disrupted for the first time on March 8, due to an alleged accident, Afterwards, the Azerbaijani side did not allow experts from Artsakh to approach the area of the accident, which was located under their (Azerbaijani) control. From that moment on it has become obvious that the state policy of Armenophobia of Azerbaijan had discovered yet another method to pressure the Armenians of Artsakh.

The analysis of reliable facts reveals that during the reconstruction works or under their guise, the Azerbaijani side has installed a valve on the gas pipeline to terrorize the peaceful population of Artsakh and to leave them without heating, hot water, and other basic conditions necessary especially during cold weather conditions, by closing it at any given time.

The gas supply that was restored on March 18 lasted less than 3 days. In these severe winter weather conditions, children, older persons, the sick and displaced persons of Artsakh are deprived of heating. People are facing undefinable difficulties. The humanitarian crisis in Artsakh is ongoing.

It is beyond doubt for us that the Azerbaijani side is deliberately continuing the state policy of terrorizing and pressuring the population of Artsakh. The goal is the same - annihilation and ethnic cleansing of Artsakh from its indigenous Armenian population.

This shameful "revenge" towards more than 100,000 Armenians is unacceptable. This state policy best describes the false and empty essence of the theses of tolerance declared by Azerbaijan.

We strongly condemn this ongoing practice of ethnic hatred and revenge by Azerbaijan towards the people of Artsakh.

We call on international human rights organizations and actors to put pressure on the Azerbaijani side in order to eliminate this gross and continuous human rights violation.
President says Artsakh continues to maintain its vision for future, toward independence

Oppositions uncrowded marches show lack of public support, says Armenia ruling force lawmaker

Trade in Armenia increased by about $80 million, PM says

Pashinyan to Bennett: I am hopeful that Armenian-Israeli relations will flourish in near future

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What illnesses threaten those who had COVID-19?

EU to ban Russians from buying European real estate

US defense industry facing problems due to supply of weapons to Ukraine

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Armenia FM holds discussion at Atlantic Council, speaks about process of normalization of relations with Turkey

Newspaper: Armenia opposition MPs to lose their parliamentary mandates?

Newspaper: Artsakh President says we would not have had so many casualties if war had started half year later

Civil disobedience march kicks off in downtown Yerevan

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Blinken tests positive for Covid

Denmark, Finland support European Commission proposal on Russian oil sanctions

Bulgaria to seek exemption from EU proposed Russian oil embargo

Biden says he is ready for additional sanctions against Russia

Switzerland braces for serious power shortage

Uruguay freezes ambassador appointment to Ankara after Cavusoglu's gesture

Czech Republic to seek exemption from proposed EU embargo on Russian oil imports

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Resistance Movement actions to resume tomorrow early morning

Elon Musk is invited to UK Parliament for buying Twitter

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Disobedience march reaches France Square, rally starts

Diego Maradona's shirt sold for 8.5 million euros

US crude oil shipments to Europe hit highest level in April

NEWS.am digest: Large-scale protests being held in Armenia to demand PMs resignation

Armenia Defense Minister meets with Georgian PM

UK bans imposes sanctions on 63 individuals and organizations in Russia

EU plan to completely ban Russian crude oil threatens Hungary's energy security

Ter Stegen to miss next German team matches

EU interested in expanding energy cooperation with Azerbaijan

Germany: Gradual EU ban on Russian oil imports could lead to 'supply disruptions'

Nutritionists name healthiest vegetables for heart

Opposition demonstration reaches government residences

Aliyev insists so-called Zangezur corridor 'is already a reality'

Youth World Cup: Gor Sahakyan becomes bronze medalist

Justin Bieber about 'emotional breakdown' after marrying

Slovakia seeks exemption from EU oil embargo for three years

Defense Ministers of Armenia and Georgia sign cooperation program for 2022

Romanian President approves entry of Stryker Brigade and US fighter squadron into country

Dollar goes up, euro also rises in Armenia

EU studying possibility of providing military assistance to Moldova

Public demand for Nikol Pashinyan's resignation

Opposition supporters move toward Armenian parliament building

EU envoys can not agree on Russian oil

Armenia Security Council chief briefs Georgia PM on Karabakh conflict settlement process

Can Guardiola stop Benzema? (cartoon)

US comedian attacked on stage in Los Angeles

Armenia deputy police chief says law enforcement has right detain MPs

Large-scale opposition rally starts in central Yerevan

Kim Kardashian hints she dreams of marrying fourth time

Many teenagers in New Zealand are illiterate

WHO: Food delivery apps and online games cause obesity in children

AFP: EU proposes to impose sanctions on Patriarch Kirill

Arestovich says Israel could supply Ukraine with weapons Azerbaijan used in Karabakh war

Will Smith's Oscar speech disappears from official YouTube channel of film awards

Parliament speaker threatens Armenian opposition, clergy

Armenia opposition MP: Ex-President Serzh Sargsyan will not hold office in new government

Beijing closes over 60 subway stations due to COVID-19 outbreak

Bayramov, Roquefeuil discuss Azerbaijan-Armenia relations normalization process

Armenia FM meets with US National Democratic Institute president

Armenia ruling force MP: Opposition will not achieve its goal

Armenia 2nd president Robert Kocharyans son blocking road with citizens in Yerevan

Oklahoma bans almost all abortions

Premieres in May: Let's go to the cinema!

Number of children in Japan falls to record low

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There is still lot to do in 'October 27' case, says Armenia Prosecutor General

Ambassador Wiktorin to finance minister: EU ready to continue providing assistance to Armenia government

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Armens: Louisa Sharamatyan on cooking tolma on Food Networks Worst Cooks and being compared with Kim Kardashian

Copper price is stable

3 COVID-19 new cases confirmed in Armenia

American Armenian youth hold protest rally outside Armenia embassy in Washington

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Japan protests against North Korean missile

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Gold is getting cheaper

U.S.-Armenia Strategic Dialogue issues joint statement

4 surprising benefits of using Kiwi fruit daily in your diet

Roma intend to buy Atalanta forward

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Newspaper: Armenia Patrol Guard Service head to be summoned to Investigative Committee to give explanation

Armenia parliament regular sittings continue

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Newspaper: Armenia opposition members falling into National Security Service trap by opening links

Civil disobedience protests resume in Yerevan

Liverpool set club record

Earthquake shakes Armenia-Georgia border zone

Microsoft urges to abandon Internet Explorer

Champions League: Liverpool reach final

Mark Milley: Potential for significant international conflict between great powers is increasing

Villarreal win Liverpool 2-0 (first half)

EU: Poland fines in rule of law dispute now top $170 million

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President says Artsakh continues to maintain its vision for future, toward independence

Oppositions uncrowded marches show lack of public support, says Armenia ruling force lawmaker

Trade in Armenia increased by about $80 million, PM says

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EU to ban Russians from buying European real estate

US defense industry facing problems due to supply of weapons to Ukraine

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Armenia FM holds discussion at Atlantic Council, speaks about process of normalization of relations with Turkey

Newspaper: Armenia opposition MPs to lose their parliamentary mandates?

Newspaper: Artsakh President says we would not have had so many casualties if war had started half year later

Civil disobedience march kicks off in downtown Yerevan

Civil disobedience actions resume in Yerevan

Blinken tests positive for Covid

Denmark, Finland support European Commission proposal on Russian oil sanctions

Bulgaria to seek exemption from EU proposed Russian oil embargo

Biden says he is ready for additional sanctions against Russia

Switzerland braces for serious power shortage

Uruguay freezes ambassador appointment to Ankara after Cavusoglu's gesture

Czech Republic to seek exemption from proposed EU embargo on Russian oil imports

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Resistance Movement actions to resume tomorrow early morning

Elon Musk is invited to UK Parliament for buying Twitter

Madrid: Rafael Nadal's successful start

Disobedience march reaches France Square, rally starts

Diego Maradona's shirt sold for 8.5 million euros

US crude oil shipments to Europe hit highest level in April

NEWS.am digest: Large-scale protests being held in Armenia to demand PMs resignation

Armenia Defense Minister meets with Georgian PM

UK bans imposes sanctions on 63 individuals and organizations in Russia

EU plan to completely ban Russian crude oil threatens Hungary's energy security

Ter Stegen to miss next German team matches

EU interested in expanding energy cooperation with Azerbaijan

Germany: Gradual EU ban on Russian oil imports could lead to 'supply disruptions'

Nutritionists name healthiest vegetables for heart

Opposition demonstration reaches government residences

Aliyev insists so-called Zangezur corridor 'is already a reality'

Youth World Cup: Gor Sahakyan becomes bronze medalist

Justin Bieber about 'emotional breakdown' after marrying

Slovakia seeks exemption from EU oil embargo for three years

Defense Ministers of Armenia and Georgia sign cooperation program for 2022

Romanian President approves entry of Stryker Brigade and US fighter squadron into country

Dollar goes up, euro also rises in Armenia

EU studying possibility of providing military assistance to Moldova

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EU envoys can not agree on Russian oil

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Can Guardiola stop Benzema? (cartoon)

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Large-scale opposition rally starts in central Yerevan

Kim Kardashian hints she dreams of marrying fourth time

Many teenagers in New Zealand are illiterate

WHO: Food delivery apps and online games cause obesity in children

AFP: EU proposes to impose sanctions on Patriarch Kirill

Arestovich says Israel could supply Ukraine with weapons Azerbaijan used in Karabakh war

Will Smith's Oscar speech disappears from official YouTube channel of film awards

Parliament speaker threatens Armenian opposition, clergy

Armenia opposition MP: Ex-President Serzh Sargsyan will not hold office in new government

Beijing closes over 60 subway stations due to COVID-19 outbreak

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Oklahoma bans almost all abortions

Premieres in May: Let's go to the cinema!

Number of children in Japan falls to record low

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Ambassador Wiktorin to finance minister: EU ready to continue providing assistance to Armenia government

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3 COVID-19 new cases confirmed in Armenia

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4 surprising benefits of using Kiwi fruit daily in your diet

Roma intend to buy Atalanta forward

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Newspaper: Armenia Patrol Guard Service head to be summoned to Investigative Committee to give explanation

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EU: Poland fines in rule of law dispute now top $170 million

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The Anne Arundel County Council voted down an amendment Monday night to give the countys new Police Accountability Board investigative powers.

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The amendment, co-sponsored by Democratic council members Sarah Lacey, of Jessup, and Lisa Rodvien, of Annapolis, would have allowed the board to review internal reports and evidence, issue subpoenas and interview witnesses.

This was one of the main asks of the Anne Arundel County Coalition for Police Accountability, a collection of human rights groups that is advocating for more robust reform.

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Only the sponsors, Lacey and Rodvien, voted for the amendment. The county administration opposed it because, as they interpret the state law requiring jurisdictions to create these boards, the panel is designed to be a reporting body, not investigatory.

The state set up a very specific framework for that oversight. Unfortunately, this amendment puts responsibilities and powers into the PAB that exist [only] in the investigatory agency and the ACC [Administrative Charging Committee] so we oppose, said Pete Baron, director of government relations for the Office of the County Executive.

County Executive Steuart Pittman said he hopes future amendments and discussion will focus more on building the board the way it was designed to be built under state law.

I think a lot of the focus last night was on things that the state bill does not do, that the county cannot do and I hope that well be shifting focus in the coming weeks to the things that the Police Accountability Board does do and can do, Pittman said Tuesday.

The vote disappointed the coalition, which rallied Monday at Peoples Park across from the Arundel Center, where the council convenes, for the second consecutive council meeting.

Anne Arundel County Coalition for Police Accountability members pack Monday night's county council meeting

Coalition members and people of color from Prince Georges County and Baltimore, as well as Anne Arundel, shared stories of family members being beaten and killed by police in the state, pleading for the council to consider the pain certain police interactions have caused their families. Rev. Stephen Tillett of Asbury Broadneck United Methodist Church emphasized a point that coalition members have made consistently  they are not anti-police; they simply want a system that would hold violent or corrupt officers accountable.

I think about a young man in my congregation who was with some other young people and was stopped and there was a point when the officer, I dont know if they wanted him to stand or sit or whatever, the officer just hauled off and punched him in the chest, Tillett said. When he asked him, Why did you hit me? he said Just deal with it. Thats some nonsense. No one should feel they have the authority to do that.

Tillett added that, if police officers are doing their best to treat residents fairly, a more powerful board shouldnt scare them.

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My question is, what are you afraid of? Why are you afraid of transparency?

Almost every speaker at the meeting was strongly against the Police Accountability Board bill without the coalitions provisions being included.

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After you heard the pain of the folks at this table who came one by one and gave you their stories, that gave you the facts, that gave you the history. You have a job to do tonight. You have to go home and look in the mirror and you have to ask yourself, what do I see? said Randy Rowel from Morgan State University, father of Randy Rowel Jr., who was recently named the chair of the Annapolis Environmental Commission, and William Rowel, an adviser to Annapolis Mayor Gavin Buckley.

Steven Waddy of the Anne Arundel County NAACP reminded the council that this is an election year.

Were not just pleading, were not just demanding, but were recommending and were also going to be voting and its going to be more than voting if you keep ignoring, Waddy said.

The Police Accountability Board bill is now at 58 amendments, most of which have been debated and voted upon. Discussion of the measure, and possibly more amendments, will continue at the councils next meeting April 4.

Quiet Waters Retreat leased to Chesapeake Conservancy

The council voted unanimously in favor of leasing about 5 acres of county-owned property known as Quiet Waters Retreat, a waterfront space near Quiet Waters Park in Annapolis, to the Chesapeake Conservation Center, a subsidiary of the Chesapeake Conservancy, for at least 30 years. The conservancy will pay the county $1 a year for the lease.

The county bought the entire 19-acre property near the park in 2019 for about $8 million, $2 million of which came from the conservancy, thanks to a donation from philanthropists James and Sylvia Earl. Now, the conservancy is working to realize the dream the Earls have for the space.

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Lynne Collatz walks with her granddaughter Blaise Sikorski, 2, at Quiet Waters Park in Hillsmere. (Paul W. Gillespie)

In 2016, Dad learned of the almost 20-acre parcel abutting Quiet Waters Park where developers were attempting to gain the legal right to build houses. After touring the property he knew he could not let private homes spoil this pristine natural area, said Matthew Earl, son of James and Sylvia. Instead, Dad envisioned a beautiful site where the public could enjoy the views and waterfront access and a center where several environmental organizations could work together to increase their collaboration, knowledge and effectiveness.

The conservancy plans to build the Earl Conservation Center on the 5 acres, which will be financed by the family, Matthew said. The rest of the 19-acre site will be open to the public for hiking and enjoying the waterfront view.

It is such a treasure that it will be available for the public, the community  not just a few wealthy homeowners who would have been able to build their homes there, but it will be available for everyone in one of the most beautiful spots Ive seen in Anne Arundel County, said Rodvien, who represents District 6, where Quiet Waters Park is located.

Language Access Bill passes

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The council also voted 6-1 to approve a bill requiring county government documents and videos to be available to be translated into other languages, a process Pittman says is already beginning.

Council member Nathan Volke, a Pasadena Republican, cast the lone no vote. He said he didnt understand why this was something that had to go through the council if the county was already working on it. Baron responded that the work would have a more lasting effect and be able to be done more efficiently if it was made party of the county code.

The bill requires all county agencies to take reasonable steps to make webpages accessible for non-English speaking groups that constitute at least 0.5% of the countys population. For non-English speaking groups constituting 3% of the population, agencies must also provide document translations or oral translations of things like meetings if the agencies interact with people in the community at least weekly.

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Tara Kim, a student at Chesapeake High School in Pasadena and student member on the countys Human Relations Commission, said this bill was especially exciting for her as her mother is a Korean immigrant and doesnt speak English fluently.

I spent countless hours sitting on the phone for her filling out her taxes, writing her papers, translating everything from bank calls to ordering pizza, Kim said. This bill allows someone to talk to her, for her to get involved in what her daughter sees in the county she grew up in and maybe someday shell soon be able to become a speaker.

Rodvien, a former ESOL [English for Speakers of Other Languages] teacher, noted the importance of the bill.

Obviously we are a country of many languages and therefore our government should be accessible regardless of what language a person speaks, she said. Every person deserves to have access to their government.
Sri Lankan authorities have deployed troops near petrol stations as sporadic protests erupted among the thousands of motorists who queue for scarce fuel daily, AFP reported.

Sri Lanka is battling the worst economic crisis in over 70 years, with constant power outages and shortages of essential goods such as food and cooking gas.

The soldiers were deployed after an angry mob blocked a main artery in Colombo and delayed traffic for hours because people were unable to buy kerosene on Monday, government spokesman Ramesh Patirana said.

Footage of the incident shared on social media shows a group of angry women blockading a tour bus to protest a shortage of kerosene needed for cooking.

The troop deployment also followed the killing of a motorcyclist by another driver after a dispute over his place in a long fuel line outside Colombo.

The mood is getting worse as the lines get longer, a senior Defense Department official told AFP on condition of anonymity.

Police said three elderly people had dropped dead in line for fuel since Saturday, adding that at many gas stations people pitched tents overnight to wait for diesel and gasoline to be bought.

Military officials said the soldiers were deployed to the pumping stations of state-owned Ceylon Petroleum Corp, which accounts for two-thirds of the fuel retail business in the country of 22 million people.
President says Artsakh continues to maintain its vision for future, toward independence

Oppositions uncrowded marches show lack of public support, says Armenia ruling force lawmaker

Trade in Armenia increased by about $80 million, PM says

Pashinyan to Bennett: I am hopeful that Armenian-Israeli relations will flourish in near future

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EU to ban Russians from buying European real estate

US defense industry facing problems due to supply of weapons to Ukraine

When can headache be sign of serious illness?

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Newspaper: Artsakh President says we would not have had so many casualties if war had started half year later

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Civil disobedience actions resume in Yerevan

Blinken tests positive for Covid

Denmark, Finland support European Commission proposal on Russian oil sanctions

Bulgaria to seek exemption from EU proposed Russian oil embargo

Biden says he is ready for additional sanctions against Russia

Switzerland braces for serious power shortage

Uruguay freezes ambassador appointment to Ankara after Cavusoglu's gesture

Czech Republic to seek exemption from proposed EU embargo on Russian oil imports

Charles Michel on the likelihood of Moldova's EU membership

Resistance Movement actions to resume tomorrow early morning

Elon Musk is invited to UK Parliament for buying Twitter

Madrid: Rafael Nadal's successful start

Disobedience march reaches France Square, rally starts

Diego Maradona's shirt sold for 8.5 million euros

US crude oil shipments to Europe hit highest level in April

NEWS.am digest: Large-scale protests being held in Armenia to demand PMs resignation

Armenia Defense Minister meets with Georgian PM

UK bans imposes sanctions on 63 individuals and organizations in Russia

EU plan to completely ban Russian crude oil threatens Hungary's energy security

Ter Stegen to miss next German team matches

EU interested in expanding energy cooperation with Azerbaijan

Germany: Gradual EU ban on Russian oil imports could lead to 'supply disruptions'

Nutritionists name healthiest vegetables for heart

Opposition demonstration reaches government residences

Aliyev insists so-called Zangezur corridor 'is already a reality'

Youth World Cup: Gor Sahakyan becomes bronze medalist

Justin Bieber about 'emotional breakdown' after marrying

Slovakia seeks exemption from EU oil embargo for three years

Defense Ministers of Armenia and Georgia sign cooperation program for 2022

Romanian President approves entry of Stryker Brigade and US fighter squadron into country

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EU studying possibility of providing military assistance to Moldova

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Armenia deputy police chief says law enforcement has right detain MPs

Large-scale opposition rally starts in central Yerevan

Kim Kardashian hints she dreams of marrying fourth time

Many teenagers in New Zealand are illiterate

WHO: Food delivery apps and online games cause obesity in children

AFP: EU proposes to impose sanctions on Patriarch Kirill

Arestovich says Israel could supply Ukraine with weapons Azerbaijan used in Karabakh war

Will Smith's Oscar speech disappears from official YouTube channel of film awards

Parliament speaker threatens Armenian opposition, clergy

Armenia opposition MP: Ex-President Serzh Sargsyan will not hold office in new government

Beijing closes over 60 subway stations due to COVID-19 outbreak

Bayramov, Roquefeuil discuss Azerbaijan-Armenia relations normalization process

Armenia FM meets with US National Democratic Institute president

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Oklahoma bans almost all abortions

Premieres in May: Let's go to the cinema!

Number of children in Japan falls to record low

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Ambassador Wiktorin to finance minister: EU ready to continue providing assistance to Armenia government

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Mark Milley: Potential for significant international conflict between great powers is increasing

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The situation in Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) is being discussed at the session of the National Assembly (NA) of Armenia. The discussion is held behind closed doors.

Those behind this initiative is the parliamentary opposition: the "Armenia" and "With Honor" Factions. They had petitioned to the NA speaker with a proposal to hold an urgent parliamentary consultation on "The humanitarian situation in Karabakh, threats, and urgent measures."

Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan and Deputy Prime Minister Mher Grigoryan also may attend this session, and deliver reports on the aforesaid issues.

In addition, the NA opposition had noted the need for the attendance of the Karabakh MPs who are still in Yerevan.

At the end of the sitting, the opposition will submit the draft of the NA statement condemning the aggressive actions of Azerbaijan.
President says Artsakh continues to maintain its vision for future, toward independence

Oppositions uncrowded marches show lack of public support, says Armenia ruling force lawmaker

Trade in Armenia increased by about $80 million, PM says

Pashinyan to Bennett: I am hopeful that Armenian-Israeli relations will flourish in near future

Civil disobedience motorcade being held in Yerevan

What illnesses threaten those who had COVID-19?

EU to ban Russians from buying European real estate

US defense industry facing problems due to supply of weapons to Ukraine

When can headache be sign of serious illness?

Armenia FM holds discussion at Atlantic Council, speaks about process of normalization of relations with Turkey

Newspaper: Armenia opposition MPs to lose their parliamentary mandates?

Newspaper: Artsakh President says we would not have had so many casualties if war had started half year later

Civil disobedience march kicks off in downtown Yerevan

Civil disobedience actions resume in Yerevan

Blinken tests positive for Covid

Denmark, Finland support European Commission proposal on Russian oil sanctions

Bulgaria to seek exemption from EU proposed Russian oil embargo

Biden says he is ready for additional sanctions against Russia

Switzerland braces for serious power shortage

Uruguay freezes ambassador appointment to Ankara after Cavusoglu's gesture

Czech Republic to seek exemption from proposed EU embargo on Russian oil imports

Charles Michel on the likelihood of Moldova's EU membership

Resistance Movement actions to resume tomorrow early morning

Elon Musk is invited to UK Parliament for buying Twitter

Madrid: Rafael Nadal's successful start

Disobedience march reaches France Square, rally starts

Diego Maradona's shirt sold for 8.5 million euros

US crude oil shipments to Europe hit highest level in April

NEWS.am digest: Large-scale protests being held in Armenia to demand PMs resignation

Armenia Defense Minister meets with Georgian PM

UK bans imposes sanctions on 63 individuals and organizations in Russia

EU plan to completely ban Russian crude oil threatens Hungary's energy security

Ter Stegen to miss next German team matches

EU interested in expanding energy cooperation with Azerbaijan

Germany: Gradual EU ban on Russian oil imports could lead to 'supply disruptions'

Nutritionists name healthiest vegetables for heart

Opposition demonstration reaches government residences

Aliyev insists so-called Zangezur corridor 'is already a reality'

Youth World Cup: Gor Sahakyan becomes bronze medalist

Justin Bieber about 'emotional breakdown' after marrying

Slovakia seeks exemption from EU oil embargo for three years

Defense Ministers of Armenia and Georgia sign cooperation program for 2022

Romanian President approves entry of Stryker Brigade and US fighter squadron into country

Dollar goes up, euro also rises in Armenia

EU studying possibility of providing military assistance to Moldova

Public demand for Nikol Pashinyan's resignation

Opposition supporters move toward Armenian parliament building

EU envoys can not agree on Russian oil

Armenia Security Council chief briefs Georgia PM on Karabakh conflict settlement process

Can Guardiola stop Benzema? (cartoon)

US comedian attacked on stage in Los Angeles

Armenia deputy police chief says law enforcement has right detain MPs

Large-scale opposition rally starts in central Yerevan

Kim Kardashian hints she dreams of marrying fourth time

Many teenagers in New Zealand are illiterate

WHO: Food delivery apps and online games cause obesity in children

AFP: EU proposes to impose sanctions on Patriarch Kirill

Arestovich says Israel could supply Ukraine with weapons Azerbaijan used in Karabakh war

Will Smith's Oscar speech disappears from official YouTube channel of film awards

Parliament speaker threatens Armenian opposition, clergy

Armenia opposition MP: Ex-President Serzh Sargsyan will not hold office in new government

Beijing closes over 60 subway stations due to COVID-19 outbreak

Bayramov, Roquefeuil discuss Azerbaijan-Armenia relations normalization process

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Oklahoma bans almost all abortions

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Number of children in Japan falls to record low

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Japan protests against North Korean missile

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U.S.-Armenia Strategic Dialogue issues joint statement

4 surprising benefits of using Kiwi fruit daily in your diet

Roma intend to buy Atalanta forward

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President says Artsakh continues to maintain its vision for future, toward independence

Oppositions uncrowded marches show lack of public support, says Armenia ruling force lawmaker

Trade in Armenia increased by about $80 million, PM says

Pashinyan to Bennett: I am hopeful that Armenian-Israeli relations will flourish in near future

Civil disobedience motorcade being held in Yerevan

What illnesses threaten those who had COVID-19?

EU to ban Russians from buying European real estate

US defense industry facing problems due to supply of weapons to Ukraine

When can headache be sign of serious illness?

Armenia FM holds discussion at Atlantic Council, speaks about process of normalization of relations with Turkey

Newspaper: Armenia opposition MPs to lose their parliamentary mandates?

Newspaper: Artsakh President says we would not have had so many casualties if war had started half year later

Civil disobedience march kicks off in downtown Yerevan

Civil disobedience actions resume in Yerevan

Blinken tests positive for Covid

Denmark, Finland support European Commission proposal on Russian oil sanctions

Bulgaria to seek exemption from EU proposed Russian oil embargo

Biden says he is ready for additional sanctions against Russia

Switzerland braces for serious power shortage

Uruguay freezes ambassador appointment to Ankara after Cavusoglu's gesture

Czech Republic to seek exemption from proposed EU embargo on Russian oil imports

Charles Michel on the likelihood of Moldova's EU membership

Resistance Movement actions to resume tomorrow early morning

Elon Musk is invited to UK Parliament for buying Twitter

Madrid: Rafael Nadal's successful start

Disobedience march reaches France Square, rally starts

Diego Maradona's shirt sold for 8.5 million euros

US crude oil shipments to Europe hit highest level in April

NEWS.am digest: Large-scale protests being held in Armenia to demand PMs resignation

Armenia Defense Minister meets with Georgian PM

UK bans imposes sanctions on 63 individuals and organizations in Russia

EU plan to completely ban Russian crude oil threatens Hungary's energy security

Ter Stegen to miss next German team matches

EU interested in expanding energy cooperation with Azerbaijan

Germany: Gradual EU ban on Russian oil imports could lead to 'supply disruptions'

Nutritionists name healthiest vegetables for heart

Opposition demonstration reaches government residences

Aliyev insists so-called Zangezur corridor 'is already a reality'

Youth World Cup: Gor Sahakyan becomes bronze medalist

Justin Bieber about 'emotional breakdown' after marrying

Slovakia seeks exemption from EU oil embargo for three years

Defense Ministers of Armenia and Georgia sign cooperation program for 2022

Romanian President approves entry of Stryker Brigade and US fighter squadron into country

Dollar goes up, euro also rises in Armenia

EU studying possibility of providing military assistance to Moldova

Public demand for Nikol Pashinyan's resignation

Opposition supporters move toward Armenian parliament building

EU envoys can not agree on Russian oil

Armenia Security Council chief briefs Georgia PM on Karabakh conflict settlement process

Can Guardiola stop Benzema? (cartoon)

US comedian attacked on stage in Los Angeles

Armenia deputy police chief says law enforcement has right detain MPs

Large-scale opposition rally starts in central Yerevan

Kim Kardashian hints she dreams of marrying fourth time

Many teenagers in New Zealand are illiterate

WHO: Food delivery apps and online games cause obesity in children

AFP: EU proposes to impose sanctions on Patriarch Kirill

Arestovich says Israel could supply Ukraine with weapons Azerbaijan used in Karabakh war

Will Smith's Oscar speech disappears from official YouTube channel of film awards

Parliament speaker threatens Armenian opposition, clergy

Armenia opposition MP: Ex-President Serzh Sargsyan will not hold office in new government

Beijing closes over 60 subway stations due to COVID-19 outbreak

Bayramov, Roquefeuil discuss Azerbaijan-Armenia relations normalization process

Armenia FM meets with US National Democratic Institute president

Armenia ruling force MP: Opposition will not achieve its goal

Armenia 2nd president Robert Kocharyans son blocking road with citizens in Yerevan

Oklahoma bans almost all abortions

Premieres in May: Let's go to the cinema!

Number of children in Japan falls to record low

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Armenian judge waves Artsakh flag at Ironman Triathlon (PHOTOS)

There is still lot to do in 'October 27' case, says Armenia Prosecutor General

Ambassador Wiktorin to finance minister: EU ready to continue providing assistance to Armenia government

Inter reach agreement with Paulo Dybala

Armenia Prosecutor General admits there are difficulties in investigation of 'March 1' criminal case

Armens: Louisa Sharamatyan on cooking tolma on Food Networks Worst Cooks and being compared with Kim Kardashian

Copper price is stable

3 COVID-19 new cases confirmed in Armenia

American Armenian youth hold protest rally outside Armenia embassy in Washington

Scientists analyze unobvious consequences of wearing masks

Japan protests against North Korean missile

Klopp on par with Ferguson, Ancelotti and Lippi

Gold is getting cheaper

U.S.-Armenia Strategic Dialogue issues joint statement

4 surprising benefits of using Kiwi fruit daily in your diet

Roma intend to buy Atalanta forward

International premiere of animated film about Armenian Genocide survivor Aurora to be held during famous festival

Newspaper: Armenia Patrol Guard Service head to be summoned to Investigative Committee to give explanation

Armenia parliament regular sittings continue

Pregnant Rihannas statue appears at Metropolitan Museum of Art (PHOTOS)

Newspaper: Armenia opposition members falling into National Security Service trap by opening links

Civil disobedience protests resume in Yerevan

Liverpool set club record

Earthquake shakes Armenia-Georgia border zone

Microsoft urges to abandon Internet Explorer

Champions League: Liverpool reach final

Mark Milley: Potential for significant international conflict between great powers is increasing

Villarreal win Liverpool 2-0 (first half)

EU: Poland fines in rule of law dispute now top $170 million

Putin and Lukashenko discuss ongoing situation
Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi announced that the country decided to freeze the assets of Russian oligarchs who are under sanctions of the European Union, RIA Novosti reported.

We are talking about the businessmen's assets worth more than 800 million euros.

"The sanctions, which we have agreed with our partners, aim to bring the Russian government to a cessation of hostilities, seriously and sincerely sit down at the negotiating table," Draghi explained.

Also, according to the prime minister, Italy was able to show unity to both the North Atlantic Alliance and the European Union.

"These sanctions have hit the Russian economy hard, the financial markets and the personal fortunes of people close to [Russian President Vladimir] Putin," the prime minister said.
President says Artsakh continues to maintain its vision for future, toward independence

Oppositions uncrowded marches show lack of public support, says Armenia ruling force lawmaker

Trade in Armenia increased by about $80 million, PM says

Pashinyan to Bennett: I am hopeful that Armenian-Israeli relations will flourish in near future

Civil disobedience motorcade being held in Yerevan

What illnesses threaten those who had COVID-19?

EU to ban Russians from buying European real estate

US defense industry facing problems due to supply of weapons to Ukraine

When can headache be sign of serious illness?

Armenia FM holds discussion at Atlantic Council, speaks about process of normalization of relations with Turkey

Newspaper: Armenia opposition MPs to lose their parliamentary mandates?

Newspaper: Artsakh President says we would not have had so many casualties if war had started half year later

Civil disobedience march kicks off in downtown Yerevan

Civil disobedience actions resume in Yerevan

Blinken tests positive for Covid

Denmark, Finland support European Commission proposal on Russian oil sanctions

Bulgaria to seek exemption from EU proposed Russian oil embargo

Biden says he is ready for additional sanctions against Russia

Switzerland braces for serious power shortage

Uruguay freezes ambassador appointment to Ankara after Cavusoglu's gesture

Czech Republic to seek exemption from proposed EU embargo on Russian oil imports

Charles Michel on the likelihood of Moldova's EU membership

Resistance Movement actions to resume tomorrow early morning

Elon Musk is invited to UK Parliament for buying Twitter

Madrid: Rafael Nadal's successful start

Disobedience march reaches France Square, rally starts

Diego Maradona's shirt sold for 8.5 million euros

US crude oil shipments to Europe hit highest level in April

NEWS.am digest: Large-scale protests being held in Armenia to demand PMs resignation

Armenia Defense Minister meets with Georgian PM

UK bans imposes sanctions on 63 individuals and organizations in Russia

EU plan to completely ban Russian crude oil threatens Hungary's energy security

Ter Stegen to miss next German team matches

EU interested in expanding energy cooperation with Azerbaijan

Germany: Gradual EU ban on Russian oil imports could lead to 'supply disruptions'

Nutritionists name healthiest vegetables for heart

Opposition demonstration reaches government residences

Aliyev insists so-called Zangezur corridor 'is already a reality'

Youth World Cup: Gor Sahakyan becomes bronze medalist

Justin Bieber about 'emotional breakdown' after marrying

Slovakia seeks exemption from EU oil embargo for three years

Defense Ministers of Armenia and Georgia sign cooperation program for 2022

Romanian President approves entry of Stryker Brigade and US fighter squadron into country

Dollar goes up, euro also rises in Armenia

EU studying possibility of providing military assistance to Moldova

Public demand for Nikol Pashinyan's resignation

Opposition supporters move toward Armenian parliament building

EU envoys can not agree on Russian oil

Armenia Security Council chief briefs Georgia PM on Karabakh conflict settlement process

Can Guardiola stop Benzema? (cartoon)

US comedian attacked on stage in Los Angeles

Armenia deputy police chief says law enforcement has right detain MPs

Large-scale opposition rally starts in central Yerevan

Kim Kardashian hints she dreams of marrying fourth time

Many teenagers in New Zealand are illiterate

WHO: Food delivery apps and online games cause obesity in children

AFP: EU proposes to impose sanctions on Patriarch Kirill

Arestovich says Israel could supply Ukraine with weapons Azerbaijan used in Karabakh war

Will Smith's Oscar speech disappears from official YouTube channel of film awards

Parliament speaker threatens Armenian opposition, clergy

Armenia opposition MP: Ex-President Serzh Sargsyan will not hold office in new government

Beijing closes over 60 subway stations due to COVID-19 outbreak

Bayramov, Roquefeuil discuss Azerbaijan-Armenia relations normalization process

Armenia FM meets with US National Democratic Institute president

Armenia ruling force MP: Opposition will not achieve its goal

Armenia 2nd president Robert Kocharyans son blocking road with citizens in Yerevan

Oklahoma bans almost all abortions

Premieres in May: Let's go to the cinema!

Number of children in Japan falls to record low

Karabakh President meets with of Free Homeland-UCA parliamentary faction members

Armenian judge waves Artsakh flag at Ironman Triathlon (PHOTOS)

There is still lot to do in 'October 27' case, says Armenia Prosecutor General

Ambassador Wiktorin to finance minister: EU ready to continue providing assistance to Armenia government

Inter reach agreement with Paulo Dybala

Armenia Prosecutor General admits there are difficulties in investigation of 'March 1' criminal case

Armens: Louisa Sharamatyan on cooking tolma on Food Networks Worst Cooks and being compared with Kim Kardashian

Copper price is stable

3 COVID-19 new cases confirmed in Armenia

American Armenian youth hold protest rally outside Armenia embassy in Washington

Scientists analyze unobvious consequences of wearing masks

Japan protests against North Korean missile

Klopp on par with Ferguson, Ancelotti and Lippi

Gold is getting cheaper

U.S.-Armenia Strategic Dialogue issues joint statement

4 surprising benefits of using Kiwi fruit daily in your diet

Roma intend to buy Atalanta forward

International premiere of animated film about Armenian Genocide survivor Aurora to be held during famous festival

Newspaper: Armenia Patrol Guard Service head to be summoned to Investigative Committee to give explanation

Armenia parliament regular sittings continue

Pregnant Rihannas statue appears at Metropolitan Museum of Art (PHOTOS)

Newspaper: Armenia opposition members falling into National Security Service trap by opening links

Civil disobedience protests resume in Yerevan

Liverpool set club record

Earthquake shakes Armenia-Georgia border zone

Microsoft urges to abandon Internet Explorer

Champions League: Liverpool reach final

Mark Milley: Potential for significant international conflict between great powers is increasing

Villarreal win Liverpool 2-0 (first half)

EU: Poland fines in rule of law dispute now top $170 million

Putin and Lukashenko discuss ongoing situation
President says Artsakh continues to maintain its vision for future, toward independence

Oppositions uncrowded marches show lack of public support, says Armenia ruling force lawmaker

Trade in Armenia increased by about $80 million, PM says

Pashinyan to Bennett: I am hopeful that Armenian-Israeli relations will flourish in near future

Civil disobedience motorcade being held in Yerevan

What illnesses threaten those who had COVID-19?

EU to ban Russians from buying European real estate

US defense industry facing problems due to supply of weapons to Ukraine

When can headache be sign of serious illness?

Armenia FM holds discussion at Atlantic Council, speaks about process of normalization of relations with Turkey

Newspaper: Armenia opposition MPs to lose their parliamentary mandates?

Newspaper: Artsakh President says we would not have had so many casualties if war had started half year later

Civil disobedience march kicks off in downtown Yerevan

Civil disobedience actions resume in Yerevan

Blinken tests positive for Covid

Denmark, Finland support European Commission proposal on Russian oil sanctions

Bulgaria to seek exemption from EU proposed Russian oil embargo

Biden says he is ready for additional sanctions against Russia

Switzerland braces for serious power shortage

Uruguay freezes ambassador appointment to Ankara after Cavusoglu's gesture

Czech Republic to seek exemption from proposed EU embargo on Russian oil imports

Charles Michel on the likelihood of Moldova's EU membership

Resistance Movement actions to resume tomorrow early morning

Elon Musk is invited to UK Parliament for buying Twitter

Madrid: Rafael Nadal's successful start

Disobedience march reaches France Square, rally starts

Diego Maradona's shirt sold for 8.5 million euros

US crude oil shipments to Europe hit highest level in April

NEWS.am digest: Large-scale protests being held in Armenia to demand PMs resignation

Armenia Defense Minister meets with Georgian PM

UK bans imposes sanctions on 63 individuals and organizations in Russia

EU plan to completely ban Russian crude oil threatens Hungary's energy security

Ter Stegen to miss next German team matches

EU interested in expanding energy cooperation with Azerbaijan

Germany: Gradual EU ban on Russian oil imports could lead to 'supply disruptions'

Nutritionists name healthiest vegetables for heart

Opposition demonstration reaches government residences

Aliyev insists so-called Zangezur corridor 'is already a reality'

Youth World Cup: Gor Sahakyan becomes bronze medalist

Justin Bieber about 'emotional breakdown' after marrying

Slovakia seeks exemption from EU oil embargo for three years

Defense Ministers of Armenia and Georgia sign cooperation program for 2022

Romanian President approves entry of Stryker Brigade and US fighter squadron into country

Dollar goes up, euro also rises in Armenia

EU studying possibility of providing military assistance to Moldova

Public demand for Nikol Pashinyan's resignation

Opposition supporters move toward Armenian parliament building

EU envoys can not agree on Russian oil

Armenia Security Council chief briefs Georgia PM on Karabakh conflict settlement process

Can Guardiola stop Benzema? (cartoon)

US comedian attacked on stage in Los Angeles

Armenia deputy police chief says law enforcement has right detain MPs

Large-scale opposition rally starts in central Yerevan

Kim Kardashian hints she dreams of marrying fourth time

Many teenagers in New Zealand are illiterate

WHO: Food delivery apps and online games cause obesity in children

AFP: EU proposes to impose sanctions on Patriarch Kirill

Arestovich says Israel could supply Ukraine with weapons Azerbaijan used in Karabakh war

Will Smith's Oscar speech disappears from official YouTube channel of film awards

Parliament speaker threatens Armenian opposition, clergy

Armenia opposition MP: Ex-President Serzh Sargsyan will not hold office in new government

Beijing closes over 60 subway stations due to COVID-19 outbreak

Bayramov, Roquefeuil discuss Azerbaijan-Armenia relations normalization process

Armenia FM meets with US National Democratic Institute president

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Armenia 2nd president Robert Kocharyans son blocking road with citizens in Yerevan

Oklahoma bans almost all abortions

Premieres in May: Let's go to the cinema!

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Ambassador Wiktorin to finance minister: EU ready to continue providing assistance to Armenia government

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Armenia Prosecutor General admits there are difficulties in investigation of 'March 1' criminal case

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Copper price is stable

3 COVID-19 new cases confirmed in Armenia

American Armenian youth hold protest rally outside Armenia embassy in Washington

Scientists analyze unobvious consequences of wearing masks

Japan protests against North Korean missile

Klopp on par with Ferguson, Ancelotti and Lippi

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U.S.-Armenia Strategic Dialogue issues joint statement

4 surprising benefits of using Kiwi fruit daily in your diet

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Armenia parliament regular sittings continue

Pregnant Rihannas statue appears at Metropolitan Museum of Art (PHOTOS)

Newspaper: Armenia opposition members falling into National Security Service trap by opening links

Civil disobedience protests resume in Yerevan

Liverpool set club record

Earthquake shakes Armenia-Georgia border zone

Microsoft urges to abandon Internet Explorer

Champions League: Liverpool reach final

Mark Milley: Potential for significant international conflict between great powers is increasing

Villarreal win Liverpool 2-0 (first half)

EU: Poland fines in rule of law dispute now top $170 million

Putin and Lukashenko discuss ongoing situation
The United States has stepped up military support for Saudi Arabia over the past few months following Houthi missile attacks on the kingdom, suggesting Washington is trying to mend its strained relationship with traditional allies in the Persian Gulf, Reuters reported, citing Western diplomats.

The drive to improve relations has been made even more pressing by the Ukraine crisis, which has led to economic sanctions against Moscow by Washington, the European Union and others. The United States and other Western countries are trying to convince Saudi Arabia, the world's largest oil exporter, to increase oil production to make up for possible losses in Russian supplies.

Even before the crisis escalated on Feb. 24, US officials were paving the way for Riyadh as Russia built up its troops on the border. The Saudis' initial reaction was lukewarm.

Prior to this, their traditionally strong alliance had fallen on hard times, in part due to the role of Saudi Arabia in the war in Yemen and the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Istanbul by Saudi agents in 2018.

Shortly after taking office in 2020, Biden withdrew support for the coalition's offensive operations in Yemen, initiated a review of Saudi arms sales, and directed a special envoy to pressure Riyadh to lift its blockade of Houthi-held territories and broker a truce with the movement. Biden also refused to deal directly with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

Since then, the Gulf state has hosted a series of difficult meetings between the US and Saudi Arabia, including between US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan and Prince Mohammed last September. Another senior US adviser, Brett McGurk, was in Riyadh last week to discuss oil supplies and Yemen.

But faced with new geopolitical realities, Washington approved the sale of missiles and missile defense systems, including 280 air-to-air missiles, worth up to $650 million to Saudi Arabia.

Two people familiar with the matter said Washington has sent Patriot missiles and other equipment to the kingdom over the past three months.

A US State Department spokesman said the United States has been working with Saudi Arabia and its neighbors in recent months to help them bolster their defenses through overseas military and direct commercial sales.

With US support, Saudi Arabia is currently intercepting roughly 90% of these [Houthi] air attacks, but we need to aim for 100%, the spokesman said.

Unconfirmed footage posted on social media by pro-government Saudi commentators shows Patriot missile batteries intercepting missiles aimed at the Red Sea city of Jeddah on Sunday as the Houthis launched a flurry of strikes on energy facilities, part of a wide-ranging attack on Saudi infrastructure.
The Armenian Foreign Ministry issued a statement on the repeated termination of gas supply to Artsakh as a result of Azerbaijan's provocative actions.

"Under the obvious interference of the Azerbaijani side, the supply of natural gas from Armenia to Nagorno Karabakh was again disrupted near the town of Shushi, on the territory under Azerbaijani control.

Because of the unprecedented snowfall and freezing weather conditions, about 120,000 people in Nagorno-Karabakh were deprived of vital gas supplies.

Just a few days ago, Azerbaijan didn't allow repair work to be carried out on a gas pipeline that was damaged under unclear circumstances for eight consecutive days.

Thus, in addition to other ongoing actions aimed at putting psychological pressure on the people of Nagorno-Karabakh and preventing international humanitarian agencies from entering Nagorno-Karabakh, Azerbaijan is deliberately undermining the normal functioning of vital infrastructure in Nagorno-Karabakh, which is clearly creating a humanitarian crisis.

We consider this blatant policy of systematic violence against the Armenians of Artsakh unacceptable.

This situation requires an urgent and clear response from the international community to prevent a humanitarian crisis, as well as the urgent and unimpeded involvement of international humanitarian agencies in Nagorno-Karabakh," the statement reads.

The gas supply problems started on 8 March. There was a breakdown at the Azerbaijani-controlled section of the gas pipeline from Armenia to Nagorno-Karabakh. The extent of the Azerbaijani involvement in the breakdown has not yet been clarified.

Under various pretexts the Azerbaijani side did not allow Armenian specialists to fix the pipeline. Azerbaijan undertook to repair the pipeline after long negotiations. Finally, the gas supply was resumed on 19 March, but it did not last long: in the evening of 21 March, the gas supply was stopped through the direct intervention of Azerbaijan.
A judge opened an election-year trial on Tuesday with an important legal question: How far can she go if she finds the General Assembly enacted a congressional district map that illegally disadvantages Republican voters?

In two Anne Arundel County Circuit Court lawsuits being considered together, Republican elected officials and voters are asking Lynne A. Battaglia, a retired state appeals court judge, to toss out the map approved by the Democrat-controlled legislature in December.

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One of the GOP groups, led by Del. Neil Parrott of Washington County, is asking Battaglia to order the state to fashion a new map or  in the interim  to use one in the June 28 primary that was created by a commission appointed by Republican Gov. Larry Hogan that included Democratic, Republican and independent voters.

Another participant in the case, longtime gerrymandering opponent Stephen M. Shapiro of Montgomery County, has submitted a friend of the court brief proposing a handful of alternative maps that he says would remove any impermissible elements from the boundary lines approved by the General Assembly.

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Battaglia, in remarks before testimony began, said she had authority to issue an injunction blocking use of the current map, under which Democrats likely would retain control over seven of the states eight congressional seats. The sole district represented by a Republican, the Eastern Shore-based seat of U.S. Rep. Andy Harris, would become more competitive.

But the judge suggested it was unclear what might happen next. Noting the replacement maps proposed in the case, she said she did not know if the court could use one as a substitute if it finds the Democrats map deficient.

Im not clear that this court has the authority to do that, Battaglia said.

Doug Mayer, a former Hogan aide working with an advocacy group called Fair Maps Maryland that organized the map challenges, declined to be interviewed about possible outcomes while the trial is ongoing. A spokesperson for Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh, a Democrat defending the states position, also declined to comment.

Courts around the country historically have employed a variety of remedies in redistricting cases. Those fixes have included redrawing the maps themselves or ordering the state legislature to craft new boundaries.

According to legal experts, the Maryland case could be appealed by either side and ultimately be decided by the Maryland Court of Appeals.

The process of integrating another new map into the election would take considerable time. After new lines are drawn and approved, elections officials must find polling places and adjust voter information to reflect those boundary shifts.

The state has indicated that any significant, court-ordered changes to the map likely would force the election to be delayed.

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Maryland Policy & Politics Weekdays Keep up to date with Maryland politics, elections and important decisions made by federal, state and local government officials. >

Democratic leaders say their map represents an improvement over Marylands current congressional map, which was adopted in 2011, because it makes most districts more compact and makes six of the eight at least somewhat more competitive.

But Sean Trende, an election analyst for RealClearPolitics, testified Tuesday that  based on analyses of districts compactness and other characteristics  the Maryland map appeared highly partisan. He said its creators had produced seven districts where Democrats would be overwhelmingly favored.

Trende, called by Republican plaintiffs, was the first in a progression of expert witnesses expected to be summoned by both sides in the trial, which may last the rest of the week.

States are required to redraw their electoral maps once every decade to adjust for population changes since the last census and ensure that voters have roughly equal say in electing politicians to the U.S. House of Representatives.

Courts around the country have been dealing this year with complaints of alleged gerrymandering. Gerrymandering commonly involves stacking large numbers of the opposite partys voters into a limited number of districts, leaving that party with too few voters to compete everywhere else.

In December, three Republican state delegates and others challenged the legality of the Maryland General Assembly-approved map of delegates and state senators districts. The three delegates say the maps dont abide by Maryland constitutional guidelines. That case is ongoing.

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In Baltimore County, a federal judge is deciding whether a new map of County Council districts is acceptable under the Voting Rights Act. The councils original map was rejected on Feb. 22 by the court, which said it would disadvantage Black voters.
Armenia ruling power legislator: This opposition has always run away from truth

President says Artsakh continues to maintain its vision for future, toward independence

Oppositions uncrowded marches show lack of public support, says Armenia ruling force lawmaker

Trade in Armenia increased by about $80 million, PM says

Pashinyan to Bennett: I am hopeful that Armenian-Israeli relations will flourish in near future

Civil disobedience motorcade being held in Yerevan

EU to ban Russians from buying European real estate

US defense industry facing problems due to supply of weapons to Ukraine

Armenia FM holds discussion at Atlantic Council, speaks about process of normalization of relations with Turkey

Newspaper: Armenia opposition MPs to lose their parliamentary mandates?

Newspaper: Artsakh President says we would not have had so many casualties if war had started half year later

Civil disobedience march kicks off in downtown Yerevan

Civil disobedience actions resume in Yerevan

Blinken tests positive for Covid

Denmark, Finland support European Commission proposal on Russian oil sanctions

Bulgaria to seek exemption from EU proposed Russian oil embargo

Biden says he is ready for additional sanctions against Russia

Switzerland braces for serious power shortage

Uruguay freezes ambassador appointment to Ankara after Cavusoglu's gesture

Czech Republic to seek exemption from proposed EU embargo on Russian oil imports

Charles Michel on the likelihood of Moldova's EU membership

Resistance Movement actions to resume tomorrow early morning

Elon Musk is invited to UK Parliament for buying Twitter

Disobedience march reaches France Square, rally starts

US crude oil shipments to Europe hit highest level in April

NEWS.am digest: Large-scale protests being held in Armenia to demand PMs resignation

Armenia Defense Minister meets with Georgian PM

UK bans imposes sanctions on 63 individuals and organizations in Russia

EU plan to completely ban Russian crude oil threatens Hungary's energy security

EU interested in expanding energy cooperation with Azerbaijan

Germany: Gradual EU ban on Russian oil imports could lead to 'supply disruptions'

Opposition demonstration reaches government residences

Aliyev insists so-called Zangezur corridor 'is already a reality'

Slovakia seeks exemption from EU oil embargo for three years

Defense Ministers of Armenia and Georgia sign cooperation program for 2022

Romanian President approves entry of Stryker Brigade and US fighter squadron into country

Dollar goes up, euro also rises in Armenia

EU studying possibility of providing military assistance to Moldova

Public demand for Nikol Pashinyan's resignation

Opposition supporters move toward Armenian parliament building

EU envoys can not agree on Russian oil

Armenia Security Council chief briefs Georgia PM on Karabakh conflict settlement process

Armenia deputy police chief says law enforcement has right detain MPs

Large-scale opposition rally starts in central Yerevan

Many teenagers in New Zealand are illiterate

AFP: EU proposes to impose sanctions on Patriarch Kirill

Arestovich says Israel could supply Ukraine with weapons Azerbaijan used in Karabakh war

Parliament speaker threatens Armenian opposition, clergy

Armenia opposition MP: Ex-President Serzh Sargsyan will not hold office in new government

Beijing closes over 60 subway stations due to COVID-19 outbreak

Bayramov, Roquefeuil discuss Azerbaijan-Armenia relations normalization process

Armenia FM meets with US National Democratic Institute president

Armenia ruling force MP: Opposition will not achieve its goal

Armenia 2nd president Robert Kocharyans son blocking road with citizens in Yerevan

Oklahoma bans almost all abortions

Number of children in Japan falls to record low

Karabakh President meets with of Free Homeland-UCA parliamentary faction members

Armenian judge waves Artsakh flag at Ironman Triathlon (PHOTOS)

There is still lot to do in 'October 27' case, says Armenia Prosecutor General

Ambassador Wiktorin to finance minister: EU ready to continue providing assistance to Armenia government

Armenia Prosecutor General admits there are difficulties in investigation of 'March 1' criminal case

Copper price is stable

3 COVID-19 new cases confirmed in Armenia

American Armenian youth hold protest rally outside Armenia embassy in Washington

Japan protests against North Korean missile

Gold is getting cheaper

U.S.-Armenia Strategic Dialogue issues joint statement

Newspaper: Armenia Patrol Guard Service head to be summoned to Investigative Committee to give explanation

Armenia parliament regular sittings continue

Newspaper: Armenia opposition members falling into National Security Service trap by opening links

Civil disobedience protests resume in Yerevan

Earthquake shakes Armenia-Georgia border zone

Microsoft urges to abandon Internet Explorer

Mark Milley: Potential for significant international conflict between great powers is increasing

EU: Poland fines in rule of law dispute now top $170 million

Putin and Lukashenko discuss ongoing situation

Greece and Bulgaria say new LNG terminal will help reduce dependence on Russia

German vice chancellor calls for rapid construction of LNG terminals

Rally of Resistance Movement takes place in France Square

Robert Kocharyan takes part in opposition march

Mario Draghi calls on EU to abandon requirement of unanimity in making foreign policy decisions

Finland and Sweden not yet decided whether to join NATO

Croatian president uses veto power to block Finland and Sweden from joining NATO

Slovakia will seek exemption from the EU embargo on Russian oil imports

NEWS.am digest: Blinken meets Mirzoyan in US, people detained during protests in Yerevan

Turkish Foreign Ministry on meeting of special envoys in Vienna

Opposition rally in central Yerevan starts with Sirusho's performance

Italy to face serious issues in winter if Russian gas supplies are cut off now

Johnson announces new military aid to Ukraine in amount of 300 million euros

Resistance Movement rally on France Square in Yerevan

EU hopes to adopt sixth round of sanctions against Russia at next EU Council meeting

Peaceful rallies of disobedience held in Spitak

Spain extends OVID-19 entry restrictions

Vayk joins demand for Nikol Pashinyan's resignation

Putin and Macron discuss Ukraine

Citizens demanding Pashinyan's resignation block road from Vayots Dzor to Yerevan

Peaceful rallies of disobedience held in Vanadzor demanding PM's resignation

Citizens demanding Pashinyan's resignation block Gyumri-Yerevan highway

Sirusho: Today I will join our compatriots in France Square

Third meeting of Armenia and Turkey special representatives held in Vienna
Armenia ruling power legislator: This opposition has always run away from truth

President says Artsakh continues to maintain its vision for future, toward independence

Oppositions uncrowded marches show lack of public support, says Armenia ruling force lawmaker

Trade in Armenia increased by about $80 million, PM says

Pashinyan to Bennett: I am hopeful that Armenian-Israeli relations will flourish in near future

Civil disobedience motorcade being held in Yerevan

EU to ban Russians from buying European real estate

US defense industry facing problems due to supply of weapons to Ukraine

Armenia FM holds discussion at Atlantic Council, speaks about process of normalization of relations with Turkey

Newspaper: Armenia opposition MPs to lose their parliamentary mandates?

Newspaper: Artsakh President says we would not have had so many casualties if war had started half year later

Civil disobedience march kicks off in downtown Yerevan

Civil disobedience actions resume in Yerevan

Blinken tests positive for Covid

Denmark, Finland support European Commission proposal on Russian oil sanctions

Bulgaria to seek exemption from EU proposed Russian oil embargo

Biden says he is ready for additional sanctions against Russia

Switzerland braces for serious power shortage

Uruguay freezes ambassador appointment to Ankara after Cavusoglu's gesture

Czech Republic to seek exemption from proposed EU embargo on Russian oil imports

Charles Michel on the likelihood of Moldova's EU membership

Resistance Movement actions to resume tomorrow early morning

Elon Musk is invited to UK Parliament for buying Twitter

Disobedience march reaches France Square, rally starts

US crude oil shipments to Europe hit highest level in April

NEWS.am digest: Large-scale protests being held in Armenia to demand PMs resignation

Armenia Defense Minister meets with Georgian PM

UK bans imposes sanctions on 63 individuals and organizations in Russia

EU plan to completely ban Russian crude oil threatens Hungary's energy security

EU interested in expanding energy cooperation with Azerbaijan

Germany: Gradual EU ban on Russian oil imports could lead to 'supply disruptions'

Opposition demonstration reaches government residences

Aliyev insists so-called Zangezur corridor 'is already a reality'

Slovakia seeks exemption from EU oil embargo for three years

Defense Ministers of Armenia and Georgia sign cooperation program for 2022

Romanian President approves entry of Stryker Brigade and US fighter squadron into country

Dollar goes up, euro also rises in Armenia

EU studying possibility of providing military assistance to Moldova

Public demand for Nikol Pashinyan's resignation

Opposition supporters move toward Armenian parliament building

EU envoys can not agree on Russian oil

Armenia Security Council chief briefs Georgia PM on Karabakh conflict settlement process

Armenia deputy police chief says law enforcement has right detain MPs

Large-scale opposition rally starts in central Yerevan

Many teenagers in New Zealand are illiterate

AFP: EU proposes to impose sanctions on Patriarch Kirill

Arestovich says Israel could supply Ukraine with weapons Azerbaijan used in Karabakh war

Parliament speaker threatens Armenian opposition, clergy

Armenia opposition MP: Ex-President Serzh Sargsyan will not hold office in new government

Beijing closes over 60 subway stations due to COVID-19 outbreak

Bayramov, Roquefeuil discuss Azerbaijan-Armenia relations normalization process

Armenia FM meets with US National Democratic Institute president

Armenia ruling force MP: Opposition will not achieve its goal

Armenia 2nd president Robert Kocharyans son blocking road with citizens in Yerevan

Oklahoma bans almost all abortions

Number of children in Japan falls to record low

Karabakh President meets with of Free Homeland-UCA parliamentary faction members

Armenian judge waves Artsakh flag at Ironman Triathlon (PHOTOS)

There is still lot to do in 'October 27' case, says Armenia Prosecutor General

Ambassador Wiktorin to finance minister: EU ready to continue providing assistance to Armenia government

Armenia Prosecutor General admits there are difficulties in investigation of 'March 1' criminal case

Copper price is stable

3 COVID-19 new cases confirmed in Armenia

American Armenian youth hold protest rally outside Armenia embassy in Washington

Japan protests against North Korean missile

Gold is getting cheaper

U.S.-Armenia Strategic Dialogue issues joint statement

Newspaper: Armenia Patrol Guard Service head to be summoned to Investigative Committee to give explanation

Armenia parliament regular sittings continue

Newspaper: Armenia opposition members falling into National Security Service trap by opening links

Civil disobedience protests resume in Yerevan

Earthquake shakes Armenia-Georgia border zone

Microsoft urges to abandon Internet Explorer

Mark Milley: Potential for significant international conflict between great powers is increasing

EU: Poland fines in rule of law dispute now top $170 million

Putin and Lukashenko discuss ongoing situation

Greece and Bulgaria say new LNG terminal will help reduce dependence on Russia

German vice chancellor calls for rapid construction of LNG terminals

Rally of Resistance Movement takes place in France Square

Robert Kocharyan takes part in opposition march

Mario Draghi calls on EU to abandon requirement of unanimity in making foreign policy decisions

Finland and Sweden not yet decided whether to join NATO

Croatian president uses veto power to block Finland and Sweden from joining NATO

Slovakia will seek exemption from the EU embargo on Russian oil imports

NEWS.am digest: Blinken meets Mirzoyan in US, people detained during protests in Yerevan

Turkish Foreign Ministry on meeting of special envoys in Vienna

Opposition rally in central Yerevan starts with Sirusho's performance

Italy to face serious issues in winter if Russian gas supplies are cut off now

Johnson announces new military aid to Ukraine in amount of 300 million euros

Resistance Movement rally on France Square in Yerevan

EU hopes to adopt sixth round of sanctions against Russia at next EU Council meeting

Peaceful rallies of disobedience held in Spitak

Spain extends OVID-19 entry restrictions

Vayk joins demand for Nikol Pashinyan's resignation

Putin and Macron discuss Ukraine

Citizens demanding Pashinyan's resignation block road from Vayots Dzor to Yerevan

Peaceful rallies of disobedience held in Vanadzor demanding PM's resignation

Citizens demanding Pashinyan's resignation block Gyumri-Yerevan highway

Sirusho: Today I will join our compatriots in France Square

Third meeting of Armenia and Turkey special representatives held in Vienna
Armenian News - NEWS.am presents the daily digest of top news as of 22.03.22:

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said during the first meeting, he is ready to talk to Russian President Vladimir Putin on the temporarily occupied Donetsk and Luhansk regions and the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, but doubts that this dialogue will be effective.

Zelenskyy also noted that in the talks between Ukraine and Russia, the compromises will be ultimately decided by an all-Ukrainian referendum - including the issues of security guarantees in the occupied territories of Donbas and Crimea.

He said that in case of meeting Putin "right now," there would be no "calls and historic speeches."

The Ukrainian leader also believes that Ukraine is not accepted into NATO because they are afraid of Russia.

However, the Kremlin, in turn, said that disclosing details of the talks between the Russian and Ukrainian delegations may damage the process, so it will not share details.

Earlier, Russias Defense Ministry said on Friday that it had deployed Kinzhal (meaning Dagger in Russian) hypersonic aeroballistic missiles to destroy a large underground warehouse of Ukrainian missiles and aviation ammunition in Delyatin, in the western Ukraine.

A hypersonic weapon is classed as any missile that travels at least five times faster than the speed of sound, meaning they can travel about one mile per second.

The US president Joe Biden, in turn, noted that 'it's almost impossible to stop such a weapon.

Meanwhile, in its support to Ukraine, the US earlier has informally raised with Turkey the unlikely possibility of sending its Russian-made S-400 missile defense systems to Ukraine to help it fight invading Russian forces

The Russian foreign ministry has reportedly warned the US ambassador that the Kremlin is on the verge of severing ties between the nations.

The warning to US ambassador John Sullivan on Monday morning.

The foreign ministry said it told Mr Sullivan that unacceptable statements by US president Joe Biden about Russian president Vladimir Putin had pushed relations between the two countries to a breaking point.

Last week, following Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskys joint address to Congress, Mr Biden branded Putin a war criminal and murderous dictator.

He made the remarks at the annual Friends of Ireland Luncheon on Capitol Hill on 17 March, calling Putin a pure thug who is waging an immoral war against the people of Ukraine.

The gas issue comes in difficult times as March has been colder than usual this year, and heavy snow also has blocked roads in Karabakh and in the neighboring parts of Armenia, compounding the logistical complications.

The Artsakhgaz company had earlier informed that at around 1am on March 8, the natural gas supply to Artsakh was disrupted due to damage to the natural gas pipeline coming from Armenia. It turned out that the pipeline was damaged in the area controlled by the Azerbaijani armed forces.

The Azerbaijani side was creating obstacles for nine days to repair the pipeline. And finally on March 16, according to the Artsakh Info Center, thanks to negotiations with the assistance of the Armenian government and Russian peacekeepers, the Azerbaijani side began repairing this natural gas pipeline, and the repair was completed on March 19.

On Monday, however, the Artsakh Info Center informed that the natural gas supply to Artsakh was stopped again  and due to the direct intervention of the Azerbaijani side.

The Karabakh MFA in its Tuesdays statement noted that Azerbaijan's misanthropic steps cannot affect the will, determination of Artsakh people.

Azerbaijan's behavior is humanitarian terrorism, the MFA added.

Armenian and Karabakh ombudspersons have also issued a statement which says that humanitarian crisis in Artsakh is ongoing.

They said that an instrument of petty revenge has been discovered for the Azerbaijani policy of ethnic cleansing of Armenians of Artsakh.

The Armenian MFA, in turn, noted that in the conditions of unprecedented snowfall and unprecedented cold weather, about 120,000 people of Nagorno Karabakh were deprived of vital gas supply.

Meanwhile, Armenian parliament opposition convened an urgent parliamentary consultation on the humanitarian situation in Karabakh, threats, and urgent measures.

At the end of the sitting, the opposition submitted the draft of the parliament statement condemning the aggressive actions of Azerbaijan. However, the ruling Civil Contract party has blocked the adoption of the statement and abstained from the respective voting.

The Investigative Committee of Armenia continues its criminal investigation into Azerbaijan's unleashing and conducting a war against Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) in the fall of 2020.

It was found out that the total number of Armenian servicemen and civilians killed in Artsakh and Armenia as a result of this war is 3,822; and as of Monday, the whereabouts of 187 soldiers and 21 civilians are unknown.

Also, 150 captured Armenian servicemen and civilians have so far been handed over to Armenia by Azerbaijan.

The criminal investigation continues.

President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has thanked US President Joe Biden for congratulating him on the occasion of Nowruz, AzerTac reported.

In the respective letter, Aliyev listed all the achievements of three decades of US-Azerbaijan cooperation, and paid special attention to the energy sector.

Even in this letter, however, Aliyev could not resist the temptation to distort the facts and blackmail. First, Aliyev deliberately singled out one from the whole list of principles. In diplomatic interpretation, the Azerbaijani president reminded the US president of the Azerbaijani oil and natural gas reserves, linking it to Washington's support for Baku's position in the peace agenda with Armenia.

Meanwhile, Aliyev also sent a letter to Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan on Pakistan Day celebrations.

Aliyev thanked Pakistan for its assistance in the aggression against Artsakh and Armenia.

As APA reports, Ilham Aliyev's congratulatory letter to Imran Khan noted that "Azerbaijani people always highly appreciate Pakistan's principled position, its political and moral support to the just cause of our country during the Patriotic War".

Aliyev also invited Pakistani companies in the construction work in the Armenian territories.

The US, in second place by a wide margin, produces billionaires and companies with far more global influence. China and the US together produced 55% of the world's famous billionaires, according to Hurun's 2022 Global Rich List.

China has more billionaires with 1,133, the US has 716. All three cities with the most billionaires are now in China, with Shenzhen overtaking New York in third place.

But American billionaires are still richer than Chinese ones. They control about 32% of the combined wealth of all the "famous billionaires" in the world, while Chinese billionaires account for about 27% of this wealth.
Armenia ruling power legislator: This opposition has always run away from truth

President says Artsakh continues to maintain its vision for future, toward independence

Oppositions uncrowded marches show lack of public support, says Armenia ruling force lawmaker

Trade in Armenia increased by about $80 million, PM says

Pashinyan to Bennett: I am hopeful that Armenian-Israeli relations will flourish in near future

Civil disobedience motorcade being held in Yerevan

EU to ban Russians from buying European real estate

US defense industry facing problems due to supply of weapons to Ukraine

Armenia FM holds discussion at Atlantic Council, speaks about process of normalization of relations with Turkey

Newspaper: Armenia opposition MPs to lose their parliamentary mandates?

Newspaper: Artsakh President says we would not have had so many casualties if war had started half year later

Civil disobedience march kicks off in downtown Yerevan

Civil disobedience actions resume in Yerevan

Blinken tests positive for Covid

Denmark, Finland support European Commission proposal on Russian oil sanctions

Bulgaria to seek exemption from EU proposed Russian oil embargo

Biden says he is ready for additional sanctions against Russia

Switzerland braces for serious power shortage

Uruguay freezes ambassador appointment to Ankara after Cavusoglu's gesture

Czech Republic to seek exemption from proposed EU embargo on Russian oil imports

Charles Michel on the likelihood of Moldova's EU membership

Resistance Movement actions to resume tomorrow early morning

Elon Musk is invited to UK Parliament for buying Twitter

Disobedience march reaches France Square, rally starts

US crude oil shipments to Europe hit highest level in April

NEWS.am digest: Large-scale protests being held in Armenia to demand PMs resignation

Armenia Defense Minister meets with Georgian PM

UK bans imposes sanctions on 63 individuals and organizations in Russia

EU plan to completely ban Russian crude oil threatens Hungary's energy security

EU interested in expanding energy cooperation with Azerbaijan

Germany: Gradual EU ban on Russian oil imports could lead to 'supply disruptions'

Opposition demonstration reaches government residences

Aliyev insists so-called Zangezur corridor 'is already a reality'

Slovakia seeks exemption from EU oil embargo for three years

Defense Ministers of Armenia and Georgia sign cooperation program for 2022

Romanian President approves entry of Stryker Brigade and US fighter squadron into country

Dollar goes up, euro also rises in Armenia

EU studying possibility of providing military assistance to Moldova

Public demand for Nikol Pashinyan's resignation

Opposition supporters move toward Armenian parliament building

EU envoys can not agree on Russian oil

Armenia Security Council chief briefs Georgia PM on Karabakh conflict settlement process

Armenia deputy police chief says law enforcement has right detain MPs

Large-scale opposition rally starts in central Yerevan

Many teenagers in New Zealand are illiterate

AFP: EU proposes to impose sanctions on Patriarch Kirill

Arestovich says Israel could supply Ukraine with weapons Azerbaijan used in Karabakh war

Parliament speaker threatens Armenian opposition, clergy

Armenia opposition MP: Ex-President Serzh Sargsyan will not hold office in new government

Beijing closes over 60 subway stations due to COVID-19 outbreak

Bayramov, Roquefeuil discuss Azerbaijan-Armenia relations normalization process

Armenia FM meets with US National Democratic Institute president

Armenia ruling force MP: Opposition will not achieve its goal

Armenia 2nd president Robert Kocharyans son blocking road with citizens in Yerevan

Oklahoma bans almost all abortions

Number of children in Japan falls to record low

Karabakh President meets with of Free Homeland-UCA parliamentary faction members

Armenian judge waves Artsakh flag at Ironman Triathlon (PHOTOS)

There is still lot to do in 'October 27' case, says Armenia Prosecutor General

Ambassador Wiktorin to finance minister: EU ready to continue providing assistance to Armenia government

Armenia Prosecutor General admits there are difficulties in investigation of 'March 1' criminal case

Copper price is stable

3 COVID-19 new cases confirmed in Armenia

American Armenian youth hold protest rally outside Armenia embassy in Washington

Japan protests against North Korean missile

Gold is getting cheaper

U.S.-Armenia Strategic Dialogue issues joint statement

Newspaper: Armenia Patrol Guard Service head to be summoned to Investigative Committee to give explanation

Armenia parliament regular sittings continue

Newspaper: Armenia opposition members falling into National Security Service trap by opening links

Civil disobedience protests resume in Yerevan

Earthquake shakes Armenia-Georgia border zone

Microsoft urges to abandon Internet Explorer

Mark Milley: Potential for significant international conflict between great powers is increasing

EU: Poland fines in rule of law dispute now top $170 million

Putin and Lukashenko discuss ongoing situation

Greece and Bulgaria say new LNG terminal will help reduce dependence on Russia

German vice chancellor calls for rapid construction of LNG terminals

Rally of Resistance Movement takes place in France Square

Robert Kocharyan takes part in opposition march

Mario Draghi calls on EU to abandon requirement of unanimity in making foreign policy decisions

Finland and Sweden not yet decided whether to join NATO

Croatian president uses veto power to block Finland and Sweden from joining NATO

Slovakia will seek exemption from the EU embargo on Russian oil imports

NEWS.am digest: Blinken meets Mirzoyan in US, people detained during protests in Yerevan

Turkish Foreign Ministry on meeting of special envoys in Vienna

Opposition rally in central Yerevan starts with Sirusho's performance

Italy to face serious issues in winter if Russian gas supplies are cut off now

Johnson announces new military aid to Ukraine in amount of 300 million euros

Resistance Movement rally on France Square in Yerevan

EU hopes to adopt sixth round of sanctions against Russia at next EU Council meeting

Peaceful rallies of disobedience held in Spitak

Spain extends OVID-19 entry restrictions

Vayk joins demand for Nikol Pashinyan's resignation

Putin and Macron discuss Ukraine

Citizens demanding Pashinyan's resignation block road from Vayots Dzor to Yerevan

Peaceful rallies of disobedience held in Vanadzor demanding PM's resignation

Citizens demanding Pashinyan's resignation block Gyumri-Yerevan highway

Sirusho: Today I will join our compatriots in France Square

Third meeting of Armenia and Turkey special representatives held in Vienna
Armenia ruling power legislator: This opposition has always run away from truth

President says Artsakh continues to maintain its vision for future, toward independence

Oppositions uncrowded marches show lack of public support, says Armenia ruling force lawmaker

Trade in Armenia increased by about $80 million, PM says

Pashinyan to Bennett: I am hopeful that Armenian-Israeli relations will flourish in near future

Civil disobedience motorcade being held in Yerevan

EU to ban Russians from buying European real estate

US defense industry facing problems due to supply of weapons to Ukraine

Armenia FM holds discussion at Atlantic Council, speaks about process of normalization of relations with Turkey

Newspaper: Armenia opposition MPs to lose their parliamentary mandates?

Newspaper: Artsakh President says we would not have had so many casualties if war had started half year later

Civil disobedience march kicks off in downtown Yerevan

Civil disobedience actions resume in Yerevan

Blinken tests positive for Covid

Denmark, Finland support European Commission proposal on Russian oil sanctions

Bulgaria to seek exemption from EU proposed Russian oil embargo

Biden says he is ready for additional sanctions against Russia

Switzerland braces for serious power shortage

Uruguay freezes ambassador appointment to Ankara after Cavusoglu's gesture

Czech Republic to seek exemption from proposed EU embargo on Russian oil imports

Charles Michel on the likelihood of Moldova's EU membership

Resistance Movement actions to resume tomorrow early morning

Elon Musk is invited to UK Parliament for buying Twitter

Disobedience march reaches France Square, rally starts

US crude oil shipments to Europe hit highest level in April

NEWS.am digest: Large-scale protests being held in Armenia to demand PMs resignation

Armenia Defense Minister meets with Georgian PM

UK bans imposes sanctions on 63 individuals and organizations in Russia

EU plan to completely ban Russian crude oil threatens Hungary's energy security

EU interested in expanding energy cooperation with Azerbaijan

Germany: Gradual EU ban on Russian oil imports could lead to 'supply disruptions'

Opposition demonstration reaches government residences

Aliyev insists so-called Zangezur corridor 'is already a reality'

Slovakia seeks exemption from EU oil embargo for three years

Defense Ministers of Armenia and Georgia sign cooperation program for 2022

Romanian President approves entry of Stryker Brigade and US fighter squadron into country

Dollar goes up, euro also rises in Armenia

EU studying possibility of providing military assistance to Moldova

Public demand for Nikol Pashinyan's resignation

Opposition supporters move toward Armenian parliament building

EU envoys can not agree on Russian oil

Armenia Security Council chief briefs Georgia PM on Karabakh conflict settlement process

Armenia deputy police chief says law enforcement has right detain MPs

Large-scale opposition rally starts in central Yerevan

Many teenagers in New Zealand are illiterate

AFP: EU proposes to impose sanctions on Patriarch Kirill

Arestovich says Israel could supply Ukraine with weapons Azerbaijan used in Karabakh war

Parliament speaker threatens Armenian opposition, clergy

Armenia opposition MP: Ex-President Serzh Sargsyan will not hold office in new government

Beijing closes over 60 subway stations due to COVID-19 outbreak

Bayramov, Roquefeuil discuss Azerbaijan-Armenia relations normalization process

Armenia FM meets with US National Democratic Institute president

Armenia ruling force MP: Opposition will not achieve its goal

Armenia 2nd president Robert Kocharyans son blocking road with citizens in Yerevan

Oklahoma bans almost all abortions

Number of children in Japan falls to record low

Karabakh President meets with of Free Homeland-UCA parliamentary faction members

Armenian judge waves Artsakh flag at Ironman Triathlon (PHOTOS)

There is still lot to do in 'October 27' case, says Armenia Prosecutor General

Ambassador Wiktorin to finance minister: EU ready to continue providing assistance to Armenia government

Armenia Prosecutor General admits there are difficulties in investigation of 'March 1' criminal case

Copper price is stable

3 COVID-19 new cases confirmed in Armenia

American Armenian youth hold protest rally outside Armenia embassy in Washington

Japan protests against North Korean missile

Gold is getting cheaper

U.S.-Armenia Strategic Dialogue issues joint statement

Newspaper: Armenia Patrol Guard Service head to be summoned to Investigative Committee to give explanation

Armenia parliament regular sittings continue

Newspaper: Armenia opposition members falling into National Security Service trap by opening links

Civil disobedience protests resume in Yerevan

Earthquake shakes Armenia-Georgia border zone

Microsoft urges to abandon Internet Explorer

Mark Milley: Potential for significant international conflict between great powers is increasing

EU: Poland fines in rule of law dispute now top $170 million

Putin and Lukashenko discuss ongoing situation

Greece and Bulgaria say new LNG terminal will help reduce dependence on Russia

German vice chancellor calls for rapid construction of LNG terminals

Rally of Resistance Movement takes place in France Square

Robert Kocharyan takes part in opposition march

Mario Draghi calls on EU to abandon requirement of unanimity in making foreign policy decisions

Finland and Sweden not yet decided whether to join NATO

Croatian president uses veto power to block Finland and Sweden from joining NATO

Slovakia will seek exemption from the EU embargo on Russian oil imports

NEWS.am digest: Blinken meets Mirzoyan in US, people detained during protests in Yerevan

Turkish Foreign Ministry on meeting of special envoys in Vienna

Opposition rally in central Yerevan starts with Sirusho's performance

Italy to face serious issues in winter if Russian gas supplies are cut off now

Johnson announces new military aid to Ukraine in amount of 300 million euros

Resistance Movement rally on France Square in Yerevan

EU hopes to adopt sixth round of sanctions against Russia at next EU Council meeting

Peaceful rallies of disobedience held in Spitak

Spain extends OVID-19 entry restrictions

Vayk joins demand for Nikol Pashinyan's resignation

Putin and Macron discuss Ukraine

Citizens demanding Pashinyan's resignation block road from Vayots Dzor to Yerevan

Peaceful rallies of disobedience held in Vanadzor demanding PM's resignation

Citizens demanding Pashinyan's resignation block Gyumri-Yerevan highway

Sirusho: Today I will join our compatriots in France Square

Third meeting of Armenia and Turkey special representatives held in Vienna
Armenia ruling power legislator: This opposition has always run away from truth

President says Artsakh continues to maintain its vision for future, toward independence

Oppositions uncrowded marches show lack of public support, says Armenia ruling force lawmaker

Trade in Armenia increased by about $80 million, PM says

Pashinyan to Bennett: I am hopeful that Armenian-Israeli relations will flourish in near future

Civil disobedience motorcade being held in Yerevan

EU to ban Russians from buying European real estate

US defense industry facing problems due to supply of weapons to Ukraine

Armenia FM holds discussion at Atlantic Council, speaks about process of normalization of relations with Turkey

Newspaper: Armenia opposition MPs to lose their parliamentary mandates?

Newspaper: Artsakh President says we would not have had so many casualties if war had started half year later

Civil disobedience march kicks off in downtown Yerevan

Civil disobedience actions resume in Yerevan

Blinken tests positive for Covid

Denmark, Finland support European Commission proposal on Russian oil sanctions

Bulgaria to seek exemption from EU proposed Russian oil embargo

Biden says he is ready for additional sanctions against Russia

Switzerland braces for serious power shortage

Uruguay freezes ambassador appointment to Ankara after Cavusoglu's gesture

Czech Republic to seek exemption from proposed EU embargo on Russian oil imports

Charles Michel on the likelihood of Moldova's EU membership

Resistance Movement actions to resume tomorrow early morning

Elon Musk is invited to UK Parliament for buying Twitter

Disobedience march reaches France Square, rally starts

US crude oil shipments to Europe hit highest level in April

NEWS.am digest: Large-scale protests being held in Armenia to demand PMs resignation

Armenia Defense Minister meets with Georgian PM

UK bans imposes sanctions on 63 individuals and organizations in Russia

EU plan to completely ban Russian crude oil threatens Hungary's energy security

EU interested in expanding energy cooperation with Azerbaijan

Germany: Gradual EU ban on Russian oil imports could lead to 'supply disruptions'

Opposition demonstration reaches government residences

Aliyev insists so-called Zangezur corridor 'is already a reality'

Slovakia seeks exemption from EU oil embargo for three years

Defense Ministers of Armenia and Georgia sign cooperation program for 2022

Romanian President approves entry of Stryker Brigade and US fighter squadron into country

Dollar goes up, euro also rises in Armenia

EU studying possibility of providing military assistance to Moldova

Public demand for Nikol Pashinyan's resignation

Opposition supporters move toward Armenian parliament building

EU envoys can not agree on Russian oil

Armenia Security Council chief briefs Georgia PM on Karabakh conflict settlement process

Armenia deputy police chief says law enforcement has right detain MPs

Large-scale opposition rally starts in central Yerevan

Many teenagers in New Zealand are illiterate

AFP: EU proposes to impose sanctions on Patriarch Kirill

Arestovich says Israel could supply Ukraine with weapons Azerbaijan used in Karabakh war

Parliament speaker threatens Armenian opposition, clergy

Armenia opposition MP: Ex-President Serzh Sargsyan will not hold office in new government

Beijing closes over 60 subway stations due to COVID-19 outbreak

Bayramov, Roquefeuil discuss Azerbaijan-Armenia relations normalization process

Armenia FM meets with US National Democratic Institute president

Armenia ruling force MP: Opposition will not achieve its goal

Armenia 2nd president Robert Kocharyans son blocking road with citizens in Yerevan

Oklahoma bans almost all abortions

Number of children in Japan falls to record low

Karabakh President meets with of Free Homeland-UCA parliamentary faction members

Armenian judge waves Artsakh flag at Ironman Triathlon (PHOTOS)

There is still lot to do in 'October 27' case, says Armenia Prosecutor General

Ambassador Wiktorin to finance minister: EU ready to continue providing assistance to Armenia government

Armenia Prosecutor General admits there are difficulties in investigation of 'March 1' criminal case

Copper price is stable

3 COVID-19 new cases confirmed in Armenia

American Armenian youth hold protest rally outside Armenia embassy in Washington

Japan protests against North Korean missile

Gold is getting cheaper

U.S.-Armenia Strategic Dialogue issues joint statement

Newspaper: Armenia Patrol Guard Service head to be summoned to Investigative Committee to give explanation

Armenia parliament regular sittings continue

Newspaper: Armenia opposition members falling into National Security Service trap by opening links

Civil disobedience protests resume in Yerevan

Earthquake shakes Armenia-Georgia border zone

Microsoft urges to abandon Internet Explorer

Mark Milley: Potential for significant international conflict between great powers is increasing

EU: Poland fines in rule of law dispute now top $170 million

Putin and Lukashenko discuss ongoing situation

Greece and Bulgaria say new LNG terminal will help reduce dependence on Russia

German vice chancellor calls for rapid construction of LNG terminals

Rally of Resistance Movement takes place in France Square

Robert Kocharyan takes part in opposition march

Mario Draghi calls on EU to abandon requirement of unanimity in making foreign policy decisions

Finland and Sweden not yet decided whether to join NATO

Croatian president uses veto power to block Finland and Sweden from joining NATO

Slovakia will seek exemption from the EU embargo on Russian oil imports

NEWS.am digest: Blinken meets Mirzoyan in US, people detained during protests in Yerevan

Turkish Foreign Ministry on meeting of special envoys in Vienna

Opposition rally in central Yerevan starts with Sirusho's performance

Italy to face serious issues in winter if Russian gas supplies are cut off now

Johnson announces new military aid to Ukraine in amount of 300 million euros

Resistance Movement rally on France Square in Yerevan

EU hopes to adopt sixth round of sanctions against Russia at next EU Council meeting

Peaceful rallies of disobedience held in Spitak

Spain extends OVID-19 entry restrictions

Vayk joins demand for Nikol Pashinyan's resignation

Putin and Macron discuss Ukraine

Citizens demanding Pashinyan's resignation block road from Vayots Dzor to Yerevan

Peaceful rallies of disobedience held in Vanadzor demanding PM's resignation

Citizens demanding Pashinyan's resignation block Gyumri-Yerevan highway

Sirusho: Today I will join our compatriots in France Square

Third meeting of Armenia and Turkey special representatives held in Vienna
Armenia ruling power legislator: This opposition has always run away from truth

President says Artsakh continues to maintain its vision for future, toward independence

Oppositions uncrowded marches show lack of public support, says Armenia ruling force lawmaker

Trade in Armenia increased by about $80 million, PM says

Pashinyan to Bennett: I am hopeful that Armenian-Israeli relations will flourish in near future

Civil disobedience motorcade being held in Yerevan

EU to ban Russians from buying European real estate

US defense industry facing problems due to supply of weapons to Ukraine

Armenia FM holds discussion at Atlantic Council, speaks about process of normalization of relations with Turkey

Newspaper: Armenia opposition MPs to lose their parliamentary mandates?

Newspaper: Artsakh President says we would not have had so many casualties if war had started half year later

Civil disobedience march kicks off in downtown Yerevan

Civil disobedience actions resume in Yerevan

Blinken tests positive for Covid

Denmark, Finland support European Commission proposal on Russian oil sanctions

Bulgaria to seek exemption from EU proposed Russian oil embargo

Biden says he is ready for additional sanctions against Russia

Switzerland braces for serious power shortage

Uruguay freezes ambassador appointment to Ankara after Cavusoglu's gesture

Czech Republic to seek exemption from proposed EU embargo on Russian oil imports

Charles Michel on the likelihood of Moldova's EU membership

Resistance Movement actions to resume tomorrow early morning

Elon Musk is invited to UK Parliament for buying Twitter

Disobedience march reaches France Square, rally starts

US crude oil shipments to Europe hit highest level in April

NEWS.am digest: Large-scale protests being held in Armenia to demand PMs resignation

Armenia Defense Minister meets with Georgian PM

UK bans imposes sanctions on 63 individuals and organizations in Russia

EU plan to completely ban Russian crude oil threatens Hungary's energy security

EU interested in expanding energy cooperation with Azerbaijan

Germany: Gradual EU ban on Russian oil imports could lead to 'supply disruptions'

Opposition demonstration reaches government residences

Aliyev insists so-called Zangezur corridor 'is already a reality'

Slovakia seeks exemption from EU oil embargo for three years

Defense Ministers of Armenia and Georgia sign cooperation program for 2022

Romanian President approves entry of Stryker Brigade and US fighter squadron into country

Dollar goes up, euro also rises in Armenia

EU studying possibility of providing military assistance to Moldova

Public demand for Nikol Pashinyan's resignation

Opposition supporters move toward Armenian parliament building

EU envoys can not agree on Russian oil

Armenia Security Council chief briefs Georgia PM on Karabakh conflict settlement process

Armenia deputy police chief says law enforcement has right detain MPs

Large-scale opposition rally starts in central Yerevan

Many teenagers in New Zealand are illiterate

AFP: EU proposes to impose sanctions on Patriarch Kirill

Arestovich says Israel could supply Ukraine with weapons Azerbaijan used in Karabakh war

Parliament speaker threatens Armenian opposition, clergy

Armenia opposition MP: Ex-President Serzh Sargsyan will not hold office in new government

Beijing closes over 60 subway stations due to COVID-19 outbreak

Bayramov, Roquefeuil discuss Azerbaijan-Armenia relations normalization process

Armenia FM meets with US National Democratic Institute president

Armenia ruling force MP: Opposition will not achieve its goal

Armenia 2nd president Robert Kocharyans son blocking road with citizens in Yerevan

Oklahoma bans almost all abortions

Number of children in Japan falls to record low

Karabakh President meets with of Free Homeland-UCA parliamentary faction members

Armenian judge waves Artsakh flag at Ironman Triathlon (PHOTOS)

There is still lot to do in 'October 27' case, says Armenia Prosecutor General

Ambassador Wiktorin to finance minister: EU ready to continue providing assistance to Armenia government

Armenia Prosecutor General admits there are difficulties in investigation of 'March 1' criminal case

Copper price is stable

3 COVID-19 new cases confirmed in Armenia

American Armenian youth hold protest rally outside Armenia embassy in Washington

Japan protests against North Korean missile

Gold is getting cheaper

U.S.-Armenia Strategic Dialogue issues joint statement

Newspaper: Armenia Patrol Guard Service head to be summoned to Investigative Committee to give explanation

Armenia parliament regular sittings continue

Newspaper: Armenia opposition members falling into National Security Service trap by opening links

Civil disobedience protests resume in Yerevan

Earthquake shakes Armenia-Georgia border zone

Microsoft urges to abandon Internet Explorer

Mark Milley: Potential for significant international conflict between great powers is increasing

EU: Poland fines in rule of law dispute now top $170 million

Putin and Lukashenko discuss ongoing situation

Greece and Bulgaria say new LNG terminal will help reduce dependence on Russia

German vice chancellor calls for rapid construction of LNG terminals

Rally of Resistance Movement takes place in France Square

Robert Kocharyan takes part in opposition march

Mario Draghi calls on EU to abandon requirement of unanimity in making foreign policy decisions

Finland and Sweden not yet decided whether to join NATO

Croatian president uses veto power to block Finland and Sweden from joining NATO

Slovakia will seek exemption from the EU embargo on Russian oil imports

NEWS.am digest: Blinken meets Mirzoyan in US, people detained during protests in Yerevan

Turkish Foreign Ministry on meeting of special envoys in Vienna

Opposition rally in central Yerevan starts with Sirusho's performance

Italy to face serious issues in winter if Russian gas supplies are cut off now

Johnson announces new military aid to Ukraine in amount of 300 million euros

Resistance Movement rally on France Square in Yerevan

EU hopes to adopt sixth round of sanctions against Russia at next EU Council meeting

Peaceful rallies of disobedience held in Spitak

Spain extends OVID-19 entry restrictions

Vayk joins demand for Nikol Pashinyan's resignation

Putin and Macron discuss Ukraine

Citizens demanding Pashinyan's resignation block road from Vayots Dzor to Yerevan

Peaceful rallies of disobedience held in Vanadzor demanding PM's resignation

Citizens demanding Pashinyan's resignation block Gyumri-Yerevan highway

Sirusho: Today I will join our compatriots in France Square

Third meeting of Armenia and Turkey special representatives held in Vienna
Armenia ruling power legislator: This opposition has always run away from truth

President says Artsakh continues to maintain its vision for future, toward independence

Oppositions uncrowded marches show lack of public support, says Armenia ruling force lawmaker

Trade in Armenia increased by about $80 million, PM says

Pashinyan to Bennett: I am hopeful that Armenian-Israeli relations will flourish in near future

Civil disobedience motorcade being held in Yerevan

EU to ban Russians from buying European real estate

US defense industry facing problems due to supply of weapons to Ukraine

Armenia FM holds discussion at Atlantic Council, speaks about process of normalization of relations with Turkey

Newspaper: Armenia opposition MPs to lose their parliamentary mandates?

Newspaper: Artsakh President says we would not have had so many casualties if war had started half year later

Civil disobedience march kicks off in downtown Yerevan

Civil disobedience actions resume in Yerevan

Blinken tests positive for Covid

Denmark, Finland support European Commission proposal on Russian oil sanctions

Bulgaria to seek exemption from EU proposed Russian oil embargo

Biden says he is ready for additional sanctions against Russia

Switzerland braces for serious power shortage

Uruguay freezes ambassador appointment to Ankara after Cavusoglu's gesture

Czech Republic to seek exemption from proposed EU embargo on Russian oil imports

Charles Michel on the likelihood of Moldova's EU membership

Resistance Movement actions to resume tomorrow early morning

Elon Musk is invited to UK Parliament for buying Twitter

Disobedience march reaches France Square, rally starts

US crude oil shipments to Europe hit highest level in April

NEWS.am digest: Large-scale protests being held in Armenia to demand PMs resignation

Armenia Defense Minister meets with Georgian PM

UK bans imposes sanctions on 63 individuals and organizations in Russia

EU plan to completely ban Russian crude oil threatens Hungary's energy security

EU interested in expanding energy cooperation with Azerbaijan

Germany: Gradual EU ban on Russian oil imports could lead to 'supply disruptions'

Opposition demonstration reaches government residences

Aliyev insists so-called Zangezur corridor 'is already a reality'

Slovakia seeks exemption from EU oil embargo for three years

Defense Ministers of Armenia and Georgia sign cooperation program for 2022

Romanian President approves entry of Stryker Brigade and US fighter squadron into country

Dollar goes up, euro also rises in Armenia

EU studying possibility of providing military assistance to Moldova

Public demand for Nikol Pashinyan's resignation

Opposition supporters move toward Armenian parliament building

EU envoys can not agree on Russian oil

Armenia Security Council chief briefs Georgia PM on Karabakh conflict settlement process

Armenia deputy police chief says law enforcement has right detain MPs

Large-scale opposition rally starts in central Yerevan

Many teenagers in New Zealand are illiterate

AFP: EU proposes to impose sanctions on Patriarch Kirill

Arestovich says Israel could supply Ukraine with weapons Azerbaijan used in Karabakh war

Parliament speaker threatens Armenian opposition, clergy

Armenia opposition MP: Ex-President Serzh Sargsyan will not hold office in new government

Beijing closes over 60 subway stations due to COVID-19 outbreak

Bayramov, Roquefeuil discuss Azerbaijan-Armenia relations normalization process

Armenia FM meets with US National Democratic Institute president

Armenia ruling force MP: Opposition will not achieve its goal

Armenia 2nd president Robert Kocharyans son blocking road with citizens in Yerevan

Oklahoma bans almost all abortions

Number of children in Japan falls to record low

Karabakh President meets with of Free Homeland-UCA parliamentary faction members

Armenian judge waves Artsakh flag at Ironman Triathlon (PHOTOS)

There is still lot to do in 'October 27' case, says Armenia Prosecutor General

Ambassador Wiktorin to finance minister: EU ready to continue providing assistance to Armenia government

Armenia Prosecutor General admits there are difficulties in investigation of 'March 1' criminal case

Copper price is stable

3 COVID-19 new cases confirmed in Armenia

American Armenian youth hold protest rally outside Armenia embassy in Washington

Japan protests against North Korean missile

Gold is getting cheaper

U.S.-Armenia Strategic Dialogue issues joint statement

Newspaper: Armenia Patrol Guard Service head to be summoned to Investigative Committee to give explanation

Armenia parliament regular sittings continue

Newspaper: Armenia opposition members falling into National Security Service trap by opening links

Civil disobedience protests resume in Yerevan

Earthquake shakes Armenia-Georgia border zone

Microsoft urges to abandon Internet Explorer

Mark Milley: Potential for significant international conflict between great powers is increasing

EU: Poland fines in rule of law dispute now top $170 million

Putin and Lukashenko discuss ongoing situation

Greece and Bulgaria say new LNG terminal will help reduce dependence on Russia

German vice chancellor calls for rapid construction of LNG terminals

Rally of Resistance Movement takes place in France Square

Robert Kocharyan takes part in opposition march

Mario Draghi calls on EU to abandon requirement of unanimity in making foreign policy decisions

Finland and Sweden not yet decided whether to join NATO

Croatian president uses veto power to block Finland and Sweden from joining NATO

Slovakia will seek exemption from the EU embargo on Russian oil imports

NEWS.am digest: Blinken meets Mirzoyan in US, people detained during protests in Yerevan

Turkish Foreign Ministry on meeting of special envoys in Vienna

Opposition rally in central Yerevan starts with Sirusho's performance

Italy to face serious issues in winter if Russian gas supplies are cut off now

Johnson announces new military aid to Ukraine in amount of 300 million euros

Resistance Movement rally on France Square in Yerevan

EU hopes to adopt sixth round of sanctions against Russia at next EU Council meeting

Peaceful rallies of disobedience held in Spitak

Spain extends OVID-19 entry restrictions

Vayk joins demand for Nikol Pashinyan's resignation

Putin and Macron discuss Ukraine

Citizens demanding Pashinyan's resignation block road from Vayots Dzor to Yerevan

Peaceful rallies of disobedience held in Vanadzor demanding PM's resignation

Citizens demanding Pashinyan's resignation block Gyumri-Yerevan highway

Sirusho: Today I will join our compatriots in France Square

Third meeting of Armenia and Turkey special representatives held in Vienna
Armenia ruling power legislator: This opposition has always run away from truth

President says Artsakh continues to maintain its vision for future, toward independence

Oppositions uncrowded marches show lack of public support, says Armenia ruling force lawmaker

Trade in Armenia increased by about $80 million, PM says

Pashinyan to Bennett: I am hopeful that Armenian-Israeli relations will flourish in near future

Civil disobedience motorcade being held in Yerevan

EU to ban Russians from buying European real estate

US defense industry facing problems due to supply of weapons to Ukraine

Armenia FM holds discussion at Atlantic Council, speaks about process of normalization of relations with Turkey

Newspaper: Armenia opposition MPs to lose their parliamentary mandates?

Newspaper: Artsakh President says we would not have had so many casualties if war had started half year later

Civil disobedience march kicks off in downtown Yerevan

Civil disobedience actions resume in Yerevan

Blinken tests positive for Covid

Denmark, Finland support European Commission proposal on Russian oil sanctions

Bulgaria to seek exemption from EU proposed Russian oil embargo

Biden says he is ready for additional sanctions against Russia

Switzerland braces for serious power shortage

Uruguay freezes ambassador appointment to Ankara after Cavusoglu's gesture

Czech Republic to seek exemption from proposed EU embargo on Russian oil imports

Charles Michel on the likelihood of Moldova's EU membership

Resistance Movement actions to resume tomorrow early morning

Elon Musk is invited to UK Parliament for buying Twitter

Disobedience march reaches France Square, rally starts

US crude oil shipments to Europe hit highest level in April

NEWS.am digest: Large-scale protests being held in Armenia to demand PMs resignation

Armenia Defense Minister meets with Georgian PM

UK bans imposes sanctions on 63 individuals and organizations in Russia

EU plan to completely ban Russian crude oil threatens Hungary's energy security

EU interested in expanding energy cooperation with Azerbaijan

Germany: Gradual EU ban on Russian oil imports could lead to 'supply disruptions'

Opposition demonstration reaches government residences

Aliyev insists so-called Zangezur corridor 'is already a reality'

Slovakia seeks exemption from EU oil embargo for three years

Defense Ministers of Armenia and Georgia sign cooperation program for 2022

Romanian President approves entry of Stryker Brigade and US fighter squadron into country

Dollar goes up, euro also rises in Armenia

EU studying possibility of providing military assistance to Moldova

Public demand for Nikol Pashinyan's resignation

Opposition supporters move toward Armenian parliament building

EU envoys can not agree on Russian oil

Armenia Security Council chief briefs Georgia PM on Karabakh conflict settlement process

Armenia deputy police chief says law enforcement has right detain MPs

Large-scale opposition rally starts in central Yerevan

Many teenagers in New Zealand are illiterate

AFP: EU proposes to impose sanctions on Patriarch Kirill

Arestovich says Israel could supply Ukraine with weapons Azerbaijan used in Karabakh war

Parliament speaker threatens Armenian opposition, clergy

Armenia opposition MP: Ex-President Serzh Sargsyan will not hold office in new government

Beijing closes over 60 subway stations due to COVID-19 outbreak

Bayramov, Roquefeuil discuss Azerbaijan-Armenia relations normalization process

Armenia FM meets with US National Democratic Institute president

Armenia ruling force MP: Opposition will not achieve its goal

Armenia 2nd president Robert Kocharyans son blocking road with citizens in Yerevan

Oklahoma bans almost all abortions

Number of children in Japan falls to record low

Karabakh President meets with of Free Homeland-UCA parliamentary faction members

Armenian judge waves Artsakh flag at Ironman Triathlon (PHOTOS)

There is still lot to do in 'October 27' case, says Armenia Prosecutor General

Ambassador Wiktorin to finance minister: EU ready to continue providing assistance to Armenia government

Armenia Prosecutor General admits there are difficulties in investigation of 'March 1' criminal case

Copper price is stable

3 COVID-19 new cases confirmed in Armenia

American Armenian youth hold protest rally outside Armenia embassy in Washington

Japan protests against North Korean missile

Gold is getting cheaper

U.S.-Armenia Strategic Dialogue issues joint statement

Newspaper: Armenia Patrol Guard Service head to be summoned to Investigative Committee to give explanation

Armenia parliament regular sittings continue

Newspaper: Armenia opposition members falling into National Security Service trap by opening links

Civil disobedience protests resume in Yerevan

Earthquake shakes Armenia-Georgia border zone

Microsoft urges to abandon Internet Explorer

Mark Milley: Potential for significant international conflict between great powers is increasing

EU: Poland fines in rule of law dispute now top $170 million

Putin and Lukashenko discuss ongoing situation

Greece and Bulgaria say new LNG terminal will help reduce dependence on Russia

German vice chancellor calls for rapid construction of LNG terminals

Rally of Resistance Movement takes place in France Square

Robert Kocharyan takes part in opposition march

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The Rev. Dr. Avis Williams will deliver the keynote address at the 177th Commencement exercises at Oxford College of Emory University, scheduled for Saturday, May 7. The ceremony will be on the Oxford College Quadrangle at 10 a.m.

Williams is a beloved graduate of Oxford College and holds three additional Emory degrees: a bachelors degree in chemistry from Emory College of Arts and Sciences and both a master of divinity and a doctor of ministry degree from Candler School of Theology.

Rev. Dr. Avis Williams is one of the most extraordinary people in the Oxford College community  and far beyond it, says Douglas A. Hicks, dean of Oxford College. As an alumna, neighbor and local leader, she has called all of us to acknowledge our history and build a more equitable and inclusive future. Her story is one that everyone at Oxford should hear, and we look forward to her Commencement address on May 7.

Williams was born and raised in Covington, Georgia, near Oxford Colleges home in Oxford, Georgia. She is a graduate of the local Newton County Comprehensive High School, was one of Oxford Colleges earliest African American graduates and has been a community leader in Newton County and the surrounding area for more than 40 years. She has led efforts to address health disparities and equity and justice issues in local African American communities, serving on the boards of hospitals and clinics and working to provide access to health care in schools and places of worship.

Williams is playing a central role in the Twin Memorials Project, hosting community meetings to solicit input for memorials to be erected on Emorys Oxford and Atlanta campuses to honor enslaved individuals who labored to build the original campus at Oxford. Williams herself is a descendant of enslaved persons who lived and worked in Oxford and Covington, and she has courageously brought together other members of the descendant community to partner with Emory in the important work of restorative justice.

Williams is the owner of a Newton County environmental, health and safety consulting firm, which provides training for federal, state and local agencies and performs Phase I Environmental Site assessments. She also currently serves as the community liaison for the Putnam County Charter School System, building and strengthening family and community partnerships. She is a former member of the Keep Covington and Newton Beautiful committee and chair of the Sandhill/Tex Alley Community Reunion program.

In partnership with Oxford, Williams founded and directed a mentoring and tutoring program from 2004-2010 where Oxford students tutored elementary and middle school students every week. She is a former member of the Oxford College Alumni Board and has been an active alumna for decades.
Heartland virus is circulating in lone star ticks in Georgia, scientists at Emory University have found, confirming active transmission of the virus within the state. The journal Emerging Infectious Diseases published the findings, which include a genetic analysis of the virus samples, isolated from ticks collected in central Georgia.

The research adds new evidence for how the tick-borne Heartland virus, first identified in Missouri in 2009, may evolve and spread geographically and from one organism to another.

Heartland is an emerging infectious disease that is not well understood, says Gonzalo Vazquez-Prokopec, associate professor in Emorys Department of Environmental Sciences and senior author of the study. Were trying to get ahead of this virus by learning everything that we can about it before it potentially becomes a bigger problem.

Vazquez-Prokopec is a leading expert in vector-borne diseases  infections transmitted from one organism to another by the bite of a vector, such as a tick or mosquito.

Yamila Romer, a former post-doctoral fellow in the Vazquez-Prokopec lab, is first author of the new paper. Co-author Anne Piantadosi, assistant professor in Emory School of Medicines Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, conducted the genetic analyses.

The study detected Heartland virus in three different specimen samples of lone star ticks  collected in different locations and at different times  and including both the nymph and adult stages of the ticks.

The genetic analysis of the three viral samples showed that their genomes are similar to one another, but much different from the genomes of Heartland virus samples from outside the state. These results suggest that the virus may be evolving very rapidly in different geographic locations, or that it may be circulating primarily in isolated areas and not dispersing quickly between those areas, Vazquez-Prokopec says.

The Heartland virus was discovered in 2009 in northwest Missouri after two local men were hospitalized with high fevers, diarrhea, muscle pains, low counts of white blood cells and platelets, and other symptoms similar to known tick-borne diseases. Researchers soon realized the men were infected with a novel virus, which was christened Heartland, and later traced to lone star ticks. Further studies found antibodies to the virus in blood samples from deer and some other wild mammals.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention currently recognizes 18 tick-borne diseases in the United States, many of them newly emerging. One of the most well-known tick-borne illnesses is Lyme disease, caused by a bacterium, which in recent decades has grown into the most common vector-borne disease in the country. The black-legged tick, also known as the deer tick, is the vector for transmission of the bacteria that causes Lyme disease and the white-footed mouse is the primary reservoir for the bacterium. The tick larvae can become infected when they feed on the blood of the mice and other small mammals and birds that may be harboring the bacterium. The infected larvae grow into nymphs and adult ticks that can then move into other hosts, including deer and humans.

While the complex transmission cycle for Lyme disease is well characterized, many questions remain about how the Heartland virus moves among different species.

Since it was first discovered in 2009, more than 50 cases of Heartland virus have been identified in people from 11 states in the Midwest and Southeast, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Many of the identified cases were severe enough to require hospitalization and a few individuals with co-morbidities have died. The actual disease burden is believed to be higher, however, since Heartland virus is still not well known and tests are rarely ordered for it.

A retroactive analysis uncovered a single confirmed human infection of Heartland virus in Georgia, in a Baldwin County resident who died with what was then an unidentified illness in 2005. The human case prompted analysis of serum samples collected in past years from white-tailed deer in central Georgia. The results showed that deer from that area have been exposed to the Heartland virus since at least 2001.

To better assess the risk for human disease in the area, Vazquez-Prokopec wanted to learn whether lone star ticks are currently carrying Heartland virus in central Georgia.

Members of the field research team collected ticks from the rural landscape near the Piedmont National Wildlife Refuge. Even during the hot Georgia summers, team members wore long shirts and long pants tucked into long socks, with the top of the socks sealed with duct tape. They further protected themselves with bug spray and by conducting visual checks for ticks on themselves before and after leaving the field.

The lone star tick, named for a distinctive white spot on its back, is the most common tick in Georgia and is widely distributed in wooded areas across the Southeast, Eastern and Midwest United States. They are tiny, about the size of a sesame seed in the nymph stage, and barely a quarter-of-an-inch in diameter as adults.

Lone star ticks are so small that you may not feel them on you or even notice if youve been bitten by one, says Steph Bellman, a co-author of the study. Bellman is an MD/PhD student in Emorys School of Medicine and Rollins School of Public Health, focused on environmental health.

The team used flagging as a collection technique. A flag of white flannel on a pole is swished in a figure-eight motion through the underbrush. Every so often, you lay the flag down and use a pair of tweezers to remove any ticks that you find on it and put them into a vial, Bellman explains.

Through this painstaking method, the team collected nearly 10,000 specimens from sites in Georgias Putnam County and Jones County, both adjacent to Baldwin County. Specimens were separated into groups, each containing either five adults or 25 nymphs, then crushed and put into a solution to test for the presence of the Heartland virus.

The results suggested that about one out of every 2,000 of the collected specimens carried the Heartland virus. One adult and one nymph sample collected on the same date tested positive from a site in Putnam County, a private property used for hunting. A second sample of adult ticks, collected on a different date from a stretch of woods along a highway in Jones County, also tested positive.

The researchers are now expanding the scope of the work. They will collect ticks across Georgia for testing and conduct spatial analyses with the aim of understanding factors that may raise the risk for Heartland virus.

We want to start filling in the huge gaps in knowledge of the transmission cycle for Heartland virus, Vazquez-Prokopec says. We need to better understand the key actors that transmit the virus and any environmental factors that may help it to persist within different habitats.

Climate change is fueling warmer and shorter winters, increasing opportunities for some species of ticks to breed more frequently and to expand their ranges. Land-use changes are also strongly associated with tick-borne diseases, as more human habitats encroach on wooded areas and the loss of natural habitat forces wildlife to live in denser populations.

Ticks are both fascinating and terrifying, Bellman says. We dont have effective ways to control them and they are a vector for many nasty diseases. They represent a large threat to human health that a lot of people may not realize.

The Prokopec Lab is also investigating the arrival of the Asian longhorned tick (Haemaphysalis longicornis) in Georgia, funded by a seed grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Long established in China, Japan, Russia and parts of the Pacific, the Asian longhorned tick was first detected in the United States in 2018, in New Jersey. The tick has since spread to 17 states, including Georgia, where it was found on a farm in Pickens County in 2021.

The Asian longhorned tick reproduces asexually and a single female can generate as many as 100,000 eggs, rapidly producing massive amounts of offspring that feed on livestock. So many ticks can be covering a single sheep or cow that the loss of blood physically weakens or, in extreme cases, kills the animal.

The Asian longhorned tick also carries bacterial and viral pathogens that can infect humans, including severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome virus (SFTSV), also known as Dabie bandavirus. Human cases of SFTS, a hemorrhagic fever, emerged in China in 2011 and have since been identified in other parts of Asia.

We are investigating not only the potential agricultural impact of the Asian longhorned tick in Georgia, but the potential for this invasive tick to spread SFTS and other diseases to people, Vazquez-Prokopec says.

Of particular concern is the fact that the Heartland virus shares genomic similarities with SFTSV, he adds.

We will be gathering data to help support tick surveillance efforts by public health officials in Georgia, Vazquez-Prokopec says. Tick-borne diseases are a real and growing threat and the best way to deal with them is not to panic, but to do the science needed to learn everything we can about them.

Additional co-authors of the current paper include Uriel Kitron, professor in Emorys Department of Environmental Sciences; Oscar Kirstein, an Emory post-doctoral fellow in the Prokopec Lab; Daniel Mead and Kalya Adcock, from the University of Georgia; and Zhuorn Wei, a former Emory research assistant.

Funding for the work was provided by a grant from the Emory University Research Council.
Story Highlights Americans sympathize more with Israelis than Palestinians, 55% to 26%

26% who sympathize with Palestinians is new high in 20-year trend

Democrats' sympathies now divided but still feel favorably toward Israel

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Americans continue to express greater sympathy for the Israelis than the Palestinians in the Middle East conflict, as they have throughout Gallup's trend -- 55% now sympathize more with the Israelis and 26% with the Palestinians.

Line graph. Annual trend from 2001 to 2022 in Americans' preference for the Palestinians versus the Israelis when asked where their sympathies lie in the Middle East situation. The 55% sympathizing more with the Israelis in 2022 is down from 58% in 2021 and is the lowest since 2005, when it was 52%. The 26% now sympathizing more with the Palestinians is just one point higher than in 2021 but is the highest in the trend, and up from the low point of 12% in 2013.

While still wide, Israel's advantage on this question has narrowed over the past decade (since 2013) as sympathy for the Palestinians has edged higher. At the same time, sympathy for Israel has diminished slightly. The percentage of adults with no preference -- favoring both countries, favoring neither, or who are not sure -- is now 18%, but was higher before 2017.

The latest findings are based on Gallup's annual World Affairs survey for 2022, conducted Feb. 1-17.

Democrats Nearly Split in Sympathy for Israelis vs. Palestinians

The latest poll documents sharp differences by party in Americans' positions on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. More than three-quarters of Republicans sympathize more with the Israelis (77%) than with the Palestinians (13%) -- a 64-percentage-point difference. That gap narrows to 28 points among independents, with 54% siding with the Israelis and 26% the Palestinians. By contrast, Democrats are statistically divided, with 40% favoring the Israelis and 38% the Palestinians.

Americans' Sympathies in Middle East Situation, by Party ID In the Middle East situation, are your sympathies more with the Israelis or more with the Palestinians? Israelis Palestinians No preference^ Net Israelis^^ % % % pct. pts. U.S. adults 55 26 18 +29 Republicans 77 13 10 +64 Independents 54 26 20 +28 Democrats 40 38 22 +2 ^ No preference=Both/Neither (volunteered responses) or unsure

^^ Net Israelis=% more sympathetic to the Israelis minus % more sympathetic to the Palestinians Gallup, Feb. 1-17, 2022

The current divide among Democrats on the Middle East question is the latest in a decadelong decline in that party group's net sympathy for Israel, from 35 points in 2013 to two points today.

The sympathy gap for Israel has also narrowed substantially among independents, falling from 52 points in 2013 and about 40 points between 2014 and 2016 to 28 points today.

Over the same period, the preference gap for Israel has closed by nine points among Republicans, from 73 points in 2013 to the latest 64 points. The decline among Republicans was interrupted by surges in pro-Israel sentiment during the Donald Trump presidency, including in 2018 as the Trump administration prepared to move the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem in a strong show of support for Israel.

Line graph. Annual trend from 2001 to 2022 in net sympathy for Israel by party ID. Net sympathy is defined as the percentage more sympathetic toward Israel minus the percentage more sympathetic toward the Palestinians. Republicans have consistently had higher net sympathy for Israel than have Democrats. Independents have usually been between Republicans and Democrats, although averaging closer to Democrats. Over the past two decades, net sympathy for Israel has decreased among Democrats from a high of +35 to just +2 in 2022. It rose among Republicans between 2001 and 2010, reaching +79, but is +64 today. Net sympathy for Israel among independents has varied between +19 and +52 and is +28 today.

Support for Israel Also Varies by Age

Aside from the differences by party, Gallup also finds substantial differences in sympathy for Israel by age. Whereas the majority of adults 55 and older (64%) and aged 35 to 54 (57%) are more sympathetic toward Israel, this drops to 40% among those under 35. In fact, nearly as many younger adults are more sympathetic toward the Palestinians (37%), resulting in a roughly even split in their preferences.

Subgroup differences on this question are also stark by political ideology, while there are minimal differences by gender or education level.

Notably, ideology magnifies the differences seen by party, so that conservative Republicans are more strongly pro-Israel than moderate/liberal Republicans. Likewise, conservative/moderate Democrats are decidedly pro-Israeli, while liberal Democrats now lean just as strongly in the Palestinians' favor. Liberal Democrats' 24-point margin in favor of the Palestinians this year is up from 15 points a year ago.

Americans' Sympathies in Middle East Situation, by Subgroup In the Middle East situation, are your sympathies more with the Israelis or more with the Palestinians? Israelis Palestinians No preference^ Net Israelis^^ % % % pct. pts. U.S. adults 55 26 19 +29 Gender Men 56 26 17 +30 Women 55 26 19 +29 Age 18 to 34 40 37 23 +3 35 to 54 57 26 17 +31 55 and older 64 19 16 +45 Education College graduate 57 28 15 +29 Not college graduate 55 25 21 +30 Ideology Conservative 78 10 13 +68 Moderate 50 29 21 +21 Liberal 29 47 24 -18 Party by Ideology Conservative Republican 84 9 7 +75 Moderate/Liberal Republican 61 21 18 +40 Conservative/Moderate Democrat 50 28 22 +22 Liberal Democrat 28 52 21 -24 ^ No preference=Both/Neither (volunteered responses) or unsure

^^ Net Israelis=% more sympathetic to the Israelis minus % more sympathetic to the Palestinians Gallup, Feb. 1-17, 2022

Israel Maintains High Favorable Rating

Separately, the poll finds Americans maintaining a much more favorable view of Israel than of the Palestinian Authority when the countries are rated separately. Seventy-one percent of U.S. adults say they have a favorable opinion of Israel, and 27% have a favorable opinion of the Palestinian Authority.

The 71% viewing Israel favorably today matches the average since 2013, while the 27% favorable to the Palestinian Authority exceeds the 22% in that period and continues the upward trend seen in this sentiment over the past decade.

Sympathy for Israel hit its all-time high in Gallup's trend in February 1991 after Iraqi Scud missiles struck Israel during the Gulf War.

Line graph. Americans' favorable ratings of Israel from 1989 to 2022 and of the Palestinian Authority from 2000 to 2022. Favorable views of Israel have ranged from a high of 79% in late January 1991 to a low of 47% in November 1991 and are 71% today. Favorable views of the Palestinian Authority have ranged from a 11% in 2006 to 30% in 2021 and are 27% today.

Majority of Democrats, Most Republicans View Israel Favorably

While Democrats have become less partial to Israel over time, they have maintained a largely favorable view of that country. After improving slightly between 2001 and 2008, Israel's image has wavered very little among all three political-party groups, with roughly eight in 10 Republicans, seven in 10 independents and just under two-thirds of Democrats viewing it favorably.

Line graph. Annual trend from 2001 to 2022 in favorable views of Israel by party ID. Favorability has consistently been highest among Republicans, while generally 10 to 20 percentage points lower among independents and Democrats. Views among the three political party groups have changed little over the past two decades. Currently, 81% of Republicans, 71% of independents and 63% of Democrats view Israel favorably.

Palestinian Authority Has Low Favorability Across Parties

Relatively few adults in any of the three major party groups view the Palestinian Authority favorably. However, its rating has improved among Democrats and independents, about doubling since 2013 to 38% and 28%, respectively. It has been steadier at a much lower level among Republicans, among whom 14% now view the Palestinian Authority favorably.

Line graph. Annual trend from 2001 to 2022 in favorable views of the Palestinian Authority by party ID. Favorability was similarly low among all three political party groups from 2001 to 2009, ranging from 10% to 29%. Since then, Democrats and independents have become slightly more likely to view the Palestinian Authority favorably, while Republicans' favorability has remained low. Currently, 38% of Democrats, 29% of independents and 14% of Republicans view the Palestinian Authority favorably.

Bottom Line

A majority of Americans continue to be in Israel's corner, saying they sympathize more with the Israelis than the Palestinians in the Middle East situation. Far more also feel favorably toward Israel than toward the Palestinian Authority.

The overall strength of Israel's sympathy advantage has declined in recent years as Democrats have become more divided on the question. In fact, the party itself is divided along ideological lines, with liberal Democrats siding with the Palestinians and moderate or conservative Democrats siding with the Israelis. But among both ideological subgroups, Democrats' increased sympathy for the Palestinians appears to stem from an assessment of the political situation, not from growing animosity toward Israel per se. Democrats are just as favorable toward Israel as they have been for at least two decades. Meanwhile, Republicans continue to side with Israel by a strong margin at the same time that most view the country favorably.

To stay up to date with the latest Gallup News insights and updates, follow us on Twitter.

Learn more about how the Gallup Poll Social Series works.

View complete question responses and trends (PDF download).
If the nations manufacturing industry and other businesses were not already motivated to cut energy costs and reduce their carbon footprint, a landmark proposal approved by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Monday just may incentivize them to do so.

Under the proposed regulation, adopted on a 3-1 SEC vote, hundreds of public companies would be required to not only disclose the greenhouse gas emissions they produce but also report on the risks that climate change poses to their operations.

To what extent that will spur companies to take action remains to be seen, but theres definitely a possibility that the rule, if it takes effect, could influence them to want to do something about the amount of heat-trapping gases they produce, said Ramin Moghaddass, an associate professor of industrial engineering at the University of Miami College of Engineering, who directs an initiative designed to assist businesses in lowering their carbon emissions and energy costs.

That initiative, known as the Data Analytics Lab and Industrial Assessment Center, recently received a five-year grant from the Department of Energy (DOE) to help small-to-medium-sized manufacturing companies in Florida and Puerto Rico become greener and more resilient.

The $2.1 million project, of which $1.7 million comes from DOE funding, began early this year.

Climate change continues to be one of, if not the most important, issues for our planet, said Moghaddass, whose center is one of 32 university-based assessment centers around the country to receive part of the DOEs recent $60 million investment to increase energy efficiency in manufacturing.

The U.S. has now officially rejoined the Paris Climate Accords, and this funding demonstrates the Biden administrations commitment to mitigating the effects of climate change and achieving a clean energy economy, he said. Weve got big plans for the grant.

Using advanced analytics, alternative energy sources, smart sensors, and other new technology, Moghaddass and his team will teach businesses how to improve energy efficiency, manage wastewater systems more effectively, and ramp up their ability to supply heat, power, and other services to consumers.

Well teach them the importance of using sustainable and renewable energy as well as recyclable products and scrap materials, Moghaddass explained.

The center, which also conducts research in data analytics, will focus specifically on companies located in underserved areas, helping them to also beef up their cybersecurity and implement long-range strategies to become more resilient, he said.

Florida Power & Light, the Miami-Dade County Office of Resilience, and the Miami-Dade Water and Sewer Department are collaborators in the endeavor.

A satellite facility at the University of Turabo in Puerto Rico and a support center at the Miami Herbert Business School will reinforce the project, according to Moghaddass, who is a National Science Foundation CAREER award recipient.

The outcomes of this project will not only benefit the manufacturing sectors in Florida and Puerto Rico but can also impact the energy efficiency and competitiveness of products used throughout the U.S. economy, Moghaddass said.

But it is students who will arguably be the biggest beneficiaries of the project, Moghaddass revealed. Over the grants five-year period, more than 75 undergraduate and graduate students from diverse backgrounds will participate in the venture, conducting research and capstone projects, helping businesses become more sustainable, and, in some cases, obtaining full-time employment with those companies after graduating from the University.

Well be preparing the next generation of energy-efficiency workers to help us achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, Moghaddas said.
Japan sees power shortage after recent earthquake

Some televisions are turned off to save electricity at a volume-sales electrical appliance store in Shinjuku, Tokyo. Photo: AFP

Neon signs were turned off, lights dimmed and thermostats dialled down in Japan on Tuesday after the government issued an urgent call to save energy, warning of blackouts after an earthquake last week caused a serious power shortage.



As snow fell in Tokyo and the temperature dropped to 2 Celsius (35.6 Fahrenheit), Tokyo Electric Power Co (Tepco) said demand had spiked and up to 3 million households could lose power after 8 p.m. (1100 GMT) if usage rates did not come down.



"At this rate, we are coming closer to a state where we will have to conduct power outages similar to those that took place after the quake," Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) Koichi Hagiuda told a news conference.



The magnitude 7.4 earthquake on Wednesday last week off the northeastern coast - the same region devastated by an earthquake and tsunami in 2011 - temporarily cut power to about 2 million households, including hundreds of thousands in Tokyo.



The quake hit six thermal plants, knocking them out of operation in areas served by Tepco and Tohoku Electric Power Co , and the damage could leave some of them idle for weeks or even months, Hagiuda said.



Hagiuda called for an additional 5% or so of power savings every hour from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m., equivalent to about 2 million kilowatts per hour.



Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno earlier called on residents in eastern Japan impacted by the power crisis to do their part.



"We request your cooperation ... such as by lowering your thermostats to around 20 degrees Celsius and switching off any unnecessary lights," he told a news conference.



Numerous users responded to the call.



National broadcaster NHK dimmed its studio lights while electronics retailer Bic Camera turned off about half of the televisions at dozens of its stores.



The 634-metre Tokyo Skytree tower turned off its lights for the whole day for the first time and operators of the city-centre Tokyo Tower lit up only its bottom half.



Retail giant Seven & I Holdings said 8,500 7-Eleven stores set their thermostats to 20 C - one degree cooler than usual - while its Ito-Yokado supermarkets were dimming their lights by 10%.



Nissan Motor said it was using an in-house power generator for 13 hours at its factory north of the capital.



Many individual consumers also did their bit.



"I use the heater a lot so I will try to do my part to save energy," said college student Shuntaro Ishinabe, 22.



Government spokesperson Matsuno said the request to save energy was unlikely to extend beyond Tuesday given the expected rise in temperatures and the addition of more solar power generation as the weather improved.



Japan has faced a tough energy market since the 2011 earthquake and tsunami crippled Tepco's Fukushima Daiichi plant, causing the worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl and leading to the suspension of operations at most of Japanese nuclear reactors.



With energy prices surging on tight global supply and the Ukraine crisis, Japan's biggest business lobby, Keidanren, has been calling for a swift restart of the nuclear plants.



"A sudden halt of energy causes a lot of problems, and I think (the general public) has really felt the importance of energy security given recent events," Keidanren Chairman Masakazu Tokura said.



"Given the larger trend to become carbon neutral and cut back on greenhouse gases, I believe there will be more difficulties unless we restart nuclear power plants swiftly."



Tepco said 100% of power generation capacity was forecast to be used to meet peak demand in its service area between 4 pm and 5 p.m. It had requested seven regional utilities to provide up to 1.42 million kilowatts of electricity to ease the crunch. (Reuters)
Cathay Pacific said on Tuesday that it will only be able to operate a very limited number of passenger flights to Hong Kong when the travel ban is lifted from April 1.In light of the Omicron outbreaks, authorities had since January suspended flights from the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, Australia, India, Nepal, Pakistan, the Philippines, and France.Chief Executive Carrie Lam announced on Monday that the entry restrictions would be lifted, but did not give much detail.Cathay has since updated its online flight schedule to include routes from Britain, Australia, the US and the Philippines.Most routes have only two flights listed for the coming month, while some, including one between London and Hong Kong, just have one.The flagship carrier said it is working hard to add more flights, but the government's flight-suspension mechanism makes it difficult, as authorities can stop an airline from flying to Hong Kong for two weeks if several passengers on the same flight test positive for Covid.It said scheduling a limited number of flights is to avoid any unplanned disruption to peoples quarantine hotel bookings or other travel arrangements.Even after the flight bans are lifted in April, returning Hong Kong residents must be vaccinated and are required to undergo a seven-day quarantine in designated hotels According to the government's website, most of the current 25 hotels have very limited available rooms in the next month or so.Eighteen additional hotels being designated as quarantine facilities will not begin accepting reservations until May or June.
Jamaicans demand slavery payment as UK royals visit

Jamaicans demand slavery payment as UK royals visit

Jamaican activists on Tuesday held a protest to demand slavery reparations as Britain's Prince William and his wife Kate prepared to visit the island nation as part of a Caribbean tour that has fueled renewed scrutiny of the British Empire's colonial legacy.



The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge visited Belize over the weekend to start a week-long tour that coincides with Queen Elizabeth's 70th year on the throne. They were due to arrive in Jamaica on Tuesday and will then travel to the Bahamas.



The tour comes some four months after Barbados became a republic by removing the queen as head of state. Jamaica's government has started proceedings that could lead it to follow the same path, although that may take years.



Dozens gathered outside the British High Commission in Kingston, singing traditional Rastafarian songs and holding banners with the phrase "seh yuh sorry"  a local patois phrase urging Britain to apologise.



"I am a descendant of great African ancestors, I owe it to them to be here," customer service worker Hujae Hutchinson, 27, said at the rally, where activists read out 60 reasons for reparations. Jamaica celebrates 60 years of independence in August.



"I want to make the British crown recognise that they have committed a great crime against the African people and that they must apologise and give back what they have taken from the ancestors."



A letter published ahead of the visit, and signed by 100 Jamaican politicians, lawyers and artists, said reparations were necessary "to begin a process of healing, forgiveness, reconciliation and compensation."



Marlene Malahoo Forte, who was Jamaica's attorney general until January, in December told the local newspaper Jamaica Observer that she had received instructions from Prime Minister Andrew Holness to reform the constitution to become a republic.



That process would require a referendum, per Jamaica's constitution, making it more complicated than in smaller Barbados, which was able to make the change via an act of parliament.



The government last year announced plans to ask Britain for compensation for forcibly transporting an estimated 600,000 Africans to work on sugar cane and banana plantations that created fortunes for British slave holders.



Jamaica lawmaker Mike Henry has proposed reparations of 7.6 billion pounds. He has said the figure is derived from a 20 million-pound payment that Britain's government made in 1837 to compensate slave owners in British colonies for the emancipation of enslaved people following the 1833 abolition of slavery. (Reuters)
Igor Konashenkov, spokesman for the Russian Defence Ministry, said that in Vynohradar district on the outskirts of Kiev, Ukrainian nationalist units covered residential buildings for several days and fired at the Russian military with MLRS, RT reported.

According to the ministry, Ukrainian units used the area of a nearby shopping centre as a large base for storing rocket-propelled ammunition, as well as reloading multiple launch rocket systems.

Russian intelligence through several channels confirmed the coordinates of the position of the Ukrainian MLRS and revealed the location of the ammunition depot.

It is noted that a video footage of objective control shows a Ukrainian multiple rocket launcher entering the shopping centre for shelter after the next salvo and reloading of missiles.

"On the night of March 21, a battery of Ukrainian multiple launch rocket systems and a base for storing their ammunition in a non-functioning shopping centre were destroyed by high-precision long-range weapons on the night of March 21," the Defence Ministry said.

--IANS san/arm

( 215 Words)

2022-03-21-21:30:04 (IANS)
Dmitry Polyansky, First Deputy Permanent Representative of Russia to the UN, said that the Russian side has requested for a vote on its draft humanitarian resolution on Ukraine on March 23. "Yes, we have asked for a vote. We think this is the right time," Ria Novosti quoted him as saying, RT reported. On March 18, it was reported that Russia cancelled the vote on a resolution on the humanitarian situation in Ukraine in the UN Security Council. Earlier, Russia had cancelled the vote on the resolution on the humanitarian situation in Ukraine in the UN Security Council. This was stated by the Russian Permanent Representative to the organisation, Vasily Nebenzya. "Colleagues from many delegations came to us and complained about merciless pressure and arm-twisting from Western partners, up to economic blackmail and threats... The United States and Albania circulated a letter in which UN members were urged not to sponsor our resolution. We understand how difficult it is for these countries to resist this onslaught, so we decided not to ask for a vote on this project yet," Ria Novosti quoted Nebenzya as saying. At the same time, he noted that Russia has not withdrawn the draft resolution. --IANS san/arm ( 216 Words) 2022-03-22-21:20:06 (IANS)
As per the statement, the two leaders had a detailed discussion on the situation in Ukraine, and Modi reiterated India's consistent appeal for cessation of hostilities and a return to the path of dialogue and diplomacy.

He emphasised India's belief in respect for international law and the territorial integrity and sovereignty of all states, as the basis of the contemporary world order. The two leaders also discussed issues of bilateral interests and agreed on the potential of further deepening cooperation in various areas including trade, technology, investments, defence and security, and people-to-people relations.

The Indian Prime Minister expressed his satisfaction at the positive momentum in the ongoing negotiations on the bilateral Free Trade Agreement. He also appreciated the progress in implementing the 'India-UK Roadmap 2030' adopted during the Virtual Summit between both leaders last year.

He conveyed his desire to welcome Johnson in India at an early date, as per mutual convenience.

--IANS miz/vd

( 192 Words)

2022-03-22-21:40:05 (IANS)
The Supreme Court on Monday declined to order clubbing and transfer of several cases lodged against Amrapali directors and other officials of the group's firms. The counsel of Shiv Priya, one of the Amrapali officials behind the bars, submitted before a bench headed by Justice U.U. Lalit that trial in over 80 criminal matters can be transferred to one court from seven different courts in the capital. Refusing to either club or transfer the cases, the bench said every complainant will have different versions and it will create issues for the court, and the trial court judge concerned will find it difficult to deliver the judgement. As counsel cited clubbing of matters in the coal scam, the bench pointed out that the coal scam cases involved government officials as accused and the Prevention of Corruption Act provides transfer and clubbing of cases. The counsel emphasised that the crux of all the FIRs is that the home buyers were cheated. Shiv Priya claimed that charges have been framed in one case out of total 85 matters probed by the Economic Offence Wing of Delhi Police, adding that he has been in jail for the last three years. The top court also examined a separate plea by Anil Kumar Sharma, jailed former CMD of Amrapali group, seeking relief on medical grounds. Sharma claimed he was suffering from some health conditions. The bench directed the Director, AIIMS, to set up a board of doctors to examine him within two weeks and submit a report. The top court has scheduled the matter for further hearing on April 18. Several home buyers moved the top court due to non-delivery of flats by the real estate company. Former group directors of Amrapali, Anil Kumar Sharma, Shiv Priya, and Ajay Kumar are behind bars on the Supreme Court's orders. --IANS ss/vd ( 319 Words) 2022-03-21-22:30:04 (IANS)
Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India]/ Paris [France], March 22 (ANI/PRNewswire): Alstom has signed a partnering deal with QuEST Global, the global product engineering services company, to deliver next-gen engineering globally for the rail industry. As part of this multi-year agreement, a dedicated team from QuEST will be delivering engineering support to Alstom across their rolling stock, signalling, and services business. QuEST will provide its services across Alstom's product and project development lifecycle. With focused engineering services and solutions, the organization, will help Alstom fulfil their healthy order position by improving the velocity of project execution. QuEST will also assist Alstom in developing next-generation trains and rail signalling systems. This capability-led partnership will allow Alstom to enhance their global outreach by increasing their best cost country footprint. Speaking on the occasion, Ajit Prabhu, Chairman and CEO at QuEST Global said, "The association is a testament to QuEST's commitment in delivering integrated engineering solutions that adds value to our customer's portfolio. We are delighted to have signed an agreement with Alstom to deliver support for their global engineering needs." QuEST has been Alstom's partner for 5 years; this new endeavor will further strengthen the partnership between the two organizations by leveraging QuEST's engineering expertise. Through this association, Alstom will have access to top engineering talent that will help them address their global needs. Leading societies to a low carbon future, Alstom develops and markets mobility solutions that provide the sustainable foundations for the future of transportation. Alstom's product portfolio ranges from high-speed trains, metros, monorails, and trams, to integrated systems, customized services, infrastructure, signalling, and digital mobility solutions. Alstom has 150,000 vehicles in commercial service worldwide. With Bombardier Transportation joining Alstom on January 29, 2021, the enlarged Group's combined proforma revenue amounts to EUR14 billion for the 12-month period ended March 31, 2021. Headquartered in France, Alstom is now present in 70 countries and employs more than 70,000 people. www.alstom.com For nearly 25 years, QuEST Global has been a trusted global product engineering services partner to many of the world's most recognized companies in the Aerospace & Defense, Automotive, Energy, Hi-Tech, Healthcare and Medical Devices, Rail and Semiconductor industries. With a presence in 13 countries, 56 global delivery centers and 13,000+ personnel, QuEST Global is at the forefront of the convergence of the mechanical, electronics, software, and digital engineering innovations to engineer solutions for a safer, cleaner, and sustainable world. QuEST Global's deep domain knowledge and digital expertise help its clients accelerate product development and innovation cycles, create alternate revenue streams, enhance consumer experience, and make manufacturing processes and operations more efficient. For more information on QuEST Global's expertise in rail, visit - https://www.quest-global.com/industries/rail/ This story is provided by PRNewswire. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/PRNewswire)
Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], March 22 (ANI/BusinessWire India): Rubix Data Sciences (Rubix), a technology and analytics-based B2B risk management and monitoring platform, has been appointed as a Validation Agent of the Legal Entity Identifier India Ltd. (LEIL) in India. An agreement to this effect was signed between Rubix and Legal Entity Identifier Ltd. (LEIL) which has been accredited by the Global Legal Entity Identifier Foundation (GLEIF), headquartered in Switzerland, as a Local Operating Unit for issuance and management of Legal Entity Identifiers (LEIs). LEIL is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Clearing Corporation of India Ltd. The LEI is a 20-character, alphanumeric code that uniquely identifies a legal entity or structure that is party to a financial transaction in any jurisdiction. The LEI connects to key reference information that enables clear and unique identification of legal entities participating in financial transactions. Each LEI contains information about an entity's ownership structure and thus answers the questions of 'who is who' and 'who owns whom'. The LEI data pool, known as the Global LEI Index, is publicly available on GLEIF's website and can be regarded as a global directory that greatly enhances transparency in the global marketplace. The LEI helps to build trust between businesses, financial institutions and organisations, regardless of sector, because it serves as an essential identifier which facilitates cross-border and domestic transactions. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that obtain the LEI can stand out amongst peers in the marketplace. Various regulators - including Reserve Bank of India (RBI), Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) and Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) - already require entities to obtain a LEI for certain transactions. As a Validation Agent, Rubix will be responsible for the following: Maintaining procedures to verify the existence and eligibility of entities applying for LEI Procuring relevant documents for timely issuance of LEI Validating legal entity-reference data and parent data Ensuring that clients apply for LEI renewal in a timely manner Marketing of LEIs to prospective legal entities Stephan Wolf, CEO, GLEIF comments, "The LEI has a vital role to play in creating greater trust and transparency for businesses around the world. India has already made progress in realizing this vision by supporting LEI adoption through regulatory means. The appointment of Rubix as the latest Validation Agent in the Global LEI System presents a significant opportunity to scale-up voluntary adoption of the LEI within a key global market and support more businesses in their efforts to securely engage in the global marketplace." Mohan Ramaswamy, Co-Founder and CEO of Rubix Data Sciences, said, "Rubix is privileged to be a Validation Agent, working with LEIL to issue LEIs to the market. The LEI provides global credibility and recognition for Indian businesses in international markets. Rubix shall endeavour to spread awareness about the importance of LEIs and assist business entities, particularly SMEs, to obtain the LEI smoothly." This story is provided by BusinessWire India. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/BusinessWire India)
Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], March 22 (ANI/NewsVoir): The Indian Venture and Alternate Capital Association (IVCA) recognised top performers from the PE-VC ecosystem from 2021. In its 11th edition, the IVCA Conclave is India's premier private equity and venture capital event that focuses on Diverse Focus Areas encapsulating ESG, more significant fund allocations in India and India's path to the energy transition. On the final day of the Conclave, IVCA hosted the IVCA PE/VC Awards. The Award Partner for the fifth edition of IVCA PE-VC Awards was Praxis Global Alliance and the jury comprised of Shri Deepak Bagla, Managing Director & CEO, Invest India, Anita Marangoly George, Investor, Maria Kozloski, SVP-Innovative, The Rockefeller Foundation, Sanjeev Bikhchandani, Founder, Info Edge India Ltd., Vivek Pandit, Director/Senior Partner, McKinsey & Company and UK Sinha, Former SEBI Chairman. The idea behind initiating the IVCA Awards has been to showcase the stakeholders and bring more community focus on the industry by recognizing its achievements. This year, IVCA, focussed on promoting outstanding action for better Gender Diversity, Private Equity Investing, Fundraising and more. Sequoia Capital was recognized as Best Exit Performance of the Year and Best Fundraising Performer of the Year in Venture Capital (Foreign GP). Chiratae Ventures was judged the Best Fundraising Performer of the Year in Venture Capital (Indian GP). Gopal Srinivasan, CMD, TVS Capital Funds received the Exemplar Ecosystem Enabler Award while Mr Saurabh Srivastava received the Lifetime Achievement Award. The IVCA Awards also honoured Late Ajay Relan posthumously with the award of Exemplary Career in Private Equity Investing. Multiples Equity and Warburg Pincus were recognized as the Year's Best Exit Performer in Private Equity. Outstanding Achievement of the Year - Action on Gender Diversity award was given to Elevar Equity. Omnivore was awarded Outstanding Achievement of the Year under Social Impact and ADQ was awarded the Outstanding Achievement of the Year under the New Fund category. The Private Equity - Best Fundraising Performance of the Year award was given to Kedaara Capital. Karthik Reddy, Co-founder and Managing Director, Blume Ventures and Vice-Chairperson, IVCA said, "The IVCA Awards is in the fifth edition since its inception. We have been very mindful of how we go about the awards and Renuka Ramnath, as the Chair of the Executive Committee, has pushed the innovation beyond just the standard categories." Winners also shared their insights and experiences of their journey. Manish Kejriwal, Managing Partner/Co-founder, Kedaara Capital received - Best Fundraising Performance of the Year. Sudhir Sethi, Co-founder and Chairman, Chiratae Ventures said, "It was a pleasure to receive this award. Thanks, especially to all our global investors and Indian investors...almost 50% of our capital comes from India." Sudhir Variyar, Managing Director and Deputy CEO, Multiples said, "Full credit to all our entrepreneurs who built great companies and created value. Once you have great companies, exits can happen." Vikram Chogle, Managing Director, Warburg Pincus received the best exit performance of the year and Amer Al Ameri, Venture Capital & Technology, ADQ received the outstanding achievement of the year in new fund entry. Raihem Roy, Partner, Omnivore, said, "Very heartened that agriculture is getting the spotlight that it deserves. All of this goes out to the entrepreneurs and of course, to the farmers that feed us." Gopal Srinivasan, Chairman, TVS Capital Funds said, "I have never enjoyed being in any industry as the venture capital/private equity industry. It's got the most talented people, having a phenomenal impact on this new India. Atmanirbharta comes from the PE-VC industry." Saurabh Srivastava, Chairman, Indian Angel Network and Co-founder, NASSCOM said, "The VC ecosystem is now inhabited by absolutely outstanding individuals. It's been a great journey and I love it because what we're doing as an industry is funding startups and growth-stage companies as well." Jyotsana Krishnan, Managing Partner, Elevar said, "It's great to have looked at portfolio companies that have reached 40 million homes, and the voice of women on the ground in underserved markets has also been extremely inspirational." Rajat Tandon, President, IVCA said, "We thank our sponsors and partners without whom none of this would have been possible." Established, for over a decade, by industry professionals with a unified aim to drive forward Alternate capital industry in India. The IVCA (Indians Venture and Alternate Capital Association) is India's apex body representing the interests of the PE/VC industry, Real estate, Infrastructure and Credit funds, Limited Partners, Family offices & Corporate VCs. IVCA is a non-profit organization powered by its members. The member firms comprise firms from around the world including investment managers, investment advisors, general partners, funds whose sponsors are sovereign wealth funds, pension funds, national Governments, large Government entities, bilateral/multilateral financial institutions; high net worth individuals and family offices. This story is provided by NewsVoir. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/NewsVoir)
Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], March 22 (ANI/PRNewswire): One of the most celebrated legendary brands, Dindigul Thalappakatti has been assessed as the largest biryani brand of India as per Indian Organised Biryani Market Industry report published by Technopak. The recognition outlines the company's commitment to quality, presentation and service provided across India and outside India. The Indian food services market has witnessed a strong growth momentum in the last decade due to changing consumer behaviour that has seen an increase in the tendency to eat out; ensuring the constant growth of the Indian food services market. Due to COVID, consumers have become more cautious about hygiene and safety issues. QSRs or CDRs chains are targeting to meet all the requirements of consumers in the new normal, from high food quality and service standards to superior processes or delivery capabilities. The QSR and CDR sub-segments had a combined market share of the total chain market of 76% and 81% in FY 2015 and FY 2020, respectively, and are expected to have a combined market share of 86% by FY 2025. Biryani has been an integral part of Indian cuisine for more than two decades now and according to a Swiggy yearly report, Biryani has been the most ordered item since 2017. During Nov'21, Dindigul Thalappakatti has generated over INR 21 crores of revenue from 75 outlets in India and 50% of the sale has been contributed by biryani, making the brand the largest player in the country. The brand is known for its heritage and authentic Thalappakatti biryani that consists of artfully blended spices that trace back to over 60 years. The coveted recipes consist of special homemade spices and a unique taste for different taste palettes. Dindigul Thalappakatti opened their first outlet decades earlier than any other brand in the market today and their strong brand equity was built over the decades on local culture, folklore and word of mouth. Speaking on the occasion, Ashutosh Bihani, The CEO of Dindigul Thalappakatti Restaurants said, "We are thrilled to be recognised as the largest biryani brand in South India. The Indian Organised Biryani Market Industry Report details the commitment we have taken across our organisation in providing high food quality, superior service standard, maintaining strict hygiene protocols all at a great price point. This year, we look forward to expanding the brand in other states of South India so the consumers can get a taste of the legendary biryani." The brand is currently running a celebratory offer on all varieties of their biryanis at just INR 199/-* only. Offer valid on dine-in and takeaways starting from 23rd March to 25th March, 2022. Customers can also place their order via Whatsapp 7825898898. Dindigul Thalappakatti Restaurant is a Biryani-focused casual dining restaurant chain which has been recommended through generations for authentic food and work culture. The brand's first outlet was opened in 1957 at Dindigul, Tamil Nadu. The Brand has 97 outlets present across India, USA, UAE, Singapore, Malaysia & Sri Lanka. In India, the restaurant has 89 outlets that operate in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala, & Pondicherry. The Thalappakatti restaurant focuses on providing authentic South Indian dining experience. The homegrown brand was founded by Nagasamy Naidu under the name Anandha Vilas Briyani in the year 1957 in Dindigul. The founder always wore a traditional Thalappa and people fondly recognised the brand as 'Thalappakatti' Naidu's. Hence, the name Thalappakatti originated. The delicious recipes were specially curated by his wife, which is an amalgamation of different herbs, spices, vegetables and meat. For more information, please visit, https://thalappakatti.com/ This story is provided by PRNewswire. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/PRNewswire)
New Delhi [India], March 22 (ANI/ATK): Team KJIT is set on the mission to inspire every success seekers across the world who wants to become something in life and add value to the country by giving them a platform of over 320 products with the support of main roots of KJIT and MI lifestyle Marketing Global Pvt Ltd. The mission of the company is to provide education, health, income, productivity beyond their expectation aligned with Quality of International Standards when their products are concerned. With a strong reason for serving the world since over a decade Karan and his team has served more than 20 states, 2 UT, 230 Cities and more than 6 countries which includes United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, Middle East, UAE and many more. Karan Jani, the Founder of Team KJIT has been setting a new standard in the Direct selling Industry now for over 1.6 decades. The journey of his life of devoting towards the Direct Selling world started in early days when family was hustling, and he was aspiring to become one of the top successful leaders in the industry who can help individuals to uplift their standard of living and impact economic empowerment for the Nation. Talking about the success story of Karan and his team. Karan said, "Pravin J Chandan who is considered as a God of Direct selling industry is living legend, inspiration and mentor for him who has initiated a root in him to aspire and inspire the world. Kailash Bhattad, CEO of Mi Lifestyle and Alok Pandey, VP of the company, are two pillars and 24/7 support system of my life. CN Patel who always supported me and lastly late Sheejan C. Nair who is the real life inspiration of me and my entire team. As it is said, "Rome was not Built in a day", same goes with the Team KJIT too. Struggling for money and settling finances for family in early days, Karan said he was inspired by his mentors and parents who have played a great role in his life for today whatever he is. From excellent customer satisfaction to customer support 24/7, Karan and his team believe that serving is key for their success. Founded by Karan Jani, the firm aims towards adding values towards the economic development of the country. Seeing a multiple ups and down of life and devoting his life towards direct selling, Karan Formed Team KJIT in 2010, started with four people and today has crossed over 60K people and is still counting. Karan has proved when the vision is higher and purpose is clear, we become unstoppable. During COVID19 when the world was suffering from huge impact, Karan Jani has served the nation by providing free mental health guidance to people, seven lakhs community meals to the people in need, sanitaires to all orphanages, medical kits to all the community centres with the support of 23 NGOs of the Nation. Karan believes that it is our moral responsibility to serve a nation in need. Today, he is actively serving towards the social contribution and has also been blessed by several Cabinet Ministers and spiritual leaders of this nation which included World Peace Ambassador Acharya Dr Lokesh Muni, Pradip Parmar - Social Justice Minister of Gujarat and many more. With a skilful mind and outstanding vision to leave a benchmark in the society, Karan has joined hands with many social organisations to work upon with all his experience on social projects contributing India towards United Nations Sustainable Development Goals 2030. This story is provided by ATK. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/ATK)
Actors Jonathan Bennett and Jaymes Vaughan have exchanged their vows with a dreamy wedding ceremony in front of family members and friends. According to People Magazine, the 'Mean Girls' actor and the TV host's destination wedding took place at the Unico Riviera Maya Hotel in Mexico. The duo had gotten engaged in November 2020. "When you're part of the LGBTQ+ fam, not everything in the wedding space is for you yet," Vaughan, 38, told People Magazine. "The whole purpose of our wedding is to come together and join the two of us together, join our families together and start a new family." "And all that, as we were going through this process, we realized that our wedding is also more than just about us," Bennett, 40, added. "It's about the entire community." Dressed in tuxes, the newlyweds skipped a typical wedding walk down the aisle. Instead, they chose to meet one another at the altar after walking in from the beach to a song that Vaughan wrote for Bennett at the couple's engagement. Each man wrote his own vows and placed a diamond-encrusted ring on the others' hand. As they enter the world as a married couple, they hope to use their wedding night to help others learn to make their own unique traditions. (ANI)
According to Deadline, Ricci, who starred as Wednesday Addams in the Barry Sonenfeld-directed 1990s 'The Addams Family' feature franchise, is a series regular in 'Wednesday', which is headlined by Jenna Ortega in the title role.

Details about Ricci's role are being kept under wraps to protect the surprise for fans but she will be playing a new character and not an older version of Wednesday.

Ricci has been quietly working on Wednesday for weeks, filming on the MGM-produced series is slated to wrap in Romania at the end of the month.

The coming-of-age comedy, written by Smallville creators Al Gough and Miles Millar and directed by Burton, stars Ortega as Wednesday Addams during her years at Nevermore Academy. It's described as a sleuthing, supernaturally infused mystery.

In addition to Ortega, Ricci stars alongside Catherine Zeta-Jones as matriarch Morticia Addams and Luis Guzman as Gomez Addams.

Ricci's performance as Wednesday in the Addams Family movies is so beloved for fans of the franchise, they launched a petition when the Netflix series was announced, calling for the actress to be cast in the show. (ANI)
As per The Hollywood Reporter, the duo will take the stage for their Oscar-nominated song 'No Time to Die' from the James Bond film of the same name.

The song has already picked up several awards including the Golden Globe, Critics Choice Award, and Grammy.

Over the past decade, two other Bond songs have won Oscars: Adele's 'Skyfall' from 2012's 'Skyfall' and Sam Smith's 'Writing's on the Wall' from the 2015 film 'Spectre'.

The Academy is yet to announce the official musical lineup for the upcoming ceremony, though scores of big names have been named for presenting duties.

Stephanie Beatriz, DJ Khaled, Elliot Page, Jennifer Garner, comedian Bill Murray and skateboarder Tony Hawk were recently announced as presenters for the award ceremony.

The list also includes Mila Kunis, John Travolta, Daniel Kaluuya and Wesley Snipes, as well as Zoe Kravitz, Lady Gaga, Lily James, Uma Thurman and Rami Malek.

This year's Oscars will be hosted by Amy Schumer, Regina Hall and Wanda Sykes.

The show will also feature a tribute to 60 years of the 'James Bond' movie franchise, a celebration of 'The Godfather' for its 50th anniversary, and the first live performance of Encanto's 'We Don't Talk About Bruno'.

The 2022 Oscars will be held on March 27 at Hollywood's Dolby Theatre and televised live on ABC at 8 pm ET. (ANI)
Filmmakers Vipul Amrutal Shah and Sudipto Sen are all set to raise awareness about the issue of women trafficking prevailing in Kerala with their new project titled 'The Kerala Story'. Talking about the film, producer Vipul Amrutlal Shah said, "This story is a human tragedy, one that will shake you to the core. When Sudipto came and narrated it to me along with his research of over 3-4 years, I was in tears in the first meeting itself. That was the very day I decided to make this film. I am glad that we are now progressing with the film and we hope to make a very real, unbiased and true narrative of events." The writer and director of 'The Kerala Story' Sudipto Sen, too, opened up about the subject. "As per a recent investigation, since 2009 - nearly 32,000 girls from Kerala and Mangalore from Hindu and Christian communities have been converted to Islam and most of them end up landing in Syria, Afghanistan, and other ISIS and Haqqani influential areas! Despite accepting these facts, the government is hardly contemplating any definitive action plan against such huge international conspiracies led by ISIS-influenced groups," he shared. "During our research and travels across the region, we have seen the tears of the mothers of the eloped girls. We found some of them in the jails of Afghanistan and Syria. Some have no trial whatsoever. Most of the girls were married to the dreaded ISIS terrorists and have babies with them. The dark to darkest future waits for them. This important film is trying to hear the cry of all the mothers who have lost their daughters," he added. 'The Kerala Story' will be out soon. (ANI)
Indian Institute of Technology (IIT)Madras has launched the Sudha Gopalakrishnan Brain Centre to power an ambitious Global Project to map the human brain at the cellular and connectivity levels, with a focus on high-resolution brain imaging. This state-of-the-art Centre aims to become a world-renowned research centre, generating unprecedented human brain data, scientific output and technology tools.. IITM has been ranked No.1 in the 'Overall' Category for the third consecutive year in India Ranking 2021 released by National Institutional Ranking Framework, Ministry of Education, Govt. of India.. IIT Madras plans to train hundreds of undergraduate and postgraduate students at this centre in neuro-science and computing, machine learning techniques on cutting-edge brain data.. According to a statement, the centre is supported by Infosys co-founder Kris Gopalakrishnan and his wife Sudha Gopalakrishnan. Their dedicated efforts in seeding research at IIT Madras at the intersection of Neuroscience and Engineering are now powering this centre in the frontier research area of brain mapping.. Prof. K. Vijay Raghavan, Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India, said: "The combination of IIT Madras, which has the expertise in science and data analysis, with medicine is going to be revolutionary.. "Going forward, we have an extraordinary problem in Neuroscience, i.e. on the functioning of human brain. We are at an earlier stage in our understanding of the human brain functioning. The IIT Madras brain centre will help in solving complex issues that will benefit the world.". "The dynamic leadership of IIT Madras has shown the ability to herd different kinds of complex talent together. The IIT Madras Research Park is an example and today every institution wants to copy the model," he added.. Prof. V. Kamakoti, Director, IIT Madras, said: "The Brain Research Centre is a great case study which proves that technology can contribute to medicine and solve societal problems. The Centre will make deep in-roads in collecting data for brain research.". Mohanasankar Sivaprakasam, Department of Electrical Engineering, IIT Madras, and Head of Sudha Gopalakrishnan Brain Centre said: "The technology platform we have developed and our strong medical collaborations, is allowing us to generate high-resolution large-format histology sections of human brains that will advance the field significantly.". The centre will also work on 3D digital neuro-anatomy of the postmortem human brain with cellular resolution. This is a field with great potential for scientific discovery and also for the understanding of neurological disorders.. The unique data sets being generated here promise to be widely impactful through open sharing with an international research community..
Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Monday thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for making an impossible task possible by bringing back Karnataka student Naveen's mortal remains from war-torn Ukraine. Speaking to media after receiving Naveen's mortal remains at the Kempegowda International Airport, Bommai said, "I have already thanked Prime Minister Modi for the intense efforts which made it possible. He has made an impossible task possible through his Bhagirath-like effort. India had airlifted its citizens from Libya too when under attack from ISIS. These tasks prove to the world that India is a big power." "Through diplomatic contacts with the neighbouring countries of Ukraine, the central government succeeded in getting safe passage for special flights to bring the mortal remains of Naveen Shekharappa Gyangoudar, an MBBS student who died in Kharkiv during Ukraine war," he added. "Naveen was to be received by his parents on his return as a doctor after completing his studies, it is unfortunate that his parents had to receive his mortal remains," Bommai said. Bommai further added that many students have returned from Ukraine. Unfortunately, Naveen fell victim to a missile splinter attack. PM Modi had consoled the family over the phone. The Indian government did a commendable job through Operation Ganga to bring back its students stranded in Ukraine. "The Operation which went on for three weeks brought 19,000 Indian students back, of which 572 were from Karnataka, 62 students from the State had returned before the start of the Operation. I was in constant contact with the PM Office and External Affairs minister Jaishankar, our MPs too put in their efforts to make it a success," Bommai said. The mortal remains of Naveen were secured by contacting funeral agents and it was embalmed. Despite shelling near the mortuary the mortal remains were brought to Versova, Greece where it was given a zinc coating and brought to Dubai from where the flight ultimately arrived in Bengaluru. "Narendra Modi has shown what our strength is. There are many who criticise him. But PM Modi has shown that success could be achieved through honest and humane efforts," Bommai said. Bommai said that the Karnataka government has had a big role in this successful operation as it maintained and sustained coordination to bring back its students through Delhi, Gaziabad and Mumbai till the students from the state reached their homes. Elaborating the process he said, "First a Whatsapp group was set up to establish contact with the students and they were counselled. Within 12 hours a toll-free number was established to render assistance. IAS officer Manoj Rajan was in constant touch with the Ukraine Embassy." Bommai thanked everyone who was involved in this operation. "The pain and grief will always remain that Naveen could not be brought back alive. We will render all the help needed for his family," Bommai said. Naveen Shekharappa Gyanagoudar, an MBBS student, was a resident of Karnataka's Haveri district. The 21-year-old student of Kharkiv National Medical University was reportedly standing in a queue to buy food when he was killed in Russian shelling. The chief minister also handed over a cheque of Rs 25 lakh to the family of Naveen Shekharappa and promised a job for a family member. (ANI)
Kumar presented Randrimandrato the book 'India Way' authored by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar.

Bilateral ties between the two countries have been going from strength to strength since the visit of President Ram Nath Kovind to Madagascar in 2018 under the collaborative vision of Security and Growth for All in the Region (SAGAR).

A number of MoUs in the sector of health, education, culture, training of Human Resources, environmental protection, custom matters, information exchange which has been finalized between the two countries and is likely to be signed soon.

An India-Madagascar Chamber of Commerce is being launched this week in Antananarivo to further strengthen the trade ties between the two countries. (ANI)
Bollywood star Salman Khan, accused in the blackbuck hunting case, got a breather from the Rajasthan High Court on Monday as it accepted his plea urging that it hear the three petitions related to the case, instead of the Sessions Court. Salman had filed a petition in the Sessions Court to transfer the pending appeal to the High Court, and this was accepted on Monday. A petition was also presented in the High Court on behalf of Salman in which it was pleaded that all matters are related to each other in this case and in such a situation, they should be heard together in the High Court. Public prosecutor Gaurav Singh had no objection to these cases being heard in the High Court. Soon after, Justice Pushpendra Singh Bhati issued an order to hear all the cases in the High Court itself. Salman's sister Alvira was also present in the court during the hearing on Monday. Salman's lawyer Hastimal Saraswat said that this comes as a big relief for him. The trial court convicted Salman Khan and sentenced him to 5 years imprisonment in a blackbuck hunting case reported in the outskirts of Kankani village. However, he was acquitted in the Arms Act case, but the state government appealed against this in the Sessions Court. The state government, in fact, has also filed a petition in the High Court against the acquittal of Saif Ali Khan, Neelam, Tabu, and Sonali Bendre in the blackbuck poaching case. In 1998, during the shooting of his film "Hum Saath Saath Hain" in Jodhpur, Salman was accused of hunting at three different places near Jodhpur city. Under this, separate cases were registered against him for hunting chinkara in the outskirts of Ghora Farm House and Bhavad village. The third case was registered for hunting two blackbucks in Kankani village. The fourth case was registered against Salman under the Arms Act. --IANS arc/vd ( 334 Words) 2022-03-21-19:30:02 (IANS)
The Supreme Court was informed on Monday that seven nationalised banks will infuse Rs 1,500 crore into the stalled Amrapali housing projects. A bench of Justices U.U. Lalit and Bela M. Trivedi was informed by the consortium of banks that all documentation in connection with funding of the projects have been completed and only Indian Bank had not taken any decision. Counsel submitted before the bench that the remaining documents would be signed within 2-3 days. The consortium of banks includes Bank of Baroda, Punjab National Bank, Bank of India, State Bank of India, UCO Bank, Indian Bank, and Punjab & Sindh Bank. The top court-appointed receiver, senior advocate R. Venkataramani informed the bench that the State Bank of India and Punjab National Bank have issued the sanction order for granting money for Amrapali projects. "Indian Bank has also come on board as part of the consortium, but is yet to pass the sanction order. The consortium documents have also been prepared. The court directed the banks to do the needful and also to release the funds," said Kumar Mihir, counsel for home buyers. During the hearing, the top court was informed that there are several thousand flats, where homebuyers are untraceable. On March 7, the Supreme Court had directed the consortium of banks to follow the footsteps of Bank of Baroda, which has issued a sanction order to grant funding for the stalled Amrapali housing projects, and take a decision on funding Amrapali projects within two days. The top court said it hopes the approval order is passed by the banks, since it is in the final stages, and emphasised that the money should be released by the banks before the next date of hearing. In its February 21 order, the top court had noted that Alok Kumar, advocate for UCO Bank, Bishwajit Dubey, advocate for Bank of Baroda, and Megha Karnwal, advocate for State Bank of India, have accepted that the banks concerned are in the process of reaching final stages of decision within a week's time. The top court was informed that the matters will be concluded at the topmost levels of the banks, whereafter funding can immediately begin. Siddhartha Dave, senior advocate appearing for National Building Construction Corporation (NBCC), submitted that his client has already put in more than Rs 109 crore and the situation requires immediate intervention. "Considering the circumstances on record and with a view to ensure steady flow of funds, we direct the members of the consortium of banks to place on record their final decisions within seven days from today and to start effecting the funding within a week thereafter so that at least Rs 300 crore are released by way of first tranche on or before March 15, 2022," said the top court in its order. Venkataramani, had informed the top court that there is no further need for deliberations or exchange of information in connection with funding of the projects. He added that the top court may direct the consortium of banks to release funds in the course of this week, in order to facilitate him and NBCC to plan the further execution of the work and also clear outstanding liabilities without any further delay. --IANS ss/vd ( 556 Words) 2022-03-21-20:02:02 (IANS)
Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Abhishek Banerjee -- the nephew of TMC supremo and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, and his wife Rujira Banerjee have moved the Supreme Court challenging ED summons to them by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in a money laundering case linked to the alleged West Bengal coal scam. The ED has summoned Banerjee and his wife to appear for questioning on March 21 and 22. The couple had earlier moved the Delhi High Court against the ED's summons, contending that since both are West Bengal residents, they should not be called by the agency to appear before it in the capital. On March 11, the High Court dismissed their plea. The couple has moved the apex court challenging the high court order. Their plea filed through advocate Sunil Fernandes said: "The party to which the Petitioner No.1 (Abhishek) belonged, comprehensively trounced the political party at power in the Centre, thereby giving justifiable cause to 'target' and 'fix' the Petitioner No.1, by misusing the Central Investigation Agencies." It further added: "It is not only against the basic principles of territorial jurisdiction, but could also result in absurd consequences and situations wherein the officers of the respondent agency situated in any state in India can summon any person residing in any other state, without any regard to the place of occurrence of offence, or the place of residence of the summoned person." The plea said the ED did not even attempt to interrogate the petitioners firstly at Kolkata, and it is still unclear as to what are the impediments that ED will face if it interrogates them at their full-fledged office in Kolkata. The plea added: "The petitioners' contention of political victimisation is further fortified by the inscrutable and inexplicable insistence of the ED to interrogate the petitioners at their Delhi office instead of their full-fledged office in Kolkata. The ED seems more interested in causing prejudice to the petitioners herein rather than sincerely and expeditiously investigate the alleged offence." The petitioners urged the apex court to stay the high court order and direct ED to summon the petitioners under section 50 PMLA only in Kolkata. --IANS ss/pgh ( 373 Words) 2022-03-21-20:06:02 (IANS)
The officials said that terrorists fired upon and injured a vendor identified as Paras Mandan, a resident of Bihar. He has been moved to the hospital.

Additional police forces have reached the spot, which has been cordoned off, and an operation has been launched to nab the attackers.

Earlier, a civilian identified ad Tajamul Mohi-ud-din was shot at from close range by terrorists near his residence in central Kashmir's Budgam district. He was critically injured and moved to hospital where he was declared brought dead.

--IANS zi/arm

( 115 Words)

2022-03-21-20:28:03 (IANS)
A group of students who have returned from Ukraine called on Reddy here on Monday.

The Chief Minister interacted with the students and enquired about the alternatives to continue their studies.

Reddy also directed the state government officials to look for solutions to the problems being faced by the students currently and said he would write a letter to the Central government in this regard.

The students thanked the Chief Minister for the special efforts put in by the state government to bring back the students from Ukraine and said they were taken care of since they reached the neighbouring countries of Ukraine and were provided food and accommodation and added that flight tickets to India and transportation to their native places were provided by the government.

In all, 918 students from Andhra Pradesh studying in Ukraine have made it back to their homes, officials said.

The chief minister complimented the state government officials who coordinated the students' safe return from Ukraine safely. He said that it is the responsibility of the state government to help the students who were in crisis.

AP Ukraine Taskforce Committee Chairman MT Krishnababu, AP Bhavan Principal Resident Commissioner Praveen Prakash, APNRTS President Medapati Venkat, CEO K. Dinesh Kumar, Taskforce Committee Members Ahmed Babu, Andhra Pradesh Special Representative in North America Pandugayala Ratnakar, Special Representative in UK, Ravi Reddy and other officials were present in the meeting.

--IANS pvn/pgh

( 269 Words)

2022-03-21-20:28:04 (IANS)
The BJP is confident that it will win all the four Rajya Sabha seats in the March 31 biennial elections for the upper house seats in three northeastern states -- Assam, Nagaland and Tripura. BJP leaders in the three northeastern states on Monday claimed that their strength along with their allies' membership positions in the assemblies of the three states would facilitate to win their candidates in these states. The two seats in Assam are currently held by Ripun Bora and Ranee Narah of the Congress, one seat in Tripura by CPI-M's Jharna Das (Baidya) and lone seat in Nagaland by K.G. Kenye of Naga People's Front (NPF). In Assam, the ruling BJP has nominated Pabitra Margherita as its candidate for one Rajya Sabha seat while its ally United People's Party Liberal (UPPL) has fielded Rwngwra Narzary for the second seat. Narzary is the president of UPPL, which has seven members in the house and has a strong political base in western Assam comprising the four districts -- Chirang, Baksa, Udalguri and Kokrajhar, bordering Bhutan and West Bengal. The main opposition Congress has nominated sitting Rajya Sabha member and former state party chief Ripun Bora. Congress and All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) which parted ways after last year's assembly polls has come together as AIUDF has announced to support Congress in the RS polls. The Congress requires 42 MLAs in the 126-member House to win in one seat and the party claimed that it has support of 44 MLAs, including its own 27 members and AIUDF's 15. Two MLAs Sherman Ali Ahmed and Sashikanta Das -- are under suspension. On Sunday, Assam Chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma after meeting Das, claimed several opposition MLAs are keen to support the BJP. In Nagaland, the BJP has put up the party's Mahila Morcha president S. Phangnon Konyak as its candidate. The BJP with 12 MLAs is an ally of Nagaland's United Democratic Alliance (UDA) Government in which NPF with 25 MLAs is a major ally and 21 members Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP) is the dominant party of the UDA, which is an all party alliance governing the India's first opposition less state. The NPF and the NDPP have already announced to support Konyak, who after her election would be the first woman Rajya Sabha member from Nagaland. Since Nagaland got statehood in 1963, the northeastern state had got only one woman Parliamentarian, Rano M. Shaiza, who was elected to the Lok Sabha in 1977 as an independent candidate. The state Assembly has never had a woman MLA. In Tripura, BJP candidate Prof. (Dr.) Manik Saha's win is almost certain as the ruling party along with its ally -- Indigenous People's Front of Tripura -- has the strength of 41 in the 60 member house while the opposition CPI-M has 15 MLAs after the death of the party legislator and former assembly Speaker Ramendra Chandra Debnath. However, the CPI-M nominated former Tripura Finance and Information Minister Bhanu Lal Saha as the Left Front candidate for the Rajya Sabha election. The three seats of the Tripura assembly are lying vacant. Dissident BJP legislators Sudip Roy Barman and Ashis Kumar Saha resigned from the assembly last month and joined the Congress. Tripura Assembly Speaker Ratan Chakraborty in January disqualified another dissident BJP MLA Ashis Das after he joined the Trinamool Congress openly criticising the party and top leaders. --IANS sc/pgh ( 577 Words) 2022-03-21-20:38:08 (IANS)
The Supreme Court on Monday queried the Centre for how long it will keep a Pakistani national under detention against the backdrop that Islamabad denied accepting him as its citizen. Senior advocate Sanjay Parikh, representing 62-year-old Mohammad Qamar, submitted before a bench headed by Justice D.Y. Chandrachud that the court's order for release of foreigners lodged in detention centres is in connection with Bangladeshi nationals and not Pakistani nationals. "How can such a distinction be made? We are only seeking enforcement of this court's order," he said. Additional Solicitor General K.M. Nataraj submitted before the bench, also comprising Justice Surya Kant, that how can a Pakistani citizen claim equal rights as an Indian citizen, as he emphasised that the petitioner has no right to make this claim. At this, the bench said: "The question is how long you can keep him." It asked Nataraj to seek instructions on what could be done in this matter. "We are giving you two weeks' time," the bench told Nataraj. The petitioner is a Pakistani national who has been languishing in a detention centre in India for seven years. He wants to be released to apply for Indian citizenship as his five children are Indian citizens. On February 28, the apex court sought Centre's response whether Qamar can be released for a brief period, to apply for Indian citizenship. In August 2011, Qamar was arrested from Uttar Pradesh's Meerut, and held guilty by a court for overstaying his visa and sentenced to three years and six months in jail. After completing the sentence, he was sent to the detention centre at Lampur in Delhi's Narela here on February 7, 2015 for deportation to Pakistan. However, the Pakistan government refused to accept him. --IANS ss/vd ( 308 Words) 2022-03-21-20:44:02 (IANS)
Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Monday said in Lok Sabha that the education system in the country got severely affected due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Now, the ministry of education is trying to bring many new changes on the bases of New Education Policy (NEP). The NEP-2020 also envisions setting up of a Higher Education Commission of India as an umbrella body with four independent verticals to perform distinct functions of regulation, accreditation, funding, and academic standard setting. Accordingly, the Ministry is in the process of drafting a Higher Education Commission of India Bill. The NEP-2020, inter-alia, envisions setting up of Model public Universities for holistic and multidisciplinary education, at par with IITs, IIMs, etc., called MERUs (Multidisciplinary Education and Research Universities) which will aim to attain the highest global standards in quality education. This information was shared by the Minister of State for Education, Subhas Sarkar in the Lok Sabha on Monday. The NEP further states that all programmes, courses, curricula, and pedagogy across subjects, including those in-class, online, and in ODL modes as well as student support will aim to achieve global standards of quality, the minister added. The Ministry of Education has announced NEP 2020 on July 29, 2020 after obtaining approval of the Union Cabinet. Meanwhile, the University Grants Commission (UGC) has said it has notified the UGC (Open and Distance Learning Programmes and Online Programmes) Regulations, 2020 on September 4, 2020, and further an amendment on July 1, 2021. These regulations lay down the minimum standards of instruction for the grant of degrees through Open and Distance Learning mode and online mode. The UGC has further informed that in view of the recommendation of National Education Policy (NEP)-2020 to increase the Gross Enrolment Ratio in higher education including vocational education from 26.3 per cent (2018) to 50 per cent by 2035 and to further promote Open and Distance Learning (ODL) and online education, the UGC has constituted an Expert Committee to review existing ODL and Online regulatory framework while ensuring quality, driven by simplified recognition system and processes. --IANS gcb/pgh ( 357 Words) 2022-03-21-20:50:03 (IANS)
Congress President Sonia Gandhi on Monday asked senior party leader Shashi Tharoor to refrain from attending a CPI-M seminar to be held in April, directing him to listen to the Kerala leadership. The development came after he joined a meeting of Congress "rebels", apparently ditching the Congress's Kerala unit by planning to attend the Left's seminar. As per sources, Congress leaders from Kerala met Sonia Gandhi at the party's parliamentary office in Delhi to intimate her of the "embarrassing" development. Congress' Kerala state chief K. Sudhakaran had said that the state party has issued a ban on party leaders participating in the national seminar to be organised by the CPI-M as part of its national conference at Kannur and if anyone violates the bar, they would have to face party action. The CPI-M's 23rd party Congress will be held at the red fort of Kannur from April 6 to April 10, and the national seminar will be held during it. The Left party had invited Tharoor and former Union Minister K.V. Thomas, who also hails from the state, for the seminar on national politics. The Congress had, however, issued a statement that no Congress leader must participate in the CPI-M seminar as the party is in a fight against the CPI-M due to the "anti-people policies" of the Left government led by Pinarayi Vijayan. --IANS jw/vd ( 238 Words) 2022-03-21-22:54:04 (IANS)
Sources said that the swearing-in ceremony of the new government is likely to be held on March 23-24.

Earlier, Dhami was elected as the leader of BJP's legislative party at a meeting in Dehradun, held in the presence of central observers Rajnath Singh and Meenkshi Lekhi.

BJP's Uttarakhand election in-charge Pralhad Joshi, state in-charge and national General Secretary Dushyant Gautam and MPs from the state also attended the meeting.

Congratulating Dhami after the legislative party meeting, Rajnath Singh said that all-round development of Uttarakhand will happen under him.

"Dhami left an impression by running the government for six months," he said.

The BJP recently created history by becoming the only party to retain power for a second consecutive term in the state since its formation. The saffron party won 47 in the 70-member state Assembly, although Dhami lost from Khatima.

Speculation had started over Dhami's future after his defeat, but the BJP leadership has given him the responsibility to run the government for a full term.

Last year on July 4, Dhami was sworn-in as the Chief Minister of Uttarakhand, replacing Tirath Singh Rawat, who quit as he could not get elected to the Assembly within the required time period, after succeeding Trivendra Singh Rawat.

Dhami had worked in different positions in RSS' students wing ABVP for many years. He also served as the President of BJP's youth wing in Uttarakhand for two terms. He became an MLA from Khatima twice, but lost the election this time.

--IANS ssb/arm

( 289 Words)

2022-03-21-23:00:02 (IANS)
Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare Mansukh Mandaviya on Monday said that India's political leadership took decisive actions at crucial times in a strategic manner by learning and amalgamating best global practices to manage the COVID pandemic. "India presented an exemplary model of COVID-19 management with Centre and States working in unison in a federal democracy. Jan Andolan and Jan Bhagidari are key pillars of India's COVID-19 management strategy," said Mandaviya while delivering a keynote address at an event to discuss India's COVID-19 management journey. Mandaviya claimed that several studies predicting and assuming the impact of COVID-19 in India have been proved wrong by effective management of the pandemic by the political leadership of India. "Several studies had made ill-informed predictions and assumptions on the impact of the pandemic in India but India's political leadership took decisive actions at crucial times in a strategic manner by learning from and amalgamating best global practices with our own approach to manage the pandemic," said Union Health Minister. India's COVID-19 management is a story of "leadership, innovation, dedication, partnership, sharing and leveraging technology", Mandaviya said in his keynote address at the 'Aksha Lessons from India', an event organised by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation here. Appreciating the contribution of healthcare workers in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, Mandaviya applauded their motivation and dedication. "Controlling the COVID-19 pandemic was a joint effort by multitude stakeholders like NGOs, CSOs, industry, development partners. Administration of more than 181 Cr has contributed to our success in management of the third surge," he said. Lauding India's COVID-19 vaccination programme, Minister said, "the fact that despite the huge diversity of geographies and population, India demonstrated how a huge vaccination drive can be mounted at scale." As Keeping up with Indian Ethos and tradition India supplied medical essentials including vaccine and medicines during the pandemic. "The country supplied COVID-19 vaccines with the world even before our own vaccine requirement was fully met. We did not exhibit any arrogant behaviour but shared what India produced," he said. "We have provided medicines such as HCQ to many countries. We did not compromise on quality or bargain with the price," he added. Aksha - Lessons from India was an event organized by Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) in New Delhi on Monday. Dr. Rodrigo Ofrin, Country Director, WHO outlined the sheer number of people, vaccination centres, cold chains and other associated networks employed in the mammoth vaccination exercise across India. He praised the country's vaccine manufacturing capability, stating that "India is already a vaccine super power in the world as over 70% vaccines for various antigens in the world are manufactured in India". Country Heads and Representatives from Development Partners such as World Health Organization (WHO), United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Asian Development Bank (ADB) and Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) were present at the meet.(ANI)
"(A total of) 90 evacuation flights were operated under 'Operation Ganga' including 14 Indian Air Force flights," Minister of State for Civil Aviation, Gen V.K. Singh (retd) told the Rajya Sabha in a written reply.

He said that the government had coordinated with the Indian carriers for the operation of evacuation flights.

"The government has coordinated with six private airlines... for evacuation of Indian nationals from countries adjoining Ukraine viz. Romania, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia under Operation Ganga.

"Air India and Air India Express together have operated 23 evacuation flights under Operation Ganga," he said, adding that the air fare for all the flights operated under 'Operation Ganga' has been borne by the Centre.

--IANS rv/vd

( 148 Words)

2022-03-21-23:08:06 (IANS)
The Global Kashmiri Pandit Diaspora (GKPD) said on Monday that it is planning to approach the Centre regarding the rehabilitation of Kashmiri Pandits, who were forced to leave their homeland in the wake of attacks on them in the early 90s. The GKPD has come up with the proposal amid the nationwide attention the displaced community has been receiving of late following the release of 'The Kashmir Files', a film by Vivek Agnihotri which highlights the exodus of Kashmiri Pandits. At a press conference held here on Monday, Utpal Kaul, the co-ordinator of GKPD in India, said: "We request the government to look into our demand of 'One Place Settlement'. We would like have a city of our own, and for that, we have prepared a document. We are also in talks with the town planners regarding this. In the last two years, I have met many people and gathered information on how Kashmiri Hindus can go back." He said there are 10 lakh Kashmiri Pandits who "want to go back to Kashmir. We know how we will make Kashmir a paradise". Talking about the proposed city, Kaul said discussions were also held on setting up universities, colleges and houses. "The government and all political parties say that now everything will be fine, you all will go to your home. But our people no longer have homes. 20,000 houses were burnt... some houses have been occupied. We don't even have the addresses of the houses," he said. Elaborating further, Surinder Kaul, co-founder of GKPD, said that after two years of hard work, an expert task force of town planning has prepared this document. "It was discussed in our society, everyone kept their point of view as to what should happen. Now we will put the document before the government," he said. The GKPD also said true incidents have been shown in 'The Kashmir Files'. "The film is not promoting hatred... and doing that is not its purpose. Only 5 per cent of what has happened to us is shown in the film," Surinder Kaul said, while expressing his gratitude for the love and warmth the film has received from all over the country. "Also, a judicial commission should be formed to bring justice to the people who died and the guilty should be punished," he said. It was also shared by the organisation that about 750 victims were introduced to filmmaker Vivek Agnihotri. "We requested him to make this film," he added. Regarding the funding for the film, the GKPD said it has provided only logistic support. "We have nothing to do with any wing, we are not associated with any party," Surinder Kaul said. He added that the film should not be viewed from a Hindu-Muslim perspective. "The film is not about Hindu-Muslim polarisation. We are not against any society. This movie shows the failure of the system. The truth related to history can be painful... But it does not mean that you should stop teaching history," he said. The organisation also conveyed its thanks to the Chief Ministers of many states for making the film tax-free. --IANS msk/anm/rjs/pgh ( 534 Words) 2022-03-21-23:18:04 (IANS)
With the support of three Independent MLAs and a two Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP) legislators, the leader of the BJP's 20-member legislative party, Pramod Sawant, on Monday staked claim to form a BJP-led coalition government in Goa. Sawant submitted the party's resolution electing him as a leader of the BJP legislative party to Governor P.S. Sreedharan Pillai, along with letters of support from the three Independent MLAs and MGP legislative party leader Sudin Dhavalikar. Governor Pillai has appointed Sawant as the Chief Minister, and the swearing-in ceremony is expected to be take place on March 23 or March 24 in consultation with the BJP's central leadership. Sawant, 48, had previously held the post of Chief Minister from 2019-2022 and was serving as caretaker Chief Minister of the state. Speaking to reporters after being appointed Chief Minister, Sawant thanked top BJP leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, state party leaders, and MLAs for his appointment as Chief Minister for the second time. "My aim is to transform Modi ji's vision of Aatmanirbhar Bharat in Goa as Swayampurna Goa 2.0 this time. We will work together to realise the Prime Minister's vision of creating a new India and a new Goa. We will work to provide good governance with transparency and zero corruption," the Chief Minister said. Sawant's candidature was endorsed earlier on Monday at a meeting of the Bharatiya Janata Party's 20-member legislative party in the presence of Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar, an emissary of the BJP's central parliamentary board, and former Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who is the party's in-charge of poll-related affairs in the coastal state. Interestingly, Sawant's key rival for the post of Chief Minister, his former cabinet colleague Vishwajit Rane, proposed Sawant's name for the post of Chief Minister at the meeting. "Vishwajit Rane proposed Pramod Sawant's name as the leader. Rane's proposal was supported by Ravi Naik, Mauvin Godinho, Nilesh Cabral, Rohan Khaunte and Jennifer Monserrate (all BJP MLAs). After that I asked everyone if they had another option. All of them said, 'we are in support of Pramod Sawant'," Tomar told reporters. Sawant was tipped to be Chief Minister, but the party had been unable to formalise his appointment reportedly in the wake of a claim for chief ministership made by Rane. Both Sawant and Rane were summoned to Delhi by Amit Shah, who, according to BJP sources, resolved the differences between the two leaders, paving way for Sawant to take charge of the top post for a second term. --IANS maya/arm ( 440 Words) 2022-03-21-23:24:04 (IANS)
"ASI Gour Bidhu Singh shot himself on his head by using his service pistol while sitting on his desk inside Silchar Sadar police station," said Ramandeep Kaur, Superintendent of Police.

The reason behind the alleged suicide is yet to be ascertained.

"Necessary formalities are being followed up in this regard and we are yet to ascertain the cause of committing suicide. Legal formalities are being undertaken," said Kaur.

Investigation into the matter is ongoing. More details are awaited. (ANI)
A retired Odisha Information Service cadre officer, who had served as the public relation officer to former Governor and former Chief Ministers has been arrested on Monday for his alleged involvement in the abduction and murder of cameraman Manas Swain, informed police. "Manas Swain had gone missing on February 7 from Bhadrak district where he came to record some videos. After his family filed the complaint, three teams were formed to investigate the matter and arrested many people in connection to the case," said Jatin Panda, Additional superintendent of police, Bhadrak district. As per Panda, three people named Vivek Nayak, Krishna Chandra Nayak and Bhagyadhar Nayak were arrested earlier. From the information provided by the two people including an OIS officer was arrested on Monday. "The initial investigation reveals that Swain was abducted on February 7 and was taken to Bhubaneshwar. There he was kept in a "Dayal Ashram" which belongs to the owner of the web channel for which Swain used to work. He was murdered in the ashram only," said Panda. According to Panda, Swain was killed after he denied handing over a purported Sex Scandal videotape which includes many politicians and police officers. Meanwhile, the main accused in the case and the owner of the web portal Sarmistha Rout has been absconding since the day Swain was murdered. (ANI)
The positivity rate has fallen from 1 per cent on Sunday to 0.12 per cent on Monday.

The state had reported four new COVID-19 cases on Sunday.

The current active caseload in the state stands at 18.

One case was reported from Kamrup (Rural) and another case was reported from Sonitpur district of Assam.

With this, the total number of coronavirus cases has gone up to 7,24,192 in Assam.

A total of 7,16,188 people have so far recovered from COVID-19 disease, including two recoveries reported in the past 24 hours. The recovery rate is 98.89 per cent in the state.

In Assam, a total of 6,639 persons have succumbed to COVID-19 till now with zero fatalities reported in the last 24 hours.

A total of 2,83,42,834 COVID-19 tests have been conducted in the North-East state with 1,611 tests conducted in the last 24 hours.

Meanwhile, 2,34,62,273 people have been administered the first dose of COVID-19 vaccines and 2,00,21,266 people have been administered the second dose of COVID-19 vaccine.

Also, so far 3,288 children in the age group of 15-17 years and 12,506 children in the age group of 12-14 years have been administered the vaccine. (ANI)
Amid the protest against the SilveLine semi high-speed rail project, the survey stones were installed under police protection on Monday in Kozhikode district of Kerala. Earlier, Union Minister of State V Muraleedharan had said that BJP will not allow the state government to implement an anti-people project (rail project) by force. "What is going on in the name of SilverLine project displays atrocities against women. State Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan is behaving like a quiet monocrat," said V Muraleedharan. The residents of Madampally near Changanassery in Kottayam started a protest on Friday after the officials of the K-Rail project came to demarcate land and to lay survey stones for the SilverLine project. Following this, workers of BJP and Congress reached the spot and started raising slogans against the Pinarayi Vijayan-led LDF government. Entire Kerala is protesting against the SilverLine project. The project will adversely impact the environment because the state is an ecologically fragile place. The government did not carry out any geological or location surveys. The Railway Minister in Parliament had said that they had given in-principle approval for the draft proposal for the project and not for the construction. The state government acquiring the land without the approval of the Ministry of Railways," said VD Satheesan, Leader of Opposition (LoP), Kerala Assembly. The Kerala government's ambitious Silverline project, which is expected to reduce travel time from Thiruvananthapuram to Kasaragod to around four hours, is being opposed by the opposition Congress-led UDF, which has been alleging that it was "unscientific and impractical" and will put a huge financial burden on the state. (ANI)
However, he clarified that the date for the ceremony has not been decided yet.

"The swearing-in date has not been finalized yet. I have invited PM Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP national president JP Nadda," said Sawant on Monday.

Sawant on Monday met Governor PS Sreedharan Pillai and stake his claim to form the government in Goa.

Earlier in the day, Union Minister and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) central observer for Goa Narendra Singh Tomar stated that the party has unanimously elected Sawant to be the Chief Minister again.

"Vishwajit Rane proposed the name of Pramod Sawant as the Leader of the Legislative Party and everyone unanimously elected him as the Leader. He will be the Leader of the Legislative Party for the next 5 years," Tomar had said.

In the recently concluded state Assembly polls, the BJP emerged as the single largest party in Goa, winning 20 seats in the 40-member state Assembly and decimated Congress to 11 seats.

The BJP fell one seat short of the majority figure in Goa but is set to retain power in the state with the help of the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP) and independent candidates. (ANI)
According to sources, CPI(M) has invited Tharoor and K.V. Thomas to attend a seminar on Centre-State relations during a party event being organised in Kerala's Kannur from April 6 till April 10.

Declining the invitation, Tharoor in his official statement said, "I have discussed with AICC President (Sonia Gandhi) the matter of my participation in the seminar on centre-state relations on the sidelines of the CPI(M) National Party Congress."

"I respect her views in this matter and have conveyed to the organizers my inability to participate," he added.

Tharoor also quoted the reasons for welcoming the invitation in the first place.

"No difference of opinion on the issue of 'centre-state' relation between the two parties and intellectual exchange on policy issue among anti-BJP parties," are some of the reasons Congress leader quoted in his official statement.

However, he also pointed out that issues related to engaging invitations of other political parties and Congress relation with CPI (M) at the national level should be addressed separately.

Meanwhile, Karnataka Congres Party President has said that central leadership has given clear instructions to all its leaders against participating in the seminars against the sentiments of Congress party workers. (ANI)
Indore (Madhya Pradesh) [India], March 22 (ANI) Bharatiya Janata Party National General Secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya on Monday said that the social and political ecosystem of Jammu and Kashmir is being improved post the abrogation of Article 370. "The central government had abrogated Article 370. The sense of Nationalism has been infused in the hearts of the people of Jammu and Kashmir by the government. It will take some time to eradicate cancer (Article 370) which has prevailed there for 70 years," said Vijayvargiya before watching the film 'The Kashmir Files'. "The youth of Jammu and Kashmir has now stopped hailing Pakistan and ISIS,' he added as one of the achievements of the present government as a result of their actions in Jammu and Kashmir. BJP leader had booked a show of 'The Kashmir Files' for the eunuch, children and senior citizens on Monday in Indore. "We celebrate festivals with the Children of Orphanage home and senior citizens of old age homes. They told us that they want to watch this film,' he said. Before entering the film theatre, the BJP leader made a video call to film director Vivek Agnihotri to extend his wishes for making a film on Kashmiri Pandits. Reacting to the tweets of Indian Administrative Service officer from Madhya Pradesh Niyaz Khan on the alleged killing of Muslims in the country and the film 'The Kashmir Files', BJP leader said "there is freedom of speech in the country anyone can say anything and a film can be made on any subject." "But one should keep in mind the interest of the nation before making any remark," he said. Niyaz Khan tweet says that, "Kashmir File shows the pain of Brahmins. They should be allowed to live safely in Kashmir with all honour. The producer must also make a movie to show the killings of a large number of Muslims across several states. Muslims are not insects but human beings and citizens of the country." The film 'The Kashmir Files' has mired in controversy since its release on March 11 with the BJP and Opposition parties having conflicting views on it. It revolves around the genocide of Kashmiri Pandits in 1990 and has been directed by Vivek Agnihotri, known for films like 'Tashkent Files', 'Hate Story' and 'Buddha in a Traffic Jam'. (ANI)
Taking swift action against a non-commissioned officer, a general court-martial of the Indian Army has recommended the dismissal of a Havildar from service along with a one-year jail term after he was found guilty of molesting a jawan's wife. Sources said the crime took place on November 10 last year at the Fazilka Cantonment in Punjab where Havildar from the 2 Jat regiment was posted and charge against him in the court-martial was that he used criminal force against a woman with the intent to outrage her modesty, sources said. "This GCM trial commenced on February 7 and March 7, the verdict was passed against him finding him guilty. He has been punished with a reduction in rank, one-year rigorous imprisonment and dismissal from service without any benefits," sources said. A total of 16 witnesses in the case were examined and the prosecution was represented by lawyer Akshit Anand. "In comparison with the civil courts, this trial was held at a very fast pace. Justice has been delivered by the Indian Army to the victim following due process of law within a month and punishment is subject to confirmation. This also shows the zero tolerance in the force towards such crimes," he said. The top brass of the Indian Army has issued orders to the field formations to adopt a zero-tolerance policy towards such crimes. (ANI)
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said that the LDF government will implement the SilverLine project and assured that the state government would pay four times the prevailing market prices as compensation for acquiring land. CM Vijayan, who came to Kannur to inaugurate the CPIM Puthur local committee office, said, "The LDF government will implement the SilverLine project. There are attempts to mislead people." He further said that the project is for the future generation. "Now, there is only one trip from Kochi to Thiruvananthapuram. But after the SilverLine project is implemented, there would be innumerable trips," he added. The CM also assured to pay four times the market price as compensation for the land acquisition. Vijayan said, "It is natural that people whose land is being acquired for the project will be disappointed. But I want to tell you that the government will pay four times the market price as compensation. We should not support such narrow-minded politics." People from across Kerala are protesting against laying the survey stones for the SilverLine project for the past couple of days. The first major protest happened in Kottayam's Madampally on March 18. Meanwhile, the opposition leaders also boycotted the proceeding of the Kerala Assembly and protested against the SilverLine project following the stir by locals in Madampally. The 529-km SilverLine railway project will link Thiruvananthapuram in the south to Kasaragod in north Kerala, covering 11 districts through 11 stations. The journey between two stations is expected to take four hours, whereas it currently takes 12 hours to reach from one end to another. (ANI)
Several documents and other items were burnt in the incident.

The fire has now been extinguished.

Further details are awaited. (ANI)
Adityanath was elected to the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council in 2017 after he took oath as the Chief Minister following the Bharatiya Janata Party's landslide victory in the Assembly polls. He also represented the Gorakhpur Lok Sabha seat several times until 2017.

Yogi Adityanath, who led his party to a thumping victory in Uttar Pradesh, is likely to take oath as Chief Minister of the state for the second tenure on March 25, according to sources.

Adityanath will be the first Chief Minister in the last 37 years to return to power after completing a full term in the state.

Adityanath, a monk-turned-politician, won his first-ever Assembly election by a margin of 1,03,390 from Gorakhpur Urban constituency, defeating the Samajwadi Party candidate Subhawati Upendra Dutt Shukla. This is the first time that Adityanath has been elected as an MLA.

The BJP retained power in Uttar Pradesh by winning 255 out of 403 constituencies, securing a 41.29 per cent vote share. (ANI)
Union Ministers Rajnath Singh, Amit Shah, Nirmala Sitharaman and Nitin Gadkari are attending the meeting with the Prime Minister.

Meanwhile, the Rajya Sabha was adjourned till noon on Tuesday after the opposition parties created the ruckus in the House over the issue of rising fuel prices in the country.

Joint Opposition, including Trinamool Congress, Shiv Sena and Congress, created pandemonium as the Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu rejected their plea to hold discussion over rising fuel prices under Rule 267.

In the first hike in four months, the fuel prices have been raised in India. Diesel and petrol prices have been hiked by 80 paise per litre. It was in November last year when the country saw the last fuel price surge.

The second half of the Budget session will conclude on April 8. The first half of the Budget session began on January 31 and concluded on February 11. (ANI)
Opposition parties including Trinamool Congress, Shiv Sena and Congress created pandemonium as the Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu rejected their plea to hold discussion over rising fuel prices under Rule 267.

Trinamool Congress leader trooped into the well of the Upper House and started sloganeering against the government by showing placards soon.

As the Opposition party MPs did not consider Chairman's request to allow the functioning of the House and begin the Zero Hour, Naidu adjourned the House till 12.

The ruckus started soon after the papers were laid on the table and Naidu addressed the House over World Water Day.

In the first hike in four months, the fuel prices have been raised in India. Diesel and petrol prices have been hiked by 80 paise. A litre of petrol in Delhi will now cost Rs 96.21 and diesel will be sold at Rs 87.47 per litre. (ANI)
The continuous run of 12 consecutive full sittings of the Rajya Sabha during the second half of the Budget session without forced adjournments was interrupted on Tuesday after the Upper House was adjourned by Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu following the ruckus created by the opposition parties on the issue of the fuel price rise. The last eight full sittings of the first part of this Budget session and the first four sittings of the ongoing second part of this session were without adjournments. The previous record of 13 full sittings of the House without forced adjournments was during the Monsoon session of 2019. The opposition parties, including Trinamool Congress, Shiv Sena and Congress, created pandemonium in the House after the Rajya Sabha Chairman rejected their plea to hold a discussion on the issue of the rising fuel prices under Rule 267. The TMC MPs trooped into the well of the Upper House and started sloganeering against the government while holding placards. Rajya Sabha missed the opportunity of setting a new record for a continuous run of the House without adjournments after three years today, said a senior official. With the Opposition MPs not yielding to Chairman's request to allow the smooth functioning of the House and take up the Zero Hour, Naidu adjourned the House till noon. (ANI)
The Rajya Sabha on Tuesday expressed condolences over the tragic crash of the China Eastern Airlines plane killing 132 passeng, including nine crew members. As the House assembled for the day at 11 am, Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu called the incident "painful and unfortunate", and said, that the House joins him in expressing their heartfelt condolences as well as deep sympathy and sorrow on the losses suffered by the people of China. He also conveyed India's stand of solidarity with them in their hour of grief. "A total of 132 persons including nine crew members reportedly lost their lives when a China Eastern Airlines Boeing 737-800 crashed in mountains in Southern China on a domestic flight flying from the southwestern city of Kunming to Guangzhou, yesterday, on 21st of March, 2022. The loss of precious lives in this tragic incident is indeed painful and unfortunate," said Naidu. The members of the House later rose on their places and observed silence as a mark of respect to the memory of those who lost their lives in this tragic incident. After the crash of the Chinese Eastern Airlines plane --a Boeing-737, the website of Airlines, mobile app and some of its other social media platforms were presented in black and white - what airlines do as a sign of respect or mourning for the assumed victims. Chinese President Xi Jinping has urged the country to step up all rescue efforts after the crash. He has also urged the officials to find a reason behind the incident as soon as possible. (ANI)
All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) MLA Rafiqul Islam on Tuesday said that there are similarities between Pakistan's founder Muhammad Ali Jinnah and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), alleging that both wanted to divide the country on the basis of religion. "Jinnah divided the country into two parts - India and Pakistan. And the BJP and the RSS are also doing the same thing, and they are dividing Hindu and Muslim, Dalits and non-Dalits," Islam said. The AIUDF MLA said that his party does not support the division of people on the basis of caste, community and religion. "But the BJP government is spreading hatred and this is not a good sign," he said. Commenting on 'The Kashmir Files' movie, the Assam MLA requested Prime Minister Narendra Modi to rehabilitate the Kashmiri Pandits. "The Prime Minister is supporting 'The Kashmir Files' movie and he should start the procedure of rehabilitating the Kashmiri Pandits. He should also hold an inquiry into the killings in Kashmir, which is the responsibility of the PM and the BJP government. Justice should be ensured to the Kashmiri Pandits. However, the BJP's motto is to spread hatred." (ANI)
The Centre on Tuesday informed the Lok Sabha that selection of a total of 11,324 gazetted, non-gazetted and class-IV posts have been completed in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir since the abrogation of Article 370 and 35-A from the erstwhile state in August 2019. Union Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai shared the details in a written reply to a query asked by BJP leader Gopal Chinnaya Shetty. Responding to Shetty's question, Rai said that the government has taken several steps since August 2019 to fill up all the vacant posts in the Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh. "In the UT of Jammu and Kashmir, the government has taken up recruitment drive in a transparent manner for which an Accelerated Recruitment Committee (ARC) was constituted for identifying Gazetted, Non-Gazetted and Class-IV posts and to expedite the recruitment process in the UT of Jammu and Kashmir," Rai informed. Accordingly, the MoS said, 26,330 posts have been identified in various departments in the UT of J-K and taken up for recruitment. "Presently, the selection process has been completed with respect to 11,324 Gazetted, Non-Gazetted and Class-IV posts," Rai added. In Ladakh, the Minister said that the administration has taken required measures for filling up vacant posts and 613 district cadre posts have been filled. Besides, 293 vacant posts in Ladakh Police have been advertised and 45 vacant posts of JK Bank have been advertised for candidates from Ladakh. The Minister also mentioned that the Ladakh administration has tied up with Staff Selection Commission (SSC) for recruitment to UT and Divisional cadre posts. Accordingly, Rai said that 829 Union Territories or divisional cadre posts have been referred to SSC in Ladakh. "The District Staff Selection Board, constituted under Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC) Act is already in place for recruitment to vacant district cadre posts. All the concerned Requisitioning Authorities have been directed to send the requisition of vacant Direct Recruitment quota posts to respective Recruitment Agencies," he said. (ANI)
On the occasion of Shaheed Diwas, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate Biplobi Bharat Gallery at Victoria Memorial Hall, Kolkata on March 23 at 6 PM via video conferencing, informed Prime Minister's Office (PMO) on Tuesday. The Prime Minister will also address the gathering during the event. The gallery which is to be inaugurated depicts the contribution of the revolutionaries in the freedom struggle of India, provides a holistic view of the events that led up to 1947. "The Gallery displays the contribution of the Revolutionaries in the freedom struggle and their armed resistance to British colonial rule. This aspect has often not been given its due place in the mainstream narrative of the freedom movement. The purpose of this new gallery is to provide a holistic view of the events that led up to 1947 and highlight the important role played by the Revolutionaries," stated the PMO in an official release. The revolutionary movement, formation of significant associations by revolutionary leaders, spread of the movement, formation of the Indian National Army, the contribution of Naval Mutiny will also be showcased at the gallery. (ANI)
A vehicle illegally carrying red sandalwood logs overturned and was later confiscated by the local police. The accused fled the spot immediately after, leaving the vehicle as it is.

The local police confirmed the total quantity of the logs confiscated.

" A car carrying 30 red sandalwood logs weighing 800 kilograms was seized today. The smugglers left the vehicle and ran away from the spot. The logs have been shifted to the Gangadhara Nellore police station," said Suman, Sub-Inspector Gangadhara Nellore ps, Chitoor.

Further investigation is underway. (ANI)
The accused were identified as Hariharan (27), Madasamy (37), Praveen (22), Junath Ahmed (24) and four minors.

The police said that accused Hariharan raped the woman on the pretext of marrying her.

As the threatening continued for six months, the woman filed a complaint at the Virudhanagar Rural police station.

The police registered case under sections 376 (2), 354, 354D of the IPC, section 66 (e) of IT Act, sections 3 (1)(w), 3 (2)(v) of SC/ST Act.

The police said that Hariharan is a local DMK worker.

Soon after the arrests were made, DMK leader Kanimozhi tweeted in Tamil, "It is consoling that all the accused involved in the sexual assault crime against a 22yr old in Virudhunagar district. Strong action has to be taken against the accused, no matter who they are."

Similar incidents of rape were reported in Coimbatore's Pollachi in 2019. In the Pollachi sex scandal, more than 50 women were allegedly lured and sexually harassed by a gang of four and the acts were videographed. (ANI)
"In the view of Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan's zero tolerance for heinous crimes like rape and murder, the investigation led by police and district administration revealed that Shadab Usmani (alias Abdul) had constructed a house illegally over his farmland and it has been demolished," Vandana Vaidya, District Collector, Shahdol told ANI.

"The other two accused are his servants who live in a rented house," she added.

According to Mukesh Vaishya, Additional Superintendent of Police, the accused had an old acquaintance with the woman. He along with his two servants had allegedly gang-raped the woman, following which they poisoned her to death.

The 28-year-old woman was allegedly gang-raped in Sohagpur police station area in Shahdol on Saturday evening.

The police said that the victim was brought to the district hospital from where the main accused Usmani had escaped and the victim died. (ANI)
The Chief Minister tweeted that the "Shaheed Bhagat Singh Armed Forces Preparatory School" will also have hostel facilities.

"We are building a 'Shaheed Bhagat Singh Armed Forces Preparatory School' on 14 acres of land in Jharoda Kalan, where students will be trained for the Armed Forces. The fees for the school will be free and will have separate hostels for boys and girls," Kejriwal said.

The Delhi Chief Minister further said that any student residing in Delhi can take admission in this school for classes 9th and 11th.

"Both classes will have 100 seats each. The classes will start this year and we have received 18,000 applications so far," Kejriwal said.

Notably, Bhagat Singh's death anniversary is on Wednesday for which the AAP government in Punjab has declared a public holiday. (ANI)
A criminal, convicted in murder, robbery and atttempt to murder cases, has been arrested for raping a woman after claiming that he could cure her epilepsy through black magic, a senior Delhi Police official said on Tuesday. The accused, identified as Suraj alias Bhagat (32), a resident of MCD Colony, Samaypur Badli, was out on parole due to the Covid pandemic and was arrested from Arthala village in Mohan Nagar area of neighbouring Ghaziabad. Furnsihing details about the case, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Special Cell, Pramod Singh Kushwah said that Suraj convinced a woman that he could cure her epilepsy through black magic. However, he intoxicated her by spiking her cold drink. "He raped her while she was in an intoxicated state and later threatened her life if she reports the matter. A reward of Rs 1 lakh was declared for his arrest by the Commissioner of Police," he said. A tip-off was received that the accused was hiding in Ghaziabad, following which the sleuths of Special Cell laid a trap and arrested him. Revealing the crimes of the dreaded criminal, Kushwah said that in 2011, Suraj came in contact with criminal Gaurav, a robber of Samaypur Badli, and started committing snatching and robbery with him in the city's northern outskirts. In one such incident, he snatched the gold chain of a woman, along with his associate, in the area of Samaypur Badli but was arrested on the same day, along with the gold chain. He remained in jail for around 2 months and continued committing crime after release on bail. In one such daring and desperate bid, on the intervening night of June 2-3, 2012, the Suraj, along with his associates, committed a series of dacoities, murders and attempt to murder in the area of police stations Mangolpuri, Samaypur Badli, and Maurya Enclave. They started their criminal spree by overpowering the driver and helper of a goods carrier at gunpoint in Furniture Market, Mangolpuri and looted them of their valuables. Thereafter, on the same night, they looted another goods carrier and then, targeted a local factor, where they murdered a guard. Other guards deployed in the factory resisted their attempt and opened fire at them, forcing them to flee. While escaping, they stopped another truck at Pitampura by overtaking it with their looted vehicle, robbed the driver, and then, stabbing him. When two policemen on motorcycle tried to stop them at Kohat Enclave, Pitam Pura, Delhi, the gang members attacked them too. However, the police patrolling staff apprehended one of the accused at the spot whereas Suraj and the others fled, but were eventually caught Three cases were registered against them at Police Station Mangolpuri, Samaypur Badli and Maurya Enclave, and Suraj was convicted and sentenced for 10 years imprisonment. He was released on parole in June 2020 but didn't surrender later. While on parole during the pandemic, Suraj claimed to have learnt black magic by seeing YouTube and started cheating persons by offering treatment of various ailments through black magic. In August 2021, he started treatment of a woman in Seemapuri for epilepsy through black magic, but drugged and raped her. Despite, his threats, the victim reported the matter and a case of rape was registered against him at Seemapuri police station," the DCP said. After this incident, Suraj changed his hideouts to avoid arrest but landed in the police net. --IANS uj/vd ( 583 Words) 2022-03-22-19:16:04 (IANS)
Former Bihar Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi got angry on Tuesday following the attack on his niece and her family members in Gaya district. "My niece Keshri Devi is a Panchayat member but is weak in the village. Hence, local strongmen were always trying to suppress her. If such an incident would have happened with me or my family, my men would open fire on them and at least kill 2 to 4 attackers," he said. Around 20 armed men attacked on Manjhi's relatives, including his niece, in Mohkampur village under Barachatti block on Sunday, and also tried to kidnap Keshri Devi's daughter in-law too. When the family resisted, the assailants beat them with their weapons. "Mohkampur is Koiri (caste) dominant village and majority of them support my niece. Some of the strongmen have political revelry. Hence, they want to suppress her," Manjhi alleged. "After such a big incident, we have an expectation that local police will camp in the village for two to three weeks. Unfortunately, not a single police personnel has been deployed there. An FIR has been registered in Dobhi police station against 20 persons but Gaya police has arrested only one person till now. "I am going to Mohkampur to meet the victims and also inspect the crime scene. This incident is an indication of callous attitude of Gaya police," Manjhi said. --IANS ajk/vd ( 240 Words) 2022-03-22-20:12:03 (IANS)
In a high-tech lab on Johns Hopkins Universitys Homewood campus in Baltimore, engineers have been building a robot that may be able to stitch back together the broken vessels in your belly and at some point maybe your brain, no doctor needed.

The robot has a high-tech camera on one arm and a high-tech sewing machine on a second arm. Its already reattached halves of a pigs intestines.

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Its like park-assist in a car, said Axel Krieger, an assistant professor of mechanical engineering in Hopkins Whiting School of Engineering. Performs the procedure autonomously.

This kind of suturing is performed more than a million times a year in surgeries around the country, said Krieger, part of a team developing the robot and senior author on a recent paper describing the technology in Science Robotics.

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The goal is to develop in the next several years a robot that makes the intricate and delicate work of suturing more consistent. Missing a stitch or doing one awkwardly could cause a catastrophic complication for a patient. The robotic procedure is also less invasive as its performed laparoscopically, through small holes in the skin rather than a large opening.

A team of mechanical engineers from Johns Hopkins University are developing a SMART robot (Smart Tissue Autonomous Robot) that can perform soft tissue surgeries such as intestinal reconnections. Left to right, looking at the robot: Jin Kang, professor of electrical and computer engineering; Justin Opfermann, Ph.D. student, Axel Krieger, assistant professor of mechanical engineering; Michael Kam, Ph.D.. student. (Barbara Haddock Taylor/Baltimore Sun)

The Hopkins engineers expect the robot to be cheaper than existing robotic technology and more portable. They want to develop a mobile version that eventually could be used on an ambulance or in the field for emergencies, such as stitching up a major artery to stop bleeding.

The robot would advance technology currently in wide use in operating rooms. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration calls them robotically assisted surgical devices.

The best known is the da Vinci robot federally approved for general laparoscopic surgical use in 2000. The device has a console where a surgeon can see a 3D image and move several arms with surgical instruments, essentially becoming an extension of the doctor.

The device is not actually a robot because it cannot perform surgery without direct human control, the FDA says.

The da Vinci robot is now commonly used in gallbladder removal, hysterectomies and prostate removals because it works best on complex tasks in confined areas, according to the FDA.

Other robotic machines assisted in surgery before da Vinci was developed but required far larger incisions.

The new robot being developed by Hopkins engineers along with collaborators at the Childrens National Hospital in Washington, D.C., known as Smart Tissue Autonomous Robot, or STAR, is different. It does have computer monitors that offer a 3D view, but it doesnt have a joystick or other controls.

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The STAR is run by a highly advanced, and adaptable-on-the-fly computer program. The algorithm sees and feels through cameras that create 3D images with lasers and sensors that detect pressure from breathing, bleeding and soft tissue.

The robot completes about a stitch a minute, a conservative pace slightly slower than a human surgeon. The tests so far have shown more consistency than the humans.

Thats been an issue with robotic technology now in the operating rooms. The current robotic-assisted technology is better at some surgical tasks than others. And outcomes arent always an improvement even if things appear to go smoothly.

Such machines also add significantly to the expense of surgery because the cost of the equipment reaches into the millions, though some of that can be made up through shorter hospital stays and fewer complications. But many smaller hospitals and those in less affluent regions or other countries cant afford upfront expenditure.

A team of mechanical engineers from Johns Hopkins University are developing a SMART robot (Smart Tissue Autonomous Robot) that can perform soft tissue surgeries. This is a detail of the robot's suturing arm working on simulated blood vessels. (Barbara Haddock Taylor/Baltimore Sun)

Jin Kang, another STAR developer and a professor in the Hopkins department of electrical and computer engineering, said the STAR requires less machinery and would be cheaper, though the ultimate cost is not determined.

It was designed with input from surgeons, who often choose to use technology because it can help them withstand the rigors of their job. Long hours of traditional surgery can cause human hands to twitch and fatigue.

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He said surgeons and other surgical staff still would perform procedures, such as removing diseased tissue, before handing off to STAR, and would stay in the room in case of an emergency as the robot reconnected intestines or other vessels.

Doctors are not being replaced, Kang said.

Dr. Michael Awad, the director of the Barnes-Jewish Hospital Comprehensive Robotics Program in St. Louis, was not involved in STARs development but has been following the work at Hopkins. He did his surgical residency at Johns Hopkins Hospital and trained on the first generation of da Vinci robot there.

Awad said its still early in the process, but he believes autonomous robots are inevitable in the operating room and the Hopkins researchers work could be a big step forward.

How long it take the public  and surgeons  to accept such technology remains to be seen, he said.

He views it like those autonomous cars. People are ready to adopt the park-assist technology Krieger referenced and other technology to keep people from drifting into other lanes. The fully self-driving cars will prove trustworthy eventually, as well.

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While driving is high stakes and can result in injury or death, I think people are even more sheepish when it comes to surgery on the human body, he said. There are a lot more variables that make the task more challenging in itself. There is a higher bar to leap.

Awad, who is also director at the Washington University Institute for Surgical Education, said there is a lot of training that goes into using existing robotic equipment. Doctors have to learn to use other senses such as their eyes on computer screens, rather than the touch of human tissue, when they use technology.

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He said the machines are especially helpful in getting to tight and sensitive spots in the body such as the esophagus, behind the rib cage and near the heart. An autonomous robot could advance what doctors are able to do for patients.

There also may be less training needed for autonomous robots in the operating room. But that doesnt mean surgeons wont have to know how to perform the same procedures, Awad said.

If a human needs to intervene, they need to know how to, he said. But anything that can lessen the learning curve would be welcomed.

A position paper from the American College of Surgeons says surgeons need to be appropriately educated and their skills assessed prior to using any new technology. The group also calls for evaluation to establish the value and safety of the technology before wide adoption.

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The Hopkins team plans to continue perfecting the robot and assessing what it could do beyond connecting two ends of a blood vessel, an intestine or other channels, called anastomosis.

Work on the robot has been supported by the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering. A next step is seeking a commercial partner to bring the technology through the development process and approvals from federal regulators to begin testing the robot on humans.

We really want to push the boundaries, Krieger said.
According to Delhi Police Special cell officer, an anonymous email, purportedly by a terrorist organization Tehrik-e-Taliban (India cell) was received by some people who appraised UP Police about the same.

UP police forwarded the details about the said email to Delhi Police.

Acting on the inputs, Delhi Police on Tuesday conducted preventive searches in Sarojni Nagar market of New Delhi.

Meanwhile, the president of the Sarojini Nagar Mini Market Traders Association, Ashok Randhawa on Tuesday said that markets will be closed due to some security threat.

"Due to some security threat. Delhi police have received orders to get the markets closed and observe strict vigil,' he claimed.

However, Delhi Police denied of issuing any orders of closing the market.

"We went there to conduct preventive search not to close down the market," said Delhi Police officials.

Sources say that Delhi police are trying to track the person who sent the email while also trying to verify the claim he made in the email. (ANI)
President Ram Nath Kovind will honour Indian Naval Ship (INS) 'Valsura' with the the prestigious 'President's Colour' at Jamnagar in Gujarat on March 25. The President will be in Gujarat on a two-day visit, during which he will address the ongoing Budget session of the Gujarat Assembly on Thursday. The Indian Navy has arranged for a ceremonial parade with a 150-man Guard of Honour to be presented to the President on Friday. Gujarat Governor Acharya Devvrat, Admiral R. Hari Kumar, the Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral M.A. Hampiholi, Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Southern Naval Command, along with other senior civil and military dignitaries will be attending the award ceremony. The President's Colour is bestowed on a military unit in recognition of exceptional service rendered to the nation, in peacetime and also during war. The Indian Navy was the first branch of the armed forces to be awarded the President's Colour by then President of India, Rajendra Prasad, on May 27, 1951. Established in 1942, INS Valsura is a premier training establishment of the Indian Navy. It is entrusted with the responsibility of imparting training to officers and sailors of the Indian Navy, Coast Guard and friendly foreign countries in electrical, electronics, weapon systems and information technology. It has distinguished itself with notable and gallant service to the nation for nearly 80 years. The ceremonial parade on Friday will be followed by the release of a special cover by the President in the presence of other distinguished guests. "The working advisory committee meeting was held in the state Assembly on Monday, where the President's address to the House was discussed. The President will be addressing the house for one hour from 11 am to 12 noon on Thursday," Leader of the Opposition Sukhram Rathwa told IANS. --IANS amc/arm ( 314 Words) 2022-03-22-22:24:02 (IANS)
According to Sindhi media, the girl was said to have been shot in the middle of the street after she put up resistance against her attackers, Friday Times reported.

Every year, several women belonging to minority communities, especially Hindus in Sindh Pakistan, are abducted and forcibly converted by religious extremists.

Pakistan's minority communities have long faced the issue of forced marriages and conversions. According to the People's Commission for Minorities' Rights and the Centre for Social Justice, 156 incidents of forced conversions took place between 2013 and 2019.

In 2019, the Sindh government attempted to outlaw forced conversions and marriages for the second time, but certain religious protesters contested the bill, arguing that these girls are not forced to convert but do so after falling in love with Muslim men, and the law was rejected, Friday Times reported.

That year, the case of two sisters, Reena and Raveena, captured national attention, after their family claimed the girls had been married when they were underage, and therefore were unable to give consent to making such decisions. The girls told the Islamabad High Court that they had converted willingly; the court ruled in the sisters' favour.

The Pakistan Bureau of Statistics reported the overall population of the Hindu community in Pakistan at 1.6 per cent, and 6.51 per cent in Sindh.

--IANS san/arm

( 252 Words)

2022-03-21-22:00:05 (IANS)
With the Imran Khan government's inability to curb religious violence in Pakistan, the cases of such incidents have risen to an alarming level in the country in recent years, according to a media report. Notably, lynchings over offences to Islam are not new in Pakistan, where blasphemy is punishable by death and mobs exploit anti-blasphemy laws to take matters into their own hands, New York Times reported. According to the critics and rights activists, the vows made by Imran Khan to curb violence in Pakistan is mere lip service as he, much like his predecessors, has not taken a practical step for the cause. "The lack of political will and commitment has always stood as the biggest obstacle to prevent the abuse, misuse, and exploitation of blasphemy laws," the media outlet quoted said Tahira Abdullah, a rights activist based in Islamabad, as saying. She added that Imran Khan's government is no different from its predecessors in promising to tackle the menace of religious violence, however, "it is too cowardly to confront" influential religious parties in Parliament "and the rampaging militant extremist groups outside Parliament." According to a report by the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom, instances of mob violence, and state-enforced criminal blasphemy cases, are more frequent in Pakistan than anywhere else. Notably, blasphemy violence in Pakistan is reflected through several incidents such as vandalizing of Hindu temples and neighbourhoods, the burning of police stations by angry mobs, the lynching of a student on a university campus and the killing of a provincial governor by his own security guard. Moreover, 90 per cent of those involved in blasphemy violence are between the ages of 18 and 30, the media outlet reported citing a senior police official's statement to a parliamentary committee. According to the Centre for Social Justice, a Lahore-based minority rights group, at least 84 people faced blasphemy accusations in courts and from angry street mobs in 2021. Further, the journalists in Pakistan have refrained from reporting on blasphemy cases since the rise of the extremist parties and their growing influence, The New York Times reported. (ANI)
With improved security situation and better tourism infrastructure in the Kashmir Valley, several Kashmiris have taken social media platforms by storm to show a fresh perspective and a glimpse of the wonderful places to visit in Kashmir via YouTube and Facebook. Kashmir has always been known for its picturesque valleys and mountains and tourism in the valley has also increased remarkably. J-K tourism also held several roadshows across the country to attract more tourists. However, in this social media age, people tend to follow content creators on Facebook, YouTube and Instagram to learn more about places to visit. With abundant tourism potential, the state had seen a drastic increase in tourist footfalls last year. In November 2021, the Valley saw 1,27,605 tourists visiting in comparison to only 6327 in the same month in 2020. In October 2021, 93,000 tourists visited the Valley. There is so much one hears about the natural beauty of Kashmir. Seen through the eyes of the Kashmiris, it is even more beautiful. The passion and eye for detail of bright young Kashmiris can be seen in numerous vlogs, images and social media posts of the likes of Imad Ur Rehman, Idrees Mir and several others who have popularized the Valley through their artistic creations. What stands out is the coming together of talent, technology and tourism for the Jammu and Kashmir Union Territory as never seen before. That is why we focus our attention on some of these vloggers with the aim of learning new things about Kashmir. A quick search onGoogle reveals scores of Kashmiri vloggers and YouTubers who have something to share about the beautiful Kashmir Valley. Recall that it was Emperor Jahangir who had said when visiting Kashmir in the 17th Century that "If there is heaven on earth, it is here, it is here". It is, therefore, heartening to know that more and more young Kashmiris are searching for their roots and giving us a glimpse of the wonderful places to visit on YouTube, Facebook and other social media platforms. Each name has a history and a future. Faizul Manzoor is the first Kashmiri female YouTube vlogger. The 20-year old hails from the Barzulla area of Srinagar and has worked hard to earn her name as a YouTube vlogger among audiences. One of her most popular vlogs is on the Dal Lake which has been appreciated by many people. She says that vlogging has helped her to connect with people from other countries and is thankful for familial support in vlogging. Imad Ur Rehman is another Kashmiri (Srinagar-based) content creator whose images and content of contemporary Kashmir have captured the imagination of social media users across the world. Returning to Jammu and Kashmir in 2018, he started making YouTube videos and his channel features vlogs in which Imad can be seen travelling across the sprawling landscapes of the Kashmir Valley. Drone footage of some of Kashmir's most beautiful locations is a unique aspect of Imad's work and is captured quite elegantly in the videos he shares online. With four lakh followers on Facebook and over one lakh subscribers on YouTube, Idrees Mir is another sensation from Kashmir. Currently pursuing his PhD from NIMS, Jaipur, Idrees hails from Baramulla District. As a "lifestyle-vlogger", Idrees started content creation in 2017 and he took time to figure out his calling, eventually turning to travel videos. His aim is to be an academic but does not wish to give up content creation as this is what keeps him ticking. With 30,000 subscribers on YouTube, Raashid Sarfaraz is keen to promote tourism in Baramulla District. Raashid started vlogging in May 2019 and wants to give a social message through his new videos. He says he will tell followers not to pollute these beautiful places and focus on sanitation as well. Importantly, he is also starting a vlog in the Phari language, to preserve his mother tongue. Ruman Hamdani is another vlogger from the valley. He is an engineer-turned-cinematographer. His Instagram page helped the 30-year-old content creator to showcase his work and boosted his online popularity. After completing many photographs and videography projects, he co-founded the Master Visual Studios where he shoots commercials, weddings and music videos for local artists. He says that social media sites like Instagram and YouTube are his digital offices.'Explore Kashmir' is a YouTube channel run by three friends, Younis Khan, Hilal Khan and Mir Danish from Srinagar. Their objective is to give tourists a view of the unexplored parts of the Kashmir Valley. Their experience of actually going to many of these places and sharing videos has aroused the interest of several people online. The other aspect of note is that vlogging is not restricted to just travel, but covers many issues across the board, including cooking, education, comedy and music. There are a plethora of such young content creators who have taken to the internet like fish to water. This is the 'Naya Kashmir', a new generation that seeks to bring about change. The changed circumstances have thus provided a new impetus for a healthy mix of technology, tourism, and talent to blossom in Kashmir. (ANI)
A China Eastern Airlines Boeing 737, carrying 132 people on board, crashed on Monday in a mountainous area of the country's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, according to emergency officials. The China Eastern Airlines Boeing 737-800 was flying from Kunming to Guangzhou when it plunged to the ground in Guangxi province and caught fire, the BBC reported. Flight MU5735 left Kunming at 1.11 p.m. (local time) and was scheduled to arrive in Guangzhou at 3.05 p.m. The number of casualties and reason for the crash are not yet known. Rescuers have seen no signs of survivors. The crash has caused shock in China, where President Xi Jinping has ordered an immediate investigation to determine the cause. China Eastern Airlines has grounded all its 737-800s. Flight tracking data suggested the plane lost height rapidly from its cruising altitude before plummeting to the ground. According to FlightRadar24 data, the plane was cruising at 29,100 feet, but two minutes and 15 seconds later it was recorded at 9,075 feet. The last sourced information on the flight showed it ended at 2.22 p.m., at an altitude of 3,225 feet. More than 600 emergency responders are said to be at the crash site. Firefighters reached the scene first and managed to extinguish a blaze in the hills caused by the crash. Footage taken by local villagers and shared on Chinese social media - and by state broadcasters - showed fire and smoke from the crash, with plane debris on the ground, the BBC reported. The staff at Guangzhou airport are directing worried relatives to a separate zone set up to receive them. One woman waiting for news there told the local media she had booked a seat on the flight, but ended up switching to an earlier plane. State-owned China Eastern is one of China's big three airlines, along with China Southern and Air China. Chinese airlines generally have a good safety record - the last major accident took place 12 years ago. The last major plane crash in China took place in August 2010, when a flight from Harbin crashed in Yichun killing 42 people. Meanwhile, Boeing has issued a statement on the crash of MU5735, saying: "We are aware of the initial media reports and are working to gather more information." China's Civil Aviation Administration said it had dispatched its investigators to the scene. --IANS int/pgh ( 400 Words) 2022-03-21-22:54:05 (IANS)
Turkmenistan becomes the first country in Central Asia to accept a Taliban-appointed Afghanistan ambassador, since the Taliban regime took over Kabul in August 2021. Taking to Twitter, Farangis Najibullah, a Tajik-American journalist for Radio Free Europe, wrote, "Turkmenistan becomes 1st country in Central Asia to accept Taliban-appointed Afghanistan ambassador." The inauguration ceremony of the new Taliban-led Afghan ambassador Fazil-Mohammad Saber took place in Ashgabat last Thursday, Fergana news agency quoted. Turkmenistan's Deputy Foreign Minister Vepa Hajiyev attended the ceremony to mark the inauguration of the new ambassador. Following the Taliban takeover in August last year, thousands of Afghans left the country fearing reprisal from the Islamic group.The situation of human rights in Afghanistan has worsened since the collapse of the Afghan government and the Taliban's return to power in August last year. Although the fighting in the country has ended, serious human rights violations continue unabated. The Taliban have committed and continue to commit human rights violations including extrajudicial executions, enforced disappearances, torture, arbitrary detentions, a massive rollback of the rights of women and girls, censorship of and attacks against the media. Moreover, people in Afghanistan are also facing an unprecedented humanitarian crisis which is being driven by decisions and positions taken by the international community, especially the US, that have blocked Afghanistan from aid funding and access to the global financial system. (ANI)
The ongoing turmoil in Pakistan points to a crucial aspect that Imran Khan, who was voted to power to bail the country out of corrupt politics, has failed to deliver his promises, reported local media. Notably, Imran Khan's election to power was to break away from the traditional political parties like Pakistan People's Party (PPP) and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) that were said to be corrupt to the core and incapable of looking after the country's interests, however, he turned no different from his predecessors, reported The Express Tribune. The cost of this experiment is borne by the country and its citizens, who were misled to believe that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) had a roadmap to undertake internal reforms and pursue external policies seeking a rebranding of the country.\ The author states that what is happening now is not surprising for those who know Pakistan's history. Imran Khan may have failed to deliver but he is just a symptom and not the cause of the problem! The reality dawned upon these people as PTI failed to deliver its promise amid the lack of a roadmap to execute the plan of action. This lack of a plan was the reason Pakistan remained indecisive on the International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme for nine months while squandering the USD 12 billion bailout package extended by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, according to the media outlet. Thus, with the recurrence of Imran Khan's failed policies, the current government lost its support base. Further, acting on their mutual hatred to oust Khan, opposition parties in Pakistan submitted a no-confidence motion against him in the National Assembly on March 8, leading to political turmoil in the country. Moreover, the public rallies planned by the Imran Khan government and the opposition on March 27 have added an explosive element to the volatile situation, with a danger of violence breaking out, according to the Dawn newspaper. Notably, National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser has summoned the crucial session of the National Assembly on March 25. In 342-seat National Assembly, Imran Khan needs the support of 172 lawmakers to defeat the no-trust motion. (ANI)
On the occasion, Sinha expressed his commitment to making Jammu and Kashmir as the most preferred investment destination.

Notably, Jammu and Kashmir is hosting a 36-member strong delegation from the Gulf countries at Srinagar to strengthen ties and look at the investment opportunities in the region.

As part of the four-day programme, Sinha along with the Principal Secretary Industries and Commerce and other government officials will be showcasing investment opportunities with a focus on entrepreneurship, tourism and the hospitality sector.

The delegation will also meet the top officials of the Jammu and Kashmir government. The visit signifies the successful socio-economic transformation of the Valley under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Emirati investors are keen to capitalise on the enormous investment potential of Jammu and Kashmir and the visit will further boost the confidence of the global investor community.

The delegation includes -- Saleh Mohammad Ramadhan Alrafi from UAE, a businessman in the real estate and commercial trading business industry, Mohammad Ali Redha Alhasimi, MD of the Al Hashemi Group, Ahmad Mohd Ramadhan Alrafei, CEO, Roya International, Abdulla Omar Ahmad Ahmad Altayer, Executive Director of AlTayer Group, Salem Abdulaziz Mustafa Abdulla Almazrooqi, Representative of the Rulers Office in Abu Dhabi, Ramesh Kumar Sawarthia, Chairman of Sawarthia Group from Hong Kong and Ayman Abdulrahman S Alhilali, CEO of Alpha Sky from Saudi Arabia.

The 36-member delegation also includes Indian businessmen based in UAE and also a representative of the Rulers Office in Abu Dhabi.

Meanwhile, the India delegation includes --Kamal Puri, Chairman of Skyline International Group Limited, Manohar Mohanlal Lahori, chairman and CEO of Palmon Group. Tauseef Chaman, top real estate and property developers and contractors in UAE.

The development is interesting as the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) summit is scheduled to take place in Pakistan on Tuesday (March 22). Islamabad has repeatedly raised the Kashmir issue at OIC-an international organisation of a 57-member Islamic nations group, including UAE. (ANI)
With the looming threat of a no-confidence motion, Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan is seemingly in a mood to provide subsidies to the general public even at the cost of the economy which has already plunged into crisis. Miftah Ismail, the former Pakistani finance minister under the prime ministership of Shahid Khaqan Abbasi termed the industrial package that Imran Khan announced as a "bomb" to destroy the country's economy for the next administration, reported Business Recorder. Many economists must be of the same view despite PM's claim that the relief package was possible due to improved tax collections. These can be substantiated because--first-- 3.799 trillion rupee tax collections (July-February 2021-22) are at par with the budgeted target of 5.8 trillion rupees however for the remaining four months of the current fiscal year there is likely to be a shortfall as the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) allows the rupee to continue to depreciate with the objective of curtailing imports-- imports that contributed 52.2 per cent of total tax collections for the first eight months of this year. Secondly, there has been a significant reduction in collections under non-tax revenue specifically in collections under petroleum levy budgeted at 610 billion rupees while actual collections are expected to be less than half due to the relief package. Another reason for not supporting Imran Khan's industrial package announced on March 1 is because Pakistan is being retained on the grey list of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). The ongoing talks on the seventh review with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) will remain stalled as the Fund, and all other international donor agencies, have pledged to work with the FATF. Moreover, the package envisages granting fiscal and monetary benefits to the rich and influential at the cost of the general public. The conflict between the Prime Minister's claim that "mafias" are operating in all major sectors raking in windfall profits and his industrial package that would benefit mainly these mafias - those operating in the legal and illegal domain -- is sadly becoming starker with the passage of time. On February 28, 2022, the Imran Khan government's announced relief measures to reduce prices of petrol and electricity are on account of Opposition pressure and public anger. The relief measures were announced by Imran Khan in an address to the nation. The measures include a reduction in the prices of petroleum products and electricity tariff by Rs 10 and Rs 5 respectively along with a number of new schemes including one on tax amnesty. (ANI)
Passenger plane carrying 132 crashes in south China

Xinhua) 07:58, March 22, 2022

Rescuers set out to the plane crash site of Tengxian County, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, March 21, 2022. A passenger plane with 132 people aboard crashed in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region Monday afternoon, said the regional emergency management department. (Xinhua)

NANNING, March 21 (Xinhua) -- A passenger plane with 132 people aboard crashed in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region on Monday afternoon, the regional emergency management department said.

The China Eastern Airlines Boeing 737 aircraft, which departed from Kunming and was bound for Guangzhou, crashed into a mountainous area near the Molang village in Tengxian County in the city of Wuzhou at 2:38 p.m., causing a mountain fire, according to the department.

"I heard the roar of a plane on the other side of the hill. A second later, there was an explosion," a worker near the crash site told Xinhua.

There were 123 passengers and nine crew members aboard flight MU5735, the Civil Aviation Administration of China said on its website. The administration said it has initiated an emergency response mechanism and its working team has arrived in Wuzhou.

Chinese President Xi Jinping has ordered the immediate launch of an emergency response, all-out search and rescue efforts and the proper settlement of the aftermath of the crash.

Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, said in his instruction that he was shocked to learn about the accident.

Xi ordered that swift action be taken to identify the cause of the crash and to strengthen the safety overhaul of the civil aviation sector to ensure the absolute safety of both the sector and people's lives.

On behalf of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council, Vice Premier Liu He, also a member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, and State Councilor Wang Yong have led relevant officials to guide rescue work, the settlement of the aftermath and investigation into the cause of the crash, in Wuzhou.

Villager Chen Weihao was working on a farm when he saw the plane nosedived.

"The plane looked to be in one piece when it nosedived. Within seconds, it crashed," said Chen, adding that the crash site was a gap in a mountain where no residents lived.

Flames from the crash have been extinguished and the rescue operation is underway, said Chen Jie, an official from the regional emergency management department.

The Wuzhou fire brigade has sent 117 firefighters with 23 fire trucks to the site. A further 538 firefighters from other parts of Guangxi have been dispatched to join the rescue efforts, the regional fire department said on its Weibo account.

The neighboring Guangdong Province has dispatched 505 firefighters and 97 vehicles to aid the rescue operation, with the first group already at the scene.

"There is some plane wreckage in a gap in the mountain," a rescue worker at the crash site told Xinhua. "There are pieces of the wings, one of them about 2 or 3 meters. There is other debris, with some probably being pieces of clothing."

Villager Shi Fuxiong said he saw a large pit at the crash site and surrounding trees within dozens of meters had been leveled. "There were many pieces of small debris of the plane and baggage, but no large pieces of wreckage," he said.

The Guangxi regional health commission has dispatched 12 medical experts to the site, and over 80 medical workers and 36 ambulances sent by health authorities in the city of Wuzhou have arrived at the scene.

China Eastern Airlines said that it has initiated an emergency response mechanism. It has established nine special working groups for aircraft disposal, accident investigation, family assistance, logistics support, legal support, public relations, security, financial insurance, and cargo disposal.

The airline said the cause of the accident will be fully investigated.

Boeing China said it is aware of the media reports of the crash and is working to gather more information.

Photo taken with a mobile phone shows pieces of a crashed passenger plane's wreckage found at the crash site in Tengxian County, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, March 21, 2022. A passenger plane with 132 people aboard crashed in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region Monday afternoon, said the regional emergency management department. The Civil Aviation Administration of China said it has initiated the emergency response mechanism and dispatched a working team to the site. (Xinhua)

Photo taken with a mobile phone shows the plane crash site in Tengxian County, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, March 21, 2022. A passenger plane with 132 people aboard crashed in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region Monday afternoon, said the regional emergency management department. (Xinhua)

Photo taken with a mobile phone shows a police officer conducting search and rescue work around the plane crash site in Tengxian County, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, March 21, 2022. A passenger plane with 132 people aboard crashed in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region Monday afternoon, said the regional emergency management department. (Xinhua)

Photo taken with a mobile phone shows rescuers conducting search and rescue work around the plane crash site in Tengxian County, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, March 21, 2022. A passenger plane with 132 people aboard crashed in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region Monday afternoon, said the regional emergency management department. (Xinhua)

Photo taken with a mobile phone shows rescuers conducting search and rescue work around the plane crash site in Tengxian County, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, March 21, 2022. A passenger plane with 132 people aboard crashed in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region Monday afternoon, said the regional emergency management department. (Xinhua)

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As a student at Westminster High School from 2009 to 2013, Abraham Bhatty fell in love with learning about technology. Now, he teaches the subject to kids in the same school system from which he graduated.

I took all the electives available at the time in high school, so much so that there were no more classes left to take in Tech-Ed, so I ended up doing an independent study, Bhatty said.

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Now a technology teacher at West Middle School in Westminster, Bhatty, 26, recently received the Technology and Engineering Educators Association of Marylands (TEEAM) New Teacher Award. Carroll County Public Schools announced the honor on March 2.

The award recognizes new technology teachers with less than three years of experience for outstanding contributions in the technology and engineering classroom and beyond, according to the announcement.

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I was really surprised and grateful, Bhatty said. I actually found out through an email chain  I grew up here in Westminster and I started getting all these emails of congratulations from a lot of the teachers I had in middle and high school  it was really cool to hear from them.

Afternoon Update Weekdays Updating you on the day's biggest news before the evening commute. >

Bhatty began his teaching career in September 2020 at West Middle after earning his bachelors degree in technology and engineering education from the University of Maryland Eastern Shore, a historically Black college in Princess Anne, Maryland.

In Spring 2016, I went into a teacher education program in Carroll County  I started out getting my first introduction to education in the program, which ironically enough was at West Middle School  that kind of just set me on my path, Bhatty explained.

Bhatty said his students have responded well to his teaching style, which he described as lively.

I just try to keep the class entertaining, so I will sometimes make some dumb dad jokes or horrible puns  One could argue that its almost more essential for students in middle school to have a more lively teacher, Bhatty added.

As an alumnus of West Middle and Westminster High, Bhatty credits the new teacher award to the Carroll County school system, his former teachers, and his students. Most notably he mentioned Scott Tobias, who taught technology education during Bhattys time at Westminster High.

Tobias called Bhatty an engaging student who genuinely enjoyed the programs hands-on approach.

Abe took pride in his work and was disciplined in following procedures to build some pretty cool projects, Tobias said. It was awesome seeing a young man that I taught pursue the same profession and have success so early on.
US President Joe Biden on Monday (local time) said that India, an exception among US major allies, "has been somewhat shaky" on the Western sanctions punishing Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Speaking at the Business Roundtable's CEO Quarterly Meeting on Monday, referring to how unified Washington Allies have been in isolating President Putin, Biden stated, "...The Quad is, with the possible exception of India being somewhat shaky on some of this, but Japan has been extremely strong -- so has Australia -- in terms of dealing with Putin's aggression." Biden in his remarks asserted that Putin didn't anticipate how unified NATO and western allies would be in a global response to his invasion of Ukraine. At a virtual Quad conference earlier this month, leaders of Australia, Japan and U.S. denounced Russia's invasion. However, Prime Minister Narendra Modi reiterated "the need to return to a path of dialogue and diplomacy." India is the only member of the QUAD that has not condemned Russia's invasion. All member countries of the QUAD barring India have also slapped significant sanctions on Russia. India has abstained from key United Nations votes on the crisis, calling instead for an "immediate cessation of violence" and a return to dialogue. Russian forces launched military operations in Ukraine on February 24, three days after Moscow recognized Ukraine's breakaway regions, Donetsk and Luhansk as independent republics followed by the announcement of a "special military operation" to "demilitarize" and "denazify" Ukraine. Meanwhile, the Western nations have strongly condemned the Russian military operation and have boosted the sanctions pressure on Moscow. (ANI)
UN has set up safe spaces along the Ukrainian border and has reached to more than 3,30,000 people with food assistance since the war began in Ukraine in late February. The Spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General, Stephane Dujarric, in a press briefing on Monday said, two United Nations agencies, UNICEF and UNHCR, have set up "Blue Dots" centres, which are "one-stop safe spaces for children and women," at various places along Ukraine's border in neighbouring countries. "Blue Dots" centres are set up in coordination with local governments and civil society organizations and "help to identify unaccompanied and separated children and ensure their protection, as well as provide a hub for essential services and information for travelling families," Dujarric said. Furthermore, the UN World Food Programme said it has reached more than 330,000 people inside Ukraine with food assistance since the Russian invasion, according to Dujarric. He added that food delivery to cooperating partners is also being accentuated. "In Kharkiv, the World Food Programme doubled its bread distribution through partners, reaching nearly 78 metric tonnes for about 260,000 people. In Kyiv -- following the delivery of 26 metric tonnes of high-energy biscuits - WFP's partners have delivered about 325 metric tonnes of vegetable oil and 478 metric tonnes of wheat flour to nearly 70,000 vulnerable people. In Dnipro, some 2.2 metric tonnes of mixed canned food was also distributed to the most vulnerable," Dujarric said. On February 24, Russia began a special military operation in Ukraine after the Donetsk and Luhansk people's republics requested help in defending themselves. What followed the military operation was a slew of sanctions imposed by the western countries targeting the Russian economy. (ANI)
Buchenwald concentration camp memorial institute confirmed Romanchenko's death. According to the memorial, Romanchenko survived the camps at Buchenwald, Peenemunde, Dora and Bergen-Belsen during World War II.

The memorial said that it was "stunned" by news of his death adding, Romanchenko worked "intensively on the memory of Nazi crimes and was vice-president of the Buchenwald-Dora International Committee."

Yulia Romanchenko, Borys' granddaughter, told CNN that she "learned about the shelling of Saltivka residential district on March 18 from social networks. I asked locals if they knew anything about my grandfather's house. They sent me a video of a burning house. I found out about this after the curfew and therefore I could not go there immediately."

However, while she tried to reach the area, she found her grandfather's house "completely burned down -- there were no windows, no balcony, nothing in his apartment," reported CNN.

On February 24, Russia began a special military operation in Ukraine after the Donetsk and Luhansk people's republics requested help in defending themselves. What followed the military operation was a slew of sanctions imposed by the western countries targeting the Russian economy. (ANI)
In its fourth week of the Russia-Ukraine war, new satellite images from Maxar Technologies shows damage from Moscow military strikes across Irpin, northwest of Kyiv in Ukraine. Two distinct fires are seen in central Irpin near a complex of city government and apartment buildings. The images show fires from military strikes and growing flooding from the Irpin River, CNN reported. The images, taken on Monday, also show Russian artillery positions west of the Russian-held Antonov Air Base northwest of the capital, Kyiv. Two other fires can also be seen in another satellite image among a group of buildings near a school in the city and a residential area near a lake. An additional satellite image shows growing floodwaters from the Irpin River. It's unclear how the dam began flooding the Irpin River basin, whether the gates were opened on purpose by the Ukrainians to flood the area, or it was hit by a military strike. According to CNN, a dam along the Dnieper River was flooding the Irpin River basin and its tributaries. The Irpin River is critical to the Russian advance toward Kyiv; if the Russians cannot cross it, they can't take Kyiv from the west. In the early hours of February 24, Russia launched a special military operation in Ukraine after the Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics (DPR and LPR) appealed for help in defending themselves against the Kyiv forces. Russia said that the aim of its special operation is to demilitarize and "denazify" Ukraine and that only military infrastructure is being targeted - the civilian population is not in danger. Moscow has repeatedly stressed that it has no plans to occupy Ukraine.According to Russian President Vladimir Putin, the goal is to protect the people of Donbas, "who have been subjected to abuse, genocide by the Kyiv regime for eight years."The head of the Russian National Defense Control Center, Mikhail Mizintsev said on Saturday that there are over 2.7 million people in Ukraine who wish to evacuate to Russia. (ANI)
"Held talks with Prime Minister @MinPres. Informed about the struggle against the aggressor, war crimes, shelling of civilian infrastructure. Thanked for the significant support to people. Discussed the course of the peace process. We must stop the war together," tweeted Zelenskyy.

Meanwhile, Zelenskyy has said that there cannot be any "denazification" in the agreement with Russia, reported The Kyiv Independent, a Ukraine-based media outlet.

"When a country that is treading in the footsteps of the Nazi is accusing us of being Nazi - we can't accept that," the media outlet quoted him as saying during an interview to Suspilne, a Ukrainian public broadcaster.

Russian forces launched military operations in Ukraine on February 24, three days after Moscow recognized Ukraine's breakaway regions, Donetsk and Luhansk as independent republics followed by the announcement of a "special military operation" to "demilitarize" and "denazify" Ukraine.

Condemning the Russian military operation, the Western nations have boosted the sanctions pressure on Moscow. (ANI)
"At the invitation of Minister for Foreign Affairs Narayan Khadka, State Councilor and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China Wang Yi is visiting Nepal from 25 to 27 March 2022," Nepal Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

During the visit, Wang will pay courtesy calls to President Bidya Devi Bhandari and Prime Minister of Nepal Sher Bahadur Deuba.

On March 26, Khadka and Wang Yi will hold bilateral talks, leading their respective delegations.

Wang Yi will also meet with former Prime Minister and Chairman of CPN-UML K P Sharma Oli, and former Prime Minister and Chairman of CPN-Maoist Centre Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda', the statement said.

China's Foreign Minister will be visiting Nepal to push for the implementation of China's infrastructure development strategy, the 'Belt and Road Initiative (BRI)'.

During his visit, Wang Yi will look to sign at least two projects, The Kathmandu Post reported.

"We have already received the text of the project implementation plan of the BRI from China," a senior Nepali government official told the Post, adding that "both sides during the visit are expected to agree on the text of the project implementation plan, which will pave the way for the execution of BRI projects".

Nepal signed the BRI agreement back in 2017. Back then it was regarded as a watershed moment in Nepal and China bilateral ties. However, no project took off over concerns regarding the Chinese infrastructure programme. (ANI)
Earlier, The Washington Post, The Guardian and other media outlets reported that Mariupol residents were allegedly being "deported" to Russia after having been taken to "filtration camps."

"We have noted statements by the Ukrainian authorities circulated in US media about the alleged creation of 'filtration camps' by our military on the territory of Mariupol. Unprofessionalism and lies cross all boundaries. The press operates in line with the principle 'all means are good in the information war'," the embassy said in a statement on Telegram.

The embassy said the talk was about inspection points for civilians leaving the zone of active hostilities. (ANI/Sputnik)
Zeya separately met Pakistan National Security Advisor (NSA) Moeed Yusuf and Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi.

"Pleasure meeting Pakistan's Foreign Minister Qureshi to discuss our countries' enduring ties and 75 years of US - Pakistan partnership, gratitude for Afghan relocation and refugee-hosting, US support for Pakistan's CT efforts, the need for solidarity on Ukraine, and human rights," Zeya said in a tweet.

Zeya began her trip in Islamabad on Monday where she will lead the US delegation to the 48th session of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Council of Foreign Ministers conference and meet with senior government officials.

She also met members of civil society and international organizations.

During her OIC engagements, the Under Secretary will highlight the deep and close ties between the United States and the OIC member states, underscore the need for humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan, and advocate for human rights and freedoms for all.

The Under Secretary's bilateral meetings will address regional security developments, Pakistan's generous hosting of Afghan refugees and support for Afghan relocation efforts and worldwide condemnation of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Zeya is later slated to travel to Tunisia on March 23 and the United Arab Emirates, from March 27 to 29. (ANI)
The girl identified as Pooja Oad was said to have been shot in the middle of the street in Rohi, Sukkur after she put up resistance to the attackers, The Friday Times newspaper reported.

This is not a stand-alone incident in Pakistan. Human rights activists say that hundreds of Christian and Hindu girls are forced to convert to Islam every year.

Women belonging to minority communities are regularly abducted and forcibly converted. Rights group says the country's minority communities have long faced the issue of forced marriages and conversions.

Multiple rights organisations have accused the Pakistan government of not taking necessary actions over the rising crimes against Hindus and other minorities.

Earlier, the provincial government in Sindh had attempted to outlaw forced conversions and marriages. However, religious protestors contested the bill, stating that girls only convert after falling in love with Muslim men.

The overall population of the Hindu community in Pakistan at 1.60 per cent, and 6.51 per cent in Sindh, according to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics. (ANI)
The conference will be convened on the issue titled 'Bangladesh: Justice after Genocide' at Leiden University, Wijnhaven Campus.

The conference is being organized in collaboration with the Leiden University UNICEF Student Team the Hague & SESA (South East and South Asian) Club by CIROS (Community of International Relations and Organisations Students).

A number of experts, academics, diplomats, university teachers, researchers from the U.K., USA (Washington), Germany, Netherlands and University student leaders will take part in the conference as speakers.

The speakers include Husain Haqqani, Former Ambassador of Pakistan to the United States & Director, South and Central Asia, Hudson Institute, Washington, USA- 'Bangabandhu and the Struggle for Bangladesh' and Dr Wolfgang-Peter Zingel, South Asia Institute (SAI), University of Heidelberg, Germany.

A 10-minute documentary film titled, 'War Crimes 1971' will also be screened on the day.

During the 1971 Genocide in Bangladesh, the Pakistan military deliberately harmed hundreds of thousands of Bangladeshi citizens. Rights group says the horrors of 1971 are considered one of the worst mass atrocities in history.

The damage they inflicted can be described in the following numbers. As many as three million people were believed to have been killed, up to 200,000 women were violated and over 10 million people were forced to cross the border to India to seek shelter. (ANI)
A Baltimore man was sentenced to over eight years in federal prison on Friday in relation to a fatal overdose in Harford County.

Khalil Shaheed, 28, was convicted on charges of intent to distribute controlled substances, possession of a firearm by a felon and possession of firearms in furtherance of drug trafficking, according to a news release from the Maryland U.S. Attorneys Office.

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According to the plea agreement, investigators examined the cellphone of a fatal overdose victim from Harford County whod purchased heroin from a contact in their phone called T at least seven times. The last date the victim bought heroin from T was Oct. 14, 2017  three days before the victims death. In the last conversation with T, the victim was told to meet in a grocery store bathroom in Baltimore.

The victims name was not released by officials.

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An investigation by multiple law enforcement agencies led to surveilance on Shaheed. On Nov. 9, 2017, investigators watched Shaheed leave his residence in Baltimore and travel to a gas station, where he was followed by a detective into the bathroom. When the detective entered, Shaheed quickly exited with another male subject and left without making any purchases.

Believing they had witnessed Shaheed engage in a drug deal in the gas station bathroom, law enforcement obtained a court order to install a GPS device on Shaheeds vehicle.

The plea agreement stated that investigators executed a search warrant on Shaheeds vehicle and residence on Nov. 16, 2017. In total, investigators seized about 82 grams of cocaine, 55 grams of heroin and 7 grams of fentanyl. They also found two handguns and over $12,000 in cash. Officers also seized a cellphone that was associated with the same phone number saved as T in the overdose victims cellphone.

On Nov. 6, 2019, a federal grand jury indicted Shaheed on charges related to possession with intent to distribute controlled substances in November 2017, and possession of the firearms, and an arrest warrant was issued.

On Nov. 20, 2019, federal investigators located Shaheed at his last residence and observed activity indicative of drug trafficking activity in plain view. The day of his arrest, officers executed another search warrant and found six bags of cocaine and a handgun.

Shaheeds case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods, a program uniting levels of law enforcement and their communities to reduce violence and make neighborhoods safer.
Amidst a "profound crisis" facing access to basic human rights in Myanmar, the UN's top rights official on Monday said that hundreds of localized armed resistance groups have now formed across the country, triggering "widespread violence in areas that were previously stable". High Commissioner Michelle Bachelet told the 49th session of the Human Rights Council (HRC) that the country's humanitarian crisis continues to expand as actions of security forces has inflamed pre-existing armed conflicts in multiple ethnic states, following the coup in February last year. "The economy is on the brink of collapse. Over 14.4 million individuals are now assessed as being in humanitarian need", said the OHCHR chief, predicting that "food scarcity will sharply increase over the coming months". The UN Development Programme (UNDP) has forecast that "the combined impact of the coup and the COVID-19 pandemic could force nearly half of Myanmar's population into poverty this year." Although most protests have been expressed peacefully, including a 'Silent Strike' as well as other forms of protest and boycotts, the military has met all dissent with lethal force, mass arbitrary arrests, and torture, UN News reported. "Credible sources have recorded the deaths of over 1,600 individuals, many engaged in peaceful protest. At least 350 of those killed died in military custody, over 21 per cent of the total deaths," Bachelet said. Since 1 February 2021, more than half a million people have been forced to flee their homes, with at least 15,000 reportedly fleeing the country - adding to the nearly 340,000 people internally displaced before the coup, and more than one million refugees, most of them mostly Muslim Rohingya who have found refuge in Bangladesh Disproportionate military crackdowns in clear violation of international human rights and humanitarian law, have taken place in Sagaing and Magway Regions, as well as in Chin, Kachin, Kayah, Kayin, and Shan States. "Tatmadaw have targeted both armed resistance groups and civilians with helicopter gunships, airstrikes, and the use of indiscriminate force," she said. (ANI)
The Scott Morrison government is investing over USD 280 million to boost cooperation with India, to further grow its economic relationship and support jobs and businesses in both countries, the Australian government said in a press statement on Tuesday. In 2020, India was Australia's seventh-largest trading partner, with two-way trade valued at USD 24.3 billion, and the sixth-largest goods and services export market, valued at USD 16.9 billion. In 2020, India was Australia's third-largest market for services exports. The Australian government said it will provide additional investment in the relationship including USD 16.6 million to strengthen linkages with India's key policy and finance institutions as part of the Update to the India Economic Strategy to 2035. They will also provide USD 8.9 million to support enhanced business engagement and an increased Austrade presence in India. India and Australia held a virtual leaders meeting on Monday, where Australia committed USD 17.2 million to extend the Australia-India Strategic Research Fund to continue supporting a world-class relationship and establish an Australia-India Innovation and Technology Challenge. According to the government release, USD 35.7 million will be given for a Green Steel Partnership, a Critical Minerals Research Partnership, and a contribution to the International Energy Agency to support cooperation on research, production and commercialisation of clean technologies, critical minerals and energy. USD 25.2 million will be allotted to expand the Australian Space Agency's International Space Investment initiative to deepen space cooperation with India. As many as USD 28.1 million will be allocated to launch a Centre for Australia-India Relations to deepen community ties, promote public discussions and policy dialogue, and engage the Indian diaspora. Australia's Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment Dan Tehan said the Morrison Government was investing to grow the Australia-India economic, trade and investment relationship. "India and Australia share common values, complementary economies and strong people-to-people links that make us ideal partners," Tehan said. "Our partnership with India is vital as we both strive for stronger, sustainable economic growth and more secure and diversified trade and investment patterns and supply chains." He also said the Australian Government remains committed to the India Economic Strategy and its ambitious goals: to lift India into our top three export markets by 2035, and to make India the third-largest destination in Asia for outward Australian investment. Furthermore, the Australian government today published Australia's Indian Diaspora, a national asset report which highlights the contribution Australia's Indian diaspora communities are making to Australian society. "Australia's Indian community is young and highly educated and well represented across services and STEM sectors with strong export potential," Tehan said. "Indian diaspora networks can make important contributions to our trade and investment relationship with India, and also to Australia's international competitiveness generally." The Indian diaspora is Australia's fastest growing large diaspora community. The Indian-born population became Australia's second-largest overseas-born migrant group behind the UK-born at 721,050-strong in 2020. (ANI)
Naftali is undertaking the visit on the occasion of the commemoration of 30 years of diplomatic relations between India and Israel.

Bennett is paying the visit to India from April 3-5 at the invitation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said in an official statement.

Both the leaders had earlier met on the sidelines of the UN Climate Change Conference (COP 26) in Glasgow in November last year. They also had a telephonic conversation on August 16, 2021.

"The visit by Bennett would be his first to India in his capacity as Prime Minister. This visit would take place on the occasion of the commemoration of 30 years of full diplomatic relations between India and Israel and 75 years of India's Independence," MEA said in a statement.

India and Israel elevated their bilateral relationship to a strategic partnership during the visit of Prime Minister Modi to Israel in July 2017.

Since then, the two countries have continued to deepen their strategic partnership, with a focus on innovation and research, read the statement.

"The visit by the Prime Minister of Israel is expected to further strengthen our excellent bilateral cooperation in diverse areas, including agriculture, water, trade, education and science and technology," the statement added. (ANI)
Pakistan Muslim League (PML-N) President Shahbaz Sharif and Pakistan People's Party (PPP) chairperson Bilawal Bhutto Zardari slammed the National Assembly speaker for violating the constitutional provision requiring him to convene a meeting of the Lower House within 14 days after receiving a requisition for a session to table a no-trust motion against Imran Khan, Dawn newspaper reported.

Sharif claimed Speaker Qaiser had deliberately violated Article 54(3) of the Constitution using the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) meeting as an excuse, Dawn newspaper reported.

The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) chairman said the government was violating the Constitution and trying to evade the no-confidence motion.

According to the Pakistani newspaper, Bilawal advised Speaker Qaiser to follow the Constitution and consult his lawyers before taking any action that might entail his trial under Article 6 of the Constitution (for high treason).

He said the government and the speaker had practically demonstrated that they could flout the Constitution. But he hoped the apex court would not take a political stance and stand by the Constitution, law and democracy, Dawn newspaper reported.

Meanwhile, the opposition parties will hold a long march against the Imran Khan government. The long march, led by Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PMLN) leaders, Maryam Nawaz and Hamza Shehbaz, will enter Islamabad on March 27, where they will stage a sit-in at the Constitution Avenue.

The Opposition parties in Pakistan are jettisoning mutual hatred to oust Imran Khan as they submitted the no-trust motion in the National Assembly secretariat on March 8.

While the Imran Khan government has exuded confidence to defeat the no-trust motion, the Opposition is sure that they will oust Khan. (ANI)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Australian counterpart Scott Morrison expressed serious concerns about the ongoing conflict and humanitarian crisis in Ukraine, a joint statement said on Tuesday following the second virtual summit between the two leaders. "Leaders expressed their serious concerns about the ongoing conflict and humanitarian crisis in Ukraine. They reiterated the need for an immediate cessation of hostilities," the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said in the statement. During the meeting, both leaders emphasised that the contemporary global order has been built on the UN Charter, international law and respect for sovereignty and the territorial integrity of states. "They agreed to remain closely engaged on the issue and its broader implications for the Indo-Pacific," the joint statement said. This comes a day after the Australian PM on Monday expressed apprehensions of the events of Europe spreading out to other regions, including the Indo-Pacific. "Our meeting today is set at the very distressing backdrop of the war in Europe which must never happen in our own region. I very much want to thank you for the partnership that we have while we are obviously distressed at the terrible situation in Europe. Our focus is very much on what is occurring in the Indo-Pacific and ensuring that those events do not occur here," Morrison said while delivering his opening remarks at the second India-Australia Virtual Summit. In the joint statement, the two Prime Ministers expressed their shared commitment to a free, open and rules-based Indo Pacific, supported by a robust regional architecture, with ASEAN at its centre. They reaffirmed their commitment to an inclusive and prosperous region in which the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all states is respected and countries are free from military, economic and political coercion. "Leaders underscored their commitment to the cooperation between India, Australia, Japan and the United States on advancing the Quad's positive and ambitious agenda to promote regional stability and prosperity. They welcomed the virtual meeting between Quad leaders in March 2022 and looked forward to the next in-person meeting in the coming months," the MEA said. They also welcomed the close cooperation between India and Australia on the Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative. Prime Minister Modi also appreciated the briefing by Morrison on the Australia-UK-US (AUKUS) partnership. They also recognised Australia's commitment to not develop nuclear weapons and to uphold the highest standards of non-proliferation. (ANI)
"Leaders called for the immediate cessation of violence against civilian populations in Myanmar, the release of all those arbitrarily detained, including foreigners, and unhindered humanitarian access," the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said in the statement.

During the virtual summit, both the leaders urged Myanmar to implement ASEAN's Five-Point Consensus and encouraged the international community to work together to support an end to the violence.

The ASEAN's five-point consensus was reached last year and stressed dialogue, humanitarian assistance and an end to violence.The Myanmar military junta took control of the country following a coup on February 1 last year.

Since the coup, security forces have killed at least 1,600 people and detained more than 12,000, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners.

Over 500,000 people have been internally displaced since the coup, while tens of thousands have fled as refugees to Thailand and India, the HRW report had further said citing United Nations refugee agency, United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) data.

Myanmar's junta has carried out a brutal nationwide crackdown to suppress those opposing military rule.

The Human Rights Watch (HRW) had on Friday said the junta's systematic and pervasive abuses, including mass killings, torture, arbitrary arrests, and indiscriminate attacks on civilians, amount to crimes against humanity and war crimes. (ANI)
Without naming Pakistan, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Australian counterpart Scott Morrison strongly condemned terrorism in all forms and the use of proxies for cross-border terrorism. In a joint statement following the India-Australia virtual summit on Monday, the two leaders stressed the need for all countries to take action to ensure that no territory under their control is used for terrorist attacks. "Recognising that terrorism remains a threat to peace and stability in our region, the leaders strongly condemned terrorism in all its forms and manifestations and the use of terrorist proxies for cross-border terrorism," the joint statement read. "They reiterated the urgent need for all countries to take immediate, sustained, verifiable and irreversible action to ensure that no territory under their control is used for terrorist attacks, and to expeditiously bring to justice the perpetrators of such attacks," it added. The two leaders agreed to continue to share information and coordinate on counter-terrorism efforts bilaterally, in Quad consultations and in multilateral fora. India has on several occasions said that it desires normal neighbourly relations with Pakistan. India's consistent position is that issues between India and Pakistan should be resolved bilaterally and peacefully, in an atmosphere free of terror and violence. New Delhi has maintained that the onus is on Pakistan to create such a conducive environment. Pakistan continues to sponsor cross border terrorism against India; restrict normal trade, connectivity and people-to-people exchanges; and engage in hostile and fabricated propaganda to vilify India, according to the Ministry of External Affairs annual report. (ANI)
Sri Lanka is battling one of its worst economic crises in over seven decades, as successive governments in the island nation have ignored sovereign bonds to Sri Lanka, with China being a major lender. It has succumbed to Chinese foreign investment with the hope for better infrastructure, higher employment, income, economic stability, thereby increasing the standard of living of the common people. However, they ignored repeated warnings of China's ulterior motives of keeping them indebted and dependent for years. The country has foreign debt obligations of around USD 7 billion in 2022, including prepayment of bonds worth USD 1 billion in July 2021. Sri Lanka found a "friend" in China after the war with LTTE. Footprints of China became visible in Sri Lanka with infrastructure projects like bridges, roads, railways, ports, airports, offers to develop special economic zones (SEZ), oil refineries, industrial towns, LNG power plants, etc. However, the eclipse of domestic innovation made Sri Lankans mere spectators while the country remained more China dependent. Despite huge Chinese investments in Sri Lanka for years, the country is reeling under one of the worst economic crises in its history with depleting forex reserves, huge foreign debt and debt servicing obligations. The crisis has now hit the nerves of the common man with a shortage of food, fertilizer, fuel, power and spiralling prices. Apprehending the major political fallout of the current crisis, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa requested Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi during his visit to Sri Lanka in January this year to restructure debt repayments. Wang's visit comes after China-Sri Lanka relations took a nosedive after a recent tussle over contaminated organic fertilizer dispatched to Sri Lanka. China's relatively closed and inward-looking investment model with low participation from Sri Lankans is a matter of concern. The current crises expose the inability of Chinese investments to generate sustainable employment and revenue generation in the island nation, thereby having little impact on the lives and livelihoods of the common people. Further, Chinese investments failed to ensure enough forex inflows to equip the Sri Lankan exchequer to service its debts. Though China refutes these assessments, structural imbalance in bilateral trade, investment, rising debt and interest obligations are the hot subjects among the intelligentsia, media and even on the streets. The Sri Lankan government under liberalization policy has tweaked their foreign investment policies to attract foreign investments since the 1980s. China enjoyed liberal duty exemptions for the huge imports from China for infrastructure projects. The quantum of duty exemptions granted to China for years since the construction of Hambantota port (Nov 2010), to the reclamation of land (2020) for the Colombo Port City project can no way match the benefits accrued to the common people of Sri Lanka. However, the quantum of benefits enjoyed by the political leaders of Sri Lanka is an open secret. China successfully cultivated the Buddhist clergy and arranged lucrative trips to China to create public opinion in favour of Chinese investments and its footprints in Sri Lanka, despite China attempting to destroy Buddhism in China and forcing Tibetans to seek refuge in the neigbouring countries. Loss of employment of local Sri Lankans due to implementation of Chinese investment projects solely through state-owned Chinese companies and deploying large numbers of Chinese experts and technicians are yet to attract the attention of public scrutiny. The irony is that trade unions failed to raise sufficient voice for their claim on employment loss from these projects. With the cancellation of joint venture agreements with Japan and India for the development of East Container Terminal (ECT) following trade union protests, China made another attempt by excluding Japan from the project, its largest development partner of Sri Lanka while media attention diverted to the Sri Lanka-India tussle on the issue. Later the work on ECT was given to China Habour Engineering Company and its local partners Access Engineering of Sri Lanka. Rajapaksa blamed the former UNP government for leasing Hambantota port for 99 years to a Chinese company on its failure to repay the loan for the port project. However, the Rajapaksa government in May last year subsequently also passed Colombo Port City Commission (CPCC) bill granting major representation to Chinese experts/officials in its governing body. It also ensured no Parliamentary scrutiny, revealing the deep influence of China on Rajapaksa. The brewing of a deep sense of dissatisfaction amongst the Sri Lankans cannot be ruled out in view of the scant trickle-down effect of Chinese investment. Meanwhile, a Chinese company, CITS Overseas Economic Cooperation Co Ltd, financed the launching of a TikTok account for the Sri Lankan Embassy in Beijing recently, hoping to raise Sino-Sri Lanka relations to the next level. China is keen to avert a Pakistan like situation in Sri Lanka. In Pakistan, large scale protests were organised by locals in Balochistan against CPEC with slogans like "Gwadar Ko Haq Do' (give Gwadar its rights) as CPEC failed to give employment to locals. Given the current crisis coupled with the absence of any assurances from China for concrete support, Sri Lanka seems to be reassessing the extent to which it can bank on China. It is nearly impossible for Rajapaksas to deny China its committed space in Sri Lanka due to arbitration threats and likely obligations. It is an economic annexation of a sovereign country and not a debt trap alone. However, Rajapaksas seem to be looking out for avenues to come out of China's shadow in the pretext of balancing relations with major powers. (ANI)
Moscow [Russia] March 22 (ANI/Sputnik): The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is eager to work on establishing humanitarian corridors in Ukraine amid the ongoing Russian military operation, ICRC President Peter Maurer said in an interview with Sputnik. The ICRC president was visiting the eastern European country from March 14-18. "We are very much committed to facilitating agreement [on humanitarian corridors], but the agreement and the consensus have to happen between the military on the ground who are in control of the territories, who have the power to decide on decontaminating exit routes and de-mining exit routes," Maurer said. The official noted the ICRC's involvement in evacuation of inhabitants from the city of Sumy last week. "What we can do is to discuss with Russia and Ukraine on our experience in many other places of the world. We have a check list on what to consider when you discuss corridors. We need arrangements, exact agreements on the routes, on the streets, we need coordinates where the military are, we need agreements between the militaries on what happens when there are incidents, hotlines between the two sides, the commanders on the ground," Maurer stated. On February 24, Russia began a military operation to "demilitarize and de-nazify Ukraine," responding to calls from the breakaway Donbas republics for help in countering the aggression of Ukrainian forces. The Russian Defense Ministry said the operation is targeting Ukrainian military infrastructure only. According to the UN refugee agency, around 3.5 million people have already left Ukraine for neighboring countries, of which 230,000 came to Russia, since the start of hostilities. Around 6.5 million Ukrainians have been internally displaced. (ANI/Sputnik)
The Chinese in Pakistan are facing a backlash due to their aggressive attitude and dominance amid the growing alliance between Beijing and Islamabad. In the last decade, several attacks were held on Chinese across Pakistan which indicates dissatisfaction and opposition by the locals. On December 18 last year, due to their aggressive attitude, the staff members of Chinese company Gansu Construction Investment heavy Industry Korangi were beaten by unidentified attackers with clubs and rods in the Korangi area of Karachi city. Two days earlier, the body of a Chinese national, 53-year old Li Wenzhang, who was working for a private power supply company for the last five years was recovered from his company compound container house in Port Qasim. On July 14 last year, nine Chinese engineers were among 13 people killed when a bus carrying construction workers in Dasu area of Upper Kohistan district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was attacked. Beijing has been pumping money not only to Pakistan's economic hubs but also to places like Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. In Sindh, Chinese firms have not only completed several CPEC (China-Pakistan Economic Project) projects but have also bought a 40 per cent stake in the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) company. In Karachi city, sanitation contracts had been given out to Chinese companies, which have irked the locals. The Chinese have been facing resistance across Pakistan as they are not only exploiting the resources but even creating unemployment for the local Pakistanis. This has fuelled anti-China sentiments among the Pakistanis and they have been carrying out attacks on Chinese workers. In August last year, a suicide bomber attacked Chinese nationals in Balochistan injuring one person whereas a gun shooting incident killed two Chinese factory workers. In 2018, several attacks were carried out against the Chinese in Pakistan. On 23 November 2018, an attack on the Chinese Consulate in Karachi was carried out in which 3 attackers and 2 Pakistani guards were killed. In August 2018, a suicide bomber targeted a vehicle carrying Chinese citizens. Three Chinese and three local security officers had been grievously injured in the incident. The Chinese have been facing resistance in Balochistan, where they are investing huge money building Gwadar Port as part of a multi-billion dollar CPEC project. While the region is considered risky for investment, the Chinese appear to have had no qualms so far in funnelling money into the province. (ANI)
Representatives from the CHOSEN Community Development Corporation join the award reciepients for a few photos after the group's Women's History Month recognition program Friday, March, 18, 2022 at the Mt. Zion Baptist Church in Aberdeen. (Matt Button / The Aegis/Baltimore Sun Media)

CHOSEN Community Development Corporation honored women who are game changers at the organizations second annual Womens History Month Recognition Program. The program was held Friday at Mt. Zion Baptist Church in Aberdeen.

We are here to celebrate not just those who are impactful, but those who are game changers, said CHOSENs founder, James C. Williams, Sr. Those are women of our families, this community and profession. Women who nurture their families but also make a difference in the world we live in.

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The theme for this years event focused on women who provide healing and promote hope. The organization recognized women who exemplify those characteristics to let other women know there are no bounds to their potential regardless of the obstacles in front of them, organizers said.

If you can see it, you can do it, said Colvin Bennet, executive director of CHOSEN. So put it in your mind and think about what you want to be. Then, see yourself in that position and I promise you will be that person.

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Before recognizing the youth and women honorees, the organization honored some of the current game changers who provide healing and hope in Harford County, including Havre de Grace Chief of Police Teresa Walker and council member Casi Boyer; Sylvia Bryant, director of the Harford County Department of Community Services; Vicki Jones, president of the Harford NAACP; and Sheryl Davis Kohl, president of the Aberdeen Chamber of Commerce.

Brig. Gen. Janeen Birckhead, commander of the Maryland Army National Guard troops who patrolled the U.S. Capitol during the 2021 presidential inauguration and who was appointed by Gov. Hogan to lead the Maryland Vaccine Equity Task Force, was the keynote speaker.

Birckhead shared how the pandemic helped her reconnect with some of the founding documents this country was built on and how Womens History Month is directly related to those documents.

Over time, numerous women have consistently provided hope and healing, especially during the pandemic, Birckhead said. She said she hoped her speech would uplift mothers, grandmothers, teachers and front line workers regardless of their circumstances in life.

There is an ever present theme of positivity in the human spirit even during a time of adversity, Birckhead said. In the preamble of our Constitution, we find the words We the people of the United States in order to form a perfect union, ensure domestic tranquility, promote the general welfare and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity. Hope and healing.

The Declaration of Independence also captures these themes as inalienable rights, Birckhead said. The words exemplify healing and hope, but it takes the people to apply these themes, she said. Women have to continue to dream to change the world. Although this is a era of uncertainty and struggle for everyone, she said, there is still opportunity for people to leave a positive mark.

As Harriet Tubman said, every great dream begins with a dreamer, Birckhead said. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world. With difficulties, comes opportunity to make a difference.

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CHOSENs 2022 Womens History Month honorees are:

Elementary School  Layana Richardson, Church Creek Elementary School;

Middle School  SaBree Knox, Havre de Grace Middle School;

High School  Hailey Forrester, Harford Technical High School;

College Student  TaNijah Neal-Davis, Morgan State University;

Afternoon Update Weekdays Updating you on the day's biggest news before the evening commute. >

Military  Deirdre Sumpter, technical director, and Ruth Drewitt, sergeant commander, APG Garrison Command;

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Community  Dawn Breslin, Aberdeen Community Safety Specialist;

Business  Karen Hamilton, Susquehanna Workforce Network;

Medical Health  Felicia Hopkins, Harford County Health Department;

Legacy Award  Betty Saunders, veteran spouse and community supervisor.

CHOSEN Community Development Corporation is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization whose mission is to enhance the lives of families and individuals, children and adults, through direct engagement, educational training and empowerment services and enrichment programs that will encourage the development of self-sustaining lives for today and tomorrow, according to the organizations website.

Representatives from the CHOSEN Community Development Corporation join the award reciepients for a few photos after the group's Women's History Month recognition program Friday, March, 18, 2022 at the Mt. Zion Baptist Church in Aberdeen. (Matt Button / The Aegis/Baltimore Sun Media)

Colvin Bennett, left, Executive Director CCDC, shares a hug with Warline Bryant, Board President, CCDC, after presenting her with flowers for her hard work and dedication to the organization as Dr. Rodney Chapman, Founder of Agape Professional Services, back, looks on during the CHOSEN Community Development Corporation's Women's History Month recognition program Friday, March, 18, 2022 at the Mt. Zion Baptist Church in Aberdeen. (Matt Button / The Aegis/Baltimore Sun Media)

Aberdeen Police Chief Henry Trabert, left, joins the crowd in applauding Aberdeen resident Brenda Waldon after she received a special recognition from the Aberdeen Police Department for saving the life of a man to whom she administered Narcan to when she found him suffering from an overdose. Waldon was one of many women recognized for their community involvement during the CHOSEN Community Development Corporation's Women's History Month recognition program Friday, March, 18, 2022 at the Mt. Zion Baptist Church in Aberdeen. (Matt Button / The Aegis/Baltimore Sun Media)

Ellen Edmonson, Department of Veterans Affairs Deputy Director, Offie of Telehealth takes a moment to welcome those in the crowd as she introduces BG Janeen Birckhead, Assistant Adjutant General Commander, Maryland Army National Guard, as the guest speaker during the CHOSEN Community Development Corporation's Women's History Month recognition program Friday, March, 18, 2022 at the Mt. Zion Baptist Church in Aberdeen. (Matt Button / The Aegis/Baltimore Sun Media)

BG Janeen Birckhead, Assistant Adjutant General, Commander, Maryland Army National Guard delivers her message to the many women and others gathered during the CHOSEN Community Development Corporation's Women's History Month recognition program Friday, March, 18, 2022 at the Mt. Zion Baptist Church in Aberdeen. (Matt Button / The Aegis/Baltimore Sun Media)
The Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) has demanded an apology from Prime Minister Imran Khan for his "unfounded allegations" against media and journalists, reported local media. This comes as Imran Khan, during his rally in Malakand, had claimed that the media and journalists are campaigning against the current government in exchange for funds, reported The News International. In a joint statement released by PFUJ President Shahzada Zulfiqar, Vice President Lala Asad Pathan, and Secretary-General Nasir Zaidi, the journalists union has expressed shock over Imran Khan's allegations, adding that it is unusual to see the head of the government spreading baseless claims through a public forum. The union also requested the premier to order an investigation instead of spreading "fake news" just for defusing pressure of "no-confidence motion filed by Opposition against him", adding that such behaviour will only ruin the image of the country. "Fabricated concocted baseless allegations against media and journalists will not help the country's prime minister which is a top slot and responsible position, requires dissemination of utmost credible information and reasonable and responsible behaviour," the media outlet quoted the union as saying. Notably, addressing a public rally in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's Malakand district on Sunday, Imran Khan had said that the media, as a watchdog of the society, should create awareness among the masses, however, some of the media houses are solely working for money. "Unfortunately, a lot of media houses work solely for money, and some even accept foreign funding. I leave it to the public to find out which media houses are standing with the thieves [the Opposition]," the Pakistani publication quoted him as saying. "The nation is observing the media and it can see which media house is working in favour of Pakistan and which one is a sell-out," he added. Meanwhile, the Opposition parties in Pakistan submitted a no-trust motion against Imran Khan in National Assembly on March 8. The crucial session of the National Assembly has been summoned on March 25. (ANI)
In a shocking incident, a vendor who was selling crackers at a wedding hall was brutally tortured to death by the guests in Pattoki city (Kasur District) in Pakistan's Punjab province. In a video that has gone viral, the guests were then seen having their meals totally unaffected by the incident, even as the body of the poor vendor was lying on the floor near them. The victim was identified as Ashraf alias Sultan. The video shows the body of the vendor lying on the floor while the guests are having their meal, reported The News International. The incident has sent shock waves across the country as citizens condemned the cruelty displayed by the people on social media. Ashraf's brother-in-law Pervez later told police that he was riding a motorbike with his friends outside the wedding hall when he saw the incident and tried to rescue him but failed. Meanwhile, Ashraf fell to the ground after being tortured and when the rescue team came they confirmed his death. Acting after the public outrage over the horrendous murder of the vendor, Punjab police arrested 12 people, including the wedding hall manager in connection with the alleged killing. The investigation is underway into the matter and the doctors did not confirm torture in the initial postmortem report. Punjab Forensic Science Agency (PFSA) team has collected evidence from the crime scene, police added, reported The News International. Meanwhile, District Police Officer (DPO) Kasur said that they have collected other evidence including CCTV cameras and videos, with the help of which all aspects are being investigated. Punjab Chief Minister Usman Bazdar has also sought a report from the police authorities, reported The News International. (ANI)
Ahead of the no-confidence vote in the National Assembly, Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) president Maulana Fazlur Rehman on Tuesday claimed that the allies of the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) are no longer standing with the government, reported local media. Rehman's statement came after his meeting with the leadership of the PTI ally, Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) in Karachi on Tuesday, The News International reported. "They (MQM-P) will announce that they are with us in a day or two [...] after meeting the MQM-P leadership, I am completely satisfied that the no-confidence motion will be successful," the media outlet quoted the PDM chief as saying during a press conference alongside MQM-P's convener Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui and other leaders following their meeting. Rehman further said that the language used by Imran Khan during his recent rallies in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was not that of an "honourable person", adding that "it is disrespectful to have such people assume big offices". Meanwhile, hinting at a rift with the PTI during the press conference, MQM-P convener Siddiqui said that his party "greatly valued" the "opinions of and suggestions" offered by the opposition alliance's leaders and will determine his party's stance on the no-trust move against Imran Khan "in the light of their" advice, the Dawn newspaper reported. The developments come as the opposition parties in Pakistan submitted a no-confidence motion against Imran Khan in the National Assembly on March 8. The crucial session of the assembly to deliberate on the no-confidence motion has been summoned on March 25. Ahead of the no-trust vote, the Opposition is attempting to cajole the PTI allies and seeking to break the government's alliance by holding back-to-back meetings with them, according to The News International. Though exuding confidence in the failure of the no-trust move, Imran Khan has also intensified meetings with allies ahead of the session. Notably, in the 342-member National Assembly, the Imran Khan government requires at least 172 members to sail through the no-confidence vote. (ANI)
As the Russian invasion of the country is in its fourth week of conflict, Russian troops destroyed railway station in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast in central Ukraine leaving one dead and several freight cars derailed. Dnipropetrovsk Oblast Governor Valentyn Reznichenko shared that a total of 15 freight cars were derailed in the attack, reported Ukraine's local media outlet, The Kyiv Independent. Moreover, Russia's proxies have captured an evacuation convoy from Mariupol near the town Mangush on the agreed-upon route. According to Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk, "it is reported that the vehicles will be seized, and people may or may not be allowed to leave." With the Russian invasion waging on, one person died in shelling of Kyiv's Obolon district. Russian shelling occurred at about 1 pm on March 22 in northern Kyiv. The attack damaged two buildings and a vehicle, killed one and injured three others, according to the local authorities. According to the Ukraine local media, Greek foreign minister Nikos Dendias wants to travel with a humanitarian aid mission to Mariupol. The media outlet reported that Dendias said at a news conference that he wanted to lead the mission to the besieged seaport city in south-eastern Ukraine, which is home to a sizeable ethnic Greek community. On February 24, Russia began a special military operation in Ukraine after the Donetsk and Luhansk people's republics requested help in defending themselves. What followed the military operation was a slew of sanctions imposed by the western countries targeting the Russian economy. (ANI)
The US on Wednesday termed India as an essential partner for its shared vision of a free and open Indo-Pacific and highlighted that regardless of India-Russia historical ties, the US is a "partner of choice for India now." A day after US President Joe Biden's comment that India is an exception among the QUAD members with its "somewhat shaky" response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, US State Department Spokesperson Ned Price stressed that Indo-Pacific is at the heart of QUAD's policy and India holds an important place in realizing this shared vision. Responding to ANI's question on whether or not all QUAD partners are in sync with India's historic relationship with Russia, Price stressed "We are a partner in India when it comes to shared interests. When it comes to the values we share in a free and open Indo-Pacific and we've invested in that relationship in terms of our defence and security. So historical relationships notwithstanding, we are a partner of choice for India now, as are many of our partners and allies around the World." "Let me say in terms of India's place in the QUAD in terms of our relationship with India... India is an essential partner for us in realizing our shared vision of a free and open Indo-Pacific that is really at the heart of the QUAD's policy." Price added. These remarks by Price comes at a time when Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison in a virtual summit said that Australia understands New Delhi's position on the ongoing Ukraine crisis. Addressing the press briefing, the US state department spokesperson referred to US Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs, Victoria Nuland's recent visit to India who met with her Indian counterparts in Delhi. Price said that the undersecretary was vocal about the historic relationship and defence relationship between India and Russia at a time when the US was not prepared to have that kind of relationship. Price said " Those times have changed. They changed in terms of our (US) willingness and ability to be a strong defence and security partner of India." "This is a bilateral relationship that has deepened in a number of ways over the past 25 years or so this has also happened on a bipartisan basis. It is a legacy in large part of the George W. Bush administration where we have seen this bilateral relationship between the United States and India have evolved and changed for the better and deepened in a number of ways including our defence and security relationship. So the fact is that we are a partner of India now," he said. At a virtual Quad conference earlier this month, leaders of Australia, Japan and the US denounced Russia's invasion. However, Prime Minister Narendra Modi reiterated "the need to return to a path of dialogue and diplomacy." Replying to a question whether Biden administration has made up a decision on whether to apply or waive sanctions under CAATSA, vis-a-vis the S-400, Price mentioned that he does not have any updates and that the US continue to work with the Congress and our Indian partners. (ANI)
The Alexandria Police Department has arrested a 14-year-old and a 15-year-old in a weekend shooting that killed Christopher Celestine, 17.

Celestine died at a hospital on the night of March 19 after the department received a call about a shooting. They found him lying on the ground in the 700 block of Fred Loop near 7th Street, in the Riverbend subdivision, with a gunshot wound to his torso.

Reaching out: Teens hear tales of addiction, recovery in bid to keep them out of trouble

Teen crime: 15-year-old male arrested on 2nd-degree murder, other charges in Alexandria shooting

The 15-year-old was arrested on Monday, according to a release. The 14-year-old was arrested on Tuesday.

Both were arrested on charges of second-degree murder.

An investigation is continuing.

This article originally appeared on Alexandria Town Talk: 14-year-old, 15-year-old arrested in fatal shooting of Christopher Celestine, 17
Ukrayinska Pravda

VALENTYNA ROMANENKO - WEDNESDAY, 4 MAY 2022, 17:33 Ukrainian defenders continue to destroy units of the Russian occupiers and their equipment with great professionalism. Source: the press centre of the DShV command [Command of the Assault Troops of the Armed Forces of Ukraine] and the press service of the National Guard Details: The assault troops showed a video with the aftermath of the Russian armoured vehicles, together with their crews, destroyed by the artillery of one of the units of the D
Four Florida students were hit by a car early Tuesday as they waited for their school bus, authorities said.

The crash happened shortly before 7 a.m. on Crestwood Boulevard and Cypress Lake Drive in the village of Royal Palm Beach, the Palm Beach County Sheriffs Office said in a news release.

Image: Students injured after being hit by car waiting for school bus (WPTV)

The vehicle was northbound on Crestwood when the driver "lost control," drove up on the sidewalk and struck the students, the sheriff's office said.

The children were taken to hospitals for treatment, officials said. No other information, including the students' conditions, was released.

The vehicle homicide unit and detectives are investigating.

NBC News confirmed that the students attend Royal Palm Beach Community High School.

NBC affiliate WPTV of West Palm Beach captured video that appears to show an SUV at the scene with extensive damage, including a smashed windshield, a broken bumper and deployed airbags.
It might sound obvious, but a film getting nominated for an Oscar doesnt automatically make it good.

In fact, there have been numerous deserving films over the years that were somehow overlooked by the Academy.

Sure, its easy to assume that certain films dont get nominated because theyre not what Oscar voters would usually go for, but there have been some surprises in the past.

For example, pretty much every new superhero film earns a nomination thanks to the technical or makeup categories, while random animated films are acknowledged most likely because of the low number on offer in a certain year.

This means films like DCs Suicide Squad may have been mauled by the critics, but still get recognised by the Academy (it went on to win), which is ridiculous when you consider classics such as Dont Look Now or The King of Comedy didnt even get recognised.

They arent alone  with the Oscars 2022 a matter of weeks away, weve run through the 47 most surprising films that didnt receive a nomination in any category.

1. American Honey (2016)

From dancing on Top of the Pops to winning an Oscar for Best Director: it would have been a deserved trajectory for Andrea Arnold following the release of American Honey, a drama following a teenage girl (Sasha Lane) who gets caught up in the wrong crowd. Arnolds day may  and should  still come.

2. American Psycho (2000)

Starring future Oscar winner Christian Bale, Mary Harrons adaptation of the Bret Easton Ellis novel  in which the actor plays the psychopathic Patrick Bateman - didnt receive a single nomination.

3. Babyteeth (2019)

Babyteeth, which was shot in 2019 but released in the US in 2020, was one of the best films of its year. The films leads  Eliza Scanlen, Toby Wallace, Essie Davis and Ben Mendelsohn  all deserved acting nominations, but apparentlys voters never watched it.

Eliza Scanlen and Toby Wallace in Babyteeth (Picturehouse Entertainment)

4. Before Sunrise (1995)

While the final two chapters of Richard Linklaters Before trilogy earned screenplay nominations, the film that introduced the world to future married couple Jesse (Ethan Hawke) and Celine (Julie Delpy) was criminally overlooked.

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5. The Big Heat (1953)

Fritz Lang had a number of films overlooked by the Academy (see: M, 1931; You Only Live Once, 193. While this noir, starring Glenn Ford, Lee Marvin and and Gloria Grahame, is a film youd expect to have been nominated, it became yet another film to receive no recognition from the awards body.

6. The Big Lebowski (1998)

The Academys generosity to the Coen brothers peaked when No Country for Old Men beat There Will Be Blood in one of the ceremonys closest Best Picture races of all time. It remains surprising that one of their few films to evade any nominations is this endlessly-quotable comedy starring Jeff Bridges as The Dude.

Jeff Bridgers in the Coen brotherss The Big Lebowski (Netflix)

7. Blow Out (1981)

Brian De Palma doesnt exactly make films in the hope of winning awards, but his political thriller  based on Michelangelo Antonionis Blow Up  would have deserved any Oscar it was nominated for.

8. Breathless (A bout de souffle) (1960)

Breathless failure to receive a nomination is proof of why the Oscars do not generate huge amounts of respect among the film community. Despite being one of the most studied films in the world, Jean Luc-Godards French masterpiece has an Academy Award tally of zero.

9. Bringing Up Baby (1938)

The Academy rewarded many notable screwball comedies over the years, though this Howard Hawks-directed standout starring Cary Grant and Katharine Hepburn  whod go on to hold the record for most wins  wasnt one of them.

10. Dont Look Now (1973)

It seems the Oscars only had room for one horror film at the 1973 ceremony, with The Exorcist winning two Oscars that year despite Nicolas Roegs Venice-set chiller failing to secure a single nomination. In fact, Nicolas Roeg, who directed this Venice-set chiller, is one of the most unfairly overlooked directors in Oscars history.

11. Frances Ha (2012)

Looking back over the 2010s, Noah Baumbachs Frances Ha stands tall as one of the decades best films. Greta Gerwigs spirited performance as an aimless New Yorker is an all-timer, and even if that years acting categories were too crowded, it would have assimilated in nicely with that years (10!) Best Picture nominees. Gerwig would go on to become a Best Director nominee for her 2017 film Lady Bird.

Greta Gerwig in Frances Ha

12. The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966)

It wouldnt be until the 1990s that western films found favour with the Academy. It was ironically thanks to Unforgiven, a film directed by Clint Eastwood whose career flourished after starring in this Sergio Leone film that many consider to be the genres peak.

13. La Haine (1995)

Mathieu Kassovitzs black-and-white drama  translated in English as Hate  follows three young friends and their struggles living in the suburbs of Paris. Looking back at the nominees of that year, it should easily have received a nod in the Best International Feature Film category.

14. Halloween (1978)

The Academy may not be enthusiastic about constantly awarding horror films, but they do have previous (see: The Exorcist and The Silence of the Lamb and Get Out). This makes the absence of John Carpenters influential Halloween even more of a glaring oversight.

15. Heat (1995)

On paper, the big screen union of Robert De Niro and Al Pacino in Michael Manns cop drama was a shoo-in for awards, but no Oscar nominations manifested.

16. His Girl Friday (1940)

Yet another Howard Hawks screwball comedy starring Cary Grant that criminally failed to secure a single Oscar nomination.

17. In the Mood for Love (2000)

Wong Kar-wai set the benchmark for romance in film with his acclaimed Hong Kong drama following a man and woman (Tony Leung and Maggie Cheung) who develop feelings for one another after suspecting their respective spouses of having an affair together.

Maggie Cheung and Tony Leung in Wong Kar-wais In the Mood for Love (defd Deutscher Fernsehdienst)

18. Insomnia (2002)

While falling short of Christopher Nolans best, modest drama Insomnia  made years before Batman Begins  had enough strong performances (Al Pacino, Robin Wiliams, Hilary Swank) to warrant acting nominations. Alas, it received none.

19. The King of Comedy (1982)

It may have taken him decades to win an Oscar, but the Academy has rarely balked at nominating Martin Scorsese films  especially for ones that star Robert De Niro. The King of Comedy was an exception.

20. The Long Goodbye (1973)

The first of two Robert Altman films on this list. This superior thriller stars Elliott Gould as Raymond Chandlers private investigator, Philip Marlowe, in one of the directors most entertaining films and is just as good as any other film nominated that year (see: American Graffiti, The Sting, Cries and Whispers).

21. Local Hero (1983)

Bill Forsyths beloved comedy-drama follows the mishaps of an American man sent to buy up a Scottish village where the oil company he works for wants to build a refinery. Forsyth won the Bafta for Best Director, but the film received no such love from the Academy.

22. A Man Escaped (1956)

Robert Bressons adaptation of Andre Devignys memoirs charts the French Resistance members time as prisoner of the Germans during the Second World War  and is even more enthralling considering Bresson himself was held captive years before.

23. The Man With Two Brains (1983)

He may have hosted several times, but Steve Martin has never been nominated for an Oscar. One film he deserved recognition for was Carl Reiners 1983 sci-fi comedy, The Man with Two Brains.

24. Margaret (2011)

Kenneth Lonergan would go on to win an Oscar for Manchester by the Sea, but Margaret - his three-hour drama featuring a searing performance from Anna Paquin and wife J Smith Cameron  criminally failed to secure a single nomination.

25. A Matter of Life and Death (1946)

The Academy Film Archive may have preserved A Matter of Life and Death in 1999, but voters failed to recognise the Powell & Pressburgers fantasy-romance at the time of its release in 1946.

26. Memories of Murder (2003)

Before Parasite, there was Memories of Murder. Bong Joon-ho has been making incredible films for decades now, and this sprawling and highly-influential crime thriller is just as good as Parasite, which brilliantly won Best Picture in 2020.

27. Never Rarely Sometimes Always

The fact Sidney Flanagan isnt an Oscar winner for Eliza Hittmans drama, following a young girl who seeks medical help after an unwanted pregnancy, is outrageous.

Sidney Flanagan in Never Rarely Sometimes Always (AP)

28. Night Moves (1975)

Gene Hackman starred in numerous Oscar nominated films (see: The French Connection, Mississippi Burning, Unforgiven), but Night Moves should be on that list. A twist-filled crime film with an ending for the ages, its more than worthy of a mention alongside Hackmans greatest films.

29. Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters (1985)

Its quite staggering to think that Paul Schrader has only ever received one Oscar nomination  for his First Reformed screenplay  considering he was behind such films as Blue Collar and Martin Scorseses Taxi Driver and Raging Bull. His fictionalised account of the life of celebrated Japanese writer Yukio Mishima is one such film that would have been a worthy winner, let alone nominee.

30. Once Upon a Time in America (1984)

Though its by no means a masterpiece, its staggering to think that Sergio Leones gangster epic  starring Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci  didnt receive any Oscar nominations. Not even composer Ennio Morricone received one  but this was due to his score being disqualified from consideration after Warner Bros accidentally omitted the composers name from the opening credits when trimming the films lengthy running time for its American release.

31. Our Little Sister (2015)

Japanese filmmaker Hirokazu Kore-eda finally broke onto the Oscars scene when Shoplifters was nominated for Best International Feature Film in 2019. In truth, Kore-eda should have several nominations to his name. Our Little Sister, his tender 2015 drama, would have made an excellent nominee.

32. Paterson (2016)

Critics assumed Jim Jarmuschs Paterson would have been a shoo-in for awards recognition  most notably in the Best Actor category, thanks to a quietly fantastic performance from Adam Driver  but no such luck.

Adam Driver in Jim Jarmuschs Paterson

33. Paths of Glory (1957)

Stanley Kubrick never won Best Director despite being nominated four times. One of his films that didnt make the Oscars cut in any category was his black-and-white anti-war film.

34. Portrait of a Lady on Fire (2019)

How Celine Sciammas drama, following the love affair between two women in the late 18th century, didnt get any nominations, well never know. Its a staggering work, which ranks high up in Sciammas impressive back catalogue.

35. Reservoir Dogs (1992)

Reservoir Dogs may not touch Quentin Tarantinos best, but it remains a surprise that the filmmakers debut didnt get recognised in the screenplay category, at least.

36. The Rider (2018)

Of all the films to be snubbed at the 2018 Oscars, Chloe Zhaos drama - which stars a real-life rodeo cowboy and his family  was easily the most egregious.

37. School of Rock (2004)

Hear us out: Richard Linklaters comedy is one of the greatest films of the 21st century to date, and the fact it never got a nomination says more about the Oscars than it does about School of Rock. Jack Black has (and will) never be better as Dewey Finn, a wannabe musician who turns a classroom of kids into a rock band while pretending to be their supply teacher. He should have easily scored a Best Actor nomination.

Jack Black should have got an Oscar nomination for School of Rock (Paramount)

38. The Searchers (1956)

The role of Civil War veteran Ethan Edwards might be considered John Waynes best role, but the Academy didnt agree: he would win his sole Oscar for True Grit in 1970 (for the same role Jeff Bridges would be nominated for 41 years later).

39. The Shining (1980)

Another Kubrick film that was completely ignored by the Academy is the directors Stephen King adaptation of The Shining. Today, its considered one of his finest works as well as being one of the most revered horror films of all time.

40. The Shop Around the Corner (1953)

This Ernst Lubitsch romantic comedy, starring Margaret Sullavan and James Stewart, may be a beloved Christmas staple around the world, but it has zero Oscar nominations to its name.

41. This Is England (2006)

The 2007 ceremony was not one of the Academys finest years, with The Departed beating Babel, Letters from Iwo Jima, Little Miss Sunshine and The Queen to Best Picture). would have been far better had Shane Meadows coming-of-drama been in contention for awards.

Shane Meadowss This Is England was deserving of Oscar nominations

42. Tokyo Story (1953)

Tokyo Story is deemed Japanese filmmaker YasujirA Ozus masterpiece and was named Sight & Sounds best film of all time in 2012  and yet, no Oscar nomination.

43. Touch of Evil (1958)

Orson Welles classic noir wasnt as well loved at the time of release as it is today. It stands head and shoulders above several other films nominated during that period, so the lack of a nomination is quite surprising.

44. Tyrannosaur (2011)

Olivia Colman may be in contention to win her second Oscar this year (having taken home Best Actress for The Favourite in 2019), but the fact she failed to earn a nomination (even at the Baftas, for that matter) for her role in Paddy Considines hard-hitting drama Tyrannosaur is one of the biggest oversights in awards history.

45. Walkabout (1971)

Another exceptional achievement in filmmaking from Nicolas Roeg that somehow failed to receive any Oscar nominations is Walkabout.

46. You Were Never Really Here (2018)

Lynne Ramsays You Were Never Really Here  starring Joaquin Phoenix - is a sensational piece of work worthy of reward that was actually hotly tipped following its festival premiere. Sadly, due to shifting release dates, the film lost steam and went down in the annals as one of the best films of that year not to get a nomination in any category.

(Amazon Studio)

47. Zodiac (2007)

David Finchers Mank might have been the most nominated film of 2021, but his cult serial killer drama Zodiac failed to receive a single Oscar nomination. Three years later, he would go head-to-head with (and lose out to) The King Speechs Tom Hooper for The Social Network. In truth, Zodiac is every bit as good as the Facebook drama.

Other galleries you might like:

21 actors who took their roles so seriously it out of hand

37 best film twists of all time

37 actors who almost died on set
The 2022 ATHENA Awards, recognizing community leaders who advance the cause of women in leadership, were held March 4 at the Richlin Ballroom in Edgewood.

Claudine Adams, founder and CEO of Bravura Information Technology Systems, Inc., received the 2022 ATHENA Leadership Award. Sarah Klein, director of front-end operations for Kleins ShopRite of Maryland, received the 2022 ATHENA Young Professional Leadership Award.

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The ATHENA Awards recognize leaders who demonstrate excellence in assisting women in leadership, professional accomplishment, and service to the community. Presented by Harford Mutual Insurance Group, the ATHENA Leadership Award Breakfast is hosted each year by the Harford Community College Foundation.

Adams has more than 30 years experience as an executive and program manager. She has accomplished two firsts on local boards: as the first woman board chair for the Northern Maryland Technology Council in its 29-year history; and as the first woman board chair of the Harford County Education Foundation in its 17-year history.

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Adams is founder and president of the Brave Ones, promoting small businesses in Harford County and the Washington area.

Klein became an essential grocery employee during the pandemic, as she worked to keep employees and customers of Kleins ShopRite stores safe and healthy. She assisted customers with placing online shopping orders and curbside pickup.

After her fathers tragic passing, Sarah stepped in to chair the Good Scout Awards for the Boy Scouts of America. She served on the John Carroll School Gala Committee and helped raise $100,000 for the Andrew P. Klein Peace and Justice Grant.

The breakfast event proceeds fund ATHENA leadership scholarships. This year, five scholarships were awarded to deserving Harford Community College students, as well as one Emerging Leadership Program scholarship. The Emerging Leadership Program scholarship recipient, Olivia Borkowski-Johnson, shared with the audience her positive experiences at Harford Community College and the impact that learning leadership skills has had on her education.

New this years event was a womens business expo sponsored by M&T Bank, which featured 13 women-owned businesses. The expo provided an opportunity for the women to promote their businesses and network with other business leaders and guests at the breakfast.
President George W. Bush attends the Black Tie and Boots Inaugural Ball with his daughters Jenna and Barbara in 2005. Brooks Kraft LLC/Corbis/Getty Images

Presidential kids are often the subject of scrutiny while growing up in the public eye.

Jenna and Barbara Bush were cited for underage drinking while their father was in office.

Ivanka Trump and Chelsea Clinton both supported Malia Obama after videos of her smoking went viral.

Amy Carter was a rebellious first kid  she frequently participated in political protests and was dismissed from Brown for failing to finish her coursework.

Amy Carter, the daughter of former President Jimmy Carter, is arrested for protesting in front of the South African Embassy in Washington, DC, against apartheid in 1985. Jim Hubbard/Getty Images

Amy Carter, the daughter of former President Jimmy Carter, was only 9 years old when her father was elected, and only 13 when he lost his reelection in 1980. However, throughout the late 1980s and 1990s, Amy Carter became a well-known activist for a number of political causes ... and even had a few run-ins with the law during that time.

According to The New York Times, 17-year-old Carter was arrested in 1985 during an anti-apartheid demonstration at the South African embassy in Washington, DC, though she claimed she was "acting with her father's permission."

Amy Carter was one of more than 1,500 people in a three-month span to be taken into custody near the embassy during protests against South Africa's apartheid policy, according to the LA Times. President Jimmy Carter's son Chip was also demonstrating at the embassy that day, although he was not arrested.

Amy Carter was arrested again in 1987 during an anti-CIA demonstration, though she and 14 other protesters were acquitted of trespassing and disorderly conduct, according to The New York Times. While her political activism certainly made headlines, Carter's rebellious nature also led to her removal from Brown University over "academic reasons" in 1987.

According to The Washington Post, "reliable sources" informed the Providence Journal-Bulletin that following Carter's sophomore year, she was asked not to return after failing to finish her coursework. Carter went on to pursue a master's degree in art history at Tulane University in New Orleans, where she met her husband, computer consultant James Wentzel. She has since kept a relatively low profile.

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Neil Bush, the son of President George H.W. Bush, was sued after being accused of engaging in conflicts of interest in the '90s, which effectively ended his hope for a political career.

Neil Bush, son of President Bush, testifies before the House Banking Committee in 1990. Bettman/Getty Images

Federal regulators sued Neil Bush, the third-eldest son of George H.W. Bush, in 1990 for alleged "conflict-of-interest regulations" and, as a director of Silverado Banking, Savings and Loan Association, allegedly failing to act to stop the institution from making improper and even illegal loans. The company's collapse in 1988 cost taxpayers over $1 billion. Other former employees, such as directors, officers, and lawyers, were also named in the lawsuit.

Bush was not indicted on any criminal charges, although he agreed to pay $50,000 in an out-of-court settlement.

"I happened to be one of hundreds of other American businessmen and women who served as an outside director on the board of a savings and loan institution that failed during the 1980s," Bush wrote in an email to The Washington Post in 2003. "I regret that the institution's failure cost taxpayers so much money."

Today, Bush chairs the board of directors at foundations including Points of Light, a philanthropic group his father founded.

As a 19-year-old college student, President George W. Bush's daughter Jenna Bush was cited for two alcohol-related misdemeanors in a five-week span.

Barbara and Jenna Bush attend the Florida Presidential Inaugural Ball at the National Building Museum on January 20, 2001. Pool Photo/Getty Images

Jenna Bush and her twin sister, Barbara, were the talk of the town in the early 2000s, though it wasn't always for the right reasons. In 2001, while Jenna Bush was a freshman at the University of Texas, the first daughter was cited for two alleged underage drinking offenses: possession of alcohol as a minor and later trying to use a fake ID to purchase alcohol at an Austin restaurant.

The incidents occurred within a five-week span and were minor misdemeanors, though they also inevitably made national headlines. Bush, who pleaded no contest to the possession of alcohol charge, was ordered to pay $51.25 in court costs, serve eight hours of community service, and attend six hours of alcohol awareness classes. After she also pleaded no contest to trying to use someone else's ID for alcohol, her driver's license was suspended for 30 days, and she had to pay a total of $600, The Associated Press reported.

"I felt embarrassed, and I felt really badly for [my dad] because I thought this is going to make him look bad," Bush, now Jenna Bush Hager, told "Today" show host Hoda Kotb in March 2020. "He apologized to me because what we wanted more than anything was to just be normal college kids ... He said, 'I'm sorry. I promised you you could be normal, and this isn't normal.'"

Though the drinking charges were front-page news at the time, Bush Hager says she can now laugh about it.

"Everybody knows I had a fake ID, which was really naive because my dad was president," Bush Hager said on "Today." "I tried. I tried and failed. A girl that was in my school was like, 'We look a lot alike; I'll give you my ID.' That was dumb."

Jenna Bush's twin sister, Barbara, was also cited for possession of alcohol as a minor in the second incident.

Barbara Bush attends fashion week in 2003. Sylvain Gaboury/FilmMagic/Getty Images

While Jenna Bush made headlines for two underage-drinking-related citations, her twin sister, Barbara, was also ticketed for alleged possession of alcohol during the second incident. Police claimed that Barbara Bush, who had just finished her freshman year at Yale University, and a third woman were served alcohol at an Austin restaurant, according to The Washington Post.

Authorities alleged that Jenna Bush attempted to use false identification to purchase alcohol but was denied, though it was unclear whether Barbara and the third woman were asked to produce identification.

Barbara Bush pleaded no contest to the possession-of-alcohol charge in June 2001 and was ordered to complete eight hours of community service, attend an alcohol-awareness class, and pay $100 in court fines, The Associated Press reported at the time. The underage drinking charge was to be wiped from her record, the AP reported.

Malia Obama was criticized after screenshots of a video were posted online showing the Harvard University freshman smoking.

Barack Obama and Malia Obama. Chip Somodevilla / Getty

Malia Obama found herself in hot water in 2017 after a video online appeared to show her smoking and blowing smoke rings. According to the Independent, conservative news site The Daily Caller wrote an article about the video, which led to public criticism about the former first daughter. However, fellow first kids Ivanka Trump and Chelsea Clinton quickly came to Obama's defense, calling for her and other presidential children's right to privacy.

"Malia Obama should be allowed the same privacy as her school-aged peers," Trump tweeted, according to Time. "She is a young adult and private citizen, and should be OFF limits."

Chelsea Clinton also offered her support to Obama, writing, "Malia Obama's private life, as a young woman, a college student, a private citizen, should not be your clickbait. Be better."

Donald Trump Jr. has been embroiled in scandal multiple times.

Donald Trump Jr., son of President Donald Trump, speaks during a Republican National Committee Victory Rally in January 2021. Alex Wong/Getty Images

Though Donald Trump Jr. never held an official position in his father's administration, he has nevertheless been a subject of controversy and public ire.

More than a decade before his father entered the White House, Trump Jr. was arrested in 2001 for public drunkenness during Mardi Gras in New Orleans, Louisiana.

He also later came under fire for a 2016 tweet aimed at Syrian Refugees, in which he posted an image that had the text, "If I had a bowl of skittles and I told you just three would kill you, would you take a handful? That's our Syrian refugee problem."

He commented, saying, "This image says it all. Let's end the politically correct agenda that doesn't put America first. #trump2016." The post received so much backlash that a Skittles executive even posted its own statement.

"Skittles are candy. Refugees are people," said Denise Young, vice president of corporate affairs for Wrigley America, which owns Skittles. "We don't feel it is an appropriate analogy."

In 2019, Trump Jr. faced criticism for his hunting practices. On a trip to Mongolia, the politician's son hunted an endangered breed of sheep and later met with Mongolia's president. He was awarded a permit to hunt the sheep after he had already killed it, according to ProPublica.

Trump Jr. traveled with the Secret Service, costing taxpayers more than $75,000 for the eight-day excursion, according to documents obtained by a government watchdog group. USA Today reported that, according to a source close to the president's son, Trump Jr. paid for all of the trip himself apart from the security.

Trouble continued for Don even after his father left office. Trump Jr., along with his father and Ivanka Trump, were recently subpoenaed as part of a wide-ranging civil investigation by the New York attorney general into whether there was fraud within the Trump Organization.

However, while it was ordered that the Trumps would testify by March 10, as originally ordered by a Manhattan judge, their testimony is delayed while their lawyers appeal the judge's order, according to a report by Insider.

Hunter Biden is currently at the center of an investigation into his business dealings in Asia and Europe.

Hunter Biden in 2016. Kris Connor/WireImage/Getty Images

According to The New York Times, the investigation started as an inquiry into Hunter Biden's taxes, though it expanded in 2018 to include possible criminal violations of tax laws, foreign lobbying rules, and possible money laundering.

Biden has previously said he handled his tax affairs "legally and appropriately," and the Times reported this month that he had "paid off a significant tax liability," which experts said could make it harder for tax-related offenses to stick.

You might also recall that in 2020, President Donald Trump attempted to launch his own inquiry into Biden's involvement with Burisma Holdings, the Ukrainian energy company.

Questioning over Biden's dealings with the company, and whether Biden used his political connections for financial gain, shed a negative light on his father's campaign and became a talking point for Trump seeking reelection. Both Bidens denied any wrongdoing in dealings with Ukraine and other countries.

The Justice Department's investigation into Biden's business dealings is ongoing and he has not been charged with any crime. The State Department will begin to hand over emails regarding Hunter Biden to The New York Times following a delay in two of the publication's Freedom of Information Act requests.

Read the original article on Insider
Actor John Cho said he didnt set out to write his debut middle grade novel against the backdrop of the 1992 Los Angeles riots.

I originally wanted this book to be a mystery, because thats what Id read as a kid, Cho told NBC Asian America. But as he got ready to begin writing, the star best known for his roles in iconic Asian American films like Better Luck Tomorrow and the Harold and Kumar franchise realized that he had to somehow acknowledge the turbulent and rapidly changing world around him.

It was the pandemic, the murder of George Floyd and the protests that followed, along with the rise of coronavirus-related anti-Asian racism, that all began inspiring the 49-year-old Cho to seriously imagine what it would be like to be a preteen coming of age during a very turbulent and confusing time.

I was thinking about the L.A. riots, and reflecting on that time, as well, he said. Because of that, I started considering what that event would look like for young kids.

The result is Chos new novel, Troublemaker, which was released Tuesday by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers. Troublemaker tells the story of 12-year-old Jordan, a middle schooler in Los Angeles who is struggling to figure out who he really is. The son of Korean immigrants who run a local store, Jordan often feels torn between his parents' values and their praise of his standout older sister and his own more rebellious nature. Things come to a head on April 29, 1992, when Jordan is suspended from school for acting out.

But as Jordan heads home, he realizes that the city around him is on edge due to both the beating of Rodney King and the shooting of a Black teen girl named Latasha Harlins by a Korean shopkeeper.

Cho said writing this story for the middle grade audience  readers who are roughly 9 to 13  seemed like a natural fit.

Thats the age when kids are learning and forming their identities and learning how the world sees them, as well. I think it was around that age that I became very aware of the model minority myth, Cho, who was born in South Korea and immigrated to the U.S. as a young child, said. Prior to that, my Asianness was more about being an outsider and not belonging. But it was at that age with school heating up and youre thinking about college that the model minority myth became a thing in my life.

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While Jordan and his friends never directly experience the violence of the riots in Troublemaker, the fear and tensions of the time constantly surround them.

In one powerful scene, Jordan and his best friend are walking through their neighborhood when a policeman stops them and warns them to go home, noting that it was unsafe for kids in general and Asian American kids in particular to be outside.

Cho said he was aware that he was writing about a historical event that may be new to many readers in his target audience. But Cho noted that he also wanted to prioritize creating a gripping story readers could relate to.

I hope that they just enjoy the story  its a fast-paced adventure story, and essentially its a story about two kids navigating the city at night, he said. I hope that kids get something out of it that way, without it feeling too heavy for them. But if there is an opportunity to ask questions about reading a book like this, it would honor me if this was the excuse to talk about something that was maybe difficult.

Troublemaker is also, at its heart, a story about an Asian American boy who is figuring out who he wants to be  while also figuring out how to fit into his family while still being himself. Because Jordans behavior at school often bewilders his parents, he finds himself at odds with his father in particular throughout much of the book. That generational tension, of course, has been a staple of immigrant literature for generations.

As a father of two children himself, on the surface it would seem like Cho had the perfect test group to consult about what children were like right in his own home. But the actor said that was not at all the case.

My kids are much more well-adjusted than me, he said with a laugh. So I had to go back into the troublemaker memory bank rather than use the evidence in front of me.

Cho said he has a better grasp now on what his parents went through.

Being a parent is a full-time job, and a job is a full-time job, he said. I think on top of that my parents were dealing with poverty and all the kinds of extra issues that come along with being an immigrant. I guess I have a lot more empathy for them now than I certainly did at the time.

In fact, readers soon learn that all of Jordans family members are more complex than they originally appear.

The title of the book is a reference to Jordan and how he may appear to his father  but it could kind of refer to every single person in the book, he noted. Everyone kind of takes turns being a troublemaker.
Ukrayinska Pravda

VALENTYNA ROMANENKO - WEDNESDAY, 4 MAY 2022, 17:33 Ukrainian defenders continue to destroy units of the Russian occupiers and their equipment with great professionalism. Source: the press centre of the DShV command [Command of the Assault Troops of the Armed Forces of Ukraine] and the press service of the National Guard Details: The assault troops showed a video with the aftermath of the Russian armoured vehicles, together with their crews, destroyed by the artillery of one of the units of the D
Haley Slaton auditions for "American Idol" in 2022. "American Idol"/Youtube

Haley Slaton auditioned for "American Idol" on Sunday while being five months pregnant.

The contestant also met her now-husband during the early auditions of the music competition.

"We got married pretty quick," she told The Gazette.

"American Idol" is a memorable time for Haley Slaton  who performed five months pregnant and met her now-husband on the show.

The 23-year-old performed Miley Cyrus' "The Climb" during Sunday's episode. Judges Lionel Richie, Katy Perry, and Luke Bryan weren't completely sold: "We're not sure," Perry said, before asking the Iowa native what her next song choice would be. Slaton responded with "Adele's 'One and Only.'"

But before she began the soulful song, Perry urged her to "fight for it."

Slaton's second performance earned her a "yes" from all the judges to go to the next round of the competition.

While moving on to the next round was worth cheering for, another part of Slaton's experience on the show wasn't shown during the episode: Slaton met her now-husband, Jordan Myles, during the early auditions of the show.

"We got married pretty quick," Slaton told her local newspaper, The Gazette. "We just knew. We started right off the bat talking to each other, and it ended up being an everyday thing. I was already pregnant, and he stepped up to be a father, and I couldn't thank him enough for that."

She continued: "We're very in love, we're very happy that we met, and I feel like another reason why I was on the show was to meet him. That was a great experience  to meet someone that I finally could spend the rest of my life with."

Myles posted a picture on Instagram of their family. "Love my family," he wrote as the caption.

As reported by SK Pop, Slaton recently shared that she got married on Christmas Eve and had her son in January calling her baby boy "the biggest blessing in our lives."

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As for Myles' audition, he seemingly posted about an audition of his that hasn't aired yet in February. "Those [American Idol] boys something serious!! Check us out this season!! February 27th is the season premiere!!! Don't miss out!!" he wrote on Instagram.

Myles has yet to be introduced as a contestant on the show.

"American Idol" airs Sundays at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.

Read the original article on Insider
Mar. 22AMESBURY  Class sizes and student councils were on the minds of local residents when the School Committee held a public hearing on its proposed budget Monday night.

Superintendent Elizabeth McAndrews presented her proposed $35.5 million operating budget for 2022-23 to the committee earlier this month.

The proposal represents an increase of $1.05 million, or 3%, in last year's allocation and features new positions and programs.

They include an adjustment counselor/social worker at Amesbury Elementary School, a literacy interventionist/English language teacher at Cashman Elementary School, a district communications specialist, a district custodian, a permanent substitute teacher and two cafeteria monitors at Amesbury High School, the creation of an intensive prekindergarten program at Cashman; and a second special education learning center at Amesbury Middle School.

McAndrews' budget proposal also calls for what she has termed the "right sizing and reallocation" of certain positions, such as moving an adjustment counselor/social worker as well as a math interventionist between the middle school and Cashman.

Only two residents spoke during the public hearing Monday night at the Amesbury High School media center.

Tallowood Lane resident Korina Ortiz let the committee know she was not happy with the proposed budget.

"The reality does not match the narrative," Ortiz said.

Ortiz added that she believes the realignment of positions, as well as the district's interest in attracting as many students as possible through the School Choice program, will eventually lead to larger class sizes with only "a skeleton crew."

"We are increasing class sizes up to 25 potential students per class and in some cases, more," Ortiz said.

Committee member Mel Webster said later in the meeting that the district's class sizes are "well within the guidelines" set by the state.

McAndrews added that there are no classes with more than 22 students.

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Clark's Road resident Gregory Noyes lamented a lack of input from the student councils on the proposed budget.

Noyes said parents and teachers feel they are disconnected from the budget process and allowing student councils more input could help "straighten things out."

He suggested that student councils be allowed to take part in professional development days of their own. McAndrews told him she would look into the matter and agreed with him that student councils have a lack of information when it comes to what their responsibilities are.

The School Committee is expected to vote on a final budget April 4.

Staff writer Jim Sullivan covers Amesbury and Salisbury for The Daily News. He can be reached via email at jsullivan@newburyportnews.com or by phone at 978-961-3145. Follow him on Twitter @ndnsully.
Wichita Mayor Brandon Whipple has called for an executive session at Tuesdays city council meeting to question City Manager Robert Layton over the citys handling of an internal investigation of inappropriate and racist text messages in a group chat that included officers in the Wichita Police Department.

We as a council cant fire any city employees or police officers, Whipple said. We have one employee, and thats the city manager. We need answers.

The Eagle reported on the text messages Monday and named some of the Wichita officers and Sedgwick County deputies who were in a group chat that included racist memes and messages showing disdain for civilians shot by police.

Wichita police told the Sedgwick County district attorney about the existence of the messages last year but did not specifically mention that an officer had sent a racist meme until earlier this month, one hour after an Eagle reporter asked the interim chief about it.

Sources said Wichita police Sgt. Jamie Crouch sent a message showing a photoshopped image of George Floyds murder. It replaced the white officer who had a knee on Floyds neck with an image of a naked Black man sitting on his head.

The district attorney is required by federal law to disclose evidence that an officer in a case is biased toward a group of people. Such evidence could affect the outcome of cases handled by that officer.

I have requested an executive session tomorrow to create the space in which the council can ask direct questions to the city manager and figure out exactly what he knows when it comes to whats going on, Whipple told The Eagle on Monday. And we dont have former police Chief (Gordon) Ramsay here.

Bob (Layton) was Ramsays boss, so what was going on? Why are we just hearing about this now?

Whipple said he and his council colleagues did not receive any information on the case from Layton, former Chief Gordon Ramsay or interim Chief Lem Moore  and he didnt know about it until he was asked by reporters.

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It puts the safety of our city at risk, Whipple said. The district attorney mentioned that he now cant prosecute cases because these officers wont be legitimate witnesses on the stand.

This jeopardizes the legal process, and now we have people who could have been found guilty and taken off the streets or given the help they need, wont be. Those cases will be tossed out.

Sedgwick County District Attorney Marc Bennett said he has not determined whether or how many Wichita police cases are in jeopardy.

Bennett told The Eagle that Sheriff Jeff Easter almost immediately turned over the names of three county deputies who had sent racist memes, as is required under federal law. Attorneys in up to three pending murder cases have been notified of the deputies conduct. Bennett has also dismissed roughly 50 traffic tickets and about 10 nonviolent criminal cases because of the deputies involvement.

Eleven Wichita police officers and at least three Sedgwick County sheriffs deputies were the subject of internal investigations into their text messages. The deputies who sent racist memes are no longer employed by the county. The officer who sent a racist meme still works for the city. The only officer who was suspended apparently did not send racist texts but was critical of former chief Ramsay, calling him a tool.

A text from a deputy praised his peers on the SWAT team for being the ultimate de-escalators who permanently deescalated people who needed permanent de-escalation. The officer who sent the Floyd meme, the deputy who sent the de-escalation message and three Wichita officers who liked, loved or commented on that message have been involved in shootings or killings of civilians. One was involved in fatally gunning down a man after he ran from an Old Town club in 2012. The city later paid a $900,000 settlement to the mans family, records show.

Im very concerned and the council needs to look into this, Whipple said Monday night. The first step is the city manager. The city manager is the head of all the employees. We need to figure out whats going on, and lets talk about policies to fix it. Lets change the system so that theres more transparency. People leak information when they feel like there isnt a legitimate means to be heard.

Layton, through a spokesperson, has declined to comment on the situation until Tuesday.

Were going to ask the stuff that isnt public, and we dont want to jeopardize anything ongoing. I want him to be able to shoot us straight, Whipple said. We wont make any policy decisions or take any binding action until were out of executive session.

I did talk to Bob (Layton). I gave him a heads up. I dont want him to feel ambushed. . . . Hes glad he got the heads up, and hes a professional. He welcomes the executive session.

Asked if Laytons job is on the line, Whipple said it depends on what explanation Layton can provide on the citys handling of the text message controversy.

Then its up to the council, Whipple said. I dont count votes, but, frankly, this is a very serious situation.
TEXARKANA, Ark. (AP)  An inmate who escaped from a northeast Texas jail was fatally shot by an Arkansas police officer after the inmate tussled with another officer who was trying to take him into custody, authorities said.

The inmate, 30-year-old Michael D. Olson, was one of two who were discovered missing early Monday from the Bowie County jail annex in Texarkana, Texas, a city on the state's border with Arkansas about 165 miles (270 kilometers) northeast of Dallas. Olson and Wayde Land escaped by breaking through a cinder block wall on the second floor of the facility, then maneuvering through perimeter fencing and barbed wire, the Bowie County Sheriffs Office said.

The sheriff said video footage later captured the pair climbing onto a train.

About 1 p.m. Monday, two Texarkana, Arkansas, police officers encountered the inmates and tried to take them into custody, Arkansas State Police said. According to state police, Olson tried to grab an officer's gun, causing it to fire, so the other police officer fatally shot him.

Land was taken into custody, authorities said. The shooting occurred about 2 miles (3.2 kilometers) south of the jail annex, the Texarkana Gazette reported.

Olson was being held on a felony assault and probation violation charge while Land, 38, was jailed on burglary and drug charges, police said.
Paella from Valencia contains chicken and rabbit (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

A truly authentic paella does not contain any fish or shellfish, according to Valencians.

The rice dish, which is widely regarded as a national dish of Spain, is officially recognised as a symbol of Valencian culture.

Getting its name from the Valencian word for frying pan, paella has been adapted by chefs across the world, with popular recipes including chicken, pork and seafood.

Both Jamie Oliver and Gordon Ramsays go-to paella recipes include peas, chicken, chorizo and prawns.

But new research has found that cooks from Valencia use just ten ingredients when making their national dish, none of which are fish.

These are: rice, olive oil, water, salt, saffron, tomatoes, flat green beans, lima beans, chicken and rabbit.

The study, carried out by scientists at Universidad Catolica de Valencia, comes after local Valencian chef Rafael Vidal began a search for a definitive paella recipe.

Researchers surveyed 400 amateur cooks from 266 Valencian towns. They found that more than 90 per cent of people cooked with the same nine ingredients, while rabbit was used by 88.9 per cent of cooks.

Another frequently used ingredient, which didnt make the top 10 list, is paprika. Paprika was used in 62 per cent of paella recipes.

The study also found similarities in the way the paella is cooked and when it is made. Most locals use a paella pan to make the dish, usually cook for more than three people, and are more likely to make it on a Sunday.

Eight in ten people said they always cook paella for groups of four people or more, and 79 per cent said they usually prepare it on a Sunday.

Paella Valenciana continues to be a party and celebration dish, the perfect excuse to gather family, friends and guests on Sundays and other special occasions, the study, published in the International Journal of Gastronomy and Food Science, said.

That social connotation is precisely the reason for its success and how it has become a global recipe.

In November 2021, the government of Valencia declared paella a protected cultural asset for the art of uniting and sharing.
The Tarrant County Medical Examiners Office has released the name of a man who died last week after he was shot at a party in Fort Worth at which three other people also were shot.

John Reyes, 21, died of multiple gunshot wounds in an operating room at John Peter Smith Hospital, according to the medical examiners office.

Reyes was shot in his torso about 12:30 a.m. Friday in the 1600 block of Northwest Loraine Street, Fort Worth police have said. He died about 3 a.m.

Police have not announced an arrest.

The conditions of the other victims were not clear on Tuesday.

The medical examiners office also released, on Tuesday, the name of a man who was separately shot to death last week in Fort Worth.

Alberto Gonzalez, 29, died on Saturday of multiple gunshot wounds in the hours after he was fired upon in an encounter fueled by road rage, authorities said.

Gonzalez and a woman were shot about 5:30 a.m. the 4400 block of Wayside Avenue. He also died in a John Peter Smith Hospital operating room.

The womans condition was not clear on Tuesday.

The rage flared at a fast food restaurant and a person in a vehicle drove to follow another vehicle to a residence on Wayside Avenue where the shootings occurred, police said.

Detectives have not arrested the shooter, police said on Tuesday. He or she has cooperated with detectives, police have said. Police said the death was under investigation and did not respond to a question that asked whether it was a criminal offense.
Before a 23-year-old U.S. Marine veteran was fatally stabbed by a bar bouncer while visiting Boston with friends, police say he had walked away from an argument, according to reports.

Video surveillance shows veteran Daniel Martinez spent time inside Sons of Boston pub on Saturday, March 19, where Alvaro Larrama, 38, of East Boston, worked as a bar bouncer, according to the Boston Herald.

Martinez left the Union Street bar without incident, but later got back in line and got into a confrontation with Larrama, the newspaper reported.

The bouncer had denied entry, WLS reported, and Martinez walked away during an argument.

As Martinez walked away with a friend, video footage captured Larrama running toward Martinez with something in his hand, WBTS reported. The veteran turned toward the bouncer, extended a hand to block or fend off an attack, and then hit the man in the head with a beer bottle.

The two got into a fight, and Larrama was seen striking the Marine twice in the left part of his chest, the station reported, before Martinez clutched his chest.

Court records say Larrama then headed back to the bars kitchen, where he washed his hands, threw out his sweatshirt and knit cap, turned his shirt inside out and ran away, according to WLC.

Police were called to the area shortly before 7 p.m. and found that Martinez had been stabbed, police said in a news release. He was taken to a hospital with life-threatening injuries before he was pronounced dead.

Martinez was visiting the city to celebrate St. Patricks Day with friends, including another Marine, WCVB reported. He served with the Marines from September 2017 through September 2021 before ending his service as a sergeant.

How is this even possible? He survived four years in the Marines, mother Apolonia Martinez told WBZ. That man does not have any clue how many lives he destroyed when he took my son.

As she mourns, she recalled one of her last memories with her son.

He hugged me so tight and he said, Mom I love you and Ill see you soon, and I thought Ill see you soon and now its not going to be soon, its going to be in another life, on another world in heaven, she told WBZ. I think I could have held him a little bit longer, I could have stopped him from going.

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Martinez was from Palos Hills, Illinois, a Chicago suburb, WLFD reported.

Larrama surrendered to police on March 21 and was arrested, according to the news release. He has been charged with murder, the Boston Herald reported.

Police ask anyone with additional information regarding the fatal stabbing call homicide detectives at 617-343-4470.

Husband finds wife stabbed to death when he returns home from work, Texas cops say

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Cyclist stabs 11 people without rhyme or reason, New Mexico police say
The Maryland State Police have made 93 DUI arrests in Harford County so far this year, up about 13% percent from the same time last year, according to Lt. Timothy Mullin, commander of the Bel Air Barrack.

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However, the Harford County Sheriffs Office has seen a decrease in DUI arrests for the beginning of 2022  67 arrests between Jan. 1 and March 17, 10 fewer than the same period in 2021, according to Cristie Hopkins, the sheriffs offices director of media and public relations.

Although theres been an increase in arrests, Mullin said theres been a decrease in DUI-related crashes  14 so far this year, as compared to 16 in the same timeframe last year.

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Lt. Will Reiber, of the Aberdeen Police Department, said the department has had two DUIs this year so far, down from six this time last year. Sgt. Daniel Petz, of the Havre de Grace Police Department, said that theyve had seven DUIs to date in 2022.

Hopkins said that the sheriffs office hosts grant-funded DUI patrol operations together with the Harford County Traffic Task Force. The county sheriffs office also conducts multiple DUI checkpoints each year and participates in community events to promote safe driving, such as National Night Out and Faith and Blue Weekend.

On average, 307 individuals are killed each year in alcohol- and drug-related crashes in Maryland, accounting for one-third of all traffic fatalities in the state, according to the Maryland State Police website.

According to the zerodeathsmd.gov website, nearly 800 people have been killed in Maryland because of impaired driving over the past five years. The website promotes ways to prevent impaired driving, such as using taxis or ride-sharing apps, designating a sober driver, or using public transportation.
A man walks past the window of the closed Sephora boutique at the Atrium shopping centre in Moscow

Beijing has told Chinese companies in Russia to seize the economic opportunities created by Western sanctions, as the communist state seeks to come to the Kremlins aid.

Chinas top envoy in Moscow urged Chinese business leaders to waste no time and fill the void in the Russian market following the sudden flight of Western companies from the region.

In an address to about a dozen Chinese business chiefs at a meeting of the Russia Confucius Culture Promotion Association on Sunday, Ambassador Zhang Hanhui described the situation created by the sanctions as an opportunity for Chinese businesses, Bloomberg reported.

Mr Zhang said: The current international situation is complex. Big companies face major challenges or even disruptions in payment and supply chains. This is a moment where private, small-and-medium-sized enterprises could play a role.

It comes after US President Joe Biden warned his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping last week that the emerging superpower would face implications and consequences if Beijing supported Vladimir Putins invasion of Ukraine.

Earlier this month, the US warned its allies that Beijing had signalled a willingness to provide military assistance to Russia following requests from the Kremlin.

However, the Chinese ambassador to the US denied that Beijing had sent weapons and ammunition to support Russias war, adding that it would do everything to de-escalate the crisis.

Yet China has criticised the West for imposing economic sanctions on the Kremlin and pledged to maintain normal trade relations with Russia.

Mr Zhang said the Chinese government was finding ways to adjust to logistics and payment challenges in the new situation, in an apparent nod to the sanctions regime.

As part of the measures, the West has removed a handful of Russian banks from the Swift financial-messaging system, which is used by more than 11,000 lenders for cross-border payments and is crucial for global trade.

He also advised the business leaders to adapt to the new reality as soon as possible.

A spokesman for the Chinese foreign ministry said China and Russia have been conducting mutually beneficial cooperation in economics and trade, without acknowledging the ambassadors meeting in Moscow.
WASHINGTON (AP)  President Joe Biden plans to announce new sanctions against Russia on Thursday while in Brussels for meetings with NATO and European allies, according to a top national security aide.

Biden, who will take part in a special meeting of NATO and address the European Council summit, is also expected to underscore efforts to enforce the avalanche of existing sanctions already announced by the U.S. and allies.

He will join our partners in imposing further sanctions on Russia and tightening the existing sanctions to crack down on evasion and to ensure robust enforcement, said White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan, who declined to further preview new sanctions the president will announce.

Biden is traveling to Brussels and Poland  which has received more than 2 million Ukrainian refugees who have fled since the Feb. 24 invasion  looking to press for continued unity among Western allies as Russia presses on with its brutal invasion of Ukraine.

In Poland, Biden will meet with Polish President Andrzej Duda, who has requested further U.S. aid and a stepped up military presence on NATO's eastern flank as the war grinds on. The U.S. has already more than doubled its regular troop presence of more than 4,000 U.S. troops. Currently, there are about 10,000 U.S. troops in Poland.

Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Romania have also called for a greater NATO or U.S. military presence in recent weeks.

Sullivan suggested that could be coming soon as Biden plans to have talks on longer term adjustments to NATO force posture on the eastern flank.

We feel that it is the right place for him to go to be able to see troops, to be able to see humanitarian experts and to be able to meet with a frontline and very vulnerable ally, Sullivan said of Biden's visit to Poland.

Talks on troop adjustments are already underway.

Last week, at NATOs Brussels headquarters, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and his counterparts weighed what defenses to set up on the organizations eastern flank, from Estonia in the north through Latvia, Lithuania and Poland down to Bulgaria and Romania on the Black Sea.

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The aim is to deter President Vladimir Putin from ordering an invasion of any of the 30 allies; not just for the duration of this war but for the next 5-10 years. Before launching it, Putin had demanded that NATO stop expanding and withdraw its forces from the east. The opposite is happening.

In just the past two months, the U.S. presence in Europe has jumped from about 80,000 troops to about 100,000, which is nearly as many as were there in 1997 when the United States and its NATO allies began an expansion of the alliance that Putin says threatens Russia and must be reversed. By comparison, in 1991, the year the Soviet Union dissolved, the United States had 305,000 troops in Europe, including 224,000 in Germany alone, according to Pentagon records. The number then dropped steadily, reaching 101,000 in 2005 and about 64,000 as recently as 2020.

Biden and NATO have said repeatedly that while the U.S. and NATO will provide weapons and other defensive support to non-NATO member Ukraine, they are determined to avoid any escalation on behalf of Kyiv that risks a broader war with Russia.

Polish leaders have called for a Western peacekeeping mission to intervene in Ukraine, a step that the U.S. and other allies worry could lead to a broadening of the war.

Sullivan added that Biden will also announce joint action on enhancing European energy security and reducing Europes dependence on Russian gas."

-

Associated Press writers Robert Burns and Colleen Long in Washington, and Lorne Cook in Brussels contributed.
Ukrayinska Pravda

VALENTYNA ROMANENKO - WEDNESDAY, 4 MAY 2022, 17:33 Ukrainian defenders continue to destroy units of the Russian occupiers and their equipment with great professionalism. Source: the press centre of the DShV command [Command of the Assault Troops of the Armed Forces of Ukraine] and the press service of the National Guard Details: The assault troops showed a video with the aftermath of the Russian armoured vehicles, together with their crews, destroyed by the artillery of one of the units of the D
Black women of all ages rallied outside the Supreme Court on Monday to show their support for Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson as her historic confirmation hearings began before the Senate Judiciary Committee. Her confirmation would make her the first Black woman and first public defender on the Supreme Court.

Jacksons supporters, many of whom were Black women, hoisted signs that read, My Justice Shes Black and Confirm KBJ, and wore flashy pins and vibrant shirts in support of the judge. Speakers took turns leading chants and describing why Jackson is uniquely qualified for the Supreme Court.

Someone whos had the lived experiences shes had is missing from that bench, Melanie Campbell, president and CEO of the National Coalition on Black Civic Participation, told HuffPost. Someone who is not a prosecutor. Someone who has defended others as a public defender. Shes served all her life.

Supporters of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson rally outside of the Supreme Court on March 21, 2022. (Photo: AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

Jackson, 51, has served on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit since she was confirmed to that role with bipartisan support in June. She was an assistant public defender in Washington, D.C., from 2005 to 2007. In February, President Joe Biden picked Jackson to succeed Stephen Breyer, the justice for whom she once clerked.

Mondays rally was organized by the National Coalition Black Womens Roundtable, She Will Rise, and the National Womens Law Center Action Fund, which brought together like-minded organizations such as the National Council of Negro Women, NAACP, Black Womens Health Imperative, and the Black Girl Magic Network.

One rally participant, Mia Jones, brought along her parents, Sue and Vertner, who were visiting from Florida.

Seeing this great woman sit in this chamber makes me, at 72 years old, very proud, Sue Jones said. And to be next to my daughter to see this happening. And to know that other children coming along will know they, too, have a chance and not to lose sight of their dream.

Its a precious moment to share with my parents, Mia Jones added.

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Law students from Southern University Law Center traveled from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, to support Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson outside the U.S. Capitol on March 21, 2022. (Photo: Samuel Corum via Getty Images)

Jackson has already faced racist lines of attack from Republicans and conservative pundits, including Fox News host Tucker Carlson, who demanded to see her LSAT scores, and Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), who baselessly accused her of being soft on sex offenders. Anti-abortion activists showed up to the rally with megaphones, chanting no KBJ! Abortion hurts women!

Rally attendees said they were already expecting the attacks.

Its not new. Its to be expected, Stacie Dukes, a second-year law student at Southern University Law Center, explained. Shes prepared for that, and we all knew it was coming. No surprises there; her track record speaks for itself. Regardless of how they smear, shes overqualified for this position.

Following the rally, several organizations hosted watch parties for the confirmation hearing, including the NAACP and Demand Justice, a progressive judicial advocacy group. The group brought more than 100 Black law students and public defenders to Washington to rally for Jacksons confirmation and participate in watch parties and educational seminars for judiciary work.

Alice Fontier, managing director at Neighborhood Defender Service of Harlem, described why Jacksons experience as a federal public defender is so critical: Around 8% of federal district judges have some experience as public defenders.

Having the intimate knowledge of what it means to stand next to somebody who is the most vulnerable, who is charged with an offense by the most powerful  the United States government  and to have the responsibility of standing next to that person and making sure theyre heard and treated fairly, Fontier said. You cannot get the perspective unless you do it.

She understands it. Its not something that you can forget, because access to justice and the way that people are treated differently within the courts must be reckoned with. For her to bring that to this level is so needed.

This article originally appeared on HuffPost and has been updated.

Related...
Ukrayinska Pravda

VALENTYNA ROMANENKO - WEDNESDAY, 4 MAY 2022, 17:33 Ukrainian defenders continue to destroy units of the Russian occupiers and their equipment with great professionalism. Source: the press centre of the DShV command [Command of the Assault Troops of the Armed Forces of Ukraine] and the press service of the National Guard Details: The assault troops showed a video with the aftermath of the Russian armoured vehicles, together with their crews, destroyed by the artillery of one of the units of the D
(Independent)

The boyfriend of Audreona Barnes, found dead beneath a pile of clothes on an apartment balcony, has been charged with aggravated murder and gross abuse of a corpse.

This is a developing story; it will be updated.




A coalition of business groups on Tuesday urged lawmakers to strip a bipartisan trade measure out of a China competitiveness bill before it goes to President Biden's desk.

In a letter to congressional leaders, retail, trade and manufacturing groups announced their opposition to the Eliminating Global Market Distortions to Protect American Jobs Act, a measure to combat unfair trade practices included in the House-passed China bill.

The legislation would overhaul anti-dumping and countervailing duty laws to prevent companies from evading tariffs by rerouting their products through another country. American steelmakers have long complained that Chinese steelmakers use this tactic to dodge duties they'd otherwise be forced to pay.

The business groups on Tuesday warned that the proposal would lead to increased tariffs on an array of products from U.S. allies such as Canadian lumber, Italian pasta and Japanese aluminum. They argued that the bill would "penalize legitimate trade and contribute to the inflationary pressures on American businesses"

"These mounting costs would come at a time when uncertainty in the market is at an all-time high, as supply chain challenges persist, and as inflation continues to rise," the groups wrote.

The National Retail Federation, the American Clean Power Association and Autos Drive America signed the letter, alongside other business groups. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has also pushed back on the bill, while conservative groups have warned that it would hike the price of fertilizer for American farmers.

The trade proposal was first introduced by Sens. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) and Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) and later introduced in the House by Reps. Terri Sewell (D-Ala.) and Bill Johnson (R-Ohio).

It is included in the China competitiveness bill that passed the House last month, but not the Senate version passed last year. While both bills would provide $52 billion to incentivize domestic semiconductor production, the House legislation has an array of trade and labor policies opposed by big business groups that were excluded from the Senate bill.

The lobbying push comes as Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) aims to pass another China competitiveness bill that includes the House-passed language so that a conference committee can craft the final legislation headed to Biden.
Mar. 22Students at Caddo Mills High School will be spending three days this week learning lessons of the dangers of drinking and driving.

The Caddo Mills ISD is hosting a Shattered Dreams program, which was scheduled to begin Monday.

The most vivid portion of the effort is scheduled at the high school today, according to Shannon Milton RN, the district's nurse.

"We will have a mock crash starting at 9:20 a.m.," Milton said. "It will be in the parking lot."

Students at the high school will be brought to the scene and shown the graphic display, which recreates the tragic and often fatal consequences that can occur due to driving while drunk or impaired. First responders and law enforcement will arrive on the scene and the road in front of the high school will be closed for a short time this morning during the event.

"This is all staged and the students are only acting, but we want this to look as real as possible," Milton said. "On Wednesday there will be a memorial assembly, followed by a mock trial. "Both of those will occur in the high school gymnasium."

Organizers of the program, which is similar to the Shattered Dreams event conducted at Greenville High School earlier this year, say the program is designed to help promote responsible decision-making among high school students regarding underage drinking and impaired driving, by showing them how irresponsible choices can destroy all dreams.

Anyone wanting additional information about Shattered Dreams or the events scheduled during this week's program can contact Caddo Mills High School at 903-527-3164.
(Reuters) -Canada's justice minister said on Tuesday he had ordered fashion designer Peter Nygard's extradition to the United States to face sex trafficking and racketeering charges, but only after similar charges against him in Canada are addressed.

U.S. authorities accuse Nygard, 80, of using his businesses to lure women and girls in the United States, Canada and the Bahamas since 1995 to sexually gratify himself and his associates - accusations he denies.

Canadian police arrested Nygard in Winnipeg, Manitoba, in late 2020 at the U.S. government's request under the countries' extradition treaty. He consented to U.S. extradition in October, around which time Toronto police laid their own charges.

Nygard remains in prison after a judge denied him bail in January. David Lametti, Canada's justice minister, wrote on Twitter that he would be surrendered for extradition once proceedings against him in a Toronto court conclude.

"It is important that our Canadian legal process is completed so that all parties, including victims, have an opportunity to see justice served," Lametti wrote. Nygard faces sexual assault and forcible confinement charges in Canada.

A lawyer for Nygard could not immediately be reached for comment.

Born in Finland, Nygard grew up in Manitoba, eventually running his namesake clothing companies and becoming one of Canada's wealthiest people.

(Reporting by Rami AyyubEditing by Marguerita Choy)
Need motivation to get thyself to the gym?

Just mosey on over to Candice Swanepoels social media.

Trigger warning: You will never, ever look like this incredibly perfect specimen of a human being, but you can give it the old college try.

The South African model was just in Miami for a sultry photo session for Tropic of C swimsuits (the former ballet dancer is also creative director for the brand).

In one Instagram shot, the onetime Victorias Secret stunner, 33, grabs onto a quad bikes handlebars in a leopard print skimpy bikini, a braided ponytail flying behind her.

The mother of twos caption for her 17 million followers: Beauty or beast?

Ummm. No need to answer that question.

Swanepoel was busy in the Magic City. She also modeled a black, gold belted dress from Reformation, the waves lapping behind her.

Miami moments, said the Instagram caption.

A commenter summed up the look: Youre a definition of a goddess.

Some of Swanepoels Miami moments also included attending a private dinner at Swan Miami Saturday night to celebrate the launch of Kim Kardashians SKIMS swimwear line and popup in the Design District. The reality star wore a bikini top to the event, and honestly, no one even batted an eye.
Harford County Public Schools shut down its onsite voluntary COVID-19 testing on March 17. During the last few weeks, the site operator, MAKO, saw a decline in the number of voluntary tests administered in the school system, according to a news release from the school system.

HCPS encourages parents and staffto contact their medical provider for questions about future COVID-19 testing, the release said.
A small town police officer in South Carolina charged in the fatal on-duty shooting of a man after a five-minute car chase repeatedly told investigators and her boss the man had something in his hand, but she did not know what it was, according to dashboard camera footage.

The camera also captured the shooting, showing Hemingway Police Officer Cassandra Dollard, working alone, slipped and fell in a muddy ditch as she approached the man's car as he tried to get out of the passenger door.

Dollard ordered him to stay in the car, then fired one shot at close range while still sitting as he got out, according to the dashboard camera footage released by state agents late Monday as part of a Freedom of Information Act request.

Im trying to get up and Im telling him dont come out of the car and he kept coming on out, so, I fired one shot. But I thought I saw, for sure I saw something in his hands," Dollard said in a phone call to her police chief about 50 minutes after the shooting captured by the microphone connected to her dashboard camera.

She paused for a few seconds before adding Lord have mercy."

Related video: Payson, AZ man dead following police shooting near Lake Pleasant, Peoria

Dollard, who was fired after the shooting, is charged with voluntary manslaughter and faces two to 30 years in prison if convicted.

Robert Junior Langley was shot in the chest and died a short time after the shooting. Dollard's dashboard camera shows her alone with him in a ditch on a rural road in Georgetown County for more than seven minutes doing chest compressions and urging him keep breathing, sir. I've got help coming.

Lawyers for Langley's family said while Dollard fired the deadly shot, the blame for his death is shared by poor training from Hemingway Police and poor oversight from the state academy that trains all officers.

Lets be clear. Officer Dollard pulled the trigger, but the Hemingway Police Department gave her the gun and the South Carolina Criminal Justice Academy cleared her to use it. Its a dramatic failure at every level and its difficult to watch.," said state Sen. Gerald Malloy, a Democrat from Hartsville who is representing the family.

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The attorneys said Langley had money in his hand as he tried to get out of the car. No gun was found at the scene, investigators said.

Dollard had met all the requirements to be a police officer in South Carolina and just because as officer is fired from a force does not mean they lose their certification unless they are convicted of a felony, repeatedly use excessive force, lie or use illegal drugs, South Carolina Criminal Justice Academy Director Jackie Swindler said.

We control certification of officers. We have no control over someone an agency hires, Swindler said.

Dollard was on patrol in her town of 530 people when her dashboard camera, pointed at a lonely street, showed someone not stop as they turned right at 1:24 a.m. on Feb. 6, according to the dashcam footage released by the State Law Enforcement Division, which is investigating the shooting.

The car stopped briefly after Dollard tuned on her blue lights but sped off before she could get out of her cruiser. Dollard chased the vehicle for more than five minutes, much of it at speeds over 100 mph (160 kph) going 8 miles (13 kilometers) outside her small town and into the next county, according to the data on the dashboard camera.

Langley missed a turn and crashed his car into a ditch. For about 45 seconds, Dollard is off camera demanding Langley show me your hands and you better get them out.

Dollard then goes toward the passenger side of the car falling in the mud. Dont you came out she said, then fires a shot just as Langley's head and chest can be seen coming out the passenger door in the dashcam footage.

You had something in your hand, sir. What was in your hand? Dollard demanded as Langley can be heard groaning.

After calling in the shooting, getting her flashlight and not getting answers from questions she was asking Langley, Dollard is seen in the footage starting chest compressions about three minutes after the shooting.

One of the first investigators to get to the scene some 25 minutes later asked her if he needs to look for a gun near the car. I dont know what he had in his hands. I just know he had something in his hands, she said.

Dollard's lawyer did not return an email seeking comment on the video's release. Defense attorney Rose Mary Parham said at Dollard's bond hearing she was very sorry at what happened and grieves with Langley's family.

Dollard, 52, has been a police officer in South Carolina for all but one year since 1994, according to South Carolina Criminal Justice Academy records, working for six agencies and being fired three times, including by Hemingway after the shooting.

Dollard was fired from a state police unit for nine separate policy violations and a judge agreed with the agency's lawyers who said she had a well-documented run of extraordinarily poor decision-making" in court papers after Dollard sued.

Langley's family said they hope people just don't consider him another statistic when they see the footage of his death.

"He was a father, a brother, a son and they killed him for nothing. They left a hole in our lives and it could happen to anyone, Langleys mother, Roslyn Brockington Langley, said is a statement released by her attorneys.

___

Follow Jeffrey Collins on Twitter at https://twitter.com/JSCollinsAP.
Assistant District Attorney Jeff Laugero sort of flew under the radar to position himself as the next district attorney of Stanislaus County.

Leading up to the Feb. 14 through March 16 election filing period for the office, the DAs Office was the focus of issues that might make for a spirited contest, but Laugero was the only candidate to file for the June 7 primary election.

He is poised to succeed Birgit Fladager, the countys district attorney since 2006, when her term expires in about nine months.

The new district attorney could possibly deal with continued deliberations in the Scott Peterson case, a serious backlog of criminal cases and fallout from the trial of defense attorney Frank Carson.

The District Attorneys Office has been sharply criticized over the murder trial of Carson and other defendants, who were either acquitted by a jury or cleared of wrongdoing. Prosecutors charged the defendants in 2015 with the 2012 disappearance and death of Korey Kauffman.

Carson died in August 2020, about 14 months after his acquittal. The defense attorney filed a 2020 lawsuit in federal court against Stanislaus County seeking damages on allegations of false arrest and malicious prosecution. Damages continue to be sought by Carsons estate.

In a phone interview Monday, Laugero said the DAs Office has some work ahead to reconnect with the public. We have a narrative to work on to improve our relationship with the community to make sure we are meeting their expectations, he said.

He stressed that prosecution staff are a group of professionals held to the highest ethical standards and can bring only cases that can be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.

Laugero said he wasnt part of the district attorney administrative staff during the prosecution of Carson and the other defendants. He was a chief deputy district attorney before a promotion to assistant DA in October.

He said the DAs Office will do more outreach with community groups and service organizations to let them know who we are and that we dont have a problem with answering questions.

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Pandemic worsened backlog

Another challenge facing the office is a sizable backlog of criminal cases, which was further snarled by the COVID-19 pandemic. Court appearances were delayed and jury trials were suspended in January when county jail inmates facing charges were infected during outbreaks.

The pandemic impacted our ability to take cases to trial, Laugero said. The court would bring in a jury panel and, as soon as (a prospective juror) had symptoms, the panel was released and you would start anew.

Changes in criminal law could serve to reduce the backlog of cases, which predated the COVID pandemic. Laugero said a larger number of misdemeanor offenses can be diverted to programs as an alternative to prosecution. As an example, a person charged with a drug offense may be referred to substance abuse treatment.

We need to make sure when using diversion that its serving a purpose and its not a get-out-of-jail card, he said.

Laugero joined the District Attorneys Office as a prosecutor in 2005. He was a police officer before deciding on a career in law. He graduated from the Santa Clara University School of Law.

Laugero previously served as mayor of Escalon and resigned from the City Council in December to move to Stanislaus County and run for district attorney. He said he and his wife moved to Modesto in February.

Supervisor impressed with his credentials

County Supervisor Mani Grewal said he appreciates that Laugero has a background in law enforcement and criminal prosecution. His experience in public service as an Escalon city leader is another asset, Grewal said.

He has good rapport with (district attorney staff) and the legal community in Stanislaus County, the supervisor said.

Grewal said hes not surprised the district attorney election is uncontested. The pandemic and other pressures in the last two years might have made it difficult for candidates to ramp up campaigns, he said.

The District Attorneys Office also needs to recruit prosecutors to fill staffing vacancies. Laugero said it has six to eight attorney positions to fill.

The county competes with other jurisdictions including San Joaquin, Sacramento, Alameda and El Dorado counties to find qualified attorneys to prosecute cases, he said.

The pool of people coming out of law schools who want to be prosecutors is not as big as it used to be, Laugero said. (The counties) find that the best place to recruit people is from another district attorney office. There is active recruitment going on all the time.
Ukrayinska Pravda

VALENTYNA ROMANENKO - WEDNESDAY, 4 MAY 2022, 17:33 Ukrainian defenders continue to destroy units of the Russian occupiers and their equipment with great professionalism. Source: the press centre of the DShV command [Command of the Assault Troops of the Armed Forces of Ukraine] and the press service of the National Guard Details: The assault troops showed a video with the aftermath of the Russian armoured vehicles, together with their crews, destroyed by the artillery of one of the units of the D
Christina Ricci is going back to the family roots for her next screen role.

The Golden Globe and Emmy nominated actress will reportedly star in Netflixs forthcoming series Wednesday, based off The Addams Family character she played on the big screen.

According to Deadline, Ricci wont be reprising the role of the macabre moppet from Barry Sonnefelds 90s era big screen adaptation of the ghastly, campy TV series; Scream 5 star Jenny Ortega will play the titular role.

Instead, the 42-year-old Black Snake Moan star will be cast in a recurring role that filmmakers want to keep under wraps in order to protect the surprise for fans.

Academy Award-winner Catherine Zeta-Jones was previously cast as Wednesdays mom, Morticia Addams, in the Tim Burton-produced series.

Luis Guzman (of Shameless fame) will portray family patriarch Gomez, who was played by the late Raul Julia in the films.
A group that advocates for college athletes on Tuesday announced it has filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Educations Office for Civil Rights, claiming that the NCAAs limits on compensation for athletes has a disproportionate impact on Black athletes.

The complaint, made by the National College Players Association (NCPA), asks the department to end the NCAAs compensation rules. Those restrictions also are under attack in federal courts and through filings with another federal agency.

The limit on compensation is a violation of current civil rights law, NCPA executive director Ramogi Huma told USA TODAY Sports, and the Department of Education has the authority and jurisdiction and power and legal authority to address these violations.

The new filing centers on how it says the NCAAs rules impact Black athletes playing football at Football Bowl Subdivision schools and those playing mens basketball and womens basketball at Division I schools. It also claims that the NCAAs limits result in an abuse of Pell Grant funds because this money  which the federal government awards to low-income students based on need  would not have to be provided to football and basketball players if they were compensated fairly.

The complaint seeks as its remedy: The elimination of these civil rights violations and the abuse of Pell Grant funds by ending collusive athlete compensation limits among Division I colleges that deny fair market compensation to college athletes.

While the complaint specifies FBS football, mens basketball and womens basketball, Huma said: Were fighting for fair compensation for athletes in all sports as an organization. And if we are successful then the blanket cap on compensation will be lifted for athletes of all sports.

NCAA logo

Tuesdays filing is the latest effort by the NCPA to further loosen the NCAAs rules on compensation for athletes, who, over the past nine months have started being allowed to make money from the use of their name, image and likeness. This followed numerous state laws being passed to allow this activity and the Supreme Court unanimously ruling against the NCAA in the Alston antitrust case.

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The NCPA and another athlete-advocacy group, the College Basketball Players Association, have filed unfair labor practice charges with the National Labor Relations Board on behalf of football players and mens and womens basketball players.

The big picture here is that we are looking to push the envelope with federal agencies, Huma said. There are agencies that already have legal authority to bring forward reform in NCAA sports that will benefit players. We dont need a new labor law. College athletes are employees. We just have to have college athletes recognized as employees under existing laws.

Meanwhile, there is an ongoing lawsuit in federal court in Pennsylvania that is seeking to have college athletes declared school employees under the Fair Labor Standards Act. A pending suit in California that is related to the Alston case not only seeks to have the NCAAs compensation rules ended, it also seeks what would be an enormous damages claim based on amounts that the suit alleges past athletes would have received but for the NCAAs rules.

The new complaint relies heavily on a 2019 study by the Center for American Progress, a Washington-based group that describes itself as an independent, nonpartisan policy institute. The study showed that among schools in the Power Five conferences Black scholarship athletes comprise a disproportionate percentage of the schools populations of all Black degree-seeking undergraduates, compared to their white counterparts.

This occurs against the backdrop of football and basketball being most college sports programs primary revenue-generating sports.

The fact is that if scholarship limits across all sports were completely eliminated, the lions share of increased compensation would flow to FBS football and Division I basketball players, the complaint states. In essence, the primary function of having  limits is to deny fair compensation (to0 college athletes in predominantly Black sports. It is a simple truth that there would be no significant bidding wars among colleges for the best athletes in sports that are predominantly white because they do not generate comparable amounts of revenue for their colleges.

The complaint goes on to connect the need for athletes to receive Pell Grant money  currently a maximum of nearly $6,500 a year  to the NCAAs compensation limits.

According to the complaint, these funds are used to subsidize compensation for many of the 20,000 FBS football, NCAA Division I mens basketball, and NCAA Division I womens basketball players who are undercompensated. If compensated fairly, virtually none of these athletes would qualify for Pell Grant funds.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: College-athlete group files civil rights complaint over NCAA pay rules
Ukrayinska Pravda

VALENTYNA ROMANENKO - WEDNESDAY, 4 MAY 2022, 17:33 Ukrainian defenders continue to destroy units of the Russian occupiers and their equipment with great professionalism. Source: the press centre of the DShV command [Command of the Assault Troops of the Armed Forces of Ukraine] and the press service of the National Guard Details: The assault troops showed a video with the aftermath of the Russian armoured vehicles, together with their crews, destroyed by the artillery of one of the units of the D
Ukrayinska Pravda

VALENTYNA ROMANENKO - WEDNESDAY, 4 MAY 2022, 17:33 Ukrainian defenders continue to destroy units of the Russian occupiers and their equipment with great professionalism. Source: the press centre of the DShV command [Command of the Assault Troops of the Armed Forces of Ukraine] and the press service of the National Guard Details: The assault troops showed a video with the aftermath of the Russian armoured vehicles, together with their crews, destroyed by the artillery of one of the units of the D
Couy Griffin. Jeenah Moon/Getty Images

A federal judge on Tuesday found Couy Griffin, the founder of Cowboys for Trump and a county commissioner in New Mexico, guilty on one charge stemming from the Jan. 6 Capitol assault and not guilty of a second.

Griffin, the second defendant to be tried for their role in the Capitol assault, was found guilty on a misdemeanor charge of entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds and not guilty of a misdemeanor charge of disorderly conduct. Judge Trevor McFadden said the government was unable to meet its burden of proof that Griffin purposely tried to get the crowd outside the Capitol riled up, ABC News reports.

Prosecutors said Griffin did not physically enter the Capitol building, but climbed several barriers and a wall to enter a restricted area that had been set up to protect former Vice President Mike Pence as he presided over the certification of President Biden's electoral victory. Video footage shows Griffin in the area for more than an hour, and he is seen at several points cheering on the crowd and leading a prayer.

Griffin's sentencing is scheduled for June. He faces up to one year in jail and potential fines.

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Ukrayinska Pravda

VALENTYNA ROMANENKO - WEDNESDAY, 4 MAY 2022, 17:33 Ukrainian defenders continue to destroy units of the Russian occupiers and their equipment with great professionalism. Source: the press centre of the DShV command [Command of the Assault Troops of the Armed Forces of Ukraine] and the press service of the National Guard Details: The assault troops showed a video with the aftermath of the Russian armoured vehicles, together with their crews, destroyed by the artillery of one of the units of the D
Dick C. Bartlett, who recently celebrated his 100th birthday, stands on the boat parking lot of Severn Sailing Association. Bartlett was a founding member of Severn Sailing Association in 1954. (Willy Keworth)

Richard C. Bartlett Jr. celebrated his 100th birthday by having lunch with his son at the Annapolis Yacht Club.

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The Severna Park resident joined the century club in remarkable physical and mental condition. Hes extremely active with a sharp mind and flawless memory, enjoying life to the fullest in perfect health.

In my mind, daddy is a miracle, said youngest daughter Robin Bartlett. He just finds a way to keep going and going and going.

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That lunch on March 8 was just the beginning of the festivities surrounding Bartlett Jr. becoming a centenarian. He was joined by a large contingent of close family for a dinner at AYC the following night and was guest of honor for another party held at his home overlooking Cattail Creek off the Magothy River.

Its a good time to be 100. Ive never known anyone who reached that age, so Im enjoying the celebration, Bartlett Jr. said.

Asked on his birthday how it felt to join such an exclusive club, Bartlett Jr. quipped that he was still amazed.

Bartlett Jr., who was bestowed the nickname Dick C as a young boy, is well known in local sailing circles. He was a founding member of the Severn Sailing Association, playing a prominent role in the growth and development of dinghy racing off Annapolis. He is also a longtime member of both the Annapolis Yacht Club and the Sailing Club of the Chesapeake.

Bartlett Jr.s passion for sailing was instilled by his father and namesake after the family moved to the Round Bay community of Severna Park. Richard C. Bartlett Sr. was an engineer with the U.S. Navy stationed at the David Taylor Model Basin.

The elder Bartlett and some fellow engineer friends built a fleet of dinghies they dubbed Severn One-Designs, and that is the boat on which Dick C and his three brothers learned to sail.

I have very fond memories of spending time on the water aboard the Severn One-Design, said Bartlett Jr., who also raced Comets as a youngster. My father had great foresight in introducing us all to such an enjoyable sport.

Bartlett Jr. graduated from Annapolis High in 1940 and spent two academic years at the University of Maryland before enlisting in the Navy as an aviation cadet. He underwent flight training at Air Station Pensacola in Florida then was deployed to the Aleutian Islands to pilot a Vought Kingfisher.

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Those observation seaplanes, launched from ships by catapult, could land in the water using a large central float with two stabilizers.

Bartlett Jr. flew in World War II and the Korean War, piloting the Douglass AD Skyraider in the latter conflict. He was officer in charge of a six aircraft squadron of the single-engine bombers.

He spent 25 years in the service before retiring in 1967 as a commander, having been awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and Air Medal among many commendations. He pursued sailboat racing at almost every stop along the way, fortunate to be stationed at bases in Long Beach, Coronado and Seal Beach in California, Quonset Point, Rhode Island, and Annapolis.

His father was one of three men who incorporated the Severn Sailing Association in 1954. Bartlett Jr. was 32 years old and serving in Korea when his father founded the club, which was originally based in Round Bay before moving to its current location at Sycamore Point.

When the Korean War ended, Bartlett Jr. returned to Annapolis while stationed in Washington, D.C., and took an active role in developing the SSA facility off First Street in Eastport, donning knee-high wading boots to build the bulkheads that were filled with dredge material to create the land on which so many one-design sailboats are now stored.

During that time, Bartlett introduced his eldest daughter to sailing by buying her a wooden Cadet. Dad raced an International 14 in those days, and he would take me out when I was 6 or 7 if it wasnt too windy, Linda Stearns recalled.

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Transferred to the Naval facility on San Diego Bay, Bartlett Jr. was instrumental in establishing Snipe Fleet 573 at Coronado Yacht Club. He returned to Annapolis in 1965 after being posted to the Pentagon and became active in Snipe Fleet 532 at SSA, volunteering for race committee duty in addition to competing.

Bartlett Jr. was one of two principal race officers for the 1971 Snipe Nationals that were hosted by the Severn Sailing Association. That regatta helped solidify the organizations reputation for running major national and international events.

Bartlett Jr. became an officer at SSA in the late 1960s and ascended to commodore in 1971, serving a two-year term. He took on a broader leadership role within the Annapolis sailing community when he served as Chesapeake Bay Yacht Racing Association president in 1973.

Tim Cusack first met Bartlett Jr. 38 years ago when their Snipe dinghies were stored side-by-side on the SSA lot. They instantly became friends and routinely performed race committee work together.

No one has been more dedicated to Severn Sailing Association than Dick C, Cusack said. He is one of the clubs legendary figures and has always led by example by stepping up whenever something needed to be done. Dick C was never afraid to get his hands dirty.

Tims father, William Sparky Cusack, who was a contemporary of Bartlett Jr., mentioned many times how much he liked and respected Bartlett Jr. Tim Cusack, who has served as commodore and treasurer of SSA, learned why while rigging Snipes alongside Bartlett Jr., or sharing a glass of Dewars scotch and a plate of oysters with him.

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It puts a smile on my face whenever I see Dick C or hear his name. Hes truly one of the most genuine, mindful, compassionate souls you will ever meet, and I feel blessed to know him, Cusack said.

Of course, Bartlett Jr. has outlived many of his close friends from SSA, including Sparky Cusack. He greatly misses John and Marge Donald, Stuart Walker, Crombie Garrett and Stovy Brown as well. Hes also outlived three brothers with the last, Joe, dying a decade ago.

Bartlett Jr., whose father lived to age 93, has a simple explanation for his remarkable longevity.

Ive had good luck and been fortunate to avoid any fatal diseases, he said, noting that two brothers died from cancer while the third had heart problems. I think it helps that I have a pretty even temperament. I dont let things upset me.

Bartlett Jr. returned to the Annapolis area for the final time when he was stationed at the Pentagon. The family lived on Steele Avenue downtown before building a house in the Wardour community of west Annapolis.

After retiring from the Navy, Bartlett Jr. went to work for Equitable Insurance and established an agency in Eastport. He was successful in that second career as well, thanks to an affable demeanor and innate honesty.

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Daddy was not your typical insurance agent. There were times when folks couldnt pay for their policy, and he would pay it for them, Robin Bartlett said.

Dick C lost his first wife of 45 years, the former Frances Fisher, in 1987. He married Mary Ellen Crafton a year later and they celebrated their 33rd anniversary in November. His eldest son and namesake, Richard C. Bartlett III, died in 1965 at age 19 due to complications from Muscular Dystrophy.

In addition to three living children of his own, Bartlett has two stepsons  Jim and Tom Crafton.

Richard C. Bartlett Jr. with his wife Mary Ellen during his 100th birthday party at the Annapolis Yacht Club. (Courtesy Photo)

Linda Stearns and Jonathan Bartlett were instilled with their fathers love for sailing and fashioned careers from the sport. Linda worked for North Sails from 1976 to 1996, serving as production manager of the Chesapeake loft and manager of the Baltimore loft.

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Dad has always been a very kind, gentle person and a great role model for all his children, Linda said.

Jonathan Bartlett got a job with North Sails thanks to his older sister and has been with the company for 36 years now, appointed manager of the Chesapeake loft in 2012.

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I could not have asked for a more wonderful father. Weve been together 61 years now and I feel blessed to be his son, Jonathan said. Anyone who has ever met dad is far better for knowing him. People just naturally gravitate toward him. He has the complete respect of everyone fortunate enough to call him a friend.

Dick C wakes up around 7 every morning and enjoys reading The Capital while drinking a cup of coffee. He does all the cooking and insists on a hot breakfast (almost always eggs).

Daddy feels breakfast is most important meal of the day. I think that comes from his days in the Navy, Robin Bartlett said.

Dick C enjoys doing yard work, using a John Deere tractor to mow the lawn or pick up leaves. He used to travel extensively to various spots in Europe or the Caribbean but has not done so since going to Alaska to visit one of his stepsons.

Im looking forward to 101, Bartlett Jr. said. Ill keep doing what Im doing and hope I get there.
PROVIDENCE  The Cranston man accused of helping torch a Providence police cruiser during a riot two summers ago has reached a new plea deal with federal prosecutors that would spare him from facing a mandatory five years behind bars.

Nicholas Scaglione, 32, has agreed to plead guilty to a single count of conspiracy to commit arson for contributing to the blaze during the height of protests of alleged police misconduct in June 2020.

In exchange, federal prosecutors will recommend that he serve 30 to 46 months in prison, according to a plea agreement filed Friday in U.S. District Court.

Scaglione was initially charged with attempted malicious destruction of a vehicle by fire, an offense that carried a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in prison.

Scaglione agreed to plead guilty to that charge last March, but his sentencing was delayed in July when U.S. District Court Judge Mary S. McElroy instead conducted a virtual in-chambers conference.

A man authorities identified as Nicholas Scaglione stands on top of a Providence police cruiser in June 2020, moments before the cruiser was set ablaze in front of Providence Place.

From September: Prosecutors object to 'deferred sentencing' for man who torched Providence police car

McElroy told the parties she would refer Scaglione to the U.S. Probation Office for an evaluation for the deferred sentencing program, a federal court initiative launched in 2016 as an alternative to incarceration for defendants, according to federal prosecutors.

The government strenuously objected to McElroys plan to refer Scaglione, a father of two with a stable employment record, to the alternative sentencing program.

The defendants intentional (and almost gleeful) attack on a Providence police cruiser, a symbol of law and order, endangered those around him, incited the rioters, and undermined the peaceful exercise of the constitutional rights of others, namely, freedom to assemble and freedom of speech, Assistant U.S. Attorney William J. Ferland wrote in the governments objection.

The federal investigation: Cranston man helped torch Providence cruiser during June riot, investigators say

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Scaglione's lawyer, William C. Dimitri, had asked the court to impose the absolute minimum possible under the law.

Flames and a plume of smoke rise from a police cruiser set ablaze in front of the Providence Place mall in the early hours of June 2, 2020.

Federal prosecutors on Friday amended the charge Scaglione faced to conspiracy to commit arson, a count in which he could face a maximum of five years behind bars.

Scaglione was one of two men charged with burning the cruiser during the June 2, 2020, riot in downtown Providence that included the looting of Providence Place mall and nearby businesses.

Authorities alleged that a Providence man, Luis Joel Sierra, poured lighter fluid into the cruiser and ignited it as it blocked Francis Street in front of Providence Place mall. Crowds could be heard cheering as the cruiser went up in flames.

Scaglione was accused of contributing to the destruction of the vehicle by allegedly throwing accelerant inside as it burned.

Charges filed: Providence man, 34, charged with arson in torching of police cruiser

U.S. District Court Magistrate Judge Lincoln D. Almond in August recommended that Sierra, who still faces a count of attempted malicious destruction of a vehicle by fire, be found incompetent to stand trial due to a mental disease or defect that leaves him unable to understand and participate in his defense.

Almond ordered that Sierra be committed to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons hospital for treatment.

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Man who torched police cruiser in Providence riot reaches plea deal
A Galesburg Police Department utility vehicle passes by the Public Safety Building.

Galesburg police chief Russ Idle

GALESBURG  Arrests and crimes against people in Galesburg increased in 2021, according to the Galesburg Police Department's annual report.

Galesburg Chief of Police Russel Idle said crime has been rising nationwide since mid 2018-2019. The police chief recognized that some areas of crime are down, but the departments main area of concern, crimes against persons, has seen an increase from 135 cases in 2020 to 208 cases in 2021.

There is no specific issue in Galesburg that's causing this. It's something that's nationwide, Idle said.  It involves COVID, I think it involves national reaction and backlash to law-enforcement, you know there's large societal issues that are causing this.

The annual crime report did not explicitly distinguish the number of gun crimes that took place in 2021, but Idle said that the area also saw an increase last year.

The police chief said that the city has historically seen 15-20 gun crimes a year. In 2021, the number of gun crimes reached the high 50s.

It's something we've been working on really diligently, Idle said. There's been a lot of arrests made and the state attorney's office is handling the prosecution vigorously, and we're looking to try to separate the people who are committing those crimes from society.

Galesburg police chief Russ Idle, right, answers a question during a City of Galesburg press conference regarding the formation of a new law enforcement task force to deal with violent crime in Galesburg on Friday, April 23, 2021 at City Hall.

Idle and Knox County States Attorney Jeremy Karlin had previously announced in April of 2021 that the departments were establishing a task force along with the Knox County Sheriff's Office, Illinois State Police and FBI Springfield division to apply personnel and resources to identify, arrest, and prosecute individuals involved in drug trafficking and gun-related offenses.

Idle said the Galesburg Police Department cannot curtail this rise in crime alone. The police chief emphasized that law enforcements duties of investigating, arresting and incarcerating individuals plays just one role in the greater picture and the city will need to exercise a holistic approach if it wants to bring crime levels down.

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In order to do anything about this effectively, it's going to have to be a partnership between the government and the people, the citizens of Galesburg, Idle said. We cannot do it without their help. So I just want to express that we want to do this in partnership with the community and to do a holistic approach that involves law enforcement and numerous other approaches.

Outside of crime statistics, the annual report showed that the department saw one officer retire and hired five new officers and four new civilian employees. The department employed 49 police officers in 2021,

208 total crimes against persons

95 cases of aggravated battery. There were 62 cases in 2020

63 cases of aggravated assault. There were 30 cases in 2020

31 cases of criminal sexual assault. There were 27 cases in 2020

15 cases of robbery. There were 14 cases in 2020

4 cases of murder/negligent manslaughter. There were 2 cases in 2020

1,219 total crimes against property

814 cases of theft. There were 763 cases in 2020

302 cases of burglary. There were196 cases in 2020

96 cases of motor vehicle theft. There were 79 cases in 2020

7 cases of arson. There were 3 cases in 2020

2,703 total arrests

72 juvenile arrests. There were 63 juvenile arrests in 2020

2,159 adult arrests. There were 1,956 adult arrests in 2020

48,879 calls for service. There were 44,119 calls for service in 2020

Investigations

Search warrants written/executed: 165

Vehicles impounded: 323

Cases worked/resolved: 231

'Noteworthy cases'

13 pounds of methamphetamine seized alongside multiple arrests following a narcotics investigation run by The Special Operations unit, Knox County Sheriff's Department, Macomb Police Department and FBI Task Force

6 attempted murders resulting in the arrest of 4 individuals

4 homicide cases resulting in the arrests of 5 individuals

58 documented aggravated discharge of firearm calls investigated, resulting in 31 arrests and 25 recovered guns

Galesburg Police officer Jacob Thompson keeps on hold his partner K9 Dax during a demonstration at the 2021 National Night Out event at Standish Park on Tuesday, Aug. 3, 2021.

K-9 Unit

190 pounds of cannabis seized

2 pounds of methamphetamine seized

0.5 pounds seized

300 prescription pills seized

Traffic and other

119 vehicle crashes resulting in injury. There were 106 injury crashes in 2020

2,359 citations issued. There were 1,039 citations issued in 2020

3,723 crime prevention checks. There were 4,047 in 2020

603 burglary/robbery alarms. There were 577 in 2020

43 controlled substance violations. There were 55 in 2020

3 cases of suicide. There were 6 in 2020

This article originally appeared on Galesburg Register-Mail: Crimes against people, property increase in 2021 in Galesburg
During Judge Ketanji Brown Jacksons Supreme Court confirmation hearing on Tuesday, Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, quizzed her on critical race theory, an academic theory of racisms systemic impact that has been assailed by conservatives.

Teachers' groups and schools tend to argue that CRT is not often taught below the university level.

Jackson  who, if confirmed, would become the first Black woman to sit on the Supreme Court  said she had never studied critical race theory and never used it.

It doesn't come up in my work as a judge, she said, adding that it was her understanding that it was taught in law schools.

Sen. Ted Cruz holding an antiracism book for children during the Supreme Court confirmation hearing for Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson. (Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images)

Cruz then held up books that he said were used at Georgetown Day School in Washington, D.C., where Jackson is a board member. An aide displayed posters showing enlarged pages from one of them  Antiracist Baby by Ibram X. Kendi  behind him.

Do you agree with this book that is being taught to kids that babies are racist? Cruz asked.

Jackson paused before answering.

Jackson listens to questions from Cruz during her Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing. (Elizabeth Frantz/Reuters)

Senator, I do not believe that any child should be made to feel as though they are racist or that they are not valued, or though they are less than or that they are victims or oppressors, she said. I don't believe in any of that.

Jackson added that such themes dont come up in my work as a judge, which Im respectfully here to address.

Earlier on Tuesday during her hearing, the GOPs main Twitter account posted a GIF of Jackson that included her initials  KBJ  being crossed out and replaced with CRT. The Republican Partys tweet was widely criticized as a racist dog whistle.
Ukrainian soldiers and firefighters search in a destroyed building after a bombing attack in Kyiv





Two Ukrainian prisoners accused of human smuggling in the Netherlands were granted conditional release from pretrial detention so they could fight Russia in their home country, according to a court filing.

The Zeeland-West Brabant Court last week approved the conditional release of one foreign national who was born in 1992 from pretrial detention in Ter Apel prison. The decision came after the court determined that the foreign national demonstrated a desire to defend Ukraine against Russian attacks and to reunite with his family in the country, according to the filing.

The man and his associate, 27, were suspected of human smuggling, according to Dutch news outlet NOS. His associate was also released to return to Ukraine.

The men were released under the condition that they must not evade serving their sentence if they are convicted and must not re-offend during their release, NOS reported.

The suspects, who come from Lutsk, in northwestern Ukraine, were arrested in September when they were allegedly caught on a boat attempting to bring a group of Albanians into the United Kingdom, according to the outlet. They face up to 18 years in prison if convicted.

The defense filed for the 29-year-old's release on March 17, according to the filing, and the court ordered he be released the next day, citing Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's plea for Ukrainians to join the fight against Russia.

The court said "that the interest that the suspect has in his release outweighs the public interest served by continuing the suspect's pretrial detention," the filing read.

--Updated at 11:37 a.m.
Ukrayinska Pravda

VALENTYNA ROMANENKO - WEDNESDAY, 4 MAY 2022, 17:33 Ukrainian defenders continue to destroy units of the Russian occupiers and their equipment with great professionalism. Source: the press centre of the DShV command [Command of the Assault Troops of the Armed Forces of Ukraine] and the press service of the National Guard Details: The assault troops showed a video with the aftermath of the Russian armoured vehicles, together with their crews, destroyed by the artillery of one of the units of the D




Democratic Party officials are reportedly discussing changes to the primary calendar for 2024 that would likely exclude Iowa from its status of hosting the first nominating contest.

According to The Washington Post, a draft document being circulated by the party lays out criteria for selecting early states, including having a population with significant racial or ethnic diversity, which Iowa has lacked.

Other criteria includes being competitive in a general election and having a "fair, transparent and inclusive" process. Many no longer view Iowa as a swing state, and it hosts caucuses, not a primary, which are typically seen as less representative.

In 2020, Iowa Democrats said they were disappointed by the caucus turnout of 176,000, compared to 238,000 in 2008.

"As this process plays out, just as it does every four years, we look forward to working with the DNC and the Rules and Bylaws Committee to explore substantive changes to the caucuses that would make them more straightforward and accessible, ensuring the future success of this proud Iowa tradition," Iowa Democratic Party Chair Ross Wilburn said in a statement March 11.

Under the draft proposal, the Rules and Bylaws Committee (RBC) would select no more than five states to hold their contests before the first Tuesday in March. According to the Post, the document makes clear the desire to move at least one state up in the process.

This comes after two members of the Democratic National Committee said earlier this month that it would not consider changes to the party's presidential nominating process during its March 11 meeting following a report published by The Des Moines Register.

"As we've said from the beginning, the RBC is conducting a thorough process over the coming months to approve the 2024 Call to Convention," RBC co-chairs Jim Roosevelt and Lorraine Miller said in a statement to The Hill Tuesday. "We will continue to let the process play out, as it does every four years, and look forward to hearing the insight and recommendations from all interested parties."

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The committee is expected to discuss the document at its virtual meeting Monday. States would have six weeks to apply for a spot.

Iowa has held the first presidential nominating contest since 1976. New Hampshire typically holds the second contest but is the first primary. Both states are majority white and rural, causing Democrats to advocate for more diverse states to hold earlier contests. South Carolina became an early-nominating contest to address those concerns.

"The conversation about the early states happens every four years and this year is no different," New Hampshire Democratic Party Chairman Ray Buckley said in a statement to The Hill. "Successful candidates come out of New Hampshire stronger for having been here and ready for the fight ahead. This is what Presidents have experienced for generations, and it is why New Hampshire will retain its first-in-the-nation primary in 2024 and beyond."

Update at 4:08 p.m.
DETROIT  Daviant Dae Palmer carefully inspects every inch of a dark blue Chevrolet Silverado, scrubbing at any imperfections. His mom, Typhany Jones, trails behind him, phone in hand.

Palmer, 27, of Detroit, is the founder of Daes Detail. When people get their vehicles cleaned at his business, he wants people to leave saying that it looks better than when I bought it.

Palmer has been a fan of cars since he was 3 years old, Jones said. With some encouragement from his wife, he quit his cable installation job in April 2020, and picked up on car detailing in August of that year.

Daviant Palmer, 27, of Detroit, details cars in his Detroit shop Dae's Detail Friday, Feb. 25, 2022. Palmer can now detail cars full-time thanks to he and his mom, Typhany Jones, 45, of Detroit having success posting his work on TikTok, the popular social media platform that allows users to make creative short videos and market themselves as influencers.

Palmer started the business in his driveway, cleaning his friends cars because he loved it. His mom, a marketing professional, decided to start posting videos of the cleaning techniques that her son was using. She quit her marketing job, and took on the role of marketing for Dae's Detail.

Jones made a TikTok of Palmer detailing a few cars that showed a before-and-after of the cleaning process. As a joke, in one video, she morphed a Cadillac into a Porsche. She posted the transition video while Palmer was on his honeymoon after just getting married. That morning, Palmer woke up, and his video had over 3 million views.

Hes calling me from his honeymoon like, Mom, everybody is calling me. My phone wont stop ringing,  Jones said. Thats what started business coming in really, really good.

After posting six or seven videos, the son-and-mother duo became a viral sensation, gaining more than 238,000 followers on TikTok by posting tips and tricks on how interested people can clean the interior and exterior of cars. Their most popular video had reached 16 million views, and the viewership has come from places as far away as Australia and Ireland.

They're so far away and still rooting for him. That was huge for me and I was just blown away from that, said Jones, 45. Viewers reached out to tell Palmer that he inspired them to start their own businesses, as well. Hes even kind of inspired me a little bit.

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Palmer also gained a sponsorship with Turtle Wax, a car care company based in Illinois that has been operating since 1944.

The social media success translated into real-life customers, and the duo hasnt looked back.

Operating the business out of Palmers driveway was starting to be too much commotion for the neighbors who watched vehicles line up on their street to get cleaned. Their revenue grew about 70%.

The family purchased a building last October. Palmer shares the space with his father, Kenya Jones, who operates a plumbing business.

Palmer was able to quit his job, and so was his mom. They are now working full time for the detailing business, with Palmer being the owner, Jones as a marketing manager and Stevon Ferrell, his uncle, as a partner in the business.

Ferrell said he has been in the detailing business for 15 years, and hopped aboard the Daes Detail train in May 2021 once he saw his nephews success. They frequently exchange pointers, Ferrell said.

Its always been a dream to do something like that and it feels awesome to have people working with me  people that I know and people that I can trust, Palmer said.

Steve Ferrell, 44, of Detroit and business partner with Daviant Palmer, of Dae's Detail on Gratiot, shines up a Chevy Silverado Friday, Feb. 25, 2022.

It definitely changed my life, Palmer said. I learned a lot about business because I had no clue. It was something that I wanted to do, I just didn't know how to and then I was just thrown into it.

The business posted one video where they had to cut a slinky out of a vehicles ceiling. Other findings in vehicles are starting to become a norm, such as chicken nuggets and sauce on the seats, milk and cereal in the cup holders, and bags of open food on the floor.

It took time to get the business in motion because the demand was so high. They had to create a website quickly to keep up with booking because so many calls were coming in.

Daviant Palmer, 27, of Detroit can now detail cars full-time at his Detroit shop Dae's Detail on Gratiot thanks to he and his mom, Typhany Jones, 45, of Detroit having success posting his work on TikTok, the popular social media platform that allows users to make creative short videos and market themselves as influencers. A hand-painted sign on the exterior of his shop was photographed Friday, Feb. 25, 2022.

Daes Detail aims to be a no-judgment zone. Detroiter Shanna Shepherd, 42, worked remotely from the shops lobby on a recent day while she waited for her car to be detailed. She said her car was disgusting.

I have two messy boys, one is 8, one is 10 and the back of my seat is embarrassing, and so are the cupholders, so it definitely needs some assistance, Shepherd said. I'm paying way too much for a car for it to look like that.

Shepherd knows Jones, she said, but following Daes Detail on TikTok is what finally convinced her to get it done.

Having so many things on your plate as a worker, and a mom, [having a clean car is] one less thing that I have to worry about, she said.

Typhany Jones, 45, of Detroit, left, makes a TikTok video of her son Daviant Palmer, 27, of Detroit, as he details cars in his Detroit shop Dae's Detail Friday, Feb. 25, 2022.

Services can include a full interior and exterior cleaning, along with a UV protectant inside and a wax outside. Pricing depends on the size of the vehicle, and he wants his customers to know that every stain might not come out, noting that some kids may leave a vehicle with some permanent marks.

Since spring is coming, bookings for the detail business are coming in fast for the months of March and April.

The family is hoping to open more locations in and out of state in the future. Palmer also wants to bring in more employees in his upcoming locations. But for now, he plans to grow his Detroit location.

I really want to give back to this community, Palmer said. I really wanted to see Detroit come back to what it used to be back in the day, and I want to help that.

Contact staff writer Chanel Stitt on Twitter: @ByChanelStitt.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Dae's Detail in Detroit goes viral on TikTok with car cleaning videos
Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) ended his questioning of Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson on Tuesday by asking Jackson why she accused former President George W. Bush and former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld of being "war criminals."

"I don't know you well, but I've been impressed by our interaction, and you've been gracious and charming," Cornyn said. "Why in the world would you call Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld and George W. Bush war criminals in a legal filing? It seems so out of character for you."

Jackson appeared confused by the question. Cornyn clarified, "I'm talking about when you were representing a member of the Taliban ... and you referred to the secretary of defense and the sitting president of the United States as 'war criminals.'"

"Well, senator," Jackson responded, "I don't remember that particular reference, and I was representing my client and making arguments. I'd have to take a look at what you meant. I did not intend to disparage the president or the secretary of defense."

Cornyn was likely referring to a habeas corpus petition Jackson filed on behalf of Guantanamo Bay detainee Khiali-Gul while working as a federal public defender in 2005. Jackson's filing did not include the phrase "war criminals," but it did name Bush and Rumsfeld as respondents and accused them of violating the Geneva Conventions.

"Respondents ... have denied and continue to deny petitioner Khiali-Gul the process accorded to persons seized and detained by the United States military in times of armed conflict as established by specific provisions of the Third and Fourth Geneva Conventions," Jackson's petition reads. "Violations of the Geneva Conventions are direct treaty violations and are also violations of customary international law. ... Respondents are liable for this conduct described above, insofar as they set the conditions, directly and/or indirectly facilitated, ordered, acquiesced, confirmed, ratified, and/or conspired to violate the Geneva Conventions."

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Employees across The Walt Disney Company are walking off their jobs to protest Floridas so-called Dont Say Gay bill and the companys response to protect LGBT+ workers and their families.

Daily walkouts this month culminated in a full workday protest on 22 March, demanding Disney to indefinitely halt all political donations to state officials who created or helped pass the measure, which opponents warn will marginalise and endanger the lives of LGBT+ young people in Floridas schools.

Protesting workers  across Disney-owned ESPN, Marvel, Pixar, and other entities  have called on Disney leadership to publicly commit to an actionable plan that protects employees from anti-LGBT+ legislation, among other demands urging the company to bolster its support for LGBT+ people and their families.

Disney  the states largest private employer and a political heavyweight in the state  has faced weeks of pressure from Disney employees and LGBT+ advocates urging leadership to leverage the companys massive influence to publicly lobby against the bill.

Disney can and should use its influence to be an ally and show up for human rights for Floridians, its employees and their families, protesting workers said in a social media statement on Tuesday. Today we support all Disney employees walking out in solidarity for human rights, including those of our [LGBT+] loved ones. Today, and every day, we support making schools and workplaces and a society  safe for all marginalized communities.

Following reports from The Independent and other news organisations revealing Disney donated tens of thousands of dollars to Republican legislators and state officials who supported the bill, Disney CEO Bob Chapek announced that the company was pausing all political donations in the state.

Speaking to you, reading your messages, and meeting with you have helped me better understand how painful our silence was, he said in a statement on 11 March. You needed me to be a stronger ally in the fight for equal rights and I let you down. I am sorry.

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In a conference call with workers on Monday night, he told employees that Disney leadership is determined to use this moment as a catalyst for more meaningful and lasting change, according to the Wall Street Journal, which reported that Mr Chapek and other top Disney staff would go on a global listening tour of employees.

Several Disney divisions also shared statements on their social media channels on Tuesday opposing the legislation.

The Parental Rights in Education bill  named Dont Say Gay by its opponents  prohibits classroom instruction of sexual orientation or gender identity from kindergarten through the third grade and any such discussion that is not age-appropriate or developmentally appropriate for students in other grades.

Mr Chapeks remarks and company statements have utterly failed to match the magnitude of the threat to LGBTQIA+ safety represented by this legislation, according to a statement from protesting workers.

As a community, we have been forced into an impossible and unsustainable position, they wrote. We must now take action to convince [Disney] to protect employees and their families in the face of such open and unapologetic bigotry.

Disney has repeatedly touted its LGBT+ advocacy and its annual placement on the Human Rights Campaigns best places to work for LGBT+ people, but The Independents review of state campaign finance records found that Disney entities donated tens of thousands of dollars to Florida legislators who supported the bill, including at least $4,000 to the 2022 re-election campaigns for the bills chief sponsors, state Representative Joe Harding and state Senator Dennis Baxley.

Disney also donated at last $50,000 to a political action committee tied to Republican Governor Ron DeSantis in 2021.

Following Mr Chapeks public statements opposing the bill, Governor DeSantis and members of his administration have lashed out at the company and woke corporations.

Disney employees know that corporations like Disney have a real role to play in combating discriminatory legislation, Human Rights Campaign Interim President Joni Madison said in a statement.

The Independent has requested comment from Disney.
Ukrayinska Pravda

VALENTYNA ROMANENKO - WEDNESDAY, 4 MAY 2022, 17:33 Ukrainian defenders continue to destroy units of the Russian occupiers and their equipment with great professionalism. Source: the press centre of the DShV command [Command of the Assault Troops of the Armed Forces of Ukraine] and the press service of the National Guard Details: The assault troops showed a video with the aftermath of the Russian armoured vehicles, together with their crews, destroyed by the artillery of one of the units of the D
The Maryland Attorney Generals Office on Tuesday released body camera footage from a January incident in Crofton in which an officer shot and killed a 20-year-old man after a confrontation with police.

The video documents the Jan. 30 encounter on Danville Court, where Anne Arundel County Police say shortly after 4 a.m., officers responded to a call from a woman who said her son, Dyonta Quarles Jr., had assaulted her and prevented her from leaving the residence.

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While Quarles initially complied with orders to stay down, according to police, he then fought back and began to bite county police officer J. Ricci as officers attempted to detain him, and Ricci fired his gun at Quarles.

The police department and the attorney generals office declined to state Riccis first name. The police department and the local Fraternal Order of Police lodge declined to comment on the footage, citing the ongoing investigation.

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The footage, which the Independent Investigations Division of the attorney generals office aims to release within 14 days of an incident, was delayed by more than a month, as investigators had to interview more witnesses, according to the office.

The first section of the 25-minute video, which includes graphic violence and expletives, shows the incident from Riccis point of view, as he and two other officers entered the home and went upstairs to a bedroom where Quarles mother was locked inside with her son. After police kicked in the locked bedroom door, Quarles initially laid face down on the floor, but proceeded to jump up and sat on a bed.

The officers then warned Quarles that he was gonna get Tased. Quarles is seen in the footage charging at Ricci and striking him in the face several times as the sound of a Taser is heard.

Ricci suffered from a traumatic brain injury and injuries to his face as a result of the assault, according to the attorney generals office.

Officers then got Quarles on the ground. After a pause, during which Ricci is heard breathing heavily, police started to place handcuffs on Quarles, but he began to struggle and then began to bite Ricci. Another officer deployed a Taser again.

Shoot him! Shoot him! Shoot that m-----------, Ricci said in the footage. Shortly after, three gunshots are heard. In footage from another officers camera, Ricci is seen firing at Quarles lower body at close range while his hand is stuck in Quarles mouth.

Subsequent footage shows a bloodied Ricci crawling away from Quarles and falling to the ground, then being treated as other officers check Quarles body for signs of life. Officers told Quarles mother he was breathing at that point, but he was later declared dead at the scene. Ricci was taken to a trauma center in serious condition.

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The attorney generals office has yet to complete its probe of the incident and forward the results to the Anne Arundel County States Attorneys Office, and did not say when that would happen. Since the attorney generals office became responsible for investigations into the use of deadly force by police in October, they have only completed one investigation, which was a fatal vehicle crash.

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These investigations are complex, and are expected to take months, said Thomas Lester, a spokesperson for the Independent Investigations Division of the attorney generals office.

As that office continues to investigate whether criminal charges should be filed against Ricci, a statewide civil rights committee is planning to review the footage and forward its recommendations for policy changes to Anne Arundel County Executive Steuart Pittman, a Democrat, and county police Chief Amal Awad.

The Caucus of African American Leaders Public Safety Committee, which is made up of current and former law enforcement officers as well as citizens and activists, according to its leadership, will be reviewing the footage from the Crofton confrontation in which Quarles was killed. Quarles is Black.

Our overarching goal is to bridge the relationship of community and police department, and criminal justice systems executives, said Joshua Hatch, who chairs the committee. He said he plans to circulate the camera footage as a priority to hear policy recommendations from the group, which aims to be a mediator for community and police relations as a seed of distrust has been sown in recent years.

One of the most pressing issues in America today is police and community relations, said Carl Snowden, a longtime civil rights advocate who is the convener of the Caucus of African American Leaders. He noted that the committees members have the expertise in law enforcement needed to recommend policy changes.

Transparency must be the hallmark of any police department, Snowden said.
The gunfire that erupted as dozens of patrons streamed out of a popular downtown Norfolk nightspot at closing time early Saturday started with an argument over a spilled drink, according to the citys police chief.

In his first news conference held since the deadly shooting, Norfolk Police Chief Larry Boone said Tuesday that no suspects have been identified, and he doesnt believe there were any surveillance cameras in the area that captured the incident.

At some point, someone will talk, the chief told reporters. Considering where this incident took place, somebody knows who that shooter is  or shooters.

Two people were killed and three others were injured outside Chichos Pizza Backstage on Granby Street shortly before 2 a.m. Saturday.

The two who died were both 25 and natives of Hampton Roads who got caught in the line of fire. Sierra Jenkins was an education reporter for The Virginian-Pilot and Daily Press and grew up in Norfolk. Devon M. Harris was a semi-pro football player from Portsmouth.

Of the wounded, Boone said he believes only one remains hospitalized. The last he heard, the person was in stable condition.

Police are expected to step up their presence in downtown Norfolk beginning Thursday in response to the violence.

The incident happened shortly after Chichos staff announced last call for drinks at about 1:30 a.m. A large number of customers were starting to leave when an argument broke out. Then an unknown number of shots were fired.

While Chichos management has insisted the argument started outside the business, Boone said it began inside over a spilled drink. The chief declined to provide further details while the investigation is ongoing.

Chichos manager Rory Schindel said in a message Tuesday that all staff members who were working that night, including security, have been interviewed by management and all said there were no altercations or other incidents inside the business that they had to handle.

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On Tuesday, Chichos announced in a Facebook post that the bar is looking into hiring local law enforcement to help monitor the crowds on the sidewalks.

Norfolk police plan to help clear out crowds downtown as well. Officers will be ushering people to their cars late at night to keep them from hanging around on the street, a tactic the department used last year to try to curb violent incidents, Boone said.

We dont want to look like the military, like were occupying Granby Street, he said. But we need to find a healthy balance so people will feel comfortable moving about and those that come with bad intentions will feel uncomfortable.

Part of the challenge for the department is that its severely understaffed and is struggling to find new recruits, Boone said. The department is authorized to have 776 officers and currently has 219 vacancies, he said.

To deal with the shortage, Boone said officers are being pulled from some of the specialty units to do patrol and overtime is being offered.

We have to do this, the chief said. I understand the challenges, but we have to do this.

The shooting outside Chichos was one of several that happened over the weekend across Hampton Roads. Four were in Norfolk, including the one on Granby Street.

Staff writer Ali Sullivan contributed to this report.

Caitlyn Burchett, caitlyn.burchett@virginiamedia.com

Jane Harper, jane.harper@pilotonline.com
Steve McFadden has pled guilty to speeding. (Getty Images)

EastEnders star Steve McFadden has been fined 584 and given five points for speeding.

The 63-year-old actor  who plays Phil Mitchell in the BBC soap  pled guilty to driving his moped at 35 miles per hour in a 20mph zone on 7 October last year.

He was found guilty at a Single Justice Procedure at Bromley Magistrates' Court and was fined 440, as well as being ordered to pay 100 in costs and 44 in victim services surcharge.

Read more: 'EastEnders' shakes up schedule, avoiding clash with 'Coronation Street'

McFadden, who did not attend the hearing, also had five points added to his driving licence.

Steve McFadden stars as Phil Mitchell in 'EastEnders'. (BBC)

The soap star was caught by a police speed gun while riding his blue Piaggio Vespa scooter near his home in north London.

PC Jonathan Steinhof said in a statement that he stopped McFadden just after midday on a residential street after witnessing him cut through traffic.

He said: I was stationary when I saw a blue Piaggio Vespa travelling along.

The vehicle was overtaking other vehicles that appeared to be doing the speed limit.

There is a video evidence relating to this incident.

McFadden was given an 18-month driving ban in 1996 for drink-driving.

Steve McFadden was banned from driving in 1996 after he was found to be driving under influence. (PA)

He was stopped at the wheel of his Rolls-Royce and tests showed he had 80mcg of alcohol in 100ml of breath. The limit is 35mcg.

The actor has played Phil Mitchell in the BBC soap since 1990.

In Albert Square McFadden's character Phil recently found a body in the abandoned Argee Bhajee, and viewers were already aware that it belongs to Tina.

Evil Gray Atkins (Toby-Alexander Smith) strangled her to death in December 2020 after she found out that he had abused and killed first wife Chantelle (Jessica Plummer).

McFadden has starred as Phil Mitchell in 'EastEnders' since 1990. (BBC)

EastEnders has changed its schedule this year, dodging a clash with ITV rival Coronation Street.

The BBC soap will now air four nights a week, Monday to Thursday at 7.30pm, putting it head-to-head with ITV's other soap opera Emmerdale, which is moving to a primetime slot of 7.30pm.

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Read more: EastEnders spoilers: Bernies big return storyline revealed, plus Isaac to exit

ITV recently announced Corrie is being extended to three hour-long episodes airing at 8pm on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, while Emmerdale is moving from 7pm to 7.30pm five nights a week.

EastEnders has suffered flagging ratings over the past two years. Head of Drama Piers Wenger blamed the coronavirus pandemic.

Watch: The latest soap news from Albert Square
An 11-day trial over the copyright of Ed Sheeran's hit song Shape of You" concluded in London on Tuesday, with the judge saying he would take some time to consider his ruling.

The British pop star and his co-writers, Snow Patrols John McDaid and producer Steven McCutcheon, deny accusations that the 2017 song copies part of a 2015 song called Oh Why by Sami Chokri, who performs under the name Sami Switch.

Lawyer Andrew Sutcliffe, representing the Oh Why co-writers, argued there was an indisputable similarity between the works and suggested the chances of two songs that correlate appearing within months of each other was minutely small."

The lawyer claimed that Sheeran had Oh Why consciously or unconsciously in his head" when Shape of You was written in 2016. He also alleged that Sheeran, who attended the hearing throughout, was dishonest and evasive in giving evidence to the trial.

Sheeran and his co-writers say they have disclosed material to the trial and do not remember hearing Oh Why before the court case.

Justice Antony Zacaroli said Tuesday he would deliver his judgment as soon as I can.

Shape of You was the biggest selling song in the U.K. in 2017.
A Rohingya mother watches as her 12-year-old son is forced to lie facedown and soldiers stomp on his head and neck. In the village of Maung Nu in Myanmar, soldiers blocked people trying to escape before the military began its attack. Soldiers sank boats full of Rohingya men, women and children as they tried to flee to Bangladesh. In brutal campaigns conducted against the Rohingya Muslim population in Myanmar in 2016 and 2017, villages were burned, people were tortured and killed, women and children were raped.

The attack against Rohingya was widespread and systematic, U.S. Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken said Monday at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington. He laid out the devastating details that were part of the fact-finding and analysis the State Department conducted before concluding officially that members of the Myanmar military are responsible for genocide against the Rohingya population, one of the most oppressed ethnic groups in the world.

The militarys attacks in 2016 forced nearly 100,000 Rohingya to flee to Bangladesh. In 2017, attacks killed more than 9,000 Rohingya, and forced more than 740,000 to seek refuge in Bangladesh, according to Blinken. And, as he pointed out, crimes against the Rohingya continue. The Rohingya are treated like undocumented immigrants even when they have been born and lived in Myanmar for decades or come from families who have been there a century or more. They are treated like second-class citizens  and have been the target of brutal violence for years. Blinken compared the 1982 law that effectively excluded the Rohingya from citizenship and denied them full political rights to "the 1935 Nuremberg Laws that stripped Jews of their German citizenship."

Blinken noted that the Myanmar military for decades has also committed killings, rape and other atrocities against members of other ethnic and religious minority groups. Many of the military leaders who oversaw the genocidal campaign against Rohingya, including the general who led it, are the same military leaders who overthrew Myanmars democratically elected government a little more than a year ago. Since then, more than 1,600 people in Myanmar, also known as Burma, have been killed, thousands have been detained, and the de facto civilian leader of the country, Aung San Suu Kyi, has been convicted of trumped-up charges and is being detained.

The official finding of genocide in Myanmar has been long-awaited by human rights advocates and others  and is welcome. But its unclear what difference it will make  unless the U.S. is willing to be more aggressive. So far, little has stopped the brutal military autocrats running the government. Dozens of military leaders and their families are already under U.S. economic sanctions. And 26 companies that were implicated in human rights abuses or generate revenue for the military are under sanctions or export controls. The U.S. has also helped block Myanmar officials access to its overseas reserves.

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These actions were appropriate but not enough. The U.S. should do more to stop the Myanmar military from obtaining weapons by pressing the United Nations Security Council to impose an embargo on arms sales. That may fail  China and Russia could veto it. If that happens, the council should vote again and put China in the awkward position of having to justify its no vote.

Some American and French oil companies doing business in Myanmar are on the verge of leaving. Those that leave should make sure their shares of existing exploration or development projects are put into trusts for the Myanmar people. And the U.S. should block payments made to the Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise in American dollars.

Much like with the war in Ukraine, there are few international supporters of the military junta takeover in Myanmar. But also, as in the crisis in Ukraine, the only way to combat bad actors like the Myanmar military is to ceaselessly chip away at their monetary and military support. Now that the U.S. has officially recognized the truth about the genocide of the Rohingya people, it should marshal all its moral might to make this happen.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
By Maayan Lubell and Aidan Lewis

CAIRO (Reuters) -Leaders of Egypt, Israel and the United Arab Emirates met in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh on Tuesday for talks on the economic impact of Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the growing influence of Iran in the region.

Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi hosted the meeting with UAE de facto leader Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan and Israel's Prime Minister Naftali Bennett - their first three-way summit since the UAE normalised relations with Israel.

Egypt's presidency said they discussed energy market stability and food security, two acute challenges for Cairo after Russia's offensive in Ukraine sent wheat and crude oil prices soaring, as well as international and regional issues.

The three countries - allies and partners of the United States - are part of an emerging Arab-Israeli axis seeking to counter-balance Iranian power at a time of uncertainty over Washington's security commitment in the region.

"We clearly see the strengthening of an axis that offers another narrative in the Middle East, that we can work together and cooperate on economic and defence matters," Israel's Deputy Foreign Minister Idan Roll said.

"Israel is committed to build a good partnership with anyone possible against the radical axis of Iran," he told Kann radio.

A statement from Bennett's office later said simply that the three countries discussed strengthening ties on all levels in their talks, which began on Monday and stretched into Tuesday.

Egypt was the first Arab state to make peace with Israel four decades ago, while the United Arab Emirates forged ties with Israel in 2020, driven partly by shared concerns over Iran.

In particular, the three countries are worried about a deal taking shape to restore a 2015 nuclear accord between Iran and major powers, which lifted sanctions on Tehran in return for curbs on its nuclear programme. Iran's enemies fear it is seeking to build nuclear weapons, a charge it denies.

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Bennett says the expected deal is weaker than the original arrangement and would lead to a more violent Middle East, and has urged the United States not to remove Iran's Revolutionary Guards from a foreign terrorist organisation blacklist in exchange for "empty promises".

Gulf states have criticised the nuclear talks for not addressing Iran's missiles programme and proxy forces, including in Yemen where Houthi fighters have fired missiles into Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

Disagreement with Washington on both those issues has increased tensions between the United States and the two oil- exporting Gulf powers, who fear a resurgent Iran if it is able to export oil again under a nuclear deal with Washington.

"We have some of the top U.S. allies not happy with the Biden approach," Emirati political analyst Abdulkhaleq Abdullah said. "For them to stand up together and for them to speak in one voice - that might resonate."

Khaled Okasha, head of the Egyptian Centre for Strategic Studies, said Sisi's meeting with Bennett would have focused on the impact of the Ukraine conflict, while all three countries had overlapping views on Iran.

"We are concerned with the Gulf being a secure aea that is not threatened in this consistent way from Iran," he said.

A Cairo-based source said that a separate meeting between Sheikh Mohammed and Sisi had also been expected to cover the reintegration of Syria into the Arab world after Abu Dhabi last week hosted President Bashar al-Assad's first visit to an Arab country since Syria's conflict erupted in 2011.

Sisi and Sheikh Mohammed were also expected to cover Emirati investment or economic support for Egypt, the source said.

The war in Ukraine has pressured emerging market economies and prompted Cairo on Monday to devalue its currency by 14%.

Cairo is typically the world's biggest wheat importer, sourcing most of those imports from Russia and Ukraine. While those costs are rising sharply, tourism receipts from Russian and Ukrainian visitors are expected to fall.

(Reporting by Maayan in Jerusalem, Aidan Lewis and Momen Atallah in Cairo, and Ghaida Ghantous in Dubai; writing by Maher Chmaytelli and Dominic Evans; editing by Gareth Jones and Jonathan Oatis)
By Foo Yun Chee

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Europe's attempt to set landmark rules for artificial intelligence should take a positive approach to reap the benefits of the technology rather than restrict it, European Parliament lawmaker Svenja Hahn said on Tuesday.

The European Commission last year proposed its AI rules in a bid to take the lead in a technology dominated by China and the United States. It will have to thrash out the details with EU countries and EU lawmakers before it can implement the rules.

The Commission proposal envisages fines of as much as 6% of global turnover for violations and strict safeguards for high-risk applications used in recruitment, critical infrastructure, credit scoring, migration and law enforcement.

With the European Parliament and EU countries expected to come up with their negotiating positions by the end of the year, Hahn and other lawmakers are tasked with finding a compromise.

The potential use of facial recognition applications is expected to pit EU countries looking to use them in law enforcement and security scenarios against the concerns of civil rights groups.

Hahn, who is also a member of a cross-party parliamentary committee that on Tuesday adopted a report which set out a long-term AI strategy for the EU, said the proposed legislation would benefit by incorporating some of the ideas from the report.

The report said regulators should counter fears about AI by pointing to the role of the technology in combating climate change, promoting innovative healthcare, boosting the bloc's competitiveness worldwide and reinforce its democratic systems.

"There should be a general positive approach towards artificial intelligence," she told Reuters, citing the tendency among some to focus on restrictions and prohibitions instead of amplifying the benefits.

The definition of AI and the types of risks as set out by the Commission needs to be improved, Hahn said.

"The whole regulation needs to be innovation friendly. It should not bring other aspects, for example GDPR aspects, into it," she said, referring to EU privacy rules.

Hahn said she favoured a ban against biometric surveillance and social scoring.

(Reporting by Foo Yun Chee; Editing by Alison Williams)
HONG KONG/BEIJING (Reuters) - Chinese regulators have asked some of the country's U.S.-listed firms, including Alibaba, Baidu and JD.com, to prepare for more audit disclosures, sources said, as Beijing steps up efforts to ensure domestic companies remain listed in New York.

This comes as China's regulators are considering a proposal to allow their U.S. counterparts to inspect audit working papers of some Chinese firms that do not gather sensitive data, two of the sources said.

As part of that move, the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) and other regulatory agencies earlier this month summoned top internet companies, including search engine leader Baidu Inc and e-commerce major JD.com Inc, four sources told Reuters.

Other internet firms summoned by the regulator included Alibaba Group and Weibo Corp, two of the sources with direct knowledge of the matter said. E-retailer Pinduoduo Inc and gaming firm NetEase Inc also attended the meeting, one of them added.

They were asked to prepare audit documents for the 2021 financial year keeping in mind U.S. regulators' requests for more disclosure, said the sources, who declined to be named as they were not allowed to discuss details of the meeting.

The companies should better seek Chinese regulators' advice if they are "uncertain about anything" during the whole process the first source said, which includes auditing and communications with U.S. regulators.

CSRC did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Alibaba, Baidu, JD.com and Weibo did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Pinduoduo and NetEase also did not immediately provide comment.

The latest step by the Chinese regulators shows Beijing's willingness to make some concessions to resolve a long-running Sino-U.S. audit stand-off that has put hundreds of billions of dollars of U.S. investments in Chinese companies at stake.

The U.S. authorities are moving towards kicking Chinese companies off American stock exchanges, if the companies' audit records are unavailable for their inspection for three years in a row.

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DELISTING RISKS

In December, the U.S. Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) finalised rules to delist Chinese companies under the Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act (HFCAA), and said it had identified 273 companies that were at risk, without naming them.

The SEC earlier this month named for the first time five of these firms, including KFC operator Yum China Holdings and biotech firm BeiGene Ltd, that could face delisting.

Describing the SEC move as "normal procedure", CSRC said it was confident it would reach an agreement with U.S. counterparts to solve the dispute.

Chinese regulators' deliberations with the New York-listed domestic companies on more audit disclosure were ongoing, three of the sources said.

Washington has long demanded complete access to the books of U.S.-listed Chinese companies, but Beijing, citing national security concerns, bars foreign inspection of working papers from local accounting firms.

A map on the website https://pcaobus.org/oversight/international of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB), an auditor oversight body tasked to help keep publicly traded companies in the United States in check, showed China as the only jurisdiction that denied the organisation "necessary access to conduct oversight".

Goldman Sachs estimated on March 11 that U.S. institutional investors held around $200 billion of exposure to Chinese companies' American depositary receipts (ADRs).

The Nasdaq Golden Dragon China Index, which tracks Chinese companies traded on Wall Street, fell nearly 60% over the past 12 months.

In an attempt to calm investor fears, China's Vice Premier Liu He said last week talks between Chinese and U.S. regulators on companies listed in the United States have made progress and both sides are working on specific cooperation plans.

(Reporting by Yingzhi Yang, Julie Zhu, Xie Yu and Kevin Huang; Editng by Sumeet Chatterjee and Jacqueline Wong)
Former Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens, now a leading Republican Senate candidate, was physically abusive and demonstrated such unstable and coercive behavior that steps were taken to limit his access to firearms, according to new allegations from his ex-wife revealed in court records.

A sworn affidavit from Sheena Greitens and filed Monday is part of an ongoing child custody dispute in Missouri. A public affairs professor at the University of Texas, she sought divorce from Eric Greitens after a sex scandal which led to his resignation as governor in June 2018. Shes now asking the court to move the custody case to the Austin area, in part to spare her children from renewed public attention as Eric Greitens tries to mount a political comeback.

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Eric Greitens called the allegations completely fabricated and baseless.

I am seeking full custody of my sons, and for their sake, I will continue to pray for their mother and hope that she gets the help that she needs, he said in a statement issued from his Twitter account.

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His attorney on Monday asked a judge to block the affidavit from public view, saying open access could cause irreparable harm to his reputation and his candidacy.

An attorney for Sheena Greitens did not respond to a message seeking comment.

The allegations could complicate his bid to emerge from Missouris Aug. 2 primary as the GOP nominee and potentially jeopardize his partys chance to hold onto a key Senate seat in the general election.

Former Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens, speaks at the Taney County Lincoln Day event at the Chateau on the Lake in Branson, Mo., April 17, 2021. The ex-wife of Missouri GOP Senate candidate Eric Greitens has accused him of physical abuse. That's according to an affidavit filed Monday in the former couple's child custody case in Missouri. (Nathan Papes/AP)

In the affidavit, Sheena Greitens casts her ex-husband as someone who threatened to use his political connections and influence in order to destroy her reputation to win custody of the children.

Prior to our divorce, during an argument in late April 2018, Eric knocked me down and confiscated my cell phone, wallet and keys so that I was unable to call for help or extricate myself and our children from our home, Sheena Greitens wrote in the filing. I became afraid for my safety and that of our children at our home, later adding that his behavior included physical violence toward our children, such as cuffing our then-3-year-old son across the face at the dinner table in front of me and yanking him around by his hair.

In 2019, one of her sons came home from a visit with his dad with a swollen face, bleeding gums and loose tooth, she said.

He said Dad had hit him; however, Eric said they were roughhousing and it had been an accident, Sheena Greitens wrote, adding that the tooth eventually had to be removed.

Once a swing state, Missouri has become more reliably Republican in recent years. But the race to succeed retiring Sen. Roy Blunt is nonetheless receiving national attention because some in the GOP establishment are anxious that, with the allegations released on Monday and previous scandals, Greitens would face vulnerabilities against a Democrat. And with the Senate evenly divided, the GOP cant afford to lose what would otherwise be a safe seat.

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Other candidates in the race on Monday called for Greitens to end his campaign.

Real men never abuse women and children. Period, end of story, GOP U.S. Rep. Vicky Hartzler said in a recorded statement posted on Twitter. Its time for Eric to get out of the Senate race and to get professional help.

Missouris Republican Attorney General Eric Schmitt, who is also running, tweeted: The behavior described in this affidavit is cause for Eric Greitens to be in prison, not on the ballot for U.S. Senate.

Sen. Josh Hawley, a Republican who will become Missouris senior senator when Blunt steps down, also said it was time for Eric Greitens to leave this race.

If you hit a woman or a child, you belong in handcuffs, not the United States Senate, he tweeted.

Greitens was a rising GOP star after his 2016 election, a charismatic former Navy SEAL officer and Rhodes Scholar who founded a nonprofit benefiting veterans. He didnt hide his ambition, either, reserving the website EricGreitensForPresident.com.

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But that all seemed to fade after he was indicted on an invasion-of-privacy charge in February 2018 in St. Louis, accused of taking a compromising photo of his hairstylist without her consent during a 2015 extramarital affair. In short order, a Missouri House committee began investigating campaign finance issues, and Greitens faced a second felony charge in St. Louis.

Eric Greitens mostly kept a low profile after his resignation in 2018. That changed last year after the Missouri Ethics Commission found probable cause that Greitens campaign broke campaign finance law, but also found no evidence of any wrongdoing on the part of Eric Greitens, individually.

Greitens said the ruling fully exonerated him.

Sheena Greitens affidavit, however, offers a bleak picture of his waning days as governor. At one point, she said, Eric Greitens purchased a gun but refused to tell her where it was. He also threatened to kill himself unless I provided specific public political support, she wrote.

The behavior was so alarming, she wrote, that on three separate occasions in February, April and May 2018, multiple people other than myself were worried enough to intervene to limit Erics access to firearms.

I started sleeping in my childrens room simply to try to keep them safe, she wrote.

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At one point, Eric Greitens made a reference to the fact that he had the children  and she didnt  while trying to persuade Sheena Greitens to delete emails she had sent to the family therapist seeking help, according to the affidavit.

Eric threatened to accuse me of child abuse if I did not delete the emails and convince the therapist to delete them, she wrote.

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She also said that during the same phone call, Eric Greitens berated her as a hateful, disgusting, nasty, vicious ... lying b - - - h while accusing her of providing information about him to prosecutors and the St. Louis Post-Dispatch newspaper.

A few weeks later, he grew angry and confronted her when she tried to fly with the children to her parents house, she said.

He threatened to come to the airport and have me arrested for kidnapping and child abuse, saying that because of his authority as a former governor who had supported law enforcement, the police would support him and not believe me.

In 2020, after informing Eric Greitens that she accepted a job at the University of Texas, she said he threatened to use his political influence to get my job offer revoked.

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Her ex-husbands reemergence in politics has been taxing, Sheena Greitens said in the affidavit. Meanwhile, his past ability to influence law enforcement and appoint judges, as well as the even greater power he would obtain as a senator are extremely intimidating, she wrote.

Now that Eric is a candidate for federal office, public interest in my life, my relationship with Eric and the breakdown thereof, and the existence of issues of custody between Eric and me are being re-kindled and brought back into central public discussion, Sheena Greitens wrote.

The weight of these facts and the intimidation they cause justifies moving the case to Texas, she wrote, where the reach of his power and influence is significantly less.
Ukrayinska Pravda

VALENTYNA ROMANENKO - WEDNESDAY, 4 MAY 2022, 17:33 Ukrainian defenders continue to destroy units of the Russian occupiers and their equipment with great professionalism. Source: the press centre of the DShV command [Command of the Assault Troops of the Armed Forces of Ukraine] and the press service of the National Guard Details: The assault troops showed a video with the aftermath of the Russian armoured vehicles, together with their crews, destroyed by the artillery of one of the units of the D
Fezco has a new home and name.

The North Carolina dog  who was dumped at a shelter by his owners because he humped another male dog and the owners feared he was gay  has been adopted.

The Stanly County Animal Protective Services in Albemarle posted on Facebook Tuesday that Fezco had found new humans to love him for who he is  pelvic gyrations and all.

The shelter also confirmed to HuffPost that the dogs new owners are Steve Nichols and his longtime partner John, who spoke to TMZ on Tuesday about why they welcomed the very friendly pooch into their home.

The couple said they renamed Fezco Oscar after the Irish poet and playwright Oscar Wilde  who was gay.

Nichols told TMZ that they felt an immediate connection to Oscar and his story because they have been also faced discrimination. The couple added that Oscars previous owners were not only bigoted, but apparently pretty bad at taking care of him  the dog hasnt been neutered and has heartworms.

Oscars new owners told the website that they intend to nurse the pup back to health.

The couple already has another dog named Harry, a terrier-Chihuahua mix, whos around to help lift Oscars furry spirit.

So there you have it. It seems that Fezco/Oscar got over the hump.

This article originally appeared on HuffPost and has been updated.
Under pressure from LGBTQ members and gubernatorial candidates, the Florida Democratic Party said Tuesday it was moving a major fundraising event from Disney World and choosing a new date for the gathering.

Florida Democratic Party Chair Manny Diaz acknowledged it was bad timing to announce the Florida Blue Gala this week as Disney workers considered a walkout in solidarity with the LGBTQ community over state legislation to prohibit schools from teaching about sexual orientation and gender identity.

Gay rights activists and Disney workers said they felt the influential company did too little to oppose the bill as it worked its way through the Legislature.

The gala had been scheduled to take place during Pride Month on June 18, a day before Juneteenth, which commemorates the freeing of slaves, and shortly ahead of Fathers Day.

Our timing was not ideal. We also acknowledge that in our fight for freedom and fairness, we can always do more, Diaz said in a statement late Tuesday. In that spirit, the Florida Democratic Party will choose new dates and venues to hold Leadership Blue. We will share information about new arrangements once we have explored available options.

NBC News first reported that the partys LGBTQ+ caucus was calling for a boycott of the event if the party refused to shift venues.

The messaging and timing couldnt be any poorer, said Stephen Gaskill, the head of the partys LGBTQ+ caucus, which has chapters in 20 Florida counties.

This is the last place the Florida Democratic Party should be holding a fundraiser  especially during Pride Month, he said before Diazs reversal. We should not be at Disney this year.

State Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried, a gubernatorial candidate who is the lone statewide elected Democrat, had pledged to skip the gala if it were held at Disneys Coronado Springs Resort.

I am calling on the Democratic Party of Florida to identify other possible options for the Leadership Blue Gala, currently slated to take place in the middle of Pride Month, and at the beginning of Juneteenth, she said in a statement earlier Tuesday.

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Disneys response to the Dont Say Gay bill was tepid, short-sighted, and disappointing at best, Fried added. If the Democratic Party keeps the Leadership Blue Gala at Disney, and Disney leadership does not do more to stand against hate, I will not attend.

The campaigns of Frieds competitors in the Democratic primary, U.S. Rep. Charlie Crist and state Sen. Annette Taddeo, initially declined to comment.

Crist later tweeted that, given the timing and conversation going on right now at Disney, its prudent the party consider other options.

Both Frieds campaign and Gaskill said they had relayed their concerns to the state partys executive director, Marcus Dixon. Gaskill said Dixon acknowledged the poor timing of the gala and the announcement but said the party had limited venues to host the event.

Dixon didnt reply to return calls or text messages for comment. A spokesperson for Florida-based Walt Disney World couldnt be reached for comment.

One of the Legislatures three openly gay Democrats, Sen. Shevrin Jones, was hesitant to criticize Disney outright, because, he said, the company had worked with him behind the scenes to try to stop the legislation. But he acknowledged that there were angry Democrats and members of the LGBTQ community.

Theres bad timing with this, he said before Diazs statement. I think we need to go back and re-examine this.

The LGBTQ education bill is the most recent product of a culture war centered on how children are taught about topics like race and sexuality in schools. Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis and the GOP-led Legislature have seen the issue as fertile ground to pass crackdowns on schools teaching about race, gender and sexual orientation.

Democrats and educators have said the legislation is overreaching and discriminatory  and unnecessary, because, in most cases, those topics arent being taught in Florida schools. Republican lawmakers say theyre just being proactive and stepping in before it becomes an issue.

The internal Democratic feud over the gala marked the first time the party hasnt been united in response to the so-called parental rights legislation, which it branded as the Dont Say Gay bill  although the legislation wouldnt explicitly ban teachers or students from using the word.

The legislation also divided Disney  Floridas largest employer and one of its most politically influential corporations  during the Legislatures winter lawmaking session when former Disney CEO Bob Iger took a public stand against the bill as his successor, Bob Chapek, was initially silent.

Chapek later took a stand against the bill, apologized for not speaking out and announced that the company would pause political donations in Florida. DeSantis then criticized Disney as a woke corporation.

On Monday night, a Twitter account representing Disneyland workers in California intensified the internal pressure on the company by announcing that Cast Members who do not feel safe to fully walkout tomorrow are being told they cannot even wear pride/trans Mickey pins to show support. Standing in stark contrast to the words of inclusion spoken by Chapek today in the town hall.

A Florida Democratic consultant, who works with LGBTQ candidates and didnt want to go on record criticizing the party, said the Leadership Blue issue was a fiasco, adding: Its a perfect example of everything thats wrong with the party. Its like no one is paying attention.

Another consultant, who also didnt want to criticize the party publicly, said: The party is not raising money. Were losing in voter registration. And then this happens. Its like the Keystone Kops.

Gaskill, the head of the partys LGBTQ+ caucus, said it was important to send a message to the company.

Disney is under fire because theyre the large employer in the state. They spend about $2 million lobbying with 67 lobbyists registered in the state, and theyre mainly contributing to Republicans who are writing this anti-LGBTQ legislation, he said. Disney is under fire internally from its own employees. Thats where this started. They had a responsibility to be a better corporate citizen. Theyre facing it. But theyre not fixing their problem.
Wichita City Manager Robert Layton says he was left in the dark by former police chief Gordon Ramsay about the police departments handling of racist and inappropriate messages sent by officers until last month.

But Ramsay says he notified Layton of the text messages nearly a year ago and updated his office as he gathered more information.

Mayor Brandon Whipple said the differing accounts are very concerning. If Laytons version is found to be incorrect, he will likely be fired, the mayor said.

I would have a very big problem working alongside people who would be dishonest about something as important as this, Whipple said.

Later Tuesday, Layton denied Ramsays version of events. He said he does not recall Ramsay ever notifying him of the case.

I dont want to just come out and say hes a liar, Layton said. But I dont recall that.

Layton said Ramsay definitely did not keep him or his office informed about what was in the text messages or how officers were disciplined.

Yeah, not true, Layton said. I can guarantee you that did not happen.

Layton said he did not know about it until Feb. 25. He provided an email from City Attorney Jennifer Magana showing he was notified of concerns surrounding the case and officer discipline that morning, the day after members of the police Citizen Review Board voiced concerns about it.

Layton also told the City Council in an executive session that he didnt learn about the case until last month.

To say that I was disappointed in that would be an understatement, Layton said of not being informed by Ramsay, after the City Council meeting.

The date matters because Layton was under questioning by the City Council about why the officers involved received little discipline and why the police department didnt notify the district attorneys office as required about a racist message until an hour after an Eagle reporter asked about it this month.

Whipple said the difference in the accounts raises additional concerns given that Ramsay was the chief of police for six years and the City Council relies on Layton to relay accurate information about the citys business.

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Whipple said he doesnt know who to believe and that hes reserving judgment until he gathers more information.

If Ramsay is not telling the truth, theres nothing the city can do, Whipple said. If Layton did not tell the truth: We would have an executive session with our one employee, and if its shown beyond doubt that we have been misled, that would likely result in a very negative response from the council.

Ramsay, who left March 1 and is running for sheriff in St. Louis County, Minnesota, said Layton knew about it long before Feb. 25, the date that he claimed to the City Council and media on Tuesday.

I told Layton about it soon after we learned about it in April 2021, Ramsay said in a text. Not every detail but an overview  told him last year.

Ramsay said he also alerted the citys human resources director, Chris Bezruki.

Whipple called Layton to speak in front of the City Council during a closed-door meeting Tuesday after The Eagles investigation published Monday, detailing how the case was handled and that little punishment was given to a white officer who sent a photoshopped image of the George Floyd with a naked Black man sitting on his head.

Layton called Tuesday for a third-party investigation to examine the citys handling of the case and officer discipline.

This was obviously a glitch  thats not the right term. This was uncharacteristic and not what I expected based on our relationship and what I know of Gordon, Layton said. Obviously, Im not happy about this incident in that it took me until February to know about it.

Ramsay said he told Layton shortly after we discovered it and updated Layton or an assistant manager as they learned more.

The departments handling of the case has led to an outcry from community members and elected officials.

Ramsay suggested a reporter contact Progessive Missionary Baptist Church Pastor Roosevelt DeShazer Sr.

DeShazer said Ramsay told the God Squad, a group of Black pastors that Ramsay helped form with a former city councilmember, last summer that racist messages had been sent by Wichita police and deputies.

He has always been up front with us as far as the God Squad and the African American community to make sure that things like that, if it was to leak out into the community, that we would be made aware of it.

Although he wasnt shocked to hear that such messages were sent by officers, DeShazer said it was very troubling when he heard about the details of the messages reported in The Eagle.

DeShazer said he isnt happy with the punishment Wichita officers received. He said the group and others will make sure this isnt overlooked.

Wichita police investigators found unsavory messages when they searched the phone of Sgt. Justin Maxfield, a Sedgwick County deputy involved in a domestic violence case.

Eleven Wichita officers and three deputies were investigated because of what was found.

The messages included racist memes (one sent by Wichita officers and others sent by three deputies), homophobic and sexist comments by deputies, and officers from the SWAT team making light of shooting people.

Wichita police Sgt. Jamie Crouch sent the photo to Maxfield, according to a source. Crouch still works for the department, but left the SWAT team over the emotional stress surrounding the incident, interim chief Lem Moore said Tuesday.

Crouch wasnt suspended.

The department policy he was punished under carried from a reprimand up to a three-day penalty on the first offense. A source said a reprimand is usually a piece of paper saying not to do it again.

Crouch sent the image to lighten the situation and de-stress the SWAT team members, according to a Citizens Review Board document obtained by The Eagle.

Moore said a Black friend showed the Floyd photo to Crouch. Crouch then shared the photo with Maxfield, records show.

Three Sedgwick County deputies who sent racist memes are no longer with the department.
Mar. 22The Ohio Redistricting Commission will get some independent help as the members work this week on creating a fourth set of state legislative district maps with just days remaining until a court-imposed deadline.

The commission members also debated Tuesday how much of the actual map drawing  most of which has occurred behind closed doors  would take place in public this week.

Mediators from the U.S. Sixth District Court of Appeals will help the Ohio Redistricting Commission settle on fourth versions of state House and Senate maps.

Commissioners accepted the offer Tuesday for the "loan" of two mediators from the court: Chief Circuit Mediator Cathy Geyer and Staff Mediator Scott Coburn. They will work with the seven commission members, legislative staff from both parties, and hired map-drawing experts to meet a March 28 deadline set by the Ohio Supreme Court.

After the commission, which consists of five Republicans and two Democrats, passed three sets of Republican-drawn maps without any Democratic support, the acceptance of court mediators included a sign that the need for bipartisan agreement may have sunk in at last: Auditor Keith Faber, a Republican, moved to accept the mediators' services, and was seconded by House Minority Leader Allison Russo, D-Upper Arlington. The motion was accepted unanimously.

The state Supreme Court, in a series of 4-3 rulings, has thrown out three previous sets of maps as gerrymandered to unfairly favor Republicans.

Geyer said the mediators' goal is not to render judgment or impose a solution but to "manage the process."

Commission co-chair state Sen. Vernon Sykes, D-Akron, asked how much the mediators will charge. Nothing, Geyer replied.

"We're on loan from the court. We're the best bargain you have," she said to laughter from commissioners.

Over the weekend Republicans and Democrats each proposed hiring outside experts to assist legislative staff in map-drawing. Republicans are bringing in Douglas Johnson, president of Ashland Demographics Corp., while Democrats want Michael McDonald, a professor at the University of Florida. Ultimately both were agreed to, with their compensation capped at $49,000 each. Johnson and McDonald are due to start work Wednesday, alongside hired mapmakers and legislative staff from each political party.

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A remaining question is how much of the map-drawing process will be public. Though the redistricting commission held several public forums last summer, and has held open meetings to vote map proposals up or down, the negotiations and line-drawing have all occurred behind closed doors  with Democrats frequently complaining they were frozen out of the process, presented with Republican-drawn maps only an hour or two before they were expected to vote.

On Tuesday, Senate President Matt Huffman, R-Lima, acknowledged that the Supreme Court has ordered this set of maps to be drafted in public. And House Speaker Bob Cupp, R-Lima, asked the mediators how much of the discussion could remain confidential.

"Obviously one of the concerns in this whole process is that anytime somebody says something to somebody else, it ends up in litigation," he said.

Geyer said open-meetings laws will apply to the group deliberations, but not to individual conversations on specific points.

Should there be subsequent litigation, commissioners will have the privilege of preventing disclosure of those private discussions, she said. That still would not constrain the individual participants from talking to other people or posting on social media about the process, Geyer said.

Commissioners plan to meet again Wednesday evening, hours after Gov. Mike DeWine  who sits on the commission  delivers his annual State of the State address; and every day through the Monday deadline.

Although Ohio House and Senate district lines remain uncertain, the partisan primary for those seats is still officially scheduled for May 3. The commission's Democratic members, Russo and Sykes, have asked the Ohio Supreme Court to order the primary moved to June 28. But absent a court ruling, Cupp indicated Tuesday that there is no current plan to delay the primary, although election officials have said including state legislative races on the May 3 ballot will be practically impossible.
Game of Thrones producer Frank Doelger, after executive producing The Swarm through his Berlin-based Intaglio Films, now has two new high-end shows for the international pipeline in the pipeline: Concordia and Doing Good.

During a panel at the Series Mania TV festival Doelger described Concordia as a series about a 21st century community which uses cutting edge AI technology to see if it can create a fairer, safer, society.

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Twenty years after this community has been a huge success, countries around the world are approaching the founders of this social engineering experiment to found similar communities in their countries, he added.

And, as they research the twenty-year history of this community, they discover that this instance of utopia has provided safe homes for immigrants and thousands of refugees seeking a better life. But they also discover the dark secret that led to its founding.

Doelger  whose Intaglio is a joint venture between German outfits Beta Film and ZDF Enterprises  said Concordia will start shooting in September. He did not disclose further details

Meanwhile, Doing Good is set in the nexus between human rights groups and intelligence purposes, and is told through the eyes of three characters: The head of a very prominent human rights org, a CIA operative, and the young woman who connects the two, said Doelger.

He described Doing Good as a show about the social, political, moral complexities of trying to do good amid a morally conflicted world. Doelger said Doing Good is set to start shooting in February of next year but kept further details under wraps.

Meanwhile, The Swarm (pictured) which is based on Frank Schatzings novel that turns on a global group of scientists and soldiers who must tackle the challenge posed by anomalous behavior in marine animals, including toxic jellyfish, lobsters and whales, who are attacking human beings, will be premiering at the Berlinale in 2023, Doelger said.

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The hotly anticipated eight-episode environmental thriller is directed by Luke Watson (Britannia), Barbara Eder (Barbarians) and Philipp Stoelzl (North Face).

The Swarm, which stars an A-list cast comprising Cecile de France (The New Pope); Sharon Duncan-Brewster (Sex Education); Jack Greenlees (Star Wars  The Last Jedi), and Barbara Sukowa (Hannah Arendt) is produced by Beta Film under the pact called The Alliance formed by Europes top state broadcasters  in this case German pubcaster ZDF, Italys RAI Fiction, Frances France Televisions and Scandinavian streamer Viaplay  to counter the growing power of Netflix and other streaming giants. Hulu Japan is also on board.

ZDF Enterprises and Beta Film are handling worldwide sales.

Doelger said he is now in talks for the second season of The Swarm, the first installment of which was largely shot in Italy.

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Mar. 22GENEVA  The Geneva Area Chamber of Commerce celebrated National Honor Society students from Geneva High School and heard a message about hard work paying off Monday evening at the Geneva Veterans of Foreign Wars Post.

Kent State Ashtabula Dean Susan Stocker, who is retiring in June, shared her story of hard work that led from working in a Howard Johnson facility to becoming president of the Kent campus. She also interacted with the National Honor Society students.

"It is nice to be in a room with bright young high school students," Stocker said.

She also put in a pitch urging the students to come back home if they go away to college.

"My hope is you will come back. ... We really need you to come back to the county," she said.

The 23 students were honored by the GACC for their hard work to earn entrance to the NHS. Each senior student receive a certificate from U.S. Congressman David Joyce's representative Arian Barile-Smith in honor of the accomplishment.

The GHS NHS seniors include Isabella Aparicio, Gabrielle Carley, Kayleigh Dawson, Kassie Emmett, Lily George, Carl Gunther, Raegan Jahn, Noah Johnson, Gavin Juodenas, Kennedy Landrus, Alayna Lomas, Grace Moon, Clayton Queen, Alivia Reece, Ayden Richmond, Amelia Riddell, Owen Schroeder, Gabriella Selman, Marissa Serafine, Russ Simeone, Renee Tetlo, Olivia Wilms and Ethan Yost.

GACC President Jamie Ortiz wished the students well in college and all their future endeavors.

Stocker said she had fond memories of her NHS experiences as a Madison High School student. "I still remember the dress I was wearing," she said.

"At our school it was a secret as to who would be inducted into the NHS. The big hint was if your parents stayed home from work," she said of the assembly where the announcements were made.

Stocker said it is an honor to be inducted.

"It's a big deal and you should be very proud," she said.

Stocker asked the students how they achieved entry into the NHS.

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"I did what I love to do," said Schroeder of his studies that led him to entrance into the organization.

Stocker said it is important to pursue your passion and work hard.

She detailed her trip from Kent State Ashtabula, into the nursing field and eventually back to Kent State Ashtabula as head of the nursing program and eventually to lead the branch campus for 20 years.
BERLIN (AP)  German authorities carried out raids across the country and questioned more than 100 suspects Tuesday in an investigation of hate posts against politicians connected to last year's national election, prosecutors said.

The Frankfurt prosecutor's office and the Federal Criminal Police Office said that the raids resulted from an analysis of over 600 posts on social media for criminal content. The investigation was based on legislation that was introduced last year to provide for tough punishment of slander and abuse of people in political life, whether at local, regional or federal level.

It provides for a punishment of up to three years in prison for abuse motivated by the person's position in public life that is liable to significantly complicate their public work.

Prosecutors didn't name the targets of the posts that resulted in the raids, but said that the investigation covered posts against politicians from all the parties currently in Germany's national parliament and two-thirds of them are women. It said they included abuse against nationally known politicians as well as fake quotes that appeared designed to discredit their targets.

The parliament was elected in late September.

Tuesday's move makes clear the scale on which office-holders are being insulted, slandered and threatened online, the top prosecutor in Germany's central Hesse state, Torsten Kunze, said in a statement.

There was no immediate word of any arrests.
Ukrayinska Pravda

VALENTYNA ROMANENKO - WEDNESDAY, 4 MAY 2022, 17:33 Ukrainian defenders continue to destroy units of the Russian occupiers and their equipment with great professionalism. Source: the press centre of the DShV command [Command of the Assault Troops of the Armed Forces of Ukraine] and the press service of the National Guard Details: The assault troops showed a video with the aftermath of the Russian armoured vehicles, together with their crews, destroyed by the artillery of one of the units of the D
WASHINGTON  White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Tuesday that she is positive again for COVID-19 and will not accompany President Joe Biden to Europe this week for urgent meetings with world counterparts on Russias invasion of Ukraine.

Biden tested negative on Tuesday, she said.

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Psakis reinfection is the latest COVID-19 scare for the White House after recent positive tests for Vice President Kamala Harris husband and Irelands prime minister, who was in the nations capital last week for a series of in-person celebrations of St. Patricks Day with Biden and other officials.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki listens as Anne Neuberger, Deputy National Security Advisor for Cyber and Emerging Technology, speaks during a press briefing at the White House, March 21, 2022, in Washington. (Patrick Semansky/AP)

The scares come as the Biden administration is trying to help the United States ease back into its pre-pandemic norms, even as cases climb in Europe due to a new variant of the omicron variant of the coronavirus.

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Psaki tweeted that she took a laboratory test for COVID-19 as part of her preparation for the trip, which gets underway on Wednesday, and was later notified of a positive result.

She said she had two socially distanced meetings with Biden on Monday and that he is not considered a close contact under guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Psaki tweeted and released a statement a short time before she was scheduled to step into the White House press room for her daily briefing, accompanied by National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, who was joining her to discuss the trip.

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After a brief delay, White House deputy press secretary Chris Meagher entered and introduced Sullivan to a waiting White House press corps. Meagher read a statement on the changes caused by Psakis condition and on Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jacksons appearance before the Senate Judiciary Committee for her confirmation hearing. He took no questions, while Sullivan delivered a statement and answered questions about Bidens trip.

Psaki said she will follow CDC guidance and no longer accompany Biden to Belgium, where he will participate in a series of meetings with European and other world leaders on Russias war in Ukraine, and to Poland, which shares a border with Ukraine and has taken in millions of Ukrainians fleeing warfare.

Psaki said she has only experienced mild symptoms and credited being vaccinated against COVID-19. She said under White House COVID-19 protocols, she will work from home and plan to return to work at the end of a five-day isolation period and a negative test.

As coronavirus cases plummeted around the United States this year, and states and localities dropped their mask-wearing requirements, the White House did as well. As of March 1, neither White House staff nor reporters were required to wear face masks inside the building.

Doug Emhoff, the vice presidents husband, tested positive on March 15, the White House announced. Harris, meanwhile, has continued to test negative.

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The following day, Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin learned he had tested positive for COVID-19 while attending a dinner event with U.S. leaders, including Biden and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Martin was due at the White House on March 17, to help celebrate St. Patricks Day with Biden, but he made those appearances on video instead because of his diagnosis.

This is the second time that COVID-19 has forced Psaki to bow out of accompanying Biden abroad. She sat out last falls trip to Rome and Glasgow, Scotland, after disclosing she had tested positive.
MADISON, Wis. (AP)  A woman has asked a judge to authorize homicide charges against a white Madison police officer who shot and killed her biracial grandson seven years ago.

Tony Robinson's grandmother, Sharon Irwin-Henry, filed a petition Monday asking a judge to find that probable cause exists to charge Officer Matt Kenny and to appoint to the case a special prosecutor who has no ties to law enforcement, such as a lawyer who specializes in criminal defense or some other area of the law, the Wisconsin State Journal reported Tuesday.

The petition falls under Wisconsin's so-called John Doe law, which allows citizens to ask judges to approve charges if prosecutors initially refuse to file any.

Kenny shot and killed Robinson in a darkened stairwell in a home on Madison's east side in 2015. Kenny responded to reports that Robinson had allegedly assaulted two people.

Kenny said he encountered Robinson in the stairwell leading up to the home's second-floor apartment and that Robinson punched him in the head, forcing him to fire to protect himself.

Dane County District Attorney Ismael Ozanne, who is Black, announced in May 2015 that Kenny would not face charges in the case. Robinson's mother, Andrea Irwin, settled a federal civil rights lawsuit with the city of Madison in February 2017 for $3.3 million.

Robinson's grandmother, Irwin-Henry, contends that Kenny lied about what happened in the stairwell and questioned his decision to enter the home without backup. She said in a statement filed with her petition that she waited seven years to seek charges because she wasn't aware of the John Doe law and didn't have money to hire an attorney.

The family of Jay Anderson Jr., who was killed by then-Wauwatosa Police Officer Joseph Mensah in 2016, has used the same John Doe maneuver in hopes of forcing charges. Prosecutors declined to charge Mensah after Mensah said Anderson reached for a gun. Special prosecutors reviewing that case expect to announce a charging decision within the next six weeks.
By Chayut Setboonsarng

BANGKOK (Reuters) - Chinese automaker Great Wall Motor has signed an agreement with Thailand's government to slash retail prices of its electric vehicles, an executive said on Tuesday, a move aimed at boosting domestic EV sales and production.

The agreement, which involves a government subsidy and reduction in value-added tax, could save customers up to 160,000 baht ($4,779) per unit, Michael Chong, General Manager of Great Wall Motor Thailand told Reuters.

That would apply to vehicles typically priced 1 million baht, representing a saving of about 13-15%.

"This is very beneficial for our customer ... because this price is more affordable," he said at the annual Bangkok International Motor Show.

A similar agreement has also been signed with rival automaker, SAIC-CP Motor, the Thai unit of SAIC Motor Corp, the finance ministry said on Monday.

Those come as Thailand tries to incentivise EV use and preserve its status as a major regional automaker. The government is targeting production of 725,000 EV units a year, or 30% of output by 2030.

Chong said other factors like rising energy prices were also driving EV demand.

"Oil prices keep increasing, so people who buy ICE (internal combustible engine) will feel it's more expensive," Chong said, adding that EVs would help make air cleaner, something Thailand's capital has struggled with.

Great Wall Motor in 2020 took over the General Motors plant in Thailand, Asia's fourth-largest auto assembly and export hub.

Auto manufacturing accounts for about 10% of Thai gross domestic product and manufacturing jobs.

This year the firm plans to sell 20,000 units in Thailand between its two brands, the BEV Ora Good Cat and Haval SUVs, Chong added. It plans to locally produce EVs in 2024.

But the transition will take time, however, with less than 4,000 fully-electric vehicles registered in Thailand last year, and manufacturing investments still being made in conventional engines.

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Those include U.S. automaker Ford, which invested $900 million to upgrade its Thai factories to build its Ranger pickup truck and Everest SUV.

"ICE is going to be around for a while," said Andrea Cavallaro, Ford Operations Director, International Market Group, adding EV technology and infrastructure has yet to be adopted across Southeast Asia.

(Reporting by Chayut Setboonsarng; Editing by Martin Petty)
ATHENS (Reuters) - Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias said on Tuesday that he wants to lead a humanitarian mission into the besieged city of Mariupol in Ukraine where thousands of ethnic Greeks live.

Ukraine appealed to Russia on Tuesday to allow humanitarian supplies into Mariupol and to let civilians out of the city, which President Volodymr Zelenskiy said had been devastated by Russian bombardments.

Russia denies targeting civilians and blames Ukraine for the repeated failure to establish safe passage for civilians out of Mariupol. Ukraine defied an ultimatum for the city to surrender by dawn on Monday as a condition for Russian forces to let civilians leave safely.

Dendias said that Greece's priority was to protect unarmed civilians and ethnic Greeks living in Mariupol, adding that he has already notified Ukrainian and Russian authorities over the humanitarian mission.

"I intend to lead this assistance in person," he said in statements made to the press after meeting Greece's consul general in Mariupol, Manolis Androulakis, the last EU diplomat to leave the besieged Ukrainian port this week.

Dendias said that he was coordinating with the Red Cross.

Mariupol, a city of more than 400,000 before the war, has historically had a sizeable population of ethnic Greeks.

At least 10 ethnic Greeks have been killed and several have been wounded since Russia started attacking Mariupol. More than 150 Greek citizens, vessel crews and ethnic Greeks have been evacuated from the region, according to the Greek government.

(Reporting by Lefteris Papadimas; Editing by Alex Richardson)
Roman Abramovich's yacht, Solaris, docked in Bodrum, Turkey on March 21. Ali Balli/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images.

Protesters in a dinghy tried to stop a luxury yacht belonging to Roman Abramovich from docking in Turkey, The Independent reported.

The protesters were carrying Ukrainian flags with the words "No War" written on them.

The super-yacht later docked in the port of Bodrum, Turkey.

A group of protesters tried to block a luxury superyacht belonging to sanctioned Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich from docking in Turkey, The Independent reported.

The Solaris berthed at the port of Bodrum in southwest Turkey on Monday. According to The Independent, prior to mooring it was confronted by a dinghy carrying a group of protesters waving Ukrainian flags marked with the phrase "No War."

A video published on the paper's website showed the group maneuvering the dinghy near the bow of the yacht as it approached the quayside.

The $600 million vessel later successfully docked after the coastguard told the protesters to move, according to the paper.

Monday's protest is the latest aimed at luxury yachts belonging to the Russian elite.

Solaris was the target of a graffiti attempt while docked in Barcelona earlier this month, Insider's Grace Dean previously reported. Meanwhile, a Ukrainian engineer was arrested on suspicion of attempting to sink an $8 million luxury yacht belonging to his Russian boss in Mallorca, Spain, last month, in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Spanish media reported.

The US, UK, and European Union have imposed sanctions against Russia in the wake of its attack on Ukraine, which has resulted in freezing some assets belonging to Russian individuals. Several luxury yachts linked to oligarchs have been seized in ports across Europe, while other vessels are cruising towards destinations where they are less likely to be impounded as a result of sanctions.

Abramovich has been sanctioned by both the UK and the EU.

Bodrum has been popular with Russia's wealthy in the past, but Turkey's ports may also appeal to those sanctioned by other governments due to Ankara's stance on the invasion of Ukraine. Unlike other NATO members, Turkey has not imposed sanctions on Russia. Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan has criticized the measures, while at the same time also supporting Ukraine.

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Solaris left the port of Tivat in Montenegro on March 13, two days before Abramovich was sanctioned by the EU. The vessel avoided other European locations where it could be at risk of seizure, before docking in Turkey, Insider's Kate Duffy reported.

The vessel was joined on Tuesday by another of Abramovich's luxury vessels, Eclipse, which moored at the nearby Turkish port of Marmaris.

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Otero County Commission member and Cowboys for Trump co-founder Couy Griffin rides his horse on 5th avenue on May 1, 2020 in New York City. Jeenah Moon/Getty Images

The verdict gave the Department of Justice a second win in as many trials connected to the US Capitol attack.

The trial set the stage for the Secret Service confirming Mike Pence's location on January 6.

Griffin was acquitted on a disorderly conduct charge but found guilty of trespassing on restricted grounds.

A federal judge found "Cowboys for Trump" leader Couy Griffin guilty of a misdemeanor charge connected to the Capitol attack, handing the Justice Department a victory in the second trial stemming from the insurrection on January 6, 2021.

Judge Trevor McFadden handed down the verdict Tuesday after federal prosecutors presented video footage showing Griffin, a New Mexico county commissioner, climbing a bike ramp and ascending a makeshift plywood ramp on his approach to the Capitol.

Griffin faces up to a year in prison on the misdemeanor charge of trespassing on restricted Capitol grounds. The judge set his sentencing for June 17.

McFadden acquitted Griffin on a separate disorderly conduct charge, which also carried a maximum sentence of a year in prison.

Griffin, 48, elected to have a judge  rather than a jury  review the evidence and decide his fate. The so-called bench trial featured testimony on Monday from a videographer who accompanied Griffin to Washington, DC, in early January 2021, along with a Capitol police inspector and Secret Service agent.

Outside the courthouse, Griffin said he was "halfway pleased" with the verdict, and described the experience of standing trial in federal court as a "real honor."

"I respect the decision that Judge McFadden made today, even though it wasn't the decision that I was really hoping and praying for. You have to continue to trust in our judges and our system. He found me guilty for crossing into a restricted area, and I was there on that day," Griffin said.

Griffin stood by his decision to request a bench trial and said other January 6 defendants would have "to pray through it and make that decision as well.

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"If I was anywhere but Washington, DC, I would say go with a jury trial," Griffin said.

"You're putting all your eggs in one basket, where on a jury trial you've got 12 baskets up there," he added.

The Justice Department charged Griffin on January 16, 2021  10 days after the Capitol attack  with disorderly conduct and trespassing on restricted grounds. On Monday and in the lead-up to trial, Griffin argued that the Justice Department could not prove he was aware on January 6, 2021 that the grounds surrounding the Capitol were restricted.

His defense lawyer, Nicholas Smith, also pressed an argument that the Capitol grounds were no longer restricted when Griffin entered because then-Vice President Mike Pence had been rushed away to safety amid the mayhem of January 6. Over the Justice Department's objection, McFadden allowed Smith to question a Secret Service agent about Pence's precise location.

The strategy appeared to backfire against Griffin  and set the stage for a remarkable courtroom moment.

On Monday, Secret Service inspector Lanelle Hawa confirmed that Pence fled the Senate chamber to a loading dock beneath the Capitol, where the former vice president stayed for several hours.

The testimony marked the government's first public acknowledgment of Pence's whereabouts as a pro-Trump mob ransacked the Capitol on January 6, with some calling for the sitting president to be hanged. Hawa affirmed that the underground loading dock fell within the Secret Service protected zone around the Capitol on January 6.

For Griffin, that testimony created a need to show that he was unaware that the area was off-limits when he approached the Capitol. His lawyer, Smith, used the questioning of Capitol Police Inspector John Erickson to show that temporary, plastic "snow fencing" was no longer upright when Griffin advanced toward the inauguration stage, and that the walls he scaled on January 6 lacked signage indicating the area was closed.

But McFadden pointed to a video Griffin filmed outside the Capitol on January 5, 2021, with the snow fencing and signage behind him. The judge said Griffin saw the west front of the Capitol with "multiple rings" of snow fencing on January 5 and needed help from others, or a jerry-rigged ramp, to cross over "three different walls."

"All of this would suggest to a normal person that perhaps you should not be entering the area," McFadden said.

In her closing argument Tuesday morning, prosecutor Janani Iyengar said "any reasonable person" would have known that the area around the Capitol was closed to the public on January 6.

"The defendant was entering an area knowing that area was restricted to the public, and he entered it anyway," she said.

Iyengar put Griffin's conduct in the broader context of January 6, saying it jeopardized Pence's safety.

"The mere presence of people in that restricted area created a security issue for the vice president. That's the reason the vice president had to evacuate," she said.

At one point, McFadden pressed Iyengar about whether someone could be prosecuted for having to jump over the stone wall  a permanent fixture outside the Capitol  to retrieve a hat blown off their head.

Iyengar stressed that Griffin didn't jump back over the fence but instead remained on the grounds and advanced toward the Capitol, eventually reaching the inauguration stage. Griffin, she said, used a metal bike rack as a ladder to climb over one of the stone walls outside the Capitol.

On the disorderly conduct charge, Iyengar conceded that  if Griffin had simply walked through the area "we would be having a very different conversation."

"But that's not the scenario we're in with this defendant," Iyengar said, noting that Griffin spoke into a bullhorn, climbed over barricades, and encouraged others to be armed.

Griffin's conviction came just weeks after a jury found Guy Reffitt, a member of the far-right Three Percenters militia, guilty in the first trial involving charges linked to the January 6 insurrection. The jury returned the verdict after just hours of deliberation, finding Reffitt guilty of all five charges he faced, including carrying a firearm on the Capitol grounds.

Reffitt's trial featuredemotional testimony from his teenage son and from Capitol police officers who recalled their encounter with him on January 6. For the Justice Department, the conviction marked a significant first trial victory out of the nearly 800 cases that have stemmed from the Capitol attack.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Right now, teachers and other staff can use handcuffs, zip-ties, straightjackets or other devices on students who act out or misbehave in a way that poses a threat to themselves or others.

But that traumatic practice may soon come to an end.

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Floridas House and Senate approved legislation to prohibit those methods, which have often targeted children with disabilities. The next stop is for Gov. Ron DeSantis to approve the bill.

HB 235 provides that only school resource officers, school safety officers, school guardians, or school security guards can use these mechanical restraints on students in grades 6 through 12  but not children in younger grades.

The bill also deals with physical restraints. In that category, school personnel can use physical restraints  meaning restricting students movements  but only when other behavior interventions have been exhausted.

At the end of the day, this bill is about keeping students safe and giving parents a piece of mind, Sen. Lauren Book, a Democrat who represents part of Broward County, said earlier this month. Book, who is the Senate minority leader, sponsored the bill in the Senate.

The legislation builds off previous efforts to limit how teachers and other school personnel handle students who might be acting out in a dangerous manner. For example, the prior legislation added language into Florida law that limited the use of restraints on students and completely prohibited the use of seclusion on students.

The House sponsor of the new bill, Rep. Rene Plasencia, a Republican who resigned this week, said in early March that HB 235 is the final piece to the earlier efforts. Plasencia represented parts of Brevard and Orange counties.

According to Florida Department of Education data, the use of mechanical restraints for disciplinary purposes on a student was used 43 times throughout the 2020-21 school year. That includes 25 instances involving males, and 18 involving females. As to race, the data show 19 instances related to Black students, 10 white, 10 Hispanic, 1 Native American and 3 listed as two or more races.

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According to that same Department of Education data, the use of physical restraints occurred 1,867 times in the 2020-21 school year.

Of those instances, 1,533 were males and 334, females. As to race, 597 instances related to Black students, 801 for white students, Hispanic, 336; and other groups adding up to 133.

Overall, Floridas enrollment in the public school system is 36 percent white; 21 percent, Black and 35 percent Hispanic, plus other groups.

Florida Phoenix is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Florida Phoenix maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Diane Rado for questions: info@floridaphoenix.com. Follow Florida Phoenix on Facebook and Twitter.

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Hugh Grant has laughed off the rumours that he will be the next Time Lord. (Getty Images)

Hugh Grant has laughed off rumours he is in talks to become the new Time Lord in Doctor Who.

A Sunday newspaper reported that the Four Weddings And A Funeral star was in negotiations with the BBC to replace Jodie Whittaker as the Doctor to 'bring a fresh feel' to the role.

But Grant, 61, tweeted: "Nothing against Dr W but Im not. No idea where the story came from."

Nothing against Dr W but Im not. No idea where the story came from. https://t.co/g1PG4VsqYN  Hugh Grant (@HackedOffHugh) March 21, 2022

It was announced last year that writer Russell T Davies is returning to the role of Doctor Who showrunner.

Grant earned rave reviews for his appearance in BBC drama A Very English Scandal, also written by Davies. He briefly played the Doctor in Doctor Who: The Curse of Fatal Death  a Comic Relief sketch which aired during the 1999 telethon  written by future Who showrunner Steven Moffat.

Read more: Danny Dyer confirmed to be leaving 'EastEnders' sparking 'Doctor Who' speculation

He later revealed that he'd been offered the chance to play the Timelord in the BBC's 2005 revival, but turned it down, paving the way for Christopher Eccleston to play the Ninth Doctor.

After being linked with a villain role in the show in 2007, he told Digital Spy: "I was offered the role of the Doctor a few years back and was highly flattered. The danger with those things is that it's only when you see it on screen that you think, 'Damn, that was good, why did I say no?' But then, knowing me, I'd probably make a mess of it.

"I'm in talks about a one-off role. I'd prefer to be a baddie. They're always more fun."

Jodie Whittaker was the 13th Time Lord and the first woman Doctor. (BBC)

Whittaker, 39, confirmed last year that she is to step down as the 13th incarnation of The Doctor in the long-running BBC series.

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There has since been much speculation as to who will replace her as the next Time Lord.

It's A Sin star and Years & Years frontman Olly Alexander has also spoken out to deny he is being lined-up for the hit sci fi show.

And after Danny Dyer announced he is leaving EastEnders, Dyer fans were quick to ignite rumours he could be the next Doctor to be handed the keys to the TARDIS.

'EastEnders' star Danny Dyer has also been linked to the role of the Time Lord. (BBC)

Read more: Olly Alexander issues fan-tastic response to rumours he will be next 'Doctor Who'

Dyer  who hosted BBC documentary I Believe In UFOs in 2010  is a known sci fi fan who revealed he had built a life-size model of Star Wars character Yoda out of Lego during the first lockdown.

Whittaker was the first full time female Doctor in the show, which launched in 1963.

She took over from The Thick Of It actor Peter Capaldi in 2018.

In series 12, Holby City star Jo Martin appeared as Ruth  who revealed herself to be a previously unseen regeneration of the Doctor  the first time the role has been played by a black person.

Doctor Who star Pearl Mackie has said she wants to see the next Time Lord portrayed as non-binary.

Watch: Hugh Grant looks back at his film career
Man sparks debate after sharing wifes angry message about coffee machine (TikTok / @willharrigan)

A man has sparked a debate about marriage after sharing a video of Siri reading his wifes angry text message about the coffee machine through his cars speaker.

Will Harrigan, from New Jersey, who goes by the username @willharrigan on TikTok, shared the video to the platform on Saturday, where it has resonated with some married individuals, while others have expressed concerns over the couples relationship.

In the clip, which he captioned: If youre considering getting married or moving your coffee machine DONT, Siri reads a message from Harrigans wife Ang, who can be heard angrily criticising him for moving the coffee maker, as she then proceeded to spill coffee grinds all over the freshly mopped floor when she tried to move it back to where it belongs.

I just dont understand what goes through your stupid, fat, f**king head, why did you need to move the coffee maker on the other side, why did you think that it belonged there? Ang said in the message to her husband. I just went to move it back where it f**king goes and the coffee grinds that you left in there to the coffee that you didnt even f**king drink just went all over the floor that I just swept and mopped.

And now I cant even get it off because Im trying to sweep it and the coffee grinds are wet so its sticking to the broom so every time I put the broom down it just spreads and spreads and spreads. Dont f**king touch shit.

Siris reading of the irate message concluded with the virtual assistant asking whether Harrigan would like to reply.

Dont get married or move your coffee machine, Harrigan captioned the clip on TikTok, where it has since been viewed more than 13.9m times.

In the comments, viewers have been divided, with some finding Angs message to her husband amusing and relatable and noting that they are on her side.

Team Ang. Lol. Ive 100 per cent felt this rage and sent messages like this, one person wrote.

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Another said: Were on her side. You shouldve never moved it!

Honestly youre at fault, someone else wrote.

However, others found the behaviour displayed in the video concerning, with some viewers questioning how the couple talks to and communicates with one another.

Wow, is it ever acceptable for a partner to send a message like this? Seems like Im not missing out at all being single, one viewer commented, while another said: Am I missing something here? How are this many people in the comments thinking its ever okay to speak to someone like this?

Someone else claimed that they can understand being angry but that this is NOT how you talk to your partner.

Or anyone for that matter, they added. This is not okay.

According to someone else, the amount of people who sided with Harrigans wife over the video is honestly alarming, as they claimed: You dont talk to someone like this.

In a comment left by Harrigan under the viral video, he joked that he was about to make his morning coffee before asking viewers to pray for me.

In a follow-up video shared on Monday, the TikToker appeared to address the comments criticising his and his wifes relationship by sharing a video of a Dr Dolittle 2 scene, in which Eddie Murphy asked whether he looked like he cared.

@willharrigan When the weirdos in my comments take me and Angs funny arguments to seriously  more videos coming soon  Time for my morning coffee  @angcrespo  original sound - Will Harrigan

When the weirdos in my comments take [my] and Angs funny arguments too seriously, he captioned the video. Time for my morning coffee.

The Independent has contacted Harrigan for comment.
Ukrayinska Pravda

VALENTYNA ROMANENKO - WEDNESDAY, 4 MAY 2022, 17:33 Ukrainian defenders continue to destroy units of the Russian occupiers and their equipment with great professionalism. Source: the press centre of the DShV command [Command of the Assault Troops of the Armed Forces of Ukraine] and the press service of the National Guard Details: The assault troops showed a video with the aftermath of the Russian armoured vehicles, together with their crews, destroyed by the artillery of one of the units of the D
LOS ANGELES, CA  Even as Los Angeles County announced plans to lift vaccination requirements for concerts and sporting events Monday, a more-infectious offshoot of the Omicron variant continued to spread across the region.

The BA.2 subvariant of COVID-19 is spreading locally, accounting for 6.4% of all COVID specimens that were analyzed for variants as of the week ending Feb. 26, according to the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health. Significantly more contagious than the Omicron variant, BA. 2 is responsible for the current surge of cases in Europe as well as spikes in some East Coast cities. Over the weekend, Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, the president's chief medical advisor, warned the virus is likely to lead to an increase in cases nationwide but not necessarily another surge.

This is no time at all to declare victory, because this virus has fooled us before and we really must be prepared for the possibility that we might get another variant, Fauci told ABC's This Week.

Like Omicron, the subvariant BA.2 appears to cause less-severe illnesses. Because it's more contagious than Omicron, it will likely gain a stronger foothold in the county, county health officials warned.

Health officials noted that while the percentage of BA.2 cases is still low, the same pattern was seen with the Omicron and Delta variants that both grew into major spreaders of the virus. They said BA.2 is currently estimated to be responsible for 23% of sequenced cases nationally, while representing 30% of infections in New York City.

"The increasing presence of the highly transmissible BA.2 subvariant in many regions of this country reminds us that we need to remain vigilant and prepared for the possibility of more cases in the near future," Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said in a statement. "And while discouraging to face this possibility, the best way to blunt another surge in cases from increasing hospitalizations and deaths is to increase vaccination and booster coverage. Given the compelling evidence that the vaccines continue to protect against all variants, and their wide availability, residents and workers are urged to use the next couple of weeks to get to up to date on their vaccines.

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"Waiting until we start seeing increases in cases is not optimal, since once there are more people testing positive, there is already more community transmission," she said.Even as officials brace for a possible uptick fueled by the subvariant, the county is continuing the effort to return to normal as much as possible. In the latest move toward normalcy, Los Angeles County will align with the state and lift the requirement that attendees of indoor mega-events such as sporting events or concerts show proof of COVID vaccination or a negative test, health officials said Monday.

According to the county Department of Public Health, the requirement will be lifted April 1 in conjunction with the state, which is also scrapping the mandate.

The move follows the lifting of other COVID restrictions -- such as indoor mask-wearing requirements -- in response to dwindling infection and hospitalization numbers.

Health officials continued to urge people to take precautionary measures -- including masks -- in crowded situations, even though they are no longer mandated.



The county on Monday reported 935 new COVID infections over the past two days, lifting the cumulative number from throughout the pandemic to 2,825,423.

Another 29 deaths were also confirmed by the county, raising the overall death toll to 31,491.

According to state figures, there were 404 COVID-positive patients in county hospitals as of Monday, down from 422 on Sunday. Of those patients, 65 were being treated in intensive care, down from 71 a day earlier.

The overall hospitalization total hasn't been this low since July 2021.

The rolling average daily rate of people testing positive for the virus, which had remained largely unchanged at 0.7% for the past week, was at 0.6% as of Monday, according to the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health.

According to the county, as of last Thursday, 83% of eligible county residents aged 5 and older had received at least one dose of COVID vaccine, and 75% were fully vaccinated. However, only 30% of children aged 5-11 have been fully vaccinated, the lowest rate of any age group.

Among Black residents, only 55% are fully vaccinated, along with 59% of Latina/o residents, compared to 73% of white residents and 82% of Asians.

City News Service and Patch Staffer Paige Austin contributed to this report.

This article originally appeared on the Los Angeles Patch
U.S. child care policies lag behind most of developed countries: report

Xinhua) 08:07, March 22, 2022

A woman and a child are seen at Lincoln Park Zoo surrounded by the fall colors in downtown Chicago, the United States, on Nov. 2, 2021. (Photo by Joel Lerner/Xinhua)

Child care is often cast as a "women's issue," but it should also be seen as a family issue and an economic issue.

NEW YORK, March 21 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. society claims to love children, admire parents and revere the family, but its public policies send the opposite message, as can be seen from a June 2021 UNICEF report which found the country ranked 40th on child care among the world's rich countries, reported The Washington Post on Sunday.

"It's hard to think of work more important to a society's long-term well-being and prosperity than raising children. Yet the market economy values work outside the home that produces goods, services and profits far more than the work of parenting," said the report titled "We say we love kids and families. Our policies prove the opposite."

A child rides a bike at a park in San Mateo, California, the United States, May 28, 2021. (Xinhua/Wu Xiaoling)

Unlike other well-off countries, the United States has "never adapted to the needs of families in today's labor market and economy," Olivia Golden, executive director of the Center for Law and Social Policy, was quoted as saying. "We've never responded to so many women with young children being in the workforce."

U.S. families with modest incomes face particular problem in child care. "Parents are paying as much as a mortgage or car payments -- or college tuition -- each month for child care," U.S. Senator Patty Murray, who chairs the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, was quoted as saying.

The UNICEF study also found the United States near the top among nations in child-care costs relative to the average wage, said the report, noting that child care is often cast as a "women's issue," but it should also be seen as a family issue and an economic issue.

(Web editor: Xia Peiyao, Liang Jun)
WASHINGTON  Violent repression of the largely Muslim Rohingya population in Myanmar amounts to genocide, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Monday, a declaration intended to both generate international pressure and lay the groundwork for potential legal action.

Authorities made the determination based on confirmed accounts of mass atrocities on civilians by Myanmars military in a widespread and systematic campaign against the ethnic minority, Blinken said in a speech at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum.

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It is the eighth time since the Holocaust that the U.S. has concluded a genocide has occurred. The secretary of state noted the importance of calling attention to inhumanity even as horrific attacks occur elsewhere in the world, including Ukraine.

Yes, we stand with the people of Ukraine, he said. And we must also stand with people who are suffering atrocities in other places.

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The government of Myanmar, also known as Burma, is already under multiple layers of U.S. sanctions since a military coup ousted the democratically elected government in February 2021. Thousands of civilians throughout the country have been killed and imprisoned as part of ongoing repression of anyone opposed to the ruling junta.

The determination that a genocide has occurred could lead other nations to increase pressure on the government, which is already facing accusations of genocide at the International Court of Justice in The Hague.

As we lay the foundation for future accountability, were also working to stop the militarys ongoing atrocities, and support the people of Burma as they strive to put the country back on the path to democracy, Blinken said.

Ethnic Rohingya women and children sit by a fire on a beach after their boat was stranded on Idaman Island in East Aceh, Indonesia, June 4, 2021, after leaving a refugee camp in Bangladesh, officials said. (Zik Maulana/AP)

White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Blinkens announcement emphasizes, especially to victims and survivors, that the United States recognizes the gravity of these crimes.

Our view is that shining a light on the crimes of Burmas military will increase international pressure, make it harder for them to commit further abuses, she said.

Rohingya, from Muslim Myanmars western Rakhine state, faced systematic persecution at the hands of the Buddhist majority for decades under both the military junta that ruled the nation for decades as well as the democratically-elected government.

More than 700,000 Rohingya have fled from Buddhist-majority Myanmar to refugee camps in Bangladesh since August 2017, when the military launched an operation aimed at clearing them from the country following attacks by a rebel group.

The status of the plight of the Rohingya had been under extended review by U.S. government legal experts since the Trump administration, given potential legal ramifications of such a finding. The delay in the determination had drawn criticism from both inside and outside the government.

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While this determination is long overdue, it is nevertheless a powerful and critically important step in holding this brutal regime to account, said Oregon Sen. Jeff Merkley.

Human rights groups also welcomed the determination, which is similar to findings already made by other countries, including Canada, France and Turkey.

Daily Top Stories Daily Get the day's top news, sports, opinion, features and local events. >

The U.S. determination of the crime of genocide against us is a momentous moment and must lead to concrete action to hold the Burmese military accountable for their crimes, said Tun Khin, president of the Burmese Rohingya Organisation UK.

Human Rights Watch said the U.S. and other governments should seek justice for crimes carried out by the military and impose stronger sanctions against its leadership.

The U.S. government should couple its condemnations of Myanmars military with action, said John Sifton, the groups Asia advocacy director. For too long, the U.S. and other countries have allowed Myanmars generals to commit atrocities with few real consequences.

A 2018 State Department report documented instances of Myanmars military razing villages and carrying out rapes, tortures and mass killings of civilians since at least 2016. Blinken said evidence showed the violence wasnt isolated, but part of a systematic program that amounts to crimes against humanity.

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The evidence also points to a clear intent behind these mass atrocities, the intent to destroy Rohingya, in whole or in part, through killings, rape, and torture, he said.

Previous determinations of genocide by the U.S. include campaigns against Uyghurs and other largely Muslim minorities in China as well as in Bosnia, Rwanda, Iraq and Darfur.

Associated Press writers Darlene Superville and Matthew Lee contributed.
Ukrayinska Pravda

VALENTYNA ROMANENKO - WEDNESDAY, 4 MAY 2022, 17:33 Ukrainian defenders continue to destroy units of the Russian occupiers and their equipment with great professionalism. Source: the press centre of the DShV command [Command of the Assault Troops of the Armed Forces of Ukraine] and the press service of the National Guard Details: The assault troops showed a video with the aftermath of the Russian armoured vehicles, together with their crews, destroyed by the artillery of one of the units of the D
Ukrayinska Pravda

VALENTYNA ROMANENKO - WEDNESDAY, 4 MAY 2022, 17:33 Ukrainian defenders continue to destroy units of the Russian occupiers and their equipment with great professionalism. Source: the press centre of the DShV command [Command of the Assault Troops of the Armed Forces of Ukraine] and the press service of the National Guard Details: The assault troops showed a video with the aftermath of the Russian armoured vehicles, together with their crews, destroyed by the artillery of one of the units of the D
First Lady Jill Biden was apparently less than enthusiastic about Kamala Harriss appointment as her husbands running mate, according to a new book reporting on the election and first year of the 46th president.

In This Will Not Pass: Trump, Biden, and the Battle for Americas Future, which will be published in May, New York Times reporters Jonathan Martin and Alex Burns write that the then-candidates wife was unimpressed by Ms Harriss criticism of her husband during a primary debate in 2019.

There are millions of people in the United States, they quote Ms Biden saying, according to an extract obtained by Politico. Why do we have to choose the one who attacked Joe?

Ms Bidens reported umbrage at the California Democrat dated back to an encounter the two candidates had on a debate stage in which Ms Harris called him out for previously working with segregationist members of Congress in what he had nostalgically described as an era of political civility.

I do not believe you are a racist. And I agree with you when you commit yourself to the importance of finding common ground, Ms Harris said. But I also believe  and its personal, and it was hurtful to hear you talk about the reputations of two United States senators who built their reputations and careers on the segregation of race in this country.

Another book, last years Battle for the Soul: Inside the Democrats Campaigns to Defeat Trump, claims that Ms Biden was incensed by Ms Harriss remarks. According to author Edward-Isaac Dovere, she later railed against the candidate to a group of supporters on a conference call.

With what he cares about, what he fights for, what hes committed to, you get up there and call him a racist without basis? she is quoted as saying. Go f*** yourself.

The first ladys team have reiterated that Ms Biden will not be commenting on either book, or any others.
London  A local journalist working for a French radio station in Ukraine was kidnapped and tortured by Russian soldiers earlier this month, according to the non-profit group Reporters Without Borders (RSF). Nikita, 32, whose name has been changed for his security, was held for nine days and subjected to electric shocks, beatings with an iron bar and mock execution, he told the group.

"Nikita has given us a chilling testimony that confirms the intensity of the war crimes perpetrated by the Russian army against journalists," the secretary-general of Reporters Without Borders, Christophe Deloire, said in a statement. "Passing his testimony on to the ICC [International Criminal Court] prosecutor is the least we can do for this courageous young fixer."

In early March, Nikita told RSF he was on assignment with his team when he learned the road into his family's village was clear. He decided to try to evacuate them, so after he was done with work, he borrowed his team's car, which was clearly marked "Press," and began the drive.

On his way into his hometown, however, he was ambushed. Multiple rounds were fired at his car. He crashed into a tree and, shouting that he was a civilian, pulled himself from the wrecked vehicle. Nikita told RSF that he was surrounded by soldiers, who searched and beat him. He thought the Russian forces believed he was really a Ukrainian soldier, acting as a scout.

According to his account, which CBS News cannot independently verify, the soldiers brought Nikita to a nearby building and searched his phone, where they found information related to his work as a journalist including map routes and texts about bullet proof vests. That made them more suspicious. They beat him with rifle butts, breaking his teeth, and mock executed him in a ditch by a dead dog, firing a shot that grazed his head, he told the non-profit group.

The soldiers then brought Nikita to a camp, tied him to a tree, took off his shoes, and beat him repeatedly. He said he lost consciousness multiple times before being moved to another location and interrogated, with one soldier giving him electric shocks. He said there were other civilian prisoners around him, who were also tortured.

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The Russian forces put him and the other prisoners into a basement full of water and left them for two days. They were then moved to another house, where they were joined by an imprisoned former civil servant.

Nikita was interrogated again, this time by people he believed to be Russian intelligence or security officers because of their clean clothes and polished boots. Then, Nikita and the other prisoners were told they would be released.

The following day they were driven an hour away to a forest and dropped off. Nikita, fearing he would be executed, ran away, but no shots were fired at him. When he reached a road, he encountered more Russian soldiers, but managed to escape in a car with other civilians.

"If you don't take him, we'll shoot him on the spot," the soldiers reportedly told the civilians in the vehicle.

A number of journalists have been injured, taken captive, or killed while working in Ukraine.

This month, award winning American documentary filmmaker Brent Renaud was killed, and his colleague, photojournalist Juan Arrendondo was injured. Two Fox News journalists, long-time cameraman Pierre Zakrzewski and local producer Oleksandra "Sasha" Kuvshynova, were killed, and Fox correspondent Benjamin Hall was seriously injured.

On Tuesday, Ukrainian outlet Hromadske said one of its journalists, Victoria Roshchyna, was freed after being taken captive on Friday by Russian forces.

Another Ukrainian outlet, The Kyiv Independent, said photojournalist Maks Levin was also missing.

Reporters Without Borders has filed two separate complaints with the International Criminal Court pertaining to the war in Ukraine, one alleging deliberate attacks on journalists by Russian forces, and another over Russian attacks targeting TV infrastructure in Ukraine.

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Ukrayinska Pravda

VALENTYNA ROMANENKO - WEDNESDAY, 4 MAY 2022, 17:33 Ukrainian defenders continue to destroy units of the Russian occupiers and their equipment with great professionalism. Source: the press centre of the DShV command [Command of the Assault Troops of the Armed Forces of Ukraine] and the press service of the National Guard Details: The assault troops showed a video with the aftermath of the Russian armoured vehicles, together with their crews, destroyed by the artillery of one of the units of the D
WASHINGTON (AP)  Four men once held at the Guantanamo Bay detention center  men Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson never met  were central to some of the questions she fielded Tuesday during her Supreme Court confirmation hearing.

Jackson was asked repeatedly about the work she did over a decade ago for the men Republican lawmakers have described as terrorists and used to attack her record. Two senators alleged misleadingly that she'd called then-President George W. Bush and then-Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld war criminals" in related legal filings.

The back-and-forth between the nominee and the senators was a throwback to the intense legal fights over terrorism and the lengths the government can go to keep the nation safe that erupted after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., at one point said Tuesday that he hoped the remaining detainees die in jail if they're going to go back and kill Americans.

Jackson noted that she didn't choose to represent the detainees but was assigned their cases while employed as a federal public defender from 2005 to 2007. Unlike colleagues who worked on the cases, Jackson never traveled to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to meet the men. Instead, her role was research and writing.

Federal public defenders do not get to pick their clients," she said. It's a core constitutional value that even those accused of the most heinous crimes get to be represented by a lawyer, she said.

The four men Jackson represented were alleged to have been an al-Qaida bomb expert, a Taliban intelligence officer, a man who trained to fight American forces in Afghanistan, and a farmer associated with the Taliban.

None was ever tried, much less convicted, by the military commissions that were set up to deal with the detainees. Even those who were eventually charged had those charges dropped. All were eventually released.

Jackson was also quizzed about her work writing a brief on behalf of former federal judges in a different Guantanamo-related case before the Supreme Court. In that case, her brief was in support of the detainees' position, the side that ultimately prevailed in a 5-4 Supreme Court decision. Jackson said her job was to represent the views of her clients, which was the group of federal judges.

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Jackson was initially assigned Guantanamo cases as a public defender because of her experience working on appeals court cases, according to her boss at the time, A.J. Kramer. She continued work on one of the cases when she moved on to private practice, she said Tuesday, but it was because her firm was assigned to represent the man.

At the time, the Guantanamo detention center was still new. It had opened in 2002, and Jackson's assignments came after a Supreme Court decision that those held at Guantanamo had a right to challenge their detention in court, bringing a flood of litigation. At the time Jackson's brother was an Army infantryman deployed in Iraq, she has said, making her keenly and personally mindful" of the circumstances that led to the men's detention.

In one case, Jackson's representation did not last long. Court records say she was assigned Khudai Dad's case in November 2005, but he was sent back to Afghanistan within three months. Jackson also represented Tariq Mahmoud Ahmed Al Sawah, whom the U.S. government has described as an explosives expert for al-Qaida, the terrorist group that carried out the 9/11 attacks.

Another client was Jabran al Qahtani, who traveled from his home in Saudi Arabia to train and fight against American forces and others in Afghanistan. It was the one case she continued in private practice. Another lawyer who worked on his case, John Kolakowski, has said Qahtani was young and foolish," traveling to undertake what he thought was a religious calling. He quickly regretted his decision and then tried to get out of Dodge, Kolakowski said.

Jackson has written that she considers the work she did on behalf of a different detainee, Khi Ali Gul, some of her most significant as an attorney. The work Jackson did on behalf of Gul, who has been described as a Taliban intelligence officer, included writing a brief challenging his classification as an enemy combatant and his detention at Guantanamo.

Graham, who was a defense lawyer in the Air Force, said it wasn't Jackson's work as a public defender he took issue with.

The American people deserve a system where everybody's represented, whether you like them or not. And anybody that takes up that cause, no problem with me. You're just doing your job and I think you make our country stronger, he said.

But, Graham and Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, took issue with some of the words Jackson used in court documents involving Guantanamo Bay, saying she had called the government and Bush and Rumsfeld war criminals.

Jackson actually never referred to anyone as a war criminal, but she did allege that the treatment of the detainees constituted torture and violated federal law. The brief she helped write said the federal government, including the president and defense secretary, was ultimately responsible.

The government is still holding 39 men at Guantanamo. Most have never been charged.
Ukrayinska Pravda

VALENTYNA ROMANENKO - WEDNESDAY, 4 MAY 2022, 17:33 Ukrainian defenders continue to destroy units of the Russian occupiers and their equipment with great professionalism. Source: the press centre of the DShV command [Command of the Assault Troops of the Armed Forces of Ukraine] and the press service of the National Guard Details: The assault troops showed a video with the aftermath of the Russian armoured vehicles, together with their crews, destroyed by the artillery of one of the units of the D
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Kate Middleton popped in pink and its lighting up the interwebs.

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The Duchess of Cambridge and her husband Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, attended a special reception hosted by the governor general of Belize in honor of the Queens Platinum Jubilee on Monday. The event was held at the Mayan ruins at Cahal Pech and celebrated the Belizean culture. The trip comes during the third day of their Caribbean Royal tour.

Kate Middleton attends a special reception hosted by the Governor General of Belize in celebration of Her Majesty The Queens Platinum Jubilee on March 21, 2022 in Cahal Pech, Belize. - Credit: Mirrorpix / MEGA

Mirrorpix / MEGA

Kate Middleton and Prince William attend a special reception hosted by the Governor General of Belize in celebration of Her Majesty The Queens Platinum Jubilee on March 21, 2022 in Cahal Pech, Belize. - Credit: Mirrorpix / MEGA

Mirrorpix / MEGA

Middleton wore a floor-length pink sequined gown from The Vampires Wife that featured a now-viral silhouette. The garment had ruffled shoulders and short sleeves that elevated her punchy gown. In fact, searches for ruffle dress jumped 288% in the hours following her appearance, according to Lovethesales.com, a global fashion marketplace that tracks the demand and sales data from over 12 million global shoppers across 16,000 brands and retailers. Middleton fans also boosted the visibility of The Vampires Wife, with the brand receiving a 34% increase in searches.

As for accessories, she went with a white clutch handbag, outlined in silver, adorned in a black crocheted floral print for a sophisticated touch. A pair of eye-catching gold dangling circular earrings by Onitaa provided an extra touch of glimmer.

Although her shoes got covered up by her billowing hemline, some photos revealed that the duchess wore Jimmy Choos Mimi Sandals. The luxury labels design features a caged toebed, double straps around the ankle and a 4-inch stiletto heel.

The Jimmy Choo Mimi Sandal - Credit: Farfetch

Farfetch

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Middleton has a sophisticated and stylish clothing sense that she displays during her live appearances. Recently, she wore a floral print Tory Burch dress paired with cork wedges for a look that stepped into spring with grace. And also, she slipped on a blue lace dress that had a chic peplum paired with matching pumps that gave a regal approach to monochromatic dressing.

When she graces red carpets, Middleton wears beautiful creations from brands like Jenny Peckham, Alexander McQueen, Christopher Kane, Catherine Walker and Ralph Lauren.

Click through the gallery to see Middletons best shoe looks through the years.

Launch Gallery: Kate Middleton's Best Shoe Looks Through the Years

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Kate Middleton Pink Gown and Prince William Belize Celebration

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Kate Middleton and Prince William are currently celebrating the queen's platinum jubilee with a tour with stops in Belize, Jamaica, and the Bahamas. For a reception hosted by Froyla Tzalam, governor-general of Belize, Kate chose a stunning gown that marked the start of spring.

On Monday, the duke and duchess arrived at the Mayan ruins in Cahal Pech, Belize, to recognize the queen's reign and celebrate Belizean culture. For the event, the duchess wore a shimmering, metallic pink gown with ruffled shoulders by British label The Vampire's Wife. She accessorized the dress with gold disc drop earrings, matching peep-toe sandals, and a white clutch handbag.

RELATED: Kate Middleton's Latest Outfit Skipped Spring and Went Straight to Summer

Prince William opted for a look with several shades of blue, which included trousers, a sportcoat, and a button-down shirt. He finished it off with black loafers.

Earlier in the visit, Kate and Prince William seemed to channel their relatives Prince Harry and Meghan Markle with casual green khaki looks for a day in the jungle. Kate opted for hunter cargo pants paired with a white tee and matching sneakers and a braided brown leather belt. Prince William coordinated with his wife, wearing all safari-esque colors.

Kate Middleton and Prince William Belize Safari Outfits

Getty Images

According to Harper's Bazaar, the royal couple's eight-day visit has sparked some backlash and even local protests for several reasons, including the countries' history with colonialism and the royal family not seeking approval to tour the land. In fact, one engagement (visiting a cacao farm in Belize) was already cancelled following residents' outrage.

On Friday, protestors from the indigenous Mayan village of Indian Creek in the Toledo District took a stand in front of local media with signs that said things like "colonial legacy of theft continues with Prince," "Prince William, leave our land," and "not your land, not your decision."

"The problem is  it's in Indian Creek village  which has been in open conflict with Flora and Fauna International, which owns an adjoining, contested property," reported Belize's Channel 7. "More than that, Prince William is a patron of that conservation organization."
Mar. 22Minnesota United's first transition drill of Tuesday's training session started just seconds before Kemar Lawrence made his presence felt. It was more than the Jamaican's highlighter orange cleats that stood out.

Lawrence  acquired in a trade from Toronto FC last week  entered a duel with a new teammate and immediately won the ball back. It was the first of many efforts the former all-MLS left back showed to underscore how the club felt it has leveled up with his addition.

Lawrence showed some crafty physicality toward Wil Trapp and Adrien Hunou in subsequent challenges. He groaned when D.J. Taylor got the better of him during another duel, and he spoke passionately with Emanuel Reynoso during another portion.

"He's incredibly quick and powerful," manager Adrian Heath said after practice. "That is one thing you see straight away when he closes the ball down. There is a real sort of energy."

The Loons can use it. While undefeated at 2-0-2, Minnesota has not had its top two outside backs for those four games  which constitute 12 percent of the season. Left back Chase Gasper was in concussion protocols and then entered the league's treatment program last week; right back Romain Metanire has had setbacks with hamstring issues dating back to the MLS Cup Playoffs last November.

"For us to get the results that we've gotten without having both outside backs who have been an integral part of what we've done over the last few years, speaks volumes for the people who have come in and replaced them," Heath said.

Nicknamed "Taxi" for his stamina and speed, Lawrence, 29, comes to the Loons after playing nearly 2,000 minutes across 25 games for Toronto FC in 2021. He was acquired by general manager Ali Curtis and coach Chris Armas, whom all worked together during a highly successful era at New York Red Bulls.

But under new Toronto coach Bob Bradley, Lawerence said he didn't join Toronto for preseason, a revelation after Lawrence said he expected to be a key contributor to the Reds in 2022.

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"He had different opinions of me; I don't know the opinions because, honestly, I never spoke to Bob," Lawrence said Tuesday. "You'd be surprised. Ever since he came in, not before he signed, never spoke to him in my life. It was shocking to me."

Bradley, in a question that included Lawrence last month, said: "There were just guys in different places  guys that weren't as committed to the club." Lawrence was "absent from training sessions," according to parleh.com reporter Michael Singh.

Heath said last week MNUFC did its due diligence on Lawrence, including checking with Armas. The club was "assured ... not only of his attitude, but his quality as a player and as a person," Heath said.

Lawrence was MLS Best XI in 2018 and an MLS All-Star in 2019 for New York Red Bulls before he was transferred to Anderlecht in Belgium's first division for 2020-21. He played 1,174 minutes there before coming back to North America.

Lawrence had options to stay in Belgium or go to France or England's Championship league, but his family is in the U.S. and he wanted them close. He said Tuesday they will join him in Minnesota as soon as next week.

Lawrence has been training in Jamaica before traveling to Minnesota on Friday, but didn't join the national team for World Cup qualifiers this week because the Reggae Boyz have been eliminated from advancing to Qatar and he wanted to show a commitment to the Loons. He needed to stretch during the transition drill and laughed when asked about his fitness level but said he isn't too far off and could be ready to make his debut against Seattle Sounders at Allianz Field on April 2.

Lawrence did his own due diligence on his new team through Loons defender and fellow countryman Oniel Fisher, whom Lawrence has known since they were teenagers.

"If he hated it, maybe you wouldn't see me," Lawrence said with a laugh. "But he loves it here. He's happy. Honestly, the happiest I've seen him in a long time. Part of that here is the team and the staff. He said everything feels like family. It's easy to fit in the locker room. Nobody has big egos. You can tell by playing with them (Tuesday). There is no blame  'oh you did this'  it's you lose it, we work. We win it back and we go again and we go again. That is the mentality I feel like a real team should have."
When the Taliban took control of Kabul, Afghanistan, in August 2021, Aziz Sediqi, his wife and their two young kids were among tens of thousands of Afghan refugees who fled to the United States and were placed at military bases to sort out their documentation and learn about next steps.

With the help of the International Rescue Committee, other philanthropic organizations and various federal, state and local government entities, the family has been able to make a home in Central Maryland. Last week they moved from the Linthicum hotel where they were staying to a home in Cockeysville.

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But getting there hasnt been easy for them or the roughly 200 other Afghan refugees who arrived in Anne Arundel County after fleeing the country.

We lost everything there, Sediqi said. We had jobs there, we had lives there. But, unfortunately, when Kabul was attacked we evacuated Kabul. It was an emergency situation.

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The family left the country on Aug. 29, then flew to Dulles International Airport by way of Bahrain and were placed at Fort Pickett in south central Virginia with thousands of other refugees as they completed the documentation process to stay in the United States, Sediqi said.

Sediqi and his wife, Shugofa, and their daughter Yosra, 7, and son Masseh, 3, stayed at the fort for about four months before getting cleared to stay in the states.

[The IRC] asked me where do I want to live, so I said Maryland, Sediqi said.

In Kabul, he was a technical consultant for the Ministry of Public Health working on routine immunizations, and during his time there he collaborated with Johns Hopkins, he said.

He knew he wanted to be near Hopkins but there was a shortage of housing options, so he and his family were placed at a Linthicum hotel. Many other Afghan refugee families also stayed in hotels near BWI Marshall Airport as they waited to get housing, Sediqi said.

Getting the refugees into the hotels, which were paid for by the federal government, was a major undertaking. But the process of settling them into the area was made smoother by the Anne Arundel County Office of Emergency Management, which paid for and helped organize a welcome center where the refugees could get clothes and language help, said Kasey Thomas, a spokesperson for the office.

We coordinated with the Anne Arundel County Food Bank to provide whatever food was needed and make sure that it was culturally appropriate. We also worked with local religious groups, Thomas said, adding that the office worked with Anne Arundel County Public Schools to coordinate schooling for the kids, while the Linthicum Public Library provided games, activities and books to keep the little ones occupied during long days of parents filling out paperwork.

Everybody was jumping at the opportunity to help, Thomas said.

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But, even with all the government assistance, the Sediqi family still had to learn to adapt to a new culture.

Shugofa is working on improving her English while taking care of Masseh. Yosra is attending Linthicum Elementary School.

My daughter, shes good now, Sediqi said. The teacher is very kind and supporting her  not only my daughter but other Afghan kids and families. They dont know the language. The situation is new to them.

Sediqi said he respects the teachers at Linthicum Elementary and how theyve welcomed the refugee kids.

Since [the kids] are adapting to the situation and learning English there might be some frustrating times, but the teacher is trying and we are happy, he said.

Ryan Voegtlin, director of student services at AACPS, said the schools worked closely with the IRC and translators at Fort Meade, among other places, to help integrate the kids into the schools as seamlessly as possible.

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A couple of the students wanted to see if they could do their daily prayers so we worked out accommodations where they could do their daily prayer. We worked with our ESOL [English to Speakers of Other Languages] office to make sure they had the right language support, Voegtlin said.

Voegtlin said hes gotten good feedback so far from the schools working with the Afghan kids, saying theyre a delight and adapting well.

Its been an excellent experience, he said.

Sediqi said Yosra will likely move to a Cockeysville school once they settle into their new home.

He said the toughest part of the past several months has been leaving behind his support system back in Kabul.

Mostly I miss my relatives, family, my house, my job, he said.

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Those who lived in his Kabul community less than a year ago are now scattered around the world. His relatives have fled to neighboring countries like Uzbekistan, India and the United Arab of Emirates, but some are still in Kabul, he said, which worries him.

Because of conditions in Kabul right now, its impossible for us to go back, Sediqi said. But he said he couldnt have asked for a better welcome to the states.

Yosra Sediqi, an Afghan refugee, gets routine vaccinations at a clinic in Glen Burnie.

Last month, the Anne Arundel County Health Department and the public schools collaborated on a vaccine clinic in Glen Burnie for kids during which Yosra got some routine vaccinations. Sediqi said that was a special moment.

Anne Arundel County Health Officer Dr. Nilesh Kalyanaraman said Sediqi used his English skills and medical expertise to help the other patients navigate the clinic.

Aziz wasnt just translating, he was guiding these families through the clinic by providing his own knowledge and expertise. The families and the health center were both the better for it, Kalyanaraman said.

Megan Pringle, a spokesperson for the health department, said it was incredible to see Sediqi in action, using what he knows to help his new neighbors.

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Aziz really touched all of us, Pringle said.

While their time at the hotel has helped them get acclimated to Central Maryland life, Sediqi said hes excited for the familys next steps: moving into their new Cockeysville home and Sediqi working toward starting a new job at the Bloomberg School of Public Health at Johns Hopkins.

He said he chose Cockeysville because of the access to schools and supermarkets. The neighborhood has been a popular choice among the refugees who want to live near Baltimore, he said.

Sediqi said the new job hes in the process of starting will be similar to his old one in which he helped get routine vaccines to developing nations.

Despite the challenges, the family sees a bright future here, Sediqi said.

I struggle to imagine what it must feel like  to lose your place in society and have to find your way in a new one. But its easy to connect on what we have in common  making sure your kids can enroll in school, getting a job, and finding a good place to live, Kalyanaraman said.

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Those wanting to help the Afghan refugee families across the state can donate money to the Afghan Evacuees Support fund or donate items like home goods, clothes and baby items through Maryland Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster.
LOUISVILLE, Ky.  A judge has ruled the Kentucky Bar Association does not have to surrender disciplinary records of a Bullitt County lawyer who is accused in a lawsuit of a decades-long scheme to steal hundreds of thousands of dollars from a trust he managed.

An attorney for the beneficiaries of the estate of Lee Gaston, a Shepherdsville furniture store owner who died in 1990, had subpoenaed the records for use in the suit against attorney John A. Schmidt, but the bar sought a protective order prohibiting their disclosure.

Special Judge John Alexander ruled March 14 that the Kentucky Supreme Court has exclusive authority over lawyer discipline and has made disciplinary records confidential.

More records: Lawyer misconduct charges in Kentucky have long been secret. Why that's about to change

The opinion does not directly address an amendment to disciplinary rules effective April 1 in which the Supreme Court said disciplinary records will be open to the public once a formal charge is filed and the subject has the chance to respond.

Kentucky Bar Executive Director John Meyers told The Courier Journal the rule will be applied to pending cases.

Laura Landenwich, who represents the beneficiaries, said she wants to see if Schmidt has been subject to additional complaints.

She also said the records may shed light on the role of Stock Yards Bank, which the suit accuses of violating its duty to protect money held in trust. The bank has denied liability.

You might be interested: Parents sue Louisville Bail Project after 17-year-old daughter killed by bailed-out client

Schmidt, a former Bullitt County master commissioner, already has been found to have misappropriated $81,000 when he was in office and to have routinely failed to collect and timely disburse the proceeds of judicial sales.

The Judicial Conduct Commission publicly reprimanded him last year. Master commissioners assist circuit courts in part by conducting sales of property to satisfy liens, mortgages or claims of ownership.

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Schmidt, who disappeared for two weeks in December 2019, has not been charged with a crime, according to court records.

He is still licensed to practice law in Kentucky but is listed as inactive  a status for lawyers with a physical or mental disability.

Andrew Wolfson: 502-582-7189; awolfson@courier-journal.com; Twitter: @adwolfson.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Judge: Kentucky Bar doesn't have to turn over theft allegation records
A Kentucky county prosecutor plans to plead guilty on federal criminal charges, according to a court motion.

Lawrence County Attorney Michael T. Hogan has reached an agreement to plead guilty to one charge of conspiring to commit wire fraud and one charge of theft, according to the motion.

One of Hogans attorneys, Jarrod J. Beck of Lexington, filed a motion Saturday seeking a hearing for Hogan to change his plea to guilty.

An attorney for Hogans wife Joy, Michael B. Fox, filed a similar motion indicating she will plead guilty. The only charge she faced in the indictment was conspiracy to commit wire fraud.

In addition to conspiracy, Hogan was indicted on nine charges of wire fraud and five charges of theft.

The indictment charged that Hogan and his wife took part in a scheme to pay her more than $365,000 in bonuses. Joy Hogan worked in her husbands office.

They allegedly diverted money from the countys delinquent property-tax collections between March 2013 and April 2020.

The indictment also alleged that Michael Hogan over-billed for collecting child-support payments.

County attorneys in Kentucky handle a variety of functions, including collecting child support, helping collect delinquent taxes, advising county governments on legal matters and prosecuting misdemeanor crimes and traffic violations.

Part of the requirement for Hogan to be released pending trial was to not act as county prosecutor.

Hogan has been the Lawrence County attorney since 2003. He ran unsuccessfully for the Republican nomination for Kentucky lieutenant governor in 2019 on a ticket with Robert Goforth, who was a state representative at the time.
U.S. Supreme Court nominee Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson testifies during her confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee on March 22, 2022. Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

Ketanji Brown Jackson rejected claims that she's been lenient toward child pornography offenders.

"Nothing could be further from the truth," the Judge said during her second day of confirmation hearings.

GOP Sen. Josh Hawley made the accusation and it has been widely shut down by legal experts and fact checkers.

Supreme Court nominee Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson on Tuesday forcefully rejected accusations that she's been too lenient toward child pornography offenders, as some of her Republican critics have claimed.

Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, gave Jackson an opportunity to respond to GOP Sen. Josh Hawley's charge that her legal record "endangers our children."

"As a mother and a judge who has had to deal with these cases, I was thinking that nothing could be further from the truth," Jackson said Tuesday. "These are some of the most difficult cases that a judge has to deal with because we're talking about pictures of sex abuse of children, we're talking about graphic descriptions that judges have to read and consider when they decide how to sentence in these cases."

Last week, Hawley claimed in a series of tweets that Jackson "has a pattern of letting child porn offenders off the hook for their appalling crimes." The Missouri Republican pointed to a number of child pornography cases in which Jackson imposed sentences lighter than the federal guidelines recommended. Independent fact-checkers at multiple news outlets and legal experts say Jackson's conduct was within the mainstream of federal judges and Hawley's claims misrepresent her record. National Review contributing editor Andrew McCarthy said Hawley's claims appear "meritless to the point of demagoguery."

Jackson defended her use of judicial discretion in sentencing, noting that Congress directs judges to take a variety of factors into account when determining the severity of a sentence.

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"That statute doesn't say look only at the guidelines and stop. That statute doesn't say impose the highest possible penalty for this sickening and egregious crime," Jackson said. "The statute says calculate the guidelines, but also look at various aspects of this offense and impose a sentence that is 'sufficient but not greater than necessary to promote the purposes of punishment.'"

Hawley on Monday raised his concerns with Jackson's record, listing the cases that he would like her to explain her thinking. Several other Republicans on the committee, including Sen. Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee, have joined in Hawley's criticisms and signaled they also expect to question Jackson on the issue.

Jackson emphasized that she understands "how significant, how damaging [and] how horrible" child pornography crimes are and tells offenders how victims can be impacted by their crimes.

"When I look in the eyes of a defendant who is weeping because I'm giving him a significant sentence, what I say to him is: 'Do you know that there is someone who has written to me, and who has told me that she has developed agoraphobia. She cannot leave her house because she thinks that everyone she meets will have seen her, will have seen her pictures on the Internet, they're out there forever, at the most vulnerable time of her life, and so she's paralyzed,'" she said.

Jackson said she shares this story with every child pornography defendant as part of her sentencing "so that they understand what they have done."

The judge added that she then imposes a "significant sentence" and "all of the additional restraints that are available in the law."

"These people are looking at 20, 30, 40 years of supervision," she said. "They can't use their computers in a normal way for decades."

Read the original article on Business Insider
Ukrayinska Pravda

VALENTYNA ROMANENKO - WEDNESDAY, 4 MAY 2022, 17:33 Ukrainian defenders continue to destroy units of the Russian occupiers and their equipment with great professionalism. Source: the press centre of the DShV command [Command of the Assault Troops of the Armed Forces of Ukraine] and the press service of the National Guard Details: The assault troops showed a video with the aftermath of the Russian armoured vehicles, together with their crews, destroyed by the artillery of one of the units of the D
Mar. 21Kootenai County deputies are investigating a possible murder-suicide Monday after a couple was found dead in their Kootenai County home.

At about 10 p.m. Sunday deputies received a call for a welfare check after family members were unable to contact their parents, according to a news release from the sheriff's office.

Deputies arrived to the house in the area of Alder Creek Road and Fourth of July Pass and attempted to contact the homeowners. While checking the house, deputies spotted a man and woman who appeared to be unconscious lying on the living room floor.

Deputies entered the home and found Heather MacDonald, 45, and Kevin S. MacDonald, 48, dead inside.

Based on an initial investigation, detectives said the incident appears to be a murder -suicide.

The sheriff's office said the investigation is ongoing and more information will be released when available.
Ukrayinska Pravda

VALENTYNA ROMANENKO - WEDNESDAY, 4 MAY 2022, 17:33 Ukrainian defenders continue to destroy units of the Russian occupiers and their equipment with great professionalism. Source: the press centre of the DShV command [Command of the Assault Troops of the Armed Forces of Ukraine] and the press service of the National Guard Details: The assault troops showed a video with the aftermath of the Russian armoured vehicles, together with their crews, destroyed by the artillery of one of the units of the D
The House Intelligence Committee is urging the U.S. spy community to track, preserve and, whenever possible, declassify information about potential Russian war crimes in Ukraine.

The request, contained in a letter signed by all 23 members of the panel and sent this week to Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines, comes amid growing global concern about Russias attacks on civilians in Ukraine as well as Moscows veiled warnings about using chemical and biological weapons in the country.

The concern has risen as Russian leader Vladimir Putins full-scale invasion of Ukraine has hit fierce resistance, with signs of a possible stalemate. Observers worry that, to make progress, Putin will allow more indiscriminate bombings and other tactics that endanger civilians and violate traditional rules of war.

The bipartisan letter, dated Monday and shared with POLITICO, praises U.S. intelligence agencies unusual efforts so far to assist Ukraine and befuddle Moscow by publicizing many of the Kremlins plans in advance. It requests that the intelligence community, or IC, continue to lean forward in its information-sharing with Ukraine, including in ways that can help create escape corridors for civilians caught in the fighting.



In addition, the IC should work diligently to declassify information related to Russias planned or actual war crimes or other atrocities, the lawmakers write. Doing so might deter Russia from continuing down this path or further demonstrate to the world Russias callous disregard for the lives of civilians, and the indiscriminate assault that has killed thousands of Ukrainians, and displaced millions more.

Last week, President Joe Biden called Putin a war criminal. U.S. officials have also reacted sharply to Russian claims that Ukraine may have chemical and biological weapons at its disposal, saying the allegation is bogus and could be a set-up for Moscow to deploy its own such weapons.

The House Intelligence panel members  led by Chair Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) and ranking Republican Mike Turner of Ohio  acknowledge the challenges of bringing a dictator like Putin to justice. Still, they urge intelligence officials to leverage the tools at their disposal to make cases against Putin and his deputies in forums such as the International Criminal Court.

Though the possibility of accountability appears distant today, we have a responsibility to bear witness, the lawmakers state in the letter.
Mar. 22BOISE  It was an education-filled day in the Idaho House and Senate, as multiple education-related bills and appropriations were approved.

The Legislature is trying to wrap up its work for the year this week, so bills are flying through both chambers.

Some of the measures that were approved Monday include:

House Bill 790  This is a new version of an all-day kindergarten, literacy funding measure that was pulled from consideration on the House floor last week.

The latest version continues to allow schools to tap state literacy funds to pay for optional all-day kindergarten classes.

It also retains a revised funding formula, which distributes half the money to schools based on enrollment in kindergarten through third grade, with the other half going to schools based on the number of students who are proficient in reading or who improve over the course of the year.

New language was added requiring schools to provide a disclosure statement to voters, indicating what any supplemental levy funding would be used for, and restricting schools to using levy revenues only for the identified purposes.

That language was intended to address concerns that school districts might continue to include kindergarten costs in their local levies, even though they now have access to state funding.

The measure passed the House 40-29 and now moves to the Senate for further action.

Reps. Priscilla Giddings, R-White Bird; Mike Kingsley, R-Lewiston; and Brandon Mitchell, R-Moscow, opposed the measure. Reps. Caroline Troy, R-Genesee; Lori McCann, R-Lewiston; and Charlie Shepherd, R-Pollock, supported the bill.

Public school budget  The House approved six of the seven fiscal 2023 appropriations bills for public schools, including the teachers' division, operations and administration.

The bills now move to the Senate for further action. The last public schools appropriation bill, for children's programs, wasn't taken up Monday.

Dyslexia awareness  The Senate unanimously approved House Bill 731, which is intends to help identify and assist public schools students with dyslexia.

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Dyslexia is a learning disorder characterized by difficulty in accurately or fluently recognizing words and by poor spelling and decoding abilities. It affects about 20% of students nationwide.

Identifying students with dyslexia at a young age is considered key in helping them overcome their reading disabilities.

HB 731 requires all students in kindergarten through fifth grade to be assessed for characteristics of dyslexia when they first enroll in school. It also specifies professional development requirements for teachers and administrators, and proposes one full-time position and $97,000 in funding for the State Department of Education to help implement the bill.

The measure previously passed the House 64-0 and now goes to the governor for his signature.

Spence may be contacted at bspence@lmtribune.com or (208) 791-9168.
A protester holds a placard to protest the Russian invasion in Ukraine during a rally in front of the former Russian embassy, in Tbilisi, Georgia, on March 12, 2022. Vano Shlamov/AFP via Getty Images

The London Metal Exchange is talking to governments about blocking Russian deliveries, its CEO told Bloomberg.

An LME ban could have a big impact, as Russia is a key supplier in the global metals trade.

Some metal prices have surged as Russia's invasion of Ukraine and related sanctions spur supply fears.

The London Metal Exchange is debating whether to block Russian metal deliveries to its warehouses and is in discussions with governments about a ban, its chief executive told Bloomberg.

"We obviously are deeply concerned about the situation in Ukraine, and we want to make sure that the LME can't be part of financing any type of atrocity of that nature," Matthew Chamberlain said in a video interview released Tuesday.

Chamberlain said any decisions will depend on government policy on sanctions. He noted Russian metal is not currently sanctioned, and so is allowed in the warehouse network, but did not dismiss a possible change in the situation.

"We are absolutely working with government to communicate the concerns of the market, and we'll see where that goes," he said.

A ban on Russian supplies could have a big impact on metals like copper, nickel, and aluminum, as the country is a key force in the global metals trade.

"If we ban metals from our warehouses, we're not just making a decision about our business, we're making a decision on behalf of the whole market," Chamberlain said.

Russia's war with Ukraine triggered sanctions from the US and its allies, partly with the aim of squeezing the country's ability to trade by cutting it off from the financial system. That, added to the risk Russia could decide to retaliate by holding back its exports, has spurred fears about a disruption to supply.

Those fears have rattled commodity markets and prompted sharp movements in metal prices, notably in nickel. Russia is the world's biggest exporter of palladium, the second-largest of platinum and the third-largest nickel producer.

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The 145-year-old LME has come under intense criticism over chaos in the nickel market as prices soared.

The exchange halted nickel trading on March 9 for the first time since 1988, and canceled $3.9 billion worth of trades, after a massive short squeeze drove nickel prices to $100,000 per metric ton within hours. It reopened trading the next week and imposed upper and lower trading limits to stabilize prices.

On Monday, nickel dropped 15% to $31,380 per metric ton, hitting its limit down trading range for the third straight session on the LME. The moves came even after the exchange widened the range after the first time the limit was hit.

Read the original article on Business Insider
The Anne Arundel County Council voted down an amendment Monday night to give the countys new Police Accountability Board investigative powers.

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The amendment, co-sponsored by Democratic council members Sarah Lacey, of Jessup, and Lisa Rodvien, of Annapolis, would have allowed the board to review internal reports and evidence, issue subpoenas and interview witnesses.

This was one of the main asks of the Anne Arundel County Coalition for Police Accountability, a collection of human rights groups that is advocating for more robust reform.

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Only the sponsors, Lacey and Rodvien, voted for the amendment. The county administration opposed it because, as they interpret the state law requiring jurisdictions to create these boards, the panel is designed to be a reporting body, not investigatory.

The state set up a very specific framework for that oversight. Unfortunately, this amendment puts responsibilities and powers into the PAB that exist [only] in the investigatory agency and the ACC [Administrative Charging Committee] so we oppose, said Pete Baron, director of government relations for the Office of the County Executive.

County Executive Steuart Pittman said he hopes future amendments and discussion will focus more on building the board the way it was designed to be built under state law.

I think a lot of the focus last night was on things that the state bill does not do, that the county cannot do and I hope that well be shifting focus in the coming weeks to the things that the Police Accountability Board does do and can do, Pittman said Tuesday.

The vote disappointed the coalition, which rallied Monday at Peoples Park across from the Arundel Center, where the council convenes, for the second consecutive council meeting.

Anne Arundel County Coalition for Police Accountability members pack Monday night's county council meeting

Coalition members and people of color from Prince Georges County and Baltimore, as well as Anne Arundel, shared stories of family members being beaten and killed by police in the state, pleading for the council to consider the pain certain police interactions have caused their families. Rev. Stephen Tillett of Asbury Broadneck United Methodist Church emphasized a point that coalition members have made consistently  they are not anti-police; they simply want a system that would hold violent or corrupt officers accountable.

I think about a young man in my congregation who was with some other young people and was stopped and there was a point when the officer, I dont know if they wanted him to stand or sit or whatever, the officer just hauled off and punched him in the chest, Tillett said. When he asked him, Why did you hit me? he said Just deal with it. Thats some nonsense. No one should feel they have the authority to do that.

Tillett added that, if police officers are doing their best to treat residents fairly, a more powerful board shouldnt scare them.

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My question is, what are you afraid of? Why are you afraid of transparency?

Almost every speaker at the meeting was strongly against the Police Accountability Board bill without the coalitions provisions being included.

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After you heard the pain of the folks at this table who came one by one and gave you their stories, that gave you the facts, that gave you the history. You have a job to do tonight. You have to go home and look in the mirror and you have to ask yourself, what do I see? said Randy Rowel from Morgan State University, father of Randy Rowel Jr., who was recently named the chair of the Annapolis Environmental Commission, and William Rowel, an adviser to Annapolis Mayor Gavin Buckley.

Steven Waddy of the Anne Arundel County NAACP reminded the council that this is an election year.

Were not just pleading, were not just demanding, but were recommending and were also going to be voting and its going to be more than voting if you keep ignoring, Waddy said.

The Police Accountability Board bill is now at 58 amendments, most of which have been debated and voted upon. Discussion of the measure, and possibly more amendments, will continue at the councils next meeting April 4.

Quiet Waters Retreat leased to Chesapeake Conservancy

The council voted unanimously in favor of leasing about 5 acres of county-owned property known as Quiet Waters Retreat, a waterfront space near Quiet Waters Park in Annapolis, to the Chesapeake Conservation Center, a subsidiary of the Chesapeake Conservancy, for at least 30 years. The conservancy will pay the county $1 a year for the lease.

The county bought the entire 19-acre property near the park in 2019 for about $8 million, $2 million of which came from the conservancy, thanks to a donation from philanthropists James and Sylvia Earl. Now, the conservancy is working to realize the dream the Earls have for the space.

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Lynne Collatz walks with her granddaughter Blaise Sikorski, 2, at Quiet Waters Park in Hillsmere. (Paul W. Gillespie)

In 2016, Dad learned of the almost 20-acre parcel abutting Quiet Waters Park where developers were attempting to gain the legal right to build houses. After touring the property he knew he could not let private homes spoil this pristine natural area, said Matthew Earl, son of James and Sylvia. Instead, Dad envisioned a beautiful site where the public could enjoy the views and waterfront access and a center where several environmental organizations could work together to increase their collaboration, knowledge and effectiveness.

The conservancy plans to build the Earl Conservation Center on the 5 acres, which will be financed by the family, Matthew said. The rest of the 19-acre site will be open to the public for hiking and enjoying the waterfront view.

It is such a treasure that it will be available for the public, the community  not just a few wealthy homeowners who would have been able to build their homes there, but it will be available for everyone in one of the most beautiful spots Ive seen in Anne Arundel County, said Rodvien, who represents District 6, where Quiet Waters Park is located.

Language Access Bill passes

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The council also voted 6-1 to approve a bill requiring county government documents and videos to be available to be translated into other languages, a process Pittman says is already beginning.

Council member Nathan Volke, a Pasadena Republican, cast the lone no vote. He said he didnt understand why this was something that had to go through the council if the county was already working on it. Baron responded that the work would have a more lasting effect and be able to be done more efficiently if it was made party of the county code.

The bill requires all county agencies to take reasonable steps to make webpages accessible for non-English speaking groups that constitute at least 0.5% of the countys population. For non-English speaking groups constituting 3% of the population, agencies must also provide document translations or oral translations of things like meetings if the agencies interact with people in the community at least weekly.

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Tara Kim, a student at Chesapeake High School in Pasadena and student member on the countys Human Relations Commission, said this bill was especially exciting for her as her mother is a Korean immigrant and doesnt speak English fluently.

I spent countless hours sitting on the phone for her filling out her taxes, writing her papers, translating everything from bank calls to ordering pizza, Kim said. This bill allows someone to talk to her, for her to get involved in what her daughter sees in the county she grew up in and maybe someday shell soon be able to become a speaker.

Rodvien, a former ESOL [English for Speakers of Other Languages] teacher, noted the importance of the bill.

Obviously we are a country of many languages and therefore our government should be accessible regardless of what language a person speaks, she said. Every person deserves to have access to their government.
Ukrainian citizens continue to grapple with the fatal reality of existing in a war zone. For the rest of us, observers taking in the nonstop heavy fighting through news broadcasts and updates on our phones, Russias invasion of the sovereign country can feel surreal, far-off. For fans of Dancing With the Stars, professional Maksim Chmerkovskiys unsettling Instagram update makes the invasion hit all the more closely to home.

The "Dancing with the Stars professional dancer took to his Instagram on Sunday to tell fans he has returned to Europe to help refugees impacted by the invasion of Ukraine.

Earlier this month, Chmerkovskiy detailed how the war had affected him personally by documenting his escape from Kyiv to Los Angeles. At the time of Russias invasion, Chmerkovskiy had been filming World of Dance UA a planned offshoot of the American reality competition series World of Dance.

Now, Chmerkovskiy has returned to Poland in order to help refugees.

Im just trying to be as informative as possible about what Im doing personally, he explained at the start of the 14-minute-long video. Im fine. Im good. I spent some time at home. I enjoyed some of that Los Angeles weather, saw my family, saw my friends, obviously spent some time, and weve been working on tangible opportunities to help.

Chmerkovskiy (who immigrated to the United States in 1994 when he was 14) explained that he and his family started Baranova 27, a charity organization working to provide funds and aid to Ukrainians. Speaking to viewers during his Instagram live, Chmerkovskiy explained the inspiration for the name Baranova27 comes from the Odessa, Ukraine address where he, his father Aleksandr, and brother Val Chmerkovskiy were each born.

Weve been working diligently on making Baranova27 something that, as big as it took off, that it can continue that way, Chmerkovskiy said.

The Latin ballroom dancer shared that he is also collaborating with television personality Bethenny Frankel and her charity effort, BStrong.

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Currently, the worldwide initiative has a welcome center at the Poland/ Ukraine border. Beyond providing housing facilities to refugees unable to find temporary housing, BStrong has raised $6 million in funds for assistance, and it continues to do more.

Im going to visit them, see if I can be of any service, and give you guys my perspective of everything thats happening, he explained, adding that he hopes to learn more about her efforts for refugees. This is incredible infrastructure, and we are learning. Were learning with Baranova (27).

Towards the end of the Instagram live, the dancer asked for his followers to continue to pay attention to what is going on in Ukraine.

People are getting tired, he noted. This is the time that I would like to ask everybody to realize that it didnt not end or slow down  it got worse in Ukraine. I want everybody to understand what that means because everything that happened, happened fast, and it was traumatic, and it was worldwide and everything. But right now, it is getting worse. (The) humanitarian crisis is getting worse. People are getting hurt worse, there are more people hurt, and there are more people affected.
An extremely intoxicated young couple stole a school bus and took it on a joyride before crashing it through a neighbors fence early Tuesday morning, Paulding County Sheriffs Office said.

Deputies originally said just one man was arrested in the incident, but later determined through surveillance footage that the mans girlfriend was also involved.

Deputies said they were called just before 4 a.m. when neighbors woke up to discover a Paulding County school bus had crashed through their fence into their yard. The driver and his girlfriend were both restrained by neighbors until deputies could arrive, the Paulding County Sheriffs Office said.

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Investigators determined that Cody Dalton Green, 21, and Hayley Michelle Turner, 21, broken into the parking lot of Moses Middle School, stole a school bus and used it to plow the gates to the parking lot opened.

They then used the bus to push their own car up a hill and then took turns behind the wheel.

They eventually crashed the bus into the fence of a home on Birch River Point.

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Neighbors told investigators that the couple was extremely intoxicated or impaired when they restrained them.

Deputies were concerned that Turner was overdosing and she was rushed to the hospital. After deputies reviewed surveillance video and Turner was released from the hospital, she was arrested.

Cody Dalton Green, 21, is facing at least 10 charges, including theft by taking, hit and run, DUI and driving without a license, the sheriffs office said. Hes also facing charges of possession of heroin and giving a false name after he initially gave deputies his brothers identification.

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Turner was charged with theft by taking, criminal interference with government property, loitering and prowling.

The couple is bein held at the Paulding County jail, where more charges are pending.

Anyone who saw he incident is asked to call the criminal investigations tip line at 770-443-3047.

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The man shot Sunday night in Melbourne was identified Tuesday morning as police continued searching for suspects.

Bobby Lewis, 50, of Melbourne was found by police with multiple gunshot wounds in front of a home at the 2300 block of Canal Street in south Melbourne at about 11:45 p.m Sunday after police received reports of shots fired.

Previous story: Melbourne police investigate neighborhood confrontation

Bodies found in car: Melbourne detectives working to identify three bodies found

Melboure police stand near home on Canal Street where Bobby Lewis, 50, was shot to death late Sunday.

Police apprehended a person inside the home and took the person in for questioning. No arrests have been made.

At least one person approached the house and shot at it, with someone in the home returning fire and striking the shooter, investigators said.

This was the 13th reported homicide since Jan. 1 of this year.

Police said Tuesday they are still seeking witnesses and people involved in the shooting.

Anyone with information is asked to call Melbourne police at 321-608-6371.

Finch Walker is a Breaking News Reporter at FLORIDA TODAY. Contact Walker at 321-290-4744 or fwalker@floridatoday.com. Twitter: @_finchwalker

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This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Melbourne man Bobby Lewis identified by police in fatal shooting
By Anthony Deutsch

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - The Dutch Senate on Tuesday passed a motion calling on the government to "use its powers" to temporarily block the construction of Facebook owner Meta's planned giant data centre in the Netherlands.

In December the town of Zeewolde, 50 km east of Amsterdam, approved plans to build the largest facility of its kind in the Netherlands, from which Facebook, Instagram and Whatsapp would serve users across Europe.

The facility, which will use 1.38 gigawatt hours (GWh) of electricity and cover 166 hectares (410 acres) of farmland, is expected to run on green energy and create 400 permanent jobs.

It has been opposed by some environmental campaigners who do not want the limited supply of sustainable power currently being generated in the country to be used by a multinational.

A majority of parties in the Senate on Tuesday supported a proposal in which the government led by Prime Minister Mark Rutte was asked to halt the project until a national policy on data centres has been developed.

The motion asked the government to delay construction until it can be determined whether the data centre meets environmental regulations and the as yet undetermined national policy on the facilities.

Meta did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Rutte's own Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) and another ruling coalition party, the Christian Democrats, voted against the motion.

"This is a purely political decision," Dutch Data Center Association managing director Stijn Grove said in a reaction sent to Reuters, adding that it had been made "largely because it is Facebook", which is facing a negative backlash against Big Tech as a whole.

Not only are larger data centres more efficient and environmentally friendly, he said, they are needed to improve Europe's digital infrastructure, which lags behind North American and Asia.

Grove said the Netherlands can't have the ambition to be a digital leader without supporting the required infrastructure.

Roughly 60 data centre operators in the Netherlands account for around 2.8% of national electricity consumption, the association said.

(Reporting by Anthony Deutsch; Editing by Jan Harvey)
Ukrayinska Pravda

VALENTYNA ROMANENKO - WEDNESDAY, 4 MAY 2022, 17:33 Ukrainian defenders continue to destroy units of the Russian occupiers and their equipment with great professionalism. Source: the press centre of the DShV command [Command of the Assault Troops of the Armed Forces of Ukraine] and the press service of the National Guard Details: The assault troops showed a video with the aftermath of the Russian armoured vehicles, together with their crews, destroyed by the artillery of one of the units of the D
Eszter Zombory-Balogh opened her family's home to three families of Ukrainian refugees Barbara Palagyi / 168.hu

Hungarian families are opening their doors to refugees fleeing war in Ukraine.

Hungary is not a refugee-friendly nation, but locals are doing what they can to help.

Host families told Insider that the Ukrainians they're hosting have become like family.

BUDAPEST, Hungary  When Russian President Vladimir Putin first referenced nuclear weapons in the context of the Ukrainian invasion, Eszter Zombory-Balogh became unsettled.

She and her family live in Budapest, Hungary. Despite the thousands of kilometers that stood between her and the active fighting in the border country of Ukraine, she still felt vulnerable and immediately went out to renew passports for her family.

"I spent $600 euros on this, but it was so important for me," Zombory-Balogh told Insider, while holding her 1-year-old daughter, in Budapest. "When I got the passports, I said OK I'm fine now."

Then Zombory-Balogh started to wonder how she could help people who were in direct harm's way of the attack, and realized she could host those fleeing the warzone in a vacant apartment owned by her father.

She began acquiring dishes, towels, blankets and mattresses to fill the apartment. It was her way of feeling in control in uncertain times. Now the apartment is a haven for two families  one from Odessa and another from Kyiv  who were forced to flee their homes.

More than 3 million people have fled Ukraine, with over 250,000 going to the neighboring country of Hungary.

With no existing infrastructure to house refugees in Hungary, it was up to citizens like Zombory-Balogh to open their doors to refugees. As Ukrainians arrive at transit hubs in the country, they are met by strangers who show up wanting to help in any way they can.

Tymur, who fled Odessa with his mother and family friends, greets his host family in Budapest. Barbara Palagyi / 168.hu

Katerie, who lived in Odessa, had no plans on leaving the city when the first bombs dropped on February 24.

Her two adult children couldn't leave, and without them she wasn't going to go anywhere.

But her adult son, who remains in Odessa, was adamant that she and his 17-year-old brother got out while they can.

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Nearby Snake Island was already under attack.

Katerie resisted at first, but about a week later, they met with a family friend  Natalie  and fled Ukraine together with their sons.

"My other son said, on the first day, 'you will do me a favor if you leave the country. I will know you are safe and for me, as a man, it will be easier," Katerie told Insider.

The two families spent all the money they had to flee Ukraine  first to Moldova and then Romania. From there, they acquired a ticket voucher to Budapest.

When they arrived at the train station in the city, they had no plan. At first they thought an acquaintance of the family, who lived in the region, might be able to help. When that plan fell through, they connected with volunteers in the building's atrium. They had been organizing lists of refugees who needed housing.

That's when they were put in touch with Zombory-Balogh.

Katerie and Natalie, from Odessa, fled to Budapest with their sons. Barbara Palagyi / 168.hu

"We are very grateful to Eszter and their family, their hospitality," Katerie said, choking up. "They see to all our needs. She helps us in all respects, with their own money. She helped us to find clothing, to find food. Everything, we are provided."

While living at Zombory-Balogh's home, the Odessa family was joined with a Kyiv family.

Iuliia Sergeieva, a lawyer and human rights advocate, fled her highrise apartment in Kyiv as soon as the bombs began to fall. She woke her 6-year-old son, Simon, in the middle of the night . They went to her mother's house in the suburbs, where she spent the night in a bomb shelter. When she realized they were no more safe there than at home, they left to Budapest.

Eleven days later, her mother and grandmother joined them.

The decision to leave Ukraine was difficult for their family, too.

Iuliia Sergeieva stands with her mother and grandmother in Budapest, Hungary after fleeing Ukraine. Barbara Palagyi / 168.hu

Sergeieva's grandmother was resistant. She had stopped going to the basement during air raid sirens because she fell the first time. Her grandparents on her father's side, remain in the country.

"The older you get, it's harder to leave your home," Luliia Sergeieva said, as her grandmother spent time outside the cliffside home of Zombory-Balogh. "When there was a siren, my grandparents just say, 'oh I don't care I'm just going to sleep.'"

Tymur, a Ukrainian refugee, pushes the baby of his host family in a carriage during an outing to Szentendre. Eszter Zombory-Balogh

Making the best of a bad situation

The two families living in Zombory-Balogh's have become close, eating meals together and exploring the region as they figured out where they'd go next.

Simon plays with Natalie's young son. Katerie's son Tymur helps with Zombory-Balogh's daughter.

"For two years we went without hugging anyone, not even our families. Now were hugging people we don't know at all and they are now our families, our Ukrainian families," Zombory-Balogh said. "It feels so normal."

Outside of meeting the survival needs of the two families, Zombory-Balogh wanted to make sure that they enjoyed their time in Hungary as much as possible.

She took the group on a trip to Szentendre, where they ate chimney cake  Hungary's national sweet  and attended a Ukrainian mass at a church.

"The priest noticed our group and gave blessings to all of our children," Zombory-Balogh told Insider.

A Ukrainian family fleeing war found a welcoming home with Budapest couple J. Kovacs Judit and Wolsky Andras. Haven Orecchio-Egresitz

A short drive from Zombory-Balogh's home, another Odessa family has taken refuge with a Budapest family.

Margo Kumanova and Davit Astvatsaturyan got married on February 16, and would soon move into an apartment they bought together in the port city.

Those plans  like the plans of millions of Ukrainian families  were disrupted when Russia invaded the country on February 24.

"The first four days, we didn't even think about leaving. We were convinced that after a couple days this conflict will be settled," Astvatsaturyan told Insider in Budapest. "In 2008, we saw very similar events in Georgia  Russia attacked Georgia. The whole conflict took five days, and we thought it would be the same."

The situation in Ukraine, though, turned out to be very different. The couple lived less than a mile from an airport, which was target of several bombings.

"Psychologically it was very difficult," Kumanova said. "We slept in turns because we were afraid to miss something, and that we wouldn't have time to go to the shelter."

On the fifth day, the couple made a run for it. They crossed the border into Moldova, then traveled to Romania where they spent three days.

On the fourth day, they took the train to Budapest. Kumanova's cousin and her son joined them.

Then they connected with J. Kovacs Judit and Wolsky Andras, who had joined a Facebook page for organizing refugee relief. Their teenage son gave up his room to the couple.

"This family was the first one that approached us directly," Judit said. "When we got their message, we weren't sure. We didn't know how many days they were coming for."

The family, though, told them they planned on continuing their trip by train to Spain, where they hoped to obtain legal documents and settle down.

When they moved into the brightly colored apartment on the Buda side of the Hungarian city, the families instantly bonded.

Judit showed the family the city. She also found them free plane tickets, so they could continue their trip to Spain. When they left, she gifted them a wedding present of 1,000 euros donated from many families in the city.

"They will even have a surprise champagne given by one of the stewardess on board," Judit told Insider.

"We feel tourists, not refugees," Davit Astvatsaturyan told Insider. "They showed us the town. They did everything they could so we could forget our real situation."

Marina Shafit provided translation services in Hungary.

Read the original article on Insider
Rep. Mo Brooks (left) claimed he had been targeted by Sen. Mitch McConnell (right) for being a "principled conservative." Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images; Alex Wong/Getty Images

Mo Brooks has pledged to oust Mitch McConnell from his seat as Senate GOP leader if elected.

Brooks released a video calling McConnell a "RINO Republican" and a "weak-kneed debt junkie."

Brooks' promise comes after Trump said he was wavering in his endorsement of the Senate hopeful.

Rep. Mo Brooks, a Trump-endorsed Senate hopeful in Alabama, has pledged to "fire" Sen. Mitch McConnell from his post as Senate GOP leader if elected.

"If elected to the Senate, I will not vote for Mitch McConnell for leader, and I will do everything in my power to ensure that Republicans choose a conservative to be leader," said Brooks in a video uploaded to Twitter on Monday.

"America can't afford a Senate leader who is a weak-kneed debt junkie open-border RINO Republican, and who, worse yet, sells out America for special interest group cash," he added, referring to the pejorative "Republican in Name Only."

Brooks also claimed in his video that McConnell had targeted him for being a "principled conservative" endorsed by former President Donald Trump. He added that McConnell is "determined to stop the MAGA movement and Donald Trump's endorsed candidates for the US Senate."

"That's the battle across America. McConnell versus Trump in a war for the heart and soul of the Republican Party," Brooks said.

In his tweet, the congressman also included a link to a pledge to "fire Mitch McConnell." The link also gives visitors the option of donating to Brooks' campaign.

Brook's pledge came almost a week after the Washington Examiner published an interview with Trump in which the former president described the congressman as "disappointing."

"I'm determining right now, has Mo Brooks  has he changed?" Trump told the outlet, citing how he had been let down by Brooks' comments on his baseless voter fraud claims.

Brooks was booed at an Alabama event in August after calling on those "despondent" about the so-called 2020 election theft to "put that behind you."

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"I'm disappointed that he gave an inarticulate answer, and I'll have to find out what he means," Trump told the Examiner.

"If it meant what he sounded like, I would have no problem changing [my endorsement] because when you endorse somebody, you endorse somebody based on principle. If he changed that principle, I would have no problem doing that," he added.

Read the original article on Business Insider
A court hearing on Baltimore County Councils proposed map of its council districts focused heavily on disagreement over the extent to which voting by county residents breaks down along racial lines.

U.S. District Judge Lydia Kay Griggsby heard arguments Monday afternoon over whether the councils newly redrawn map of its district boundaries is fair to Black voters. The plaintiffs, including the Baltimore County NAACP branch and a number of county residents, have said the new map  like the first one  would disadvantage Black voters.

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On Feb. 22, Griggsby rejected the councils initial map of its seven districts and ordered it to develop new boundaries that comply with the Voting Rights Act, which bars discriminatory election practices. Monday afternoons hearing was on whether the court should accept the councils redrawn map.

Ava Lias-Booker, an attorney representing the county, told Griggsby the new map would improve opportunities for people of color to get elected in the county.

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The original map was good, but this maps better, and it addresses specifically the questions that the court had, Lias-Booker said.

She based her arguments partly on the countys redrawing of District 2  in the south-central part of the county  to boost its Black population from 29.5% to more than 41%. The county says the white population in the district would decrease from more than 55% to about 44%.

Under the new map, what we did is we enhanced the number of Black voters in that district, Lias-Booker said.

Breaking News Alerts As it happens When big news breaks in our area, be the first to know. >

She said District 2 was already a crossover district in which racial polarization was minimized because you have coalitions between Black and Jewish voters along with other minority voters.

Council Chairman Julian Jones Jr., the first African American person to chair the county council, agreed that it was evident and obvious that  because so many Black and white voters in the district are Democrats  they often vote for the same candidate.

But political scientist Matt Barreto, called as a witness by the plaintiffs, said there was extensive evidence of racial polarization in several county districts, including District 2.

In the countys remedial District 2, the white voters that remain are voting heavily against the Black candidates of choice, Barreto testified.

The plaintiffs have criticized the map because among the seven districts it contains a single majority-Black district  District 4, which is adjacent to District 2  in a county that is about one-third Black.

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Its not certain when the judge will rule.

In her February order, Griggsby required the county to adopt a new map that includes either two reasonably compact majority-Black districts or a new district with a racial balance providing Black voters an opportunity to elect a representative of their choice.
Mar. 22Austin's soccer teams combined for 18 goals in wins over Hartselle on Monday on the first day of the Morgan County tournament.

The Austin girls won 10-0 and the boys 8-1.

Both West Morgan teams shut out Brewer with the girls winning 4-0 and the boys 5-0.

In other matches, Priceville girls beat Danville 4-1, and the Danville and Priceville boys tied 1-1.

The tournament is scheduled to continue today. Because of threatening weather, tournament officials plan to make a decision today at noon on if they can play.

There are three girls games scheduled for 5 p.m.: Decatur vs. West Morgan, Priceville vs. Austin and Hartselle vs. Danville. There are three boys games scheduled for 7: Decatur vs. West Morgan, Priceville vs. Austin and Hartselle vs. Danville.

On Wednesday, the Brewer girls face Decatur at 5 p.m. and the Brewer boys meet Decatur at 7. The girls semifinals are at 5 p.m. Thursday with the boys at 7 p.m. Thursday. The championships are Saturday with the girls at 9 a.m. and the boys at 11 a.m.

Priceville girls 4, Danville 1: Anna Katherine Hopkins has four goals and four steals for the Bulldogs. Tori Staats had 10 saves.

Priceville boys 1, Danville 1: Elijah Hopkins scored Priceville's goal. Carson Taylor had 12 saves.

Baseball

Austin 6, Hazel Green 2: Colby Reeves and Mac Etheredge split up the pitching for the Black Bears. Reeves got the win and Etheredge closed out the game. Cameron Brackin drove in three runs. Caleb Beard returned from injury with a 3-for-5 night with a RBI.

Decatur Heritage 12, Whitesburg Christian 1: Cole O'Brien struck out 10 batters in five innings, homered and drove in three runs for Decatur Heritage. Tyler Olive homered and drove in five runs. Nash Rippen doubled.

Brewer 4, Fairview 3: Logan Powers singled in Eli Matkin with the go-ahead run in the top of the seventh inning. Powers and Brayden Murphy teamed up to strike out 11 batters.

West Limestone 14, West Morgan 4: West Limestone used a 10-run fourth inning to win the 4A, Area 15 contest in five innings. Ian Burroughs went 2-for-3 with a double, three RBIs and two runs scored for West Limestone. West Morgan's Skyler Hutto went 3-for-3 with a double.

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Hatton 12, Tharptown 2: Parker Huff went 3-for-6 with two RBIs for the Hornets. Owen Brackin had a double and two RBIs. Braden Stafford added two more RBIs.

East Limestone 7, Lee 1: Jacob Eslick struck out 14 in six innings, and Kamen Gilchrist homered for East Limestone.

Elkmont 8-12, Clements 3-1: In Game 1, Shane Boger went 2-for-3 with three RBIs for Elkmont. Mykell Murrah added a triple and Corder Hobbs doubled. Brady Moore had a double for Clements.

In Game 2, Ty Roberts went 3-for-3 with one RBI and two runs scored. Winning pitcher Curtis Hobbs struck out eight in four innings. He also doubled.

Addison 7, East Lawrence 6: Addison pushed across the winning run in the bottom of the seventh. East's Lane Smith went 2-for-3 with a home run.

Danville 18, Collinwood 7: Dylan McClesky tripled and drove in three runs for Danville. Carson Cox also drove in three runs. Gage Taylor tripled and scored four runs.

Deshler 6, Danville 4: Carson Cox doubled and drove in two runs for Danville.

Softball

West Morgan 7, Danville 3: Abby Lindsey was 3-for-3 with a home run, two doubles and three RBIs for the Rebels. From the pitching circle, she struck out 10 while giving up four hits. Kylei Russell drove in two runs for West Morgan. Audrey Marshall had a two-run home run for Danville.

Brewer 6, New Hope 5: Bronwyn Borden struck out 12 in five innings. Breia Rusk doubled and scored twice for the Patriots. Marlee Jones went 2-for-4 with a double.

West Limestone 10, Priceville 9: Lilly Bethune went 3-for-4 with four RBIs and a double for the Wildcats. West Limestone also got doubles from Bevin Grant, Lexus Harris and Ashlyn Smith. Priceville had doubles from Bentley Black and Xoi Gaines.

West Point 8, Falkville 2: Eli Lorance tripled and Addy Walker doubled in the Blue Devils' loss.

Tennis

Decatur Heritage wins: The Decatur Heritage boys and girls both moved to 2-0 in area play with wins at Westbrook Christian. The DHCA boys won 8-1 and the girls won 6-3.

Girls singles winners for DHCA were Sasha Suggs (10-3), Murphy Founds (10-1), Leland Barnett (10-4) and Avery Byars (10-8). Doubles winners were Isabella Hodge/Founds (10-8) and Barnett/Caroline Thompson (10-5).

Boys singles winners for DHCA were Michael Vandiver (10-5), Willis Orr (10-4), Owen Thompson (10-1), Thomas Ross (10-1) and Han Bocek (10-8). Doubles winners were Vandiver/Orr (10-4), Connor Francis/Thompson (10-1) and Ross/Bocek (10-4).
Ukrayinska Pravda

VALENTYNA ROMANENKO - WEDNESDAY, 4 MAY 2022, 17:33 Ukrainian defenders continue to destroy units of the Russian occupiers and their equipment with great professionalism. Source: the press centre of the DShV command [Command of the Assault Troops of the Armed Forces of Ukraine] and the press service of the National Guard Details: The assault troops showed a video with the aftermath of the Russian armoured vehicles, together with their crews, destroyed by the artillery of one of the units of the D
Mar. 22A Minneapolis man has been charged with criminal vehicular homicide in the death of a Burnsville priest who was struck last fall while riding his bicycle in Rosemount.

Trejean Derrell Curry, 26, was driving with a revoked license when he fatally struck the Rev. Dennis Keith Dempsey on Oct. 25, as the 73-year-old rode his bike on the shoulder of County Road 42 in Rosemount, according to a criminal complaint filed last week in Dakota County District Court.

A warrant was issued March 17 for Curry's arrest; he could not be reached for comment. If convicted, Curry faces up to 10 years in prison.

Dempsey, who lived in Apple Valley, had recently been installed as the parish priest at Church of the Risen Savior in Burnsville when he was killed, after serving for 15 years at the Church of St. Dominic in Northfield.

Curry was driving west in a sedan on County Road 42 near Auburn Avenue about 3:20 p.m. when he struck Dempsey, the criminal complaint said.

County Road 42 is a four-lane road with two eastbound and two westbound lanes separated by a grassy median. Curry allegedly told police he was driving in the right-most westbound lane at the time of the crash, and that Dempsey swerved in front of him.

However, the Minnesota State Patrol determined that Dempsey was on the shoulder of the road when Curry veered from the travel lane and struck him at between 54 and 63 mph, according to the complaint. The speed limit on that stretch of County Road 42 is 55 mph.

The State Patrol's crash analysis found that the skid marks from Curry's car were to the right of the solid white line that separates the travel lane from the shoulder, and that the skid mark made by Dempsey's bicycle when he was struck was near the center of the shoulder, the complaint said.

"Curry's phone was recovered and analyzed," the charges against him say. "The analysis revealed that leading up to the crash the screen on Curry's phone was on. A music application was in use."

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Shortly after the crash, Curry sent a text message to someone that read, "Just got in a accident biker got in the way," according to the complaint.

An analysis of Curry's blood did not detect any drugs or alcohol.

Curry has been convicted nine times for driving without a license, Minnesota court records show. About a month before the crash, Curry was convicted of driving 100 mph in a 70-mph zone.
Apartments destroyed by shelling.





Ukraine's Ministry of Justice said that at least five prisons have been attacked by Moscow's forces in the besieged country.

Damage, largely caused by shelling, has been reported at prisons in Mariupol, Berdiansk, Chernihiv and Kharkiv, The New York Times reported, citing a Monday announcement from the ministry.

The ministry also said that a total of 33 prisons are in active conflict zones. It is unclear exactly how many people are detained at those prisons, but roughly 48,000 people are incarcerated throughout the country, the Times added.

Ahead of Moscow's unprovoked military invasion of Ukraine, Vadym Pyvovarov, who leads the Association of Ukrainian Human Rights Monitors on Law Enforcement, voiced concern and urged preparations to be made in the event of a need to evacuate prisoners, the newspaper reported.

"Most of the staff do not know what to do should emergency evacuations be needed," Pyvovarov said, adding that prisoners, like all other citizens, are "entitled to the protection of the state in times of peace like in times of a military emergency."

At the time, Pyvovarov said he had taken the issue up with local prison authorities, but protections were still lacking.

"The provision of transport for prisoners remains the responsibility of local authorities, who - as is understandable - would be primarily concerned with the protection and evacuation of state employees and their families, followed by the rest of the civilian population," Pyvovarov added.

Since the invasion began on Feb. 24, roughly 10 million Ukrainians have been displaced either within the country or are now living as refugees abroad.
Mikhail Svetlov/Getty Images

Activists say a mysterious superyacht is staffed by members of Russian state security.

The Scheherazade is one of the world's largest superyachts, but its owner isn't publicly known.

It has been rumored to belong to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

A mysterious superyacht whose owner has not been publicly named is said to staffed by several members of a Russian state agency tasked with protecting Russian President Vladimir Putin.

On Monday, the investigative journalist Maria Pevchikh and the anti-corruption activist Georgy Alburov  two activists working with the imprisoned Putin opponent Alexei Navalny  posted a video to YouTube about the mysterious superyacht, named the Scheherazade, docked on the coast of Carrara, Italy.

The Scheherazade, one of the largest vessels of its kind in the world, is a superyacht with no public owner, The New York Times reported.

According to the video, the 140-meter-long vessel is worth a whopping 75 billion rubles, or about $700 million, and features six floors, two helipads, a swimming pool, a spa complex, and a beauty salon.

Pevchikh and Alburov said they obtained a December 2020 crew list showing that all permanent crew members except for the ship's captain were Russian. The video also said some of the ship's personnel worked for the FSO, a militarized state agency tasked with being the president's personal protection.

Earlier this month, US officials told The New York Times that they were investigating whether the ship belonged to Putin but had made no final conclusions. Italian authorities have also been looking into the ownership of the vessel, according to The Times.

Through "open-source search," Pevchikh said they were able to identify at least 10 FSO officers who were listed as crew personnel of the Scheherazade. Insider wasn't able to independently confirm the crew personnel said to have worked for the FSO.

"They are Russian state employees, military personnel, and they regularly travel to Italy as a group to work on the mysterious yacht," she tweeted.

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The UK, the US, and the European Union have cracked down on Russia and looked to seize some Russian oligarchs' luxury assets  including superyachts  via economic sanctions, following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Navalny's team is urging Italian officials to seize the yacht should they confirm the boat's owner is Putin.

The superyacht's captain, Guy Bennett-Pearce, told The Times that Italian officials had boarded the ship earlier this month as part of an inquiry opened by the Italian financial police and that he had "no choice" but to hand over documents revealing the owner's identity.

"They are looking hard. They are looking at every aspect. This isn't the local coppers coming down  these are men in dark suits," he said, adding that the information would be handled with "confidentiality."

"I have no doubt in my mind whatsoever that this will clear the vessel of all negative rumors and speculations," he told The Times.

Bennett-Pearce, a British national who is said to be the only non-Russian working on the ship, didn't rule out that the superyacht's owner could be Russian but said he couldn't elaborate more because of a "watertight nondisclosure agreement." He did say the owner wasn't on any sanctions list.

"I have never seen him," he said. "I have never met him."

Read the original article on Business Insider
Ukrayinska Pravda

VALENTYNA ROMANENKO - WEDNESDAY, 4 MAY 2022, 17:33 Ukrainian defenders continue to destroy units of the Russian occupiers and their equipment with great professionalism. Source: the press centre of the DShV command [Command of the Assault Troops of the Armed Forces of Ukraine] and the press service of the National Guard Details: The assault troops showed a video with the aftermath of the Russian armoured vehicles, together with their crews, destroyed by the artillery of one of the units of the D
Andrey Rudakov/Bloomberg via Getty Images

The Kremlin has trying to silence charismatic opposition leader and leading Putin critic Alexei Navalny ever since the politician declared war on Russias crooks and thieves a decade ago. His team of activists and supporters has lost track of how many days and nights their leader has spent in jail. To them, every accusation against him is purely political. So it came as no surprise when on Tuesday, Navalny was sentenced to nine years in a maximum-security prison on questionable charges of fraud.

In an exclusive interview, Navalnys right hand and the most recognized leader in the opposition, Lyubov Sobol, told The Daily Beast that Moscows efforts to mute the Navalny movement have failed, and that her team has a plan for Putin as Russian troops continue to carry out their onslaught in Ukraine.

We continue to act in the new reality of wartime and we are perfectly aware that Putin wants to keep Navalny behind bars for as long as he continues to rule Russia, Sobol said in an interview after Navalnys verdict on Tuesday. But we also have a plan: We are growing globally, we report from many countries, and more people listen to us. And if before, we collected and exposed evidence of Putins corruptionnow we tell Russians about the facts of Putins war crimes.

Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny is seen on a screen via a video link during the verdict in his embezzlement and contempt of court trial at the IK-2 prison colony in the town of Pokrov in Vladimir Region on March 22, 2022. AFP via Getty Images

Sobol, 34, manages the Navalny Live YouTube channel, where she collects and broadcasts video footage and photos of events in Ukraineof Russian soldiers getting arrested, of civilians dying, fleeing their homes, and sleeping in metro stations.

While propaganda lied to Russians about the special operation, the audience of our channel has increased by 20 million unique views during the last month, so now we have more than 80 million views every month. People watch us, despite the awful pressure on the free internet in Russia, Sobol told The Daily Beast. I address Russian women, mothers, and explain that the war is going to come to every single family with a coffin of their young dead sons.

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1239287410 Ukrainian policemen secure the area by a five-story residential building that partially collapsed after shelling in Kyiv on March 18, 2022. Sergei Supinsky/AFP via Getty Images

Tuesday was a difficult day for Sobol and Navalnys Anti-Corruption Foundation: The penal prison colony in the Vladimir region, where Navalny was sentenced, had done everything to block dozens of journalists who arrived to cover the trial. Most reporters and Navalny followers were not granted access to the courtroom. Besides the fraud charge, he was found guilty of contempt of court for insulting the judge and a witness.

Navalny, his family, and his team were prepared for the long prison sentence. Last month, the only Russian independent television channel, Rain TV, which has been covering Navalnys struggle for years, said that authorities intended to keep Navalny in prison forever and that the opposition leader faced his fate alone. Two weeks later, Russia banned Rain TV, along with the oldest independent radio station, Echo of Moscow, after introducing a new amendment to the State Duma that effectively bars journalists from covering the war in Ukraine in any way that displeases the Kremlin.

A woman is evacuated from a burning apartment building in Kyiv on March 15, 2022, after strikes on residential areas killed at least two people. Aris Messinis/AFP via Getty Images

Most of the Navalny foundations key team members, including Sobol, director Ivan Zhdanov, and spokeswoman Kira Yarmysh have left Russia after facing a series of threats and criminal investigations against them and their loved ones. Navalny has never told us to stop telling the truth, it would be naive to grow silent now, Sobol told The Daily Beast. Our plan is to inform Russians at whatever cost.

Authorities did not bring Navalny to stand trial in Moscow, where the anticorruption campaigner still has thousands of supporters. Instead, he stood trial 69 miles away from the Russian capital, in Pokrov penal colony #2 in the city of Vladimir.

We, Russians, want to be a nation of peace, Navalny said in an address to his supporters from jail last month, when the Russian army launched its first wave of attacks on Ukrainian cities. But lets at least not become a nation of frightened and silent people, a nation of cowards who pretend they dont notice the aggressive war started by our crazy little tsar against Ukraine.

Navalnys life might sound like a thriller to many people in the West. Russians see it both as a hopeless political martyr drama and as an example of courage. Ever since 2011, when he emerged as a fearless political figure, police would detain him at almost every political rally, raid his offices, and confiscate the work of his Anti-Corruption Foundation. But that never stopped Navalny from pushing back against the Kremlin, even after the opposition lawyer was poisoned, hospitalized, and dragged to a jail cell.

Putin has never referred to Navalny by name, addressing his opponent only as a blogger. Navalny, on the other hand, had choice words aimed at the leader on Tuesday: You cant put everyone in prison. Even if you ask for 113 years, you wont scare me or others like me. He echoed Sobols comments about the Navalny movement going global.

Though Navalny's message in court was powerful, he looked thinner than usual in his prison robes on Tuesday.

Not many on the West understand how hellish the existence is in Russian prisons, where they rape, torture people. But the best news for us, his supporters, is that Navalny is not broken, his spirit is still strong, Sobol told the Daily Beast. He knows that Putins plan to quickly break Ukraine has not worked out. And the West, that has always made decisions slowly, has made them very fast this time and the entire world demonstrated solidarity against the aggression in Ukraine.

Read more at The Daily Beast.

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LAS VEGAS (AP)  Nevadas governor says he doesnt want two men prosecuted for accosting him and his family last month at a Las Vegas restaurant and shouting profanities, taunts and anti-government statements in an incident captured on video and posted on the internet.

In a statement released Monday, Gov. Steve Sisolak said he was outraged at the ethnic slurs and threats aimed at my wife and he cannot forget or forgive the vulgar and foul language hurled at my daughter.

But the Democrat now campaigning for a second term as governor said he asked Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson not to pursue charges that could arise from the abusive and menacing treatment."

I feel an obligation to avoid further fueling, and at worst, glorifying the anger and violence plaguing our nation and our state, the statement said, adding a trial would only draw more attention.

This statement stands as my final comment about this horrible incident, Sisolak added.

Wolfson said he met with the governor and would honor Sisolaks request not to prosecute.

Cellphone video posted to social media showed more than a minute of the Feb. 28 encounter involving the Sisolaks and Justin Andersch, a self-described digital creator who promotes far-right anti-government conspiracy theories.

Andersch asks to take a photo with Sisolak, poses with his arm around him, and then begins calling the governor a string of epithets.

As Sisolak and his wife, Kathy, turn and head out the door of the restaurant, Andersch follows and is joined by another man who calls Sisolak a traitor before returning to the restaurant.

The video ends in the parking lot as Sisolak's daughter, Ashley Sisolak, a lawyer and public defender, rushes to the governor and his wife near their vehicle and Andersch turns away.

The incident followed several other suspected hate-crimes in recent months in Nevada and Las Vegas. An elected official in rural Nye County declared last August without evidence that Kathy Sisolak had family members in China profiting from selling coronavirus pandemic-related items.

The claim echoed a recurrent conspiracy theory espoused by some Republicans and anti-Sisolak, anti-mask activists.

Kathy Sisolak is a former municipal finance specialist of Chinese heritage who was born in the Nevada town of Ely. She was budget manager for Clark County and was a founder of the Las Vegas financial consulting firm Hobbs, Ong & Associates before she and Steve Sisolak married in 2018.
The Vancouver man who attacked a 92-year-old Asian man with severe dementia at a 7-Eleven store in what was described as an anti-Asian attack two years ago will not be serving prison time.



Judge Donna Senniw gave Jamie Bezanson, 52, aconditional discharge and a one-year probation during his ruling at the Provincial Court of British Columbia on Monday.









Senniw also ordered Bezanson not to make any contact with the victim, Kaihong Kwong, and two others involved in the incident. The assailant must also pay Kwong 100 Canadian dollars (approximately $79) and do 20 hours of community service.



Staff members at a 7-Eleven store near First Avenue and Nanaimo Street in East Vancouver were trying to assist Kwong on March 13, 2020, when Bezanson reportedly began shouting anti-Asian remarks about COVID-19 at the elderly man.



Surveillance footage from inside the store shows the assailant dragging Kwong by his arm and pushing him to the ground right outside the store. The victim reportedly hit his head but did not suffer serious injuries.



Multiple sources purportedly identified Bezanson as the suspect. He later turned himself in after the police released a video of the altercation. He was charged in July 2020.



Despite seven eyewitness accounts and CCTV footage, the court said there was not enough evidence to call the incident a hate crime.



I can advise that there was no reliable evidence that this was motivated by hate, and that there was reliable evidence that it was not, Gordon S. Comer of the BC Prosecution Service said in a statement.



In May 2021, Bloomberg named Vancouver the Anti-Asian Hate Crime Capital of North America after the Canadian city logged 98 anti-Asian hate crimes in 2020  more than triple the figure reported in New York at that period.



According totwo recent surveys, anti-Asian hate is still a persistent problem in Vancouver two years into theCOVID-19 pandemic.

Enjoy this content? Read more from NextShark!

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Nordstrom's sale section is filled with can't-miss spring deals.

Yahoo Lifestyle Canada is committed to finding you the best products at the best prices. We may receive a share from purchases made via links on this page. Pricing and availability are subject to change.

Wardrobe in need of a seasonal update? If so, Nordstrom's latest sale event is worth perusing in order to find your new go-to styles.

Until April 3, the Nordstrom Made Sale is on in both Canada and the U.S. Shoppers will find thousands of items from the iconic department store's exclusive in-house brands, including Zella, Halogen and BP., included in the sale  all at up to 25 per cent off.

Rather than sifting through thousands of sale items yourself, we've done the work for you by rounding up 12 of the best Nordstrom sale available to shop in the U.S. and Canada.

Halogen Raw Edge Tank. Image via Nordstrom.

For an elevated take on the classic jeans and T-shirt combo, mix things up with this drapey tank made from lightweight crepe fabric.

$44 $59 at Nordstrom Canada

Zella Amazing Cozy Wrap Jacket. Image via Nordstrom.

This shopper-favourite jacket is perfect for transitional temperatures, with shoppers calling it "incredibly soft" and "beautifully made."

$82 $109 at Nordstrom Canada

Shirred Puff Sleeve Cotton Prairie Dress. Image via Nordstrom.

Rising temperatures call for shorter hemlines, like this adorable mini dress finished in a vintage-inspired floral print.

$34 $45 at Nordstrom Canada

Caslon Brielle Water Resistant Bootie. Image via Nordstrom.

Wet spring weather doesn't stand a chance against these suede boots that have been treated with a waterproof finish.

$78 $130 at Nordstrom Canada

Moonlight Pajamas. Image via Nordstrom.

If you're usually found in an old T-shirt at bedtime, why not upgrade to this soft and elegant two-piece pajama set.

$72 $97 at Nordstrom Canada

BP. Floral Print Sweetheart Neck Crop Top (Plus). Image via Nordstrom.

A flowery print and sweetheart neck lend charm to this ruffled crop top that pairs well with high-waisted jeans or a flowing skirt.

$37 $49 at Nordstrom Canada

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Open Edit Blazer. Image via Nordstrom.

An oversized blazer in an unexpected shade is the perfect way to experiment with your style this season.

$56 $75 at Nordstrom U.S.

Caslon Track Style Linen Pants. Image via Nordstrom.

Linen is the ultimate laid-back fabric for spring and summer, and these easy pants are a polished alternative to sweats.

$44 $59 at Nordstrom U.S.

Chelsea28 Sleeveless Faux Wrap Dress. Image via Nordstrom.

With wedding season just around the corner, this faux wrap dress is sure to become a go-to style.

$69 $99 at Nordstrom U.S.

Zella Gwen Sleeveless Knit Romper. Image via Nordstrom.

Outfit's don't get much easier than this one and done jumpsuit that's perfect for casual days on the go.

$59 $79 at Nordstrom U.S.

Treasure & Bond Monika Sneaker. Image via Nordstrom.

With a sporty look and feel, these casual sneakers are the finishing touch to all your weekend looks.

$42 $60 at Nordstrom U.S.

Nordstrom Signature Cashmere Blend Tube Skirt. Image via Nordstrom.

Cozy meets chic with this cashmere midi skirt that takes your casual looks up a notch.

$172 $229 at Nordstrom U.S.

Let us know what you think by commenting below and tweeting @YahooStyleCA! Follow us on Twitter and Instagram and sign up for our newsletter.
Outgoing Gov. Larry Hogan has thrown his official endorsement behind fellow Republican Kelly Schulz for Marylands next governor, citing their years of close political collaboration and calling Schulz the only candidate able to continue the legacy of his two terms in office.

The governors move Tuesday to endorse Schulz, who spent seven years as a cabinet secretary under Hogan, hardly came as a surprise. Hogan, who is term-limited, has lauded Schulzs credentials repeatedly in response to attacks from Del. Dan Cox, Schulzs leading rival for the Republican nomination and a frequent right-wing critic of Hogan.

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Hogan touted his own approval ratings and the states improved economy since he first took office in 2016 while making his pitch Tuesday for Schulz to a hotel ballroom filled with supporters on the Annapolis waterfront.

Every other candidate in the crowded field for governor  nearly a dozen Democrats, three other Republicans, a Libertarian and an independent  want to take us in a completely different direction, Hogan said.

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Theres only one candidate who has the experience, the ability and the desire to keep moving Maryland forward, to keep changing Maryland for the better, who can get the job done and continue the legacy, he said.

Schulz, 53, embraced Hogans endorsement and framed her candidacy as a continuation of Hogans leadership toward a safe, steady and prosperous Maryland.

We started on this journey eight years ago, but we have to be able to continue on the path, Schulz said.

Schulz noted that, if elected, she would be the first female governor in the states history.

Schulz was previously a Republican state delegate representing Frederick County before serving as labor and then commerce secretary under Hogan. She resigned from the administration in January to campaign full-time.

She said her running mate for lieutenant governor, Jeff Woolford, couldnt make Tuesdays event because he was serving with the Maryland Air National Guard in Texas.

Breaking News Alerts As it happens When big news breaks in our area, be the first to know. >

Schulz echoed Hogans rhetoric on violent crime, raising the issue several times in brief remarks to urge harsher punishments as a solution for what she described as perhaps the most pressing issue facing the state.

Were going to treat the criminals like criminals, Schulz said, and the police officers like heroes.

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She faces three other contenders for the Republican nomination. In addition to Cox, she faces perennial gadfly candidate  and recently disbarred attorney  Robin Ficker as well as Baltimore County resident Joe Werner.

Former President Donald Trump, who frequently traded barbs with Hogan, boosted Coxs candidacy by offering his endorsement in November. Cox embraced Trumps unfounded claims that the 2020 presidential election was stolen, unsuccessfully sued Hogan to overturn emergency pandemic restrictions and filed a resolution to impeach Hogan, a stunt quickly and quietly dismissed by his fellow Republican lawmakers.

Schulz brushed aside a question Tuesday about Trumps endorsement of her opponent and said she was more focused on having the most popular governor standing beside her to champion what she said were their accomplishments improving the business climate in the state.

Cox has ignored repeated messages and interview requests from The Baltimore Sun and did so again this week.

A crowded field of at least 11 Democratic candidates are currently jockeying for their partys nomination for governor, including, among others, Comptroller Peter Franchot; Tom Perez, the former U.S. labor secretary and chairman of the Democratic National Committee; Wes Moore, an author and former nonprofit executive; former U.S. Education Secretary John King; former Maryland Attorney General Doug Gansler; and Rushern Baker III, the former executive of Prince Georges County.
Four years ago, inside the most prestigious hospital in Tennessee, nurse RaDonda Vaught withdrew a vial from an electronic medication cabinet, administered the drug to a patient, and somehow overlooked signs of a terrible and deadly mistake.

The patient was supposed to get Versed, a sedative intended to calm her before being scanned in a large, MRI-like machine. But Vaught accidentally grabbed vecuronium, a powerful paralyzer, which stopped the patients breathing and left her brain-dead before the error was discovered.

Vaught, 38, admitted her mistake at a Tennessee Board of Nursing hearing last year, saying she became complacent in her job and distracted by a trainee while operating the computerized medication cabinet. She did not shirk responsibility for the error, but she said the blame was not hers alone.

I know the reason this patient is no longer here is because of me, Vaught said, starting to cry. There wont ever be a day that goes by that I dont think about what I did.

If Vaughts story followed the path of most medical errors, it would have been over hours later, when the Board of Nursing revoked her RN license and almost certainly ended her nursing career. But Vaughts case is different: This week she goes on trial in Nashville on criminal charges of reckless homicide and felony abuse of an impaired adult for the killing of Charlene Murphey, a 75-year-old patient who died at Vanderbilt University Medical Center on Dec. 27, 2017.

Related: Jury chosen in homicide trial of ex-Vanderbilt nurse RaDonda Vaught after fatal drug error

Case timeline: The RaDonda Vaught case is confusing. This timeline will help.

Prosecutors do not allege in their court filings that Vaught intended to hurt Murphey or was impaired by any substance when she made the mistake, so her prosecution is a rare example of a health care worker facing years in prison for a medical error. Fatal errors are generally handled by licensing boards and civil courts. And experts say prosecutions like Vaughts loom large for a profession terrified of the criminalization of such mistakes  especially because her case hinges on an automated system for dispensing drugs that many nurses use every day.

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RaDonda Vaught, left, sits with supporters as she waits in court for her hearing to begin Wednesday, Feb. 20, 2019.

The Nashville district attorneys office declined to discuss Vaughts trial. Vaughts lawyer, Peter Strianse, did not respond to requests for comment. Vanderbilt University Medical Center has repeatedly declined to comment on Vaughts trial or its procedures.

Vaughts trial will be followed by nurses nationwide, many of whom worry a conviction may set a precedent even as the coronavirus pandemic leaves countless nurses exhausted, demoralized, and likely more prone to error.

Janie Harvey Garner, a St. Louis registered nurse and founder of Show Me Your Stethoscope, a nursing group with more than 600,000 members on Facebook, said the group has closely watched Vaughts case for years out of concern for her fate  and their own.

Garner said most nurses know all too well the pressures that contribute to such an error: long hours, crowded hospitals, imperfect protocols, and the inevitable creep of complacency in a job with daily life-or-death stakes.

Garner said she once switched powerful medications just as Vaught did and caught her mistake only in a last-minute triple-check.

In response to a story like this one, there are two kinds of nurses, Garner said. You have the nurses who assume they would never make a mistake like that, and usually its because they dont realize they could. And the second kind are the ones who know this could happen, any day, no matter how careful they are. This could be me. I could be RaDonda.

As the trial begins, the Nashville DAs prosecutors will argue that Vaughts error was anything but a common mistake any nurse could make. Prosecutors will say she ignored a cascade of warnings that led to the deadly error.

The case hinges on the nurses use of an electronic medication cabinet, a computerized device that dispenses a range of drugs. According to documents filed in the case, Vaught initially tried to withdraw Versed from a cabinet by typing VE into its search function without realizing she should have been looking for its generic name, midazolam. When the cabinet did not produce Versed, Vaught triggered an override that unlocked a much larger swath of medications, then searched for VE again. This time, the cabinet offered vecuronium.

Vaught then overlooked or bypassed at least five warnings or pop-ups saying she was withdrawing a paralyzing medication, documents state. She also did not recognize that Versed is a liquid but vecuronium is a powder that must be mixed into liquid, documents state.

Finally, just before injecting the vecuronium, Vaught stuck a syringe into the vial, which would have required her to look directly at a bottle cap that read Warning: Paralyzing Agent, the DAs documents state.

The DAs office points to this override as central to Vaughts reckless homicide charge. Vaught acknowledges she performed an override on the cabinet. But she and others say overrides are a normal operating procedure used daily at hospitals.

While testifying before the nursing board last year, foreshadowing her defense in the upcoming trial, Vaught said at the time of Murpheys death that Vanderbilt was instructing nurses to use overrides to overcome cabinet delays and constant technical problems caused by an ongoing overhaul of the hospitals electronic health records system.

RaDonda Vaught listens as her attorney, Peter Strianse, talks with reporters after a court hearing Wednesday, Feb. 20, 2019. Her trial started Monday.

Murpheys care alone required at least 20 cabinet overrides in just three days, Vaught said.

Overriding was something we did as part of our practice every day, Vaught said. You couldnt get a bag of fluids for a patient without using an override function.

Overrides are common outside of Vanderbilt too, according to experts following Vaughts case.

Michael Cohen, president emeritus of the Institute for Safe Medication Practices, and Lorie Brown, past president of the American Association of Nurse Attorneys, each said it is common for nurses to use an override to obtain medication in a hospital.

Cohen and Brown stressed that even with an override it should not have been so easy to access vecuronium.

This is a medication that you should never, ever, be able to override to, Brown said. Its probably the most dangerous medication out there.

Cohen said that in response to Vaughts case, manufacturers of medication cabinets modified the devices software to require up to five letters to be typed when searching for drugs during an override, but not all hospitals have implemented this safeguard. Two years after Vaughts error, Cohens organization documented a strikingly similar incident in which another nurse swapped Versed with another drug, verapamil, while using an override and searching with just the first few letters. That incident did not result in a patients death or criminal prosecution, Cohen said.

Maureen Shawn Kennedy, the editor-in-chief emerita of the American Journal of Nursing, wrote in 2019 that Vaughts case was every nurses nightmare.

In the pandemic, she said, this is truer than ever.

We know that the more patients a nurse has, the more room there is for errors, Kennedy said. We know that when nurses work longer shifts, there is more room for errors. So I think nurses get very concerned because they know this could be them.

KHN (Kaiser Health News) is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues. Together with Policy Analysis and Polling, KHN is one of the three major operating programs at KFF (Kaiser Family Foundation). KFF is an endowed nonprofit organization providing information on health issues to the nation.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: RaDonda Vaught trial: Nurse's colleagues worry about being next
(Bloomberg) -- Nvidia Corp. told investors its focused on maintaining growth with new products, including speedier data-center chips, rather than embarking on more aggressive stock-buyback plans as some shareholders had hoped.

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At the companys investor meeting Tuesday, Chief Financial Officer Colette Kress said that the companys priority is using cash to expand its business. Nvidia has bought back $2 billion in stock during the current quarter, she noted, but the company hasnt increased its budget for repurchases. Nvidia has $5 billion of buyback authorization left, Kress said.

Some investors had been eyeing additional buybacks after Nvidia walked away from a $40 billion plan to acquire Arm Ltd. in February, according to Citigroup Inc. and Bank of America Corp. That deal, which failed to overcome regulatory opposition, would have been the biggest takeover in chip-industry history.

Nvidia shares slipped as much as 2.5% following Kresss remarks, but soon recovered. Though Nvidia is down nearly 10% this year, thats in line with a broader slide for chip stocks.

Nvidias focus now is new products and technology aimed at continuing its rapid growth in artificial intelligence processing. Graphics chips based on the new Hopper design will debut later this year, the company said. The processors are created with as many as 80 billion transistors and -- when paired with new connecting chips -- will massively speed up the development of software that understands human speech and does genomic research.

Under Chief Executive Officer Jensen Huang, Nvidia has parlayed its dominance of graphics chips prized by computer gamers into a lucrative position in server technology. The company supplies chips to the owners of some of the worlds largest data centers, which use the technology to power the artificial intelligence software needed to make sense of the growing flood of digital information.

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Huang saw the opportunity early and tasked Nvidias engineers with adapting its product to become crucial to this growing type of computing. The company branched out with new types of semiconductors, computer systems, software and services to keep it ahead of the competition.

Nvidias Hopper technology, named for computer science pioneer Grace Hopper, is its latest offering. It contains circuitry specifically designed to run so-called Transformer machine learning models, which are used to improve the way that machines understand and interpret human speech. Hopper will also better link with other chips, allowing it to remove some of the bottlenecks caused by transferring huge data sets between parts of a computer. Nvidia will rely on contract manufacturer Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. to make the chips.

Alibaba Cloud, Amazon.com Inc.s AWS, Alphabet Inc.s Google Cloud and Microsoft Corp.s Azure are among the large companies that will adopt the new chips, Nvidia said. In addition, computer makers such as Dell Technologies Inc. and Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co. will offer machines based on the silicon.

Nvidia also announced the availability of the Grace CPU Superchip, its brand name for a new central processing unit for high-end data-center computing. That product is its initial foray into the bigger market for CPUs -- a field where Intel Corp. technology remains dominant but is facing greater pressure from new entrants.

Its been six weeks since Nvidia walked away from its plan to acquire Arm, an influential U.K. chip designer, from SoftBank Group Corp. SoftBank is now pursuing an initial public offering for the business instead.

(Updates with CFOs comments starting in second paragraph.)

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2022 Bloomberg L.P.
By Laura Sanicola

(Reuters) -Oil edged lower on Tuesday after it looked unlikely that European Union nations would agree to join the United States in a Russian oil embargo in retaliation for its invasion of Ukraine.

EU foreign ministers were split on the ban as some countries, including Germany, say the bloc is too dependent on Russia's fossil fuels to withstand such a step.

"It's pretty clear that the German economy will seize up so the EU is backing away from a Russian ban," said John Kilduff, partner at Again LLC in New York.

Brent crude fell 14 cents, or 0.2%, to settle at $115.48 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude ended 36 cents, or 0.3%, lower at $111.76. On Monday, both contracts had settled up more than 7% on the potential EU ban.

Adding to supply shortages, oil exports by Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) may fall by around 1 million barrels per day (bpd) while it repairs two of three mooring points damaged by a storm in Russia's section of the Black Sea, RIA news agency quoted Russia's energy ministry as saying.

French oil major TotalEnergies, which has come under criticism after it stopped short of joining rivals Shell and BP in planning to divest oil and gas assets in Russia, said on Tuesday it would to quit Russian oil supply contracts.

Oil prices also drew support from threats to supply as Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthi group attacked Saudi energy and water desalination facilities over the weekend. On Monday, Saudi Arabia said it would not bear responsibility for any global supply shortages after the attacks by the Houthis, signaling growing Saudi frustration with Washington's handling of Yemen and Iran.

The oil market will watch the latest round of weekly U.S. inventory data for clearer direction. Analysts expect crude oil inventories to rise slightly. The American Petroleum Institute, an industry group, issues its supply report at 4:30 p.m., followed by official data on Wednesday. [EIA/S]

(Additional reporting Alex Lawler, by Mohi Narayan and Liz Hampton; Editing by Marguerita Choy and Andrea Ricci)
Ukrayinska Pravda

VALENTYNA ROMANENKO - WEDNESDAY, 4 MAY 2022, 17:33 Ukrainian defenders continue to destroy units of the Russian occupiers and their equipment with great professionalism. Source: the press centre of the DShV command [Command of the Assault Troops of the Armed Forces of Ukraine] and the press service of the National Guard Details: The assault troops showed a video with the aftermath of the Russian armoured vehicles, together with their crews, destroyed by the artillery of one of the units of the D
Identity giant Okta has confirmed a January security incident after hackers posted screenshots overnight apparently showing access to the company's internal systems.

The Lapsus$ hacking group published several screenshots to its Telegram channel purporting to show internal Okta applications, Jira bug ticketing system, and the company's Slack on January 21. Lapsus$ claimed it did not steal data from Okta, and that its focus was on targeting Okta customers.

Okta is used by thousands of organizations and governments worldwide as a single sign-on provider, allowing employees to securely access a company's internal systems, such as email accounts, calendars, applications and more.

Okta chief executive Todd McKinnon confirmed the breach in a tweet thread overnight on March 22: "In late January 2022, Okta detected an attempt to compromise the account of a third party customer support engineer working for one of our subprocessors. The matter was investigated and contained by the subprocessor."

"We believe the screenshots shared online are connected to this January event. Based on our investigation to date, there is no evidence of ongoing malicious activity beyond the activity detected in January."

Okta has not yet named the subprocessor, and has not yet responded to TechCrunch's questions about the breach.

In an updated statement, Okta's chief security officer David Bradbury said the compromise was with one of Okta's third-party providers over a five-day window between January 16-21, 2022. Forbes is reporting that the company in question is Sykes, a company acquired by Sitel Group in July 2021. In a brief statement, Sitel said it was "confident there is no longer a security risk," but declined to comment on its relationship with its customers, and did not immediately answer our questions.

Security researcher Bill Demirkapi said that the screenshots contain several artifacts that suggest the hackers may have used Sykes' remote access tools and VPN to gain access to Okta's network.

Lapsus$ has targeted several big-name companies in recent weeks, including Nvidia and Samsung. Just this week Microsoft said it was investigating a possible security breach. According to Wired, the group focused on Portuguese-language targets, including Portuguese media giant Impresa, and the South American telecom companies Claro and Embratel.

If you know more about the Okta breach or work at the company, get in touch with the security desk on Signal at +1 646-755-8849 or zack.whittaker@techcrunch.com by email.
By Asif Shahzad

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) -Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan on Tuesday suggested that close ally China and Islamic countries mediate in the Russia-Ukraine conflict and try to bring about a ceasefire.

The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) is holding the 48th Session of the Council of Foreign Ministers, which more than 600 delegates are attending, including Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi as a special guest, in the Pakistani capital, Islamabad.

"May I suggest that OIC during its discussion with foreign ministers, we should think about how ... how we can mediate, how we can bring about the ceasefire," Khan told the gathering.

"I want to discuss how, maybe OIC along with China, we can all step in and try to stop this conflict which is going to have, if it keeps going the way it is, it would have great consequences for the rest of the world."

Khan's comments came hours after China and Pakistan echoed concerns about "spill-over effects of unilateral sanctions" on Russia, according to a statement by the Chinese foreign ministry.

China has not condemned Russia's invasion, though it has expressed concern about the war. Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Le Yucheng said on Saturday that Western sanctions against Russia were getting "more and more outrageous".

Khan was in Moscow to meet President Vladimir Putin the day Russian forces entered Ukraine. Pakistan has expressed concern about the repercussions of the invasion but also stopped short of condemning it.

Russia sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine on Feb. 24 in what it called a special operation to degrade its neighbour's military capabilities and root out people it called dangerous nationalists.

Pakistan abstained from the U.N. General Assembly vote that condemned Russia's aggression against Ukraine.

(Reporting by Asif Shahzad; Editing by Andrew Heavens and Nick Macfie)
A Passaic teenager who went missing Monday is now home safe with his family.

The 16-year-old student, was in the assistant principal's office when he fled at about 2:50 p.m., according to a police report.

At about 2:30 a.m. Tuesday Mayor Hector Lora reported that the teen was located. Lora thanked the public for their help in the search.

Nicholas Katzban is a breaking news reporter for NorthJersey.com. To get breaking news directly to your inbox, sign up for our newsletter.

Email: katzban@northjersey.com

Twitter: @nicholaskatzban

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Passaic NJ: Missing teenager found
NEW DELHI (Reuters) - The parents of Reuters photographer Danish Siddiqui, who was killed in a Taliban attack in Afghanistan last year, have begun legal action at the International Criminal Court (ICC) against the Islamist group, a lawyer for the family said on Tuesday.

Siddiqui, a Pulitzer Prize winner, was embedded with Afghan special forces when killed on July 16 during a failed attempt by government troops to retake Spin Boldak, a town near the Afghanistan-Pakistan border, from the Taliban.

New Delhi-based lawyer Avi Singh told an online news conference that Siddiqui's parents were seeking legal action against six leaders, and other unidentified commanders of the Taliban, at the Hague-based ICC on the grounds that the group targeted and killed their son because he was a photojournalist and an Indian national.

Two Taliban spokesmen did not respond to calls and messages from Reuters seeking comment.

Siddiqui was based in New Delhi and had travelled to Afghanistan to cover the Taliban campaign to retake the country as the United States and its allies were withdrawing forces to end their 20-year-long war there.

Siddiqui, 38, was "illegally detained, tortured and killed by the Taliban, and his body was mutilated", Singh and his family said in a statement issued before the news conference.

"These acts and this killing constitutes not only a murder, but a crime against humanity and a war crime."

A commander of Afghanistan's erstwhile Special Operations Corps that had hosted Siddiqui said the photojournalist was mistakenly left behind with two commandos when soldiers withdrew from Spin Boldak amid fierce fighting with the Taliban.

The Taliban denied that they captured and executed Siddiqui.

Reuters said Siddiqui was a valued colleague.

"We are deeply saddened by the loss of our colleague Danish Siddiqui. Danish was an outstanding journalist and a much-loved colleague. We are continuing to honour his memory," said a spokesperson for Thomson Reuters, the parent company of Reuters News.

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Afghan security officials and Indian government officials had told Reuters that, based on photos, intelligence and an examination of Siddiqui's body, his body was mutilated while in Taliban custody after his death.

In August, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid denied reports that Siddiqui was captured and executed, rejecting the assertions of the Afghan security forces and Indian government officials as "completely wrong".

Reuters has previously reported that it "was unable to independently determine if the Taliban deliberately killed Siddiqui or desecrated his body."

(Reporting by Devjyot Ghoshal; Additonal reporting by Kabul newsroom; editing by Jon Boyle)
MANILA (Reuters) - The presidential bid of Philippine election frontrunner Ferdinand Marcos Jr received a boost on Tuesday after President Rodrigo Duterte's political party endorsed his candidacy for the May 9 vote.

The PDP-Laban party, which has not fielded a presidential candidate, announced it will back Marcos, the son and namesake of the country's late dictator, who is running alongside Duterte's daughter, Davao city mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio.

Still, it remained unclear which candidate the popular Duterte would personally throw his support behind.

Marcos, commonly known as "Bongbong", was the candidate "whose platform is most aligned with the development programme" of Duterte, read the resolution signed by members of the party belonging to a faction supported by the Philippine leader.

Cracks have appeared within the ruling party since last year as supporters of Duterte and another presidential candidate, Manny Pacquiao, have sought to wrest control.

Asked whether the party's choice had Duterte's blessing, party president Alfonso Cusi referred reporters to the president's office.

Presidential spokesman Martin Andanar told a media briefing it was "not clear if this is also the preference of... Duterte."

Political analyst Temario Rivera said Duterte's endorsement was an important factor.

"Forget about parties in our system. It is powerful families and influential politicians that count," Rivera said, adding that PDP-Laban remained "very divided."

Governor Ben Evardone, a close ally of Duterte and his party's vice president, announced he would back one of Marcos's rivals, Vice President Leni Robredo. He did not sign the party resolution.

PDP-Laban was created to oppose the Marcos dictatorship, Senator Aquilino Pimentel, leader of a faction in the party supporting retired boxing star Pacquiao, said in a statement.

Marcos enjoys a strong lead in the presidential election race, according to opinion polls, which also showed Duterte-Carpio as the top choice for vice president.

A spokesperson for Marcos did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

(Reporting by Neil Jerome Morales and Enrico dela Cruz; Additional Reporting by Karen Lema; Editing by Ed Davies)
Thiru Vignarajah, the former city, state and federal prosecutor who has run for Baltimore states attorney and mayor, is running for states attorney again, setting the stage for a potential rematch of the last election for the citys top prosecutor.

Unsuccessful bids for the Democratic nominations for states attorney in 2018 and mayor in 2020 make Vignarajah a familiar face in Baltimore. He has been a partner at the law firm DLA Piper and prosecuted a range of high-profile cases during stints as deputy Maryland attorney general, special U.S. attorney for Maryland and chief of major investigations in the Baltimore states attorneys office.

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Vignarajah has kept himself in the public eye with TV news appearances and by taking up causes of public interest.

He announced his candidacy in a statement released first to The Baltimore Sun, saying the citys seven-year stretch of more than 300 annual homicides, attrition in the Baltimore Police Department and the federal criminal indictment of current States Attorney Marilyn Mosby contributed to his decision.

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If any American city is facing a crisis worse than ours  a record-shattering crime crisis and a crisis of confidence  I am unaware of it, Vignarajah said. I have devoted my life to public service, to fighting crime as a federal and city prosecutor, and I simply cant watch this human catastrophe from the sideline when I know I can do something to stop it.

Speculation about a run by Vignarajah swirled for the last month. His stance about a candidacy shifted following the decision by Roya Hanna to drop out of the Democratic primary and run as an independent in the November general election. In January, Vignarajah said he wasnt considering a run. By the time of Hannas announcement earlier this month, he said he hadnt ruled it out.

The implications of Vignarajahs candidacy are not clear. Candidates have until April 15 to file for the July 19 primary, following a second postponement ordered by Maryland Court of Appeals due to legal challenges to the states redistricting maps.

Defense attorney Ivan Bates was the only person who had filed to run as of Monday evening in the Democratic primary, according to the State Board of Elections, although Hanna was still listed as a primary candidate.

Mosby, a two-term incumbent who was widely expected to run to retain her post, has not filed yet amid her legal battle against charges of perjury and making false statements.

Mosby maintains her innocence and her lawyers have mounted a defense that so far has targeted the U.S. attorneys office with allegations of vindictive prosecution.

At a pair of news conferences last week, Mosby was coy about her political plans even as she touted her work. Ahead of those public appearances, a bare version of her campaign website was restored after having been offline for about a month. It had a link for donations and a message: SOMETHING IS HAPPENING! STAY TUNED.

In the 2018 primary, Mosby sealed a comfortable victory with about 49% of the vote. Bates and Vignarajah split the remaining ballots with 28% and 22.5%, respectively.

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Baltimore State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby speaks at a news conference on the findings of a University of Maryland racial disparities report involving policing and incarcerations of Black people in the city. (JERRY JACKSON/Baltimore Sun)

Roger Hartley, dean of the University of Baltimores School of Public Affairs, said a three-way race favors Mosby because there would be a potential for votes again splitting between the challengers.

One potential Achilles heel for the states attorney: The violent crime problem is still a major issue four years later. There may be voters looking for a change, Hartley said. Then the question is whether those voters will split between Bates and Vignarajah, like they did four years ago. If Mosby keeps her support from four years ago, then shes going to be very strong.

If its Bates versus Vignarajah, the latter has a slight advantage as far as name recognition, considering his run for mayor, Hartley said. However, Vignarajah will be playing catchup on campaign fundraising.

Hes going to have to raise money fast. Hes going to have to let voters know hes in the race, Hartley said.

With almost $362,0000 on hand, Bates outraised Mosby and, by a wide margin, Hanna, in the year leading up to the primary. The prominent defense attorney released his taxes and a tough-on-crime prosecution plan. He has focused on reducing crime and tackling Baltimores gun crisis, while touting a range of endorsements from community and nonprofit leaders to retired police brass and a retired judge.

Vignarajah had a balance of $82,260 at the end of his 2020 mayoral campaign. Annual finance reports filed since show there have been no expenditures or contributions of more than $1,000. As of August 2020, Vignarajahs campaign owed $160,000 for personal loans he made to the campaign.

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Mosbys campaign did not respond to a request for comment.

In an interview Tuesday, Bates said he suspects Vignarajah will run for mayor again in two years, and described himself as a candidate who is comfortable devoting a decade to the job if hes elected and continues to retain the office.

I wont be distracted because Im looking for that next opportunity, that next office, that stepping stone. The states attorneys office needs a 10-year commitment..., Bates said. This is not a two-year or a four-year job, youve got to be committed because Baltimore needs stability from a leader whos not looking for the next step in their political career.

Vignarajah officially entered his name in the race Tuesday morning at the Baltimore City Board of Elections, and then addressed reporters while flanked by family, supporters and victims of violence in the city. He said he always has been committed to the positions hes held and states attorney would be no different if hes elected.

Ive never thought about politics as a stepping stone anyway; Ive thought about it as public service. If you look at my record over the course of my career, I stay until the job is done, said Vignarajah, noting that he continued to handle cases he started as a city prosecutor after he became deputy attorney general. If I have the privilege of serving, I will do that work until the work is done.

Baltimore states attorney candidate Roya Hanna discusses Feb. 22, 2022, her plan to reduce crime in the city. (Alex Mann/Baltimore Sun)

Even after he lost the mayoral primary, Vignarajah found ways to stay involved in Baltimore and to keep his name in the news.

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In December 2020, Vignarajah arranged a news conference for restaurateurs to demand that Democratic Mayor Brandon Scott roll back coronavirus-related dining restrictions. The following January, he advocated for a group of businesses in Fells Point who threatened to withhold taxes if Baltimore leaders didnt address crime.

More recently, hes taken on the role of spokesperson for clubs on The Block, as they fought legislation that would curb their hours. Vignarajah also stepped in to represent victims of an arsonist and successfully argued for the mans lenient sentence under an agreement with city prosecutors to be reconsidered. He also recently entered his appearance as a special prosecutor in a murder case in rural Dorchester County.

Anthony McCarthy, who stepped down from his role as a radio host to join Vignarajahs campaign as political director, said the candidates support for Baltimore businesses demonstrates a commitment to the city.

Elected officials vanish after elections, Thiru hasnt. Politicians quit after a defeat, Thiru hasnt. That means a lot to people here in Baltimore, McCarthy said in a statement provided in a news release announcing the campaign.

Ivan Bates, a candidate for Baltimore states attorney, releases his tax returns Feb. 10, 2022, during a news conference at One Charles Center. (Kim Hairston/The Baltimore Sun )

Breaking News Alerts As it happens When big news breaks in our area, be the first to know. >

Vignarajah prosecuted some of Baltimores biggest street gang cases during his tenure under then-States Attorney Gregg Bernstein, also a Democrat.

Vignarajah is known nationally for defending Maryland from challenges that Adnan Syed raised after his conviction in the murder case made famous by the popular Serial podcast.

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But Vignarajahs run for mayor was shadowed by questions over his judgment fueled by highly publicized videos from incidents in 2015 and 2019. The first, shared by Project Veritas, showed a woman prodding him for secrets gleaned from his role at the attorney generals office. In the second, body-worn camera video from Baltimore police officers showed Vignarajah being pulled over in the middle of the night and asking an officer to turn off his camera.

In interviews with The Baltimore Sun in 2020, several attorneys who worked under him said he was a controlling and unreasonably demanding boss.

The news release from Vignarajahs campaign touts the endorsement of former Baltimore Police Commissioner Kevin Davis, who described him in a statement as the gold standard of prosecutors and touted Vignarajahs support among detectives who investigated violent crimes during Davis tenure from 2015 to 2018.

Never have I seen a prosecutor held in such high esteem by detectives working to bring justice to victims and their families, Davis said. And never have I so often heard tales of a singular person orchestrating collaborative prosecutorial strategies; ones that carefully dissect sophisticated crime organizations and hold them accountable for the harm they have caused our most vulnerable communities.

Baltimore Sun reporter Emily Opilo contributed to this article.
State and federal agencies are reminding Pennsylvanians of the danger of wildfires.

Carbon, Monroe, Pike and Wayne counties are at greater risk than usual, with the National Weather Service offices in Mount Holly, New Jersey, and Binghamton, New York, issuing special weather statements calling attention to dry and breezy weather.

Residents are urged to exercise caution handling any potential ignition source, including machinery, cigarettes, and matches. Be sure to properly discard all smoking materials. Any dry grasses and tree litter that ignites will have the potential to spread fire quickly, the Mount Holly office wrote.

The Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources noted that March is one of the most dangerous months for wildfires, along with April, May, October and November.

The DCNR provides two daily maps related to fire danger: The observed map, which shows the immediate past conditions, and the forecast map, which shows expected conditions for the day.

Between Monday and Tuesday, the Poconos and the rest of eastern Pennsylvania moved from moderate to high risk on the forecast map. (There are two levels beyond that: very high and extreme.)

The U.S. Drought Monitor, the product of a partnership between several national agencies, is updated weekly. It most recently classified nearly all of Carbon and Monroe counties, as well as a majority of Pike County, as abnormally dry. This is the lowest intensity level after none and is followed by four degrees of drought, from moderate to exceptional.

The current Drought Monitor was released on March 17, and reflects data collected through the morning of March 15.

Unlike most of the weather maps people see in the news, the U.S. Drought Monitor is not a forecast, the U.S. Drought Monitor website explains. In fact, it looks backward. Its a weekly assessment of drought conditions, based on how much precipitation did or didnt fall, up to the Tuesday morning before the map comes out.

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The DCNRs Bureau of Forestry offers these fire safety tips:

Clear the area around the fire prior to starting it.

Keep the fire small and never leave it unattended.

Before you strike a campfire match, first consider if it is too warm, dry or windy for a fire and if the surrounding area is free of leaves and other combustibles.

Make sure there is a ready source of water (bucket or hose) nearby and a rake to extinguish any embers that might escape.

When you are done with the fire put it out with water until all ashes are cold to the touch.

This article originally appeared on Pocono Record: NWS: Counties in Poconos at high risk for wildfires Tuesday
Authorities have identified a Montgomery County woman they said was the driver who ran down two state troopers and a pedestrian early Monday morning in Philadelphia, killing all three.

On Tuesday, state police said in a news release that Jayana Tanae Webb, 21, of Eagleville, was driving under the influence when she struck and killed Troopers Martin Mack III, of Bristol Borough, and Branden Sisca, of Montgomery County. The two were helping a pedestrian alongside Interstate 95 southbound near the stadiums at the Broad Street exit when all three were struck and killed.

Police identified the man who was walking along the road as Reyes Rivera Oliveras, 28, of Allentown.

Webb's charges include three counts each of third-degree murder, homicide by vehicle while DUI, homicide by vehicle, as well as two counts of second-degree manslaughter of a law enforcement officer, all of which are felonies. She also faces misdemeanor offenses of involuntary manslaughter, recklessly endangering another person and DUI, as well as several summary traffic citations.

Drivers noticed Oliveras walking along the southbound lanes of the interstate and called 911. Police said Mack and Sisca were in the process of taking him to their patrol vehicle when Webb struck them just before 1 a.m. Monday.

Webb was going at a high rate of speed in between the left lane and the jersey barrier, struck all three men, authorities said Monday. The impact threw the troopers over into the northbound lanes of Interstate 95.

Webb's vehicle hit the jersey barrier, continued a short distance on the interstate before stopping on the right side shoulder, Troop K Commander James Kemm said Monday. Troop K covers Philadelphia, including the busy I-95 corridor. Dispatchers tried to contact the men, and when they were unable to, they sent backup.

More:PA state trooper from Bristol who was killed in line of duty on I-95 remembered as dad, Truman coach

The deaths of Troopers Mack and Sisca, along with Mr. Oliveras, a civilian they were attempting to help to safety on I-95, are tragedies. I again extend my deepest condolences to the colleagues and loved ones of Troopers Mack and Sisca, as well as Mr. Oliveras," Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner said in a statement. "I want to thank our partners with the Pennsylvania State Police and Philadelphia Police for their professionalism and work on this complex investigation. My office will now seek to ensure this defendant is held accountable for her alleged actions that resulted in this senseless loss of life.

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The announcement made Tuesday afternoon, comes amid condolences echoing the lives and impact on others that fallen troopers had continue to pour in, as those the pair touched are still coming to grips with their sudden and senseless passing.

Pennsylvania National Guard spokesperson Brad Rhen confirmed that Mack was a sergeant in the Pennsylvania Army National Guard.

"The Pennsylvania National Guard would like to extend our heartfelt condolences to the families, friends and colleagues of Pennsylvania State Police Troopers Martin Mack III and Branden Sisca," read a statement provided by the National Guard. Mack was a valued member of the Pennsylvania National Guard, and he will be missed by all who served with him."

The Pennsylvania State Troopers Association confirmed that Mack and Sisca were organ donors and have donated their organs to the Gift of Life Program.

More:Beware of scam phone calls soliciting donation for fallen Pennsylvania State Troopers

More2 PA state troopers, civilian killed in I95 crash

"Trooper Martin Mack and Branden Sisca died serving the people of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. They are heroes, who will forever be honored by all those who recite the Pennsylvania State Police Call of Honor and serve as a Pennsylvania State Trooper," read a statement from association president David Kennedy. "Our hearts, love and prayers go out to their loved ones.

"The PSTA will be there for them during this difficult time. We also want to extend our deepest sympathies to the family of the pedestrian who was killed in this tragedy."

Today, @PSTA_1962 President David Kennedy issued the following statement on the tragic passing of Troopers Martin Mack and Branden Sisca. #GrayNation #Hero pic.twitter.com/oLwPNR7FMY  PA State Troopers Association (@PSTA_1962) March 21, 2022

This article originally appeared on Bucks County Courier Times: Police: Woman, 21, charged in DUI crash that killed PA state troopers on I-95
Ukrayinska Pravda

VALENTYNA ROMANENKO - WEDNESDAY, 4 MAY 2022, 17:33 Ukrainian defenders continue to destroy units of the Russian occupiers and their equipment with great professionalism. Source: the press centre of the DShV command [Command of the Assault Troops of the Armed Forces of Ukraine] and the press service of the National Guard Details: The assault troops showed a video with the aftermath of the Russian armoured vehicles, together with their crews, destroyed by the artillery of one of the units of the D
A daycare employee accused of dragging a one-year-old and ripping out the child's hair has been indicted by a grand jury, according to a release from the Hamilton County Prosecutor's Office.

Kristian Hemmitt, 27, worked at Small Kids Adventures Learning Center, a West Price Hill daycare located on Glenway Avenue.

According to court documents, surveillance video showed on March 3, Hemmitt grabbed a one-year-old in her care by the hair and forced the child's head down.

Hemmitt then dragged the one-year-old girl, while still holding on to her hair, across the room and jerked the child back and forth, ripping the child's hair out, according to court documents.

According to the release, Hemmitt later attempted to cover the bald spots on the child's head and discarded the hair she ripped from the girl's scalp.

Hemmitt is charged with felonious assault, child abuse and tampering with evidence. She faces up to 11 years in prison.

Hemmitt will be arraigned on April 1.

Any parent who believes their child may have been a victim of Hemmitt is asked to call police at 513-263-8300 and ask for Det. Alexander McCoy or Det. Bryan Delk.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Prosecutor: Daycare worker accused of ripping out 1-year-old's hair
RaDonda Vaught's defense attorney reminded the jury it is commonly agreed that to err is human.

Even when the error leads to a death.

"Forgiveness has been in short supply" for Vaught since 2017, Peter Strianse said Tuesday in his opening statements in the former Vanderbilt nurse's homicide trial. "This has been a high stakes game of musical chairs and blame. When the music stopped, there was no chair under RaDonda Vaught."

Vaught, 38, was indicted in 2019 on two charges, reckless homicide and impaired adult abuse, in the death of a patient at Vanderbilt University Medical Center just after Christmas 2017. Jury selection in her trial began Monday.

Watch live: Homicide trial continues for ex-Vanderbilt nurse Radonda Vaught

Jury picked: Jury chosen in homicide trial of ex-Vanderbilt nurse RaDonda Vaught after fatal drug error

Prosecutors say she was so reckless in the actions that led to a mistaken drug dose and that she should be culpable in the woman's death.

"RaDonda Vaught recklessly disregarded all of her education training and safeguards protecting patients," Assistant District Attorney Debbie Housel said during the state's opening statements Tuesday. "She left a 75-year-old woman alone to suffocate to death."

Assistant District Attorney Debbie Housel shows a nurse pin to the jury, a symbolic pin for newly graduated nurses during the opening statements of the homicide trial of ex-Vanderbilt nurse, RaDonda Vaught, at Justice A.A. Birch Building in Nashville, Tenn., Tuesday, March 22, 2022.

Vaught maintains her error was a horrible accident that was compounded by a series of flawed procedures at the hospital.

Charlene Murphey, 75, died at Vanderbilt on Dec. 27, 2017, after being injected with the wrong drug, all parties agree.

Her daughter-in-law, Chandra Murphey, was the first witness called Tuesday.

Charlene Murphey was transferred to VUMC on Christmas Eve after her family brought her to the emergency room in Sumner County for a severe headache and vision loss. It was determined she was suffering from bleeding on her brain, statements in court indicate, and was admitted to the intensive care unit at VUMC.

By Dec. 26, she was feeling somewhat better, her family said.

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Chandra Murphey testified by that point her mother-in-law was talking, walking to the bathroom on her own and able to read again. But doctors wanted to figure out what caused the bleed in the first place, and ordered a full body PET scan, Housel said.

"Basically, she went down fine and came back dead," Chandra Murphey testified Tuesday.

Murphey was claustrophobic.

Chandra Murphey said she and her mother-in-law both made clear to medical staff that there was lingering anxiety about going into the scanner.

Murphey was prescribed a dose of Versed, a sedative, to help with the anxiety, but was instead injected with vecuronium, a paralytic that left her unable to breathe.

The patient was found unresponsive in the PET scan area. She was pronounced dead hours later after she was removed from life support.

Vaught in court Tuesday more than once put her head down to cry as Housel and Strianse each spoke about Murphey's death. In his opening statements, Strianse hinted she may take the stand during the trial.

RaDonda Vaught, a former Vanderbilt University Medical Center nurse charged with in the death of a patient, listens to the opening statements during her homicide trial at Justice A.A. Birch Building in Nashville, Tenn., Tuesday, March 22, 2022.

"RaDonda Vaught has no agenda, but she has a voice and you will hear it," he said. "She was an excellent, compassionate, caring nurse. This was a systemic problem at Vanderbilt, not a RaDonda Vaught problem.

Family members of Murphey's sat with staff from the District Attorney's office. Across the courtroom aisle sat nearly a dozen Vaught supporters, some in scrubs. The case has brought national attention, with many nurses worried it could set a precedent for criminal charges in cases of medical errors.

National worry: As a nurse faces prison for a deadly error, her colleagues worry: Could I be next?

The timeline: The RaDonda Vaught trial has begun. This timeline will help with the confusing case.

Strianse also teased possible new angles to the case around the involvement of VUMC in failing to report the error.

Davidson County Medical Examiner Feng Li first signed off on a natural death. Later, without an autopsy, Li reversed course and found Murphey died of accidental acute vecuronium intoxication. Li is expected to be called as a witness.

RaDonda Vaught's Attorney Peter Strianse, talks during the opening statements of Vaught's homicide trial at the Justice A.A. Birch Building in Nashville, Tenn., Tuesday, March 22, 2022.

The hospital didn't report the error to government regulators or its accrediting agency, previous Tennessean reporting has found.

The first death certificate for Charlene Murphey was noted to be a "natural" death, signed by VUMC neurologist Dr. Eli Zimmerman.

Nearly a year later, in October 2018, the Tennessee Department of Health declined to pursue disciplinary action against Vaught after an investigation.

After an anonymous tip alerted state and federal health officials to the unreported medication error, Vaught was indicted in the case in February 2019.

"A mistake is not a crime," Strianse said.

Chandra Murphey wipes her tears while giving her testimony about her mother in law, Charlene Murphey during the trial of RaDonda Vaught, a former Vanderbilt nurse charged with in the death of a patient, at Justice A.A. Birch Building in Nashville, Tenn., Tuesday, March 22, 2022.

The hospital has previously declined to discuss the details of the medication error or Vaughts case. In the past, the hospital has not responded to accusations from Vaught's attorney that the medical center was partially to blame for the death.

Much of the testimony Tuesday morning focused on the precise timeline of events before Charlene Murphey was injected with the medication. Two nurses and a radiology technician who worked at VUMC that day were witnesses.

Vaught's criminal trial was delayed by the coronavirus pandemic. After a re-investigation, the Tennessee Board of Nursing in July revoked Vaught's nursing license.

Reach reporter Mariah Timms at mtimms@tennessean.com or 615-259-8344 and on Twitter @MariahTimms.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: RaDonda Vaught trial: Opening statements in ex-Vanderbilt nurse case
Ukrayinska Pravda

VALENTYNA ROMANENKO - WEDNESDAY, 4 MAY 2022, 17:33 Ukrainian defenders continue to destroy units of the Russian occupiers and their equipment with great professionalism. Source: the press centre of the DShV command [Command of the Assault Troops of the Armed Forces of Ukraine] and the press service of the National Guard Details: The assault troops showed a video with the aftermath of the Russian armoured vehicles, together with their crews, destroyed by the artillery of one of the units of the D
White House press secretary Jen Psaki has tested positive for Covid-19, she announced on Tuesday.

Today, in preparation for travel to Europe, I took a PCR test this morning, Psaki said in a statement. That test came back positive, which means I will be adhering to CDC guidance and no longer be traveling on the Presidents trip to Europe.

President Joe Biden is scheduled to depart on Wednesday for Brussels, where he will attend a NATO summit, a G-7 meeting and a European Council session  all concerning Russias invasion of Ukraine. Biden is then scheduled to travel to Warsaw on Friday for a meeting with Polish President Andrzej Duda.

In her statement on Tuesday, Psaki  who missed a previous trip by the president to Europe after testing positive for Covid-19 last October  said she had two socially-distanced meetings with Biden on Monday and that he is not considered a close contact as defined by CDC guidance.

Biden tested negative for Covid-19 on Tuesday, Psaki said, and she decided to share the news of her own positive test result out of an abundance of transparency.

Thanks to the vaccine, I have only experienced mild symptoms, Psaki said. In alignment with White House COVID-19 protocols, I will work from home and plan to return to work in person at the conclusion of a five-day isolation period and a negative test.

At the previously scheduled White House news briefing on Tuesday, White House deputy press secretary Chris Meagher stood in for Psaki at the podium.

As you can see, things are changing and moving pretty rapidly around here today, said Meagher, who was joined by national security adviser Jake Sullivan.

No reporters who attended the White House news briefing on Monday are considered to be close contacts, and the White House is currently conducting contact tracing, Meagher said.

Any member of the press who is considered to be a close contact will be contacted, he added, but if a close contact is determined [to have tested positive], it would not be through yesterdays briefing.
Reps. Andy Biggs and Paul Gosar.

Just when you thought Arizona Republican Reps. Paul Gosar and Andy Biggs could bring no greater disgrace to the GOP than their connection to the Big Lie and their alleged association with organizers of what became the Jan. 6 insurrection 

Stop.

I take that back.

If youve lived in Arizona for any amount of time and follow politics even a little you know that Gosar and Biggs are more than capable of bringing even greater ignominious disgrace to the GOP.

And they have, with recent actions placing them squarely in the forefront of what Republican Rep. Liz Cheney derisively calls the Putin wing of the Republican party.

As if Adolf Hitler 'isn't a good thing'

First there was Gosar, speaking via prerecorded video at the America First Political Action Conference, a convention of white nationalists where the chant was Putin! Putin! Organizer Nicholas Fuentes called the United States the evil empire of the world and added, Now, theyre going and saying, Vladimir Putin is Adolf Hitler, as if that isnt a good thing.

Then, both Biggs and Gosar joined only 15 others from the House who voted against a Russian oil ban in response to the invasion of Ukraine.

Then Biggs became one of only eight members of the House, all Republicans, to vote against a bill revoking revoke Russias most favored nation status in the World Trade Organization.

The legislation would allow President Joe Biden to introduce higher tariffs, joining the European Union and the Group of Seven industrial nations in taking punitive actions against Russia.

Are they 'lonely voices' or mainstream GOP?

In these actions Biggs and Gosar stand side-by-side with Republicans Lauren Boebert of Colorado, Matt Gaetz of Florida and Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, outliers within the Republican party, within the American populace and within humanity.

At a press conference on Friday a reporter asked House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, Eight of your members voted against trade sanctions yesterday, 15 voted against oil sanctions last week. One of your members put out a Twitter thread on what she referred to as NATO Nazis. Are you worried that a small group of vocal right-wing members with very large platforms are going to cloud the GOPs otherwise overwhelming support for Ukraine?

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McCarthy answered, No. Next question.

But of course, they do cloud that support.

And Putin loves it.

Also recently, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell called the Putin wing lonely voices and said, I wouldnt pay much attention to them.

I bet he would if they were Democrats.

Biggs and Gosar are Yankee Doodle ... comrades

As it is, the Russian propaganda machine is using some remarks from Putin supporters in Congress to garner support for its vicious invasion of Ukraine. Right up there with the rants of Fox News Tucker Carlson.

It would be shameful, if those spreading the pro-Russia rubbish had any shame.

My guess is that the Arizonans who keep Biggs and Gosar in office speak of them as flag-waving, apple pie-eating patriots, ignoring the part about propping up Putin.

Which makes them more like Yankee Doodle ... comrades.

Reach Montini at ed.montini@arizonarepublic.com.

For more opinions content, please subscribe.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Reps. Andy Biggs and Paul Gosar live in the GOP 'Putin wing'
The Bridge to Nowhere over the Whanganui River in New Zealand

Courtesy of Intrepid Travel

As New Zealand reopens its borders to international travelers  including Americans on May 2  Australia-based small group tour operator Intrepid Travel has ramped up its offerings to its neighboring nation. Among their new trips is the five-day Forgotten World Adventure tour through King Country in the Whanganui region of the North Island.

The highlight of the adventure-filled itinerary is a day at Forgotten World Adventures experiencing a ride through 10 hand-built brick tunnels  one nearly a mile in length  and more than 25 bridges along an old railway line running between Stratford and Taumarunui, passing through both bushlands and hilly outcrops. In Tokirima, guests will enjoy a ploughman's lunch with homemade baked treats before setting off on a seasonal visit to Lauren's Lavender Farm followed by a jaunt to Tongariro National Park, with the option to hike to Waitonga Falls.

The Whanganui River in New Zealand

Courtesy of Intrepid Travel

The tour also includes a jet boat ride to Mangapurua Landing in Whanganui National Park for a guided Bridge to Nowhere walk to the Valley of Abandoned Dreams, as well as a canoe trip down the Whanganui River. The new trip starts at $1,605 per person, including three nights in a hotel and one in a lodge, plus four breakfasts, three lunches, and a dinner.

Also offered on the North Island is the five-day Bay of Islands Adventure (from $1,220), which starts in Auckland with visits to ancient kauri tree forests, the seaside town of Russell, Poor Knights Islands, and a glow worm cave  plus opportunities to see fur seals, dolphins, whales, and penguins. For those who prefer pedaling, there's also the new four-day Cycle Otago Rail Trail (from $915) along the nation's oldest rail trail with stops in the former gold mining towns of Alexandra, Omakau, Wedderburn, and Hyde.

Intrepid Travel also added two premium-level tours  with upgraded accommodations and experiences  to its New Zealand collection, one on each island. The eight-day Premium New Zealand North Island itinerary (from $2,810) travels from Auckland to Wellington, with visits to Hobbiton from The Lord of the Rings, Rotorua geothermal park, Lake Taupo, and Tongariro's volcanic areas, plus a private catamaran ride in Wellington Harbor. The 10-day Premium New Zealand South Island trip (from $3,220) goes from Christchurch to Queenstown, bringing travelers to glaciers and lakes, as well as on a Milford Sound cruise and brewery tasting.

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Underground Tunnel Rail Cart Tour in New Zealand

Courtesy of Intrepid Travel

The New Zealand tours are just some of Intrepid's new itineraries, which also include a collection of eight new itineraries in the U.S. that celebrate diversity, including ones focused on Black communities, designed with the National Blacks in Travel & Tourism Collaborative, and Indigenous culture, with representatives from the Crow and Lakota nations. The company is also offering $1 deposits through March on more than 1,000 trips for travel by the end of the year.
A judge in a Moscow court said on Monday that Instagram and Facebook were guilty of extremist activity, solidifying a ban on both platforms that went into effect earlier this month, reported Reuters. But the court also spared WhatsApp  one of Metas core products and one of the most popular messaging platforms in Russia  from the ban. Russian authorities decided to open a criminal case against Meta after Facebooks decision to temporarily allow for calls of violence in Ukraine and select other countries. The outcome of that case was determined today in court.

Many Russia experts believe that the court chose not to include WhatsApp in the ban due to its ubiquitous status in the nation. Roughly 80 percent of Russians over the age of 14 use WhatsApp to communicate, according to a 2021 survey from Deloitte. Ironically, the case against Meta led to WhatsApp losing its status as the most popular messenger in Russia. Telegram, which millions of Russians downloaded in recent weeks due to uncertainty over WhatsApp's fate, is now the most popular messaging app in Russia, mobile operator Megafon told Reuters today.

Under the judges ruling, Meta is effectively banned from opening offices or doing business in Russia, according to Russian state media agency TASS. But Russian citizens wont be accused of extremism for merely using any of Metas platforms or services (that is, if they can access them). Many Russians have downloaded VPNs in recent weeks to access many of the Western-owned tech platforms banned by their government.

"The use of Meta's products by individuals and legal entities should not be considered as participation in extremist activities," a spokesman for the prosecutor's office told TASS.

But even those able to access Facebook or Instagram still face limits on free speech. A new Russian law criminalizes the spread of fake news or public statements that are critical of Russias invasion of Ukraine. Thousands of Russians have been arrested, fired from jobs or expelled from school for criticizing Russias activities in Ukraine, reported NPR.

Despite WhatsApp being spared, future sparring between Russia and Western tech companies could make it harder for Russians to buy new devices or access services. Samsung, Microsoft, Apple, LG and others have banned device sales in Russia.

MacRumors recently reported that Russian users can no longer access the App Store or pay for any of Apples services, which would include iCloud. Google Play has also paused all billing in Russia, although users can still use free apps. WhatsApp offers encrypted backups, but users will need an iCloud or Google Drive account.
(SPUTNIK/AFP via Getty Images)

A Russian newspaper has claimed that hackers posted fake news on their platform after reporting that nearly 10,000 soldiers had been killed in Ukraine.

The article, published by Komsomolskaya Pravda, stated that 9,861 Russian servicemen have been killed and 16,153 had been wounded, Reuters reports.

Today, that article had been removed and replaced with a message: "On March 21, access to the administrator interface was hacked on the Komsomolskaya Pravda website and a fake insert was made in this publication about the situation around the special operation in Ukraine. The inaccurate information was immediately removed."

Russia claims that only 498 servicemen have been killed in its special military operation in Ukraine, and 1,597 wounded.

Earlier this month, Ukraines military command alleged that over 11,000 Russian troops had been killed.

It added that the Russian forces have suffered the loss of 2,000 units of enemy weapons and military equipment, including 285 tanks, 44 aircraft and 48 helicopters.

It has not been possible to independently verify this claim, but Komsomsolskya Pravda has supported Vladimir Putins claim that Russia has attempting to demilitarise and "denazify" Ukraine, something which Ukraine and Western governments have claimed is not true.

Russia has received numerous cyberattacks over the weeks since 24 February.

The hacking group Anonymous claimed that it took control of unsecured printers across the country to spread anti-propaganda about Ukraine, and has previously claimed attacks on television stations to spread footage about the war.

It comes as Russia has clamped down on independent media, banning Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram from the country as well as publications such as the BBC.

Recently, a Russian protestor thought to be Channel One editor Marina Ovsyannikova burst onto a nightly newscast with a sign that read: Stop the war. Dont believe propaganda. Theyre lying to you.

In a video recorded before her protest, she said that Russia was an aggressor and that the whole world has turned away from us, and ten generations of our descendants wont wash off this fratricidal war."
Ukrainians protested against the Russian occupation in Kherson on March 5, 2022. Twitter

Video footage appeared to show Russian troops opening fire on a crowd of Ukrainian protesters in Kherson.

The southern Ukrainian city was the first to fall to Russian forces earlier this month.

In the weeks since, scores of Ukrainians have gathered to peacefully protest the occupation.

Russian soldiers occupying the Ukrainian city of Kherson opened fire to disperse a crowd of peaceful protesters on Monday, according to multiple videos and reports.

Video footage and photographs on social media appear to show Russian troops deploying sustained and direct gunfire at demonstrators in the city center. People are reported to have been injured, according to the BBC.

CNN anchor Jim Sciutto shared a verified video of Ukrainians carrying a bleeding man through the streets of Kherson after he was reportedly shot by Russian soldiers.

The New York Times reported that Russian forces also deployed flash-bang type grenades to disperse the crowds on Monday, resulting in video footage of apparent explosions.

The southern port city of Kherson, which is located 200 kilometers east of Odesa, was the first Ukrainian city to fall to Russian forces on Wednesday, March 3. In the weeks since, Kherson's nearly 300,000 residents have been struck by ongoing Russian attacks, diminishing food and medical supplies, and below-freezing temperatures.

Since the city was seized earlier this month, scores of Ukrainians have taken to the streets daily to protest the Russian occupation. The city's mayor estimated that nearly 2,000 people attended one such protest in Liberty Square.

Earlier this month, hundreds of demonstrators gathered to protest against rumors that Russia intends to turn the Kherson region into a breakaway republic. Moscow claims it controls the entire Kherson region.

Previous video footage reviewed by Insider shows Russian forces firing into the air to disperse past demonstrations, but Monday's scene marked a dramatic escalation in the Russian response to protesters.

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Marta Pogorila, an activist from Kherson who is currently in Romania, told The Times that angry demonstrators on Monday were protesting the alleged defacement of a local monument by Russian soldiers.

State Department spokesperson Ned Price responded to reports of the violence on Monday, retweeting a video that shows people running through the streets amid relentless gunfire.

"Unarmed civilians in Kherson, Ukraine peacefully protest the Russian occupation. The Russian military's response? Throwing a grenade and shooting into the crowd. We condemn the Kremlin's targeting of civilians and call on Putin to end his war of choice," Price said.

Read the original article on Business Insider
imaginima/Getty Images imaginima/Getty Images

Russian oil may not save Putin's economy from crumbling amid the war in Ukraine.

The European Union is weighing a ban on Russian energy exports this week.

China, for its part, is unlikely to be able to take new supply from Russia, according to the Dallas Fed.

Not even Russia's oil may be able to save its economy from crumbling under the weight of international sanctions.

That's because the US and UK have already barred Russian oil; the European Union is weighing a possible ban of its own, and China, for its part, may not have the capacity or infrastructure to take on more of Vladimir Putin's petroleum.

Russia's attack on Ukraine last month prompted widespread sanctions from the West that have tanked the Russian ruble and put the country on the verge of of defaulting on its debts. The country's saving grace may have been its oil production  but that hope is waning.

Since the war began, around 3 million barrels of petroleum per day, or 3% of global production, has been effectively removed from the worldwide oil market. That supply shock  the largest in decades, according to a Tuesday report from the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas  has sent oil prices surging past $100 a barrel, with some experts predicting even higher prices to come.

The Dallas Fed suggested one way to address the shortfall would be for China to use heavily discounted oil from Russia in place of more expensive imports from elsewhere. That idea, however, is "unlikely anytime soon," the monetary authority said.

"There is very limited spare capacity in oil pipelines connecting China to Russia, and it is unclear where China would procure the oil tankers required for shipping more oil to China and at what cost," the Dallas Fed wrote.

The European Union, for its part, is considering whether to join the US and the UK in sanctioning Russian energy exports this week, though leaders remain divided on the matter.

Famed French commodities trader Pierre Andurand told Bloomberg News last week that many countries are avoiding Russian oil even without government sanctions. He said banks  including Chinese banks  don't want to finance Russian oil cargo amid Putin's attack on Ukraine, and soon Russia will have to stop production when they run out of storage capacity. Until the world can once again trust Russia, he said oil from the country is likely "gone for good."

"We'll have to live with higher prices to keep demand down," he told Bloomberg.

Read the original article on Business Insider
The Sacramento City Unified School District said Monday it continues to negotiate with the unions representing teachers and other school staff members. If a deal can't be reached between the two sides, the district has said it will shut down all of its schools beginning Wednesday, March 23  the date SCTA/SEIU unions have set to strike. District officials outlined in a statement to families Monday that they have a plan in place to provide for thousands of students who rely on school meals. See more in the video above.
Ukrayinska Pravda

VALENTYNA ROMANENKO - WEDNESDAY, 4 MAY 2022, 17:33 Ukrainian defenders continue to destroy units of the Russian occupiers and their equipment with great professionalism. Source: the press centre of the DShV command [Command of the Assault Troops of the Armed Forces of Ukraine] and the press service of the National Guard Details: The assault troops showed a video with the aftermath of the Russian armoured vehicles, together with their crews, destroyed by the artillery of one of the units of the D




Correction: An earlier version of this report misidentified the Greek alternate foreign minister. This version has been updated.

The globally coordinated sanctions against Russia over its invasion of Ukraine are aimed at regime change in Moscow, a top Greek diplomat told The Hill in an interview in Washington, D.C.

Greek Alternate Foreign Minister Miltiadis Varvitsiotis praised President Biden for corralling democracies to impose coordinated sanctions, but warned that Turkey's absence on some of the most punishing measures risks undermining the global push to punish Putin.

Athens holds long-standing concern over Turkey's behavior in the eastern Mediterranean and within the NATO alliance in general, but Varvitsiotis was in Washington urging policy makers to more firmly press Turkey to align with the West.

"If we don't drag [Turkey] into the sanction regime, then Russia will not feel as heavy [pressure from] the package of these sanctions that have already been imposed," Varvitsiotis said in an interview at the Greek Embassy last week.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said that the coordinated sanctions are not about regime change, telling CBS in an interview on March 6 that "the Russian people have to decide who they want to lead them."

But Varvitsiotis emphasized that the sanctions are aimed at stoking the opposition in Russia.

"The sanctions ... are dedicated in order to bring down the Putin regime by internal unrest - and this is the idea that we create," he said, "a climate into Russia that this act of aggression is going to be costly for the economy of Russia, and to build up the unrest and the opposition to Putin."

The Greek government holds a deep affinity for Biden, who they view as having personally advocated for the country's economic survival after the 2008 financial crisis, when he served as vice president during the Obama administration.

Yet American and Greek ties deepened under the administration of former President Trump, pushing back on nascent ties between Athens and the Kremlin due to a policy that favored bilateral partnerships over multilateral alliances.

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Washington grew even closer to Greece as it strengthened its ties with Israel, countering Turkey's antagonism - with Ankara pushing for natural gas exploration in territorial waters claimed by Greece and Cyprus and hosting the Iran-backed Hamas terrorist group, which seeks the elimination of Israel.

Congress codified the U.S. and Greek relationship in two significant pieces of legislation over the past two years.

Varvitsiotis, who replaces Greece's foreign minister if he is unable to perform his duties, urged the U.S. to further prioritize its relationship with Greece, deepening the already strengthened military cooperation, and work to avoid conflict in the eastern Mediterranean.

He called Greece's Port of Alexandroupolis, where American naval and military supplies transit, "the main gateway for bringing new defense equipment in the southeastern flank of NATO".

Still, Varvitsiotis raised concern that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is a problematic ally, saying that while the Turkish president is hosting peace talks between Russian and Ukrainian officials, Ankara is a potential weak link in holding Putin accountable.

Turkey, which is a member of NATO but not the European Union, was not obligated to join in on the E.U. sanctions package against Russia. Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu reportedly said at a diplomatic forum last week that Ankara had no intention of joining the sanctions regime.

"We believe that the sanctions will not resolve the problem," he said, according to the Russian-state owned TASS news agency.

Turkey holds deep economic ties to Russia. Varvitsiotis said Ankara has held back from blacklisting Russian banks from the SWIFT financial messaging system imposed by the E.U. - which blocks Russian banks from transacting with banks in Europe - and has not blocked the export of dual-use goods related to energy and weapons development.

"The fact that Turkey is not coming alongside is causing a big loophole in the whole sanction-structure," Varvitsiotis warned, also raising concern that Ankara did not join in sanctioning Russian oligarchs or closing its airspace to Russian flights.

"Now, all the oligarchs may move their yachts to Turkey and still enjoy the Mediterranean sea. ... They can travel because they're using the Istanbul airport," he said.

Reuters reported on Tuesday that at least two yachts belonging to recently sanctioned Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich were docked in a Turkish resort. The United Kingdom imposed sanctions on Abramovich on March 10 for financially benefiting from his relationship with Putin.

The Turkish Embassy in Washington could not be reached for comment.

While Turkey is not imposing its own sanctions, its trade with Russia is still being affected by those instated by the U.S. and others.

Aykan Erdemir, senior director of the Turkey Program at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and a former member of the Turkish parliament, said that Turkey is blocked from exporting dual-use goods that have sanctioned U.S. components, but is largely free to export goods that don't fall under this blacklist.

Turkey and Russia are not allies and are often on opposite sides of regional conflicts, said Paul Stronski, a senior fellow for Russia and Eurasia program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

Since 2019, Turkey has reportedly supplied Kyiv with Bayraktar drones in the war against Russian-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine. Stronski said Russia's full-scale invasion of the country has likely "unnerved" Turkey.

"Russia and Turkey have a complex relationship, you're seeing that complexity both in how they [Turkey] haven't fully bought into Western sanctions, haven't closed their airspace, but have been providing military help to the Ukrainians," he said.

But Erdogan and Putin are somewhat kindred spirits in how they view threats from democracies and their grievances against the lost power of their countries' former empires - the Ottoman Empire for Erdogan and the Soviet Union for Putin.

"Both leaders find each other to be very convenient vehicles through which they can voice their displeasure with the West," Stronski said, adding that "Greece is concerned about revanchism from its neighbors, and so what Russia has done just highlights that animosity and that concern."

Varvitsiotis warned that while Greece is wary of Erdogan and Turkey, both Athens and Ankara are working to project NATO Unity, most recently displayed with a visit last week by Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis to see the Turkish president.

"The major understanding is that, in these critical times, we shouldn't bring the Greek-Turkish tensions back on the table, that they're going to destabilize the eastern flank of NATO and the security architecture in the Mediterranean," Varvitsiotis said.

"We don't want to make a spillover, or to give any incident that will make a spillover of the crisis into the Mediterranean, which is very important."

--Updated on March 23 at 8:32 a.m.
RIYADH (Reuters) -Saudi Arabia's foreign ministry said on Tuesday it welcomed the "positive points" in a statement by Lebanon's prime minister, in a sign that Beirut's tensions with Gulf Arab countries are easing.

Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati stressed in a statement on Monday the need to stop all Lebanon-originated activities that affect the security and stability of Saudi Arabia and other Gulf Arab countries.

He added the Lebanese government is committed to strengthen cooperation with Saudi Arabia, following a phone call with Kuwait's foreign minister, Sheikh Ahmad Nasser al-Mohammad al-Sabah.

The Saudi ministry said it welcomed Mikati's statement, adding it hoped that it will "contribute to the restoration of Lebanon's role and status on the Arab and international levels".

Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries expelled Lebanese envoys last year in a diplomatic spat that has deepened Lebanon's economic crisis, following critical comments about the Saudi-led military intervention in Yemen by Lebanon's former Information Minister George Kordahi.

Riyadh says the crisis with Lebanon had its origins in a Lebanese political setup that reinforces the dominance of the Iran-backed Hezbollah armed group and continues to allow endemic instability.

Saudi Arabia and its fellow wealthy neighbours once spent billions of dollars in aid in Lebanon, and still host a huge Lebanese diaspora. But the friendship has been strained for years by the growing influence of the powerful Hezbollah movement.

A financial meltdown has crashed the Lebanese currency over the past months and left most of the population facing poverty amid sky-rocketing commodity prices in the international markets.

(Reporting by Ahmad Elhamy; writing by Aziz El Yaakoubi; Editing by Alex Richardson and Jonathan Oatis)
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP)  A South Carolina sheriff is defending the fatal shooting of a Black man who advanced on officers with a wooden stake, saying deputies can't be expected to sacrifice their lives in dangerous situations.

The remarks by Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott came Sunday amid an outcry over the Saturday shooting of Irvin D. Moorer Charley. The 34-year-old Moorer Charley was shot and killed in Columbia after deputies responded to a call about domestic violence.

We cant expect these deputies to go out here and be killed," Lott told reporters. They have to protect themselves. And thats what this deputy did yesterday. He protected himself. He went home to his family last night. Unfortunately Mr. Charley didnt. Thats a decision that he made.

Critics say Moorer Charley was having a mental health crisis and that deputies were wrong to shoot him. But Lott told reporters Sunday that when Deputy John Anderson arrived at the family home, multiple people said Moorer Charley had injured them and said Moorer-Charley was inside with a knife.

Lott played a clip of body camera video where Anderson repeatedly yells at Moorer Charley to Drop the weapon! as Moorer Charley walks toward the deputy, who is slowly backpedaling.

Lott said that a second deputy, Zachary Hentz, later arrived, and that deputies unsuccessfully tried to use an electrical stun gun to subdue Moorer Charley.

They did try to use the Taser," Richland County Coroner Naida Rutherford said. "It did not not stick in the skin. And so it did not stop him as you would expect.

Lott said that immediately after that, Moorer Charley charged Hentz, who shot Moorer Charley four times.

It was a very close encounter," Lott said, saying Hentz kept shooting until Moorer Charley dropped to the ground, and that the last shot was from less than 3 feet (0.9 meters) away. He said deputies tried to resuscitate Moorer Charley until an ambulance arrived.

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Lott said he would not release the entire video. However, he said he had played it for the coroner, would play it for the local prosecutor and the department's citizen advisory board. He also said he was willing to play it for Moorer Charley's family.

Its just not something everyone needs to see," Lott said. "I think the people that need to see it are going to see it.

Critics including the South Carolina Black Activist Coalition and Stand As One planned a separate news conference Sunday to protest the shooting, saying they dont believe it was justified. Fifth Circuit Solicitor Byron Gipson will decide whether to charge the officers with a crime.

Rutherford said rumors that Moorer Charley had been shot in the back, shot while in handcuffs and shot 10 times were untrue. Rutherford said the bullets struck Moorer Charleys aorta, heart and liver.

In response to criticism that officers overreacted to someone with mental health problems, Lott emphasized the call to 911 hadn't labeled Moorer Charley as someone in a mental health crisis.

It's sad all around," the sheriff said. "Mental health is a problem in our community. We do not need to continue to ignore it. When someone cries out for help, they need to get help.

Lott said his department's most recent previous deadly officer shooting was in 2013.
Ukrayinska Pravda

VALENTYNA ROMANENKO - WEDNESDAY, 4 MAY 2022, 17:33 Ukrainian defenders continue to destroy units of the Russian occupiers and their equipment with great professionalism. Source: the press centre of the DShV command [Command of the Assault Troops of the Armed Forces of Ukraine] and the press service of the National Guard Details: The assault troops showed a video with the aftermath of the Russian armoured vehicles, together with their crews, destroyed by the artillery of one of the units of the D
By Hilary Russ

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Starbucks workers in a cafe in Seattle, the coffee chain's hometown, voted 9 to 0 in favor of joining a labor union, according to a tally of ballots on Tuesday.

The results mark the seventh Starbucks-owned cafe in the United States to join the union, following five in Buffalo, New York and one in Mesa, Arizona.

It is the first location in the company's own backyard to join Workers United. Baristas at more than 150 U.S. locations have petitioned a federal labor board for union elections since August, when the union drive went public.

The company runs about 9,000 U.S. locations, with thousands of others operated under licensing agreements.

The ballooning union drive comes during a nationwide labor crunch.

Some investors have asked Starbucks to adopt a neutral stance toward the union, noting that the company spent years building a reputation as an employee-friendly workplace.

"For a company that depends on a strong brand and customer loyalty, where people have an option to go somewhere else very easily, reputation is critical," said Jonas Kron, chief advocacy officer at Trillium Asset Management.

Last week, Trillium and a group of other investors with $3.4 trillion under management asked Starbucks in a letter to stop sending anti-union communications to employees.

One unknown is what strategy the company will take when former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz steps in for outgoing Chief Executive Officer Kevin Johnson.

Schultz "has a long history of not wanting to see Starbucks unionized," Kron said. "But it is worth at least giving him an opportunity to make a pivot or to do a reset."

(Reporting by Hilary Russ in New York; additional reporting by Danielle Kaye in New York, Editing by Franklin Paul and David Gregorio)
A week ago, Google somewhat surprisingly announced that Steam was coming to Chromebooks in a very early alpha test format  but aside from a mention of this during the company's Games Developer Summit keynote, there were no details to be had. Given the somewhat surprising amount of interest around it, Google is now making things a bit more official by releasing instructions on how to get Steam up and running on Chrome OS. The company is also providing details on supported hardware, games that should work and bugs you can expect to run into.

For starters, you'll need a supported device, and it's only a handful of Chromebooks. Google says that you'll need a device with Intel Iris Xe Graphics, 11th-generation Core i5 or i7 processors and at least 8GB of RAM. Google specifically said that configurations with an Intel i3 processor or 4GB of RAM aren't supported. For the alpha, only the following devices are supported:

 Acer Chromebook 514 (CB514-1W)

 Acer Chromebook 515 (CB515-1W)

 Acer Chromebook Spin 713 (CP713-3W)

 ASUS Chromebook Flip CX5 (CX5500)

 ASUS Chromebook CX9 (CX9400)

 HP Pro c640 G2 Chromebook

 Lenovo 5i-14 Chromebook

Assuming you have supported hardware, Google says you'll need to switch your Chromebook to the Dev channel, and cautions that you shouldn't do this with hardware that you rely on for daily use. From there, you'll need to enable a specific flag in Chrome as well as type a few commands into Chrome OS's Crosh terminal. Google says you can find full directions here.

Once you have Steam installed, there's a surprisingly large group of games that Google has tried and suggests testers try as well. Unsurprisingly, it includes a lot of Valve titles like Portal 2, Dota 2, Team Fortress 2 and Half-Life 2. Other games Google suggests trying include Celeste, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt (i7 and 16GB of RAM required for that one, with graphics set to medium or lower), Hades, Cuphead, TEKKEN 7, Fallout 4 and more.

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Google notes that Steam will default to installing and running a Linux version of your selected game, assuming it's available (which is why so many Valve games are supported here). But the Steam Play compatibility tool means you can try other games, as well; it leverages the Proton software that allows some Windows-based games to run on Linux. Of course, there are no guarantees this will work, but it's worth a shot if there's a particular title you want to try on Chrome OS.

Come to think of it, "there are no guarantees this will work" sums up the vibe of Google's blog post pretty well. The company took great pains to note this is an alpha release; between the less stable nature of the Dev channel in general and the alpha status of Steam, Google says that "anything can break" and that "you will encounter crashes, performance regressions, and never-before-seen bugs."

So, this isn't exactly a release for the faint of heart  but the good news is that it's extremely easy to roll back Chrome OS to its original state, and most of your settings and preferences are all kept in the cloud. If you have one of the few supported Chromebooks and want to give it a shot, you can do so now, but just make sure you've backed up any local files on your device before you take the plunge.
Lakeland High School students were evacuated Tuesday morning as authorities investigate a bomb threat  the second this week at the Suffolk school.

Dispatchers were alerted of the threat at 9:19 a.m., Suffolk police said in a Twitter post.

Students were also evacuated for a short time Monday so authorities could investigate another bomb threat at the school. A male juvenile student was arrested later that day and charged with threatening to bomb the school. No threat was found Monday after the fire marshals office searched the school, police said.

Last week, Lakeland High went on lockdown after multiple fights broke out in the cafeteria Thursday morning, police said. No injuries were reported at the school.

Ali Sullivan, 757-677-1974, ali.sullivan@virginiamedia.com
TAMPA  An 81-year-old church pastor was arrested Friday after an investigation determined he may have sexually abused three girls under the age of 12, according to the Tampa Police Department.

Jesus Manuel Castellano-Mojica remained in jail Monday on four charges in connection with the alleged abuse  two counts of lewd and lascivious molestation and two counts of sexual battery, according to jail records from the Hillsborough County Sheriffs Office.

On Feb. 14, the Department of Children and Families received a report that a 7-year-old may have been sexually abused, police said, and the case was assigned to the departments Special Victims Unit.

During the investigation, detectives found two other girls who may have been sexually abused by Castellano-Mojica, according to a police department news release Monday evening. Two of the girls are 7 years old, while the third person is a 28-year-old woman who was 11 at the time of the abuse, authorities said.

Castellano-Mojica told police he was a pastor at Grace Church of the Nazarene, the release said. According to the establishments Facebook page, the church is at 3706 W Wyoming Ave. in Tampa.

Under the about section of the page, it says, Our church could be your church family. The quote is attributed to Jesus M. Castellanos.

A phone call to the number listed on that page went to a voicemail box that was full Monday, so the Times was unable to leave a message.

According to Hillsborough County jail records, Castellano-Mojica is employed at Walmart as a greeter.

His bond is set at $200,000, according to Hillsborough County jail records.

This is a developing story. Stay with tampabay.com for updates.
Friends and family of slain NBA basketball player Lorenzen Wright grieve during a memorial service in Memphis, Tenn., in 2010





A Tennessee jury on Monday convicted a man in the Memphis murder of former NBA player Lorenzen Wright in 2010, The Associated Press reported.

Shelby County Criminal Court Judge Lee Coffee handed down a life sentence to Billy Ray Turner, who will be sentenced for other charges at a later date.

Prosecutors alleged that Sherra Wright, Lorenzen Wright's ex-wife, recruited Turner and Jimmie Martin, a cousin of hers, to help concoct and carry out the plot to eliminate her ex-husband.

The government said that Turner, a former landscaper who attended the same church as Sherra Wright, had a secret romantic relationship with her as well.

Sherra Wright and Turner in July 2010 lured Lorenzen Wright, a 13-year NBA veteran, to a field, where he was ambushed and chased before being shot and killed as he tried to jump a fence and run away, the AP reported.

Lorenzen Wright's bullet-riddled body was found nine days later.

Sherra Wright entered a plea of guilty to facilitation of murder in July 2019 and was sentenced to 30 years in prison.

Turner, 51, was found guilty of first-degree murder, attempted murder and conspiracy in the death of Lorenzen Wright, the AP noted.
(This March 21 story corrects spelling of "Lambda Legal" in paragraphs 2 and 6)

By Maria Caspani

(Reuters) - A Texas appeals court on Monday reinstated a temporary injunction prohibiting the state from investigating parents who provide their transgender children certain medical care that Governor Greg Abbott has branded "child abuse."

The Texas Third Court of Appeals ruling came in a lawsuit the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and Lambda Legal filed on behalf of a 16-year-old transgender girl, her parents and her licensed therapist challenging a directive issued by Abbott last month.

The latest decision affirmed the rulings of a lower-court judge, who first blocked any further investigation of the family and their psychologist, then issued a broader injunction on March 11 barring enforcement of Abbott's directive statewide while the case remained under judicial review.

The judge, Amy Clark Meachum, ruled that plaintiffs in the case faced "deprivation of their constitutional rights, the potential loss of necessary medical care and the stigma attached to being the subject of an unfounded child abuse investigation."

Meachum also held that Abbott, a Republican, had exceeded his authority in his Feb. 22 directive, which was based on a non-binding legal opinion issued earlier by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, also a Republican.

The state appealed Meachum's order on an accelerated basis, asserting the injunction was thus automatically frozen, a position disputed by the ACLU and Lambda Legal.

Paxton declared the state free to enforce Abbott's policy, which required the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) to investigate any reported instances of "gender-transitioning procedures" performed on minors and classified those procedures as "child abuse under existing Texas law."

It also required doctors, nurses and teachers to report such treatments or face criminal penalties. The DFPS acknowledged last week that it had opened nine child welfare inquiries under Abbott's policy.

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In its three-page decision on Monday, the appeals court, sided against Abbott, explicitly blocking further enforcement of his directive again until the litigation is resolved.

The child identified in the lawsuit only as "Mary Doe, a minor," has taken puberty-delaying medications and hormone therapy. Her mother is an employee of the DFPS and was put on paid administrative leave after asking what Abbott's directive would mean for her family.

The lawsuit, brought in the Texas capital Austin, said no other state treats gender-affirming medical care as a form of child abuse. And there is wide agreement among mainstream medical and mental health professionals that gender-affirming care saves lives by reducing the risk of depression and suicide.

Still, conservative politicians in dozens of states have sought to criminalize the provision of medical treatments used to help young people transition away from the gender they were assigned at birth.

Critics of such proposals have accused Republicans of seizing on issues surrounding gender identity as a wedge issue for political gain.

On Monday, Indiana's Republican governor, Eric Holcomb, vetoed a Republican-backed bill passed by state lawmakers to ban transgender girls from participating in girls' sports in schools.

Abbott's directive was issued one week before the March gubernatorial primary in which he faced challenges from fellow Republicans seeking to cast him as insufficiently conservative. Abbott won the Republican nomination to a third term in that race and will face Democrat Beto O'Rourke in the November general election.

(Reporting by Maria Caspani in New York; Additional reporting and writing by Steve Gorman in Los Angeles; Editing by Leslie Adler, Robert Birsel)
Paddy McNair has been ruled out of Northern Irelands trip to Luxembourg (PA)

Paddy McNair, Conor Bradley and Bailey Peacock-Farrell have been ruled out of Northern Irelands friendly against Luxembourg on Friday.

McNair will not make the trip this week after suffering a foot injury in Middlesbroughs FA Cup quarter-final defeat to Chelsea on Saturday.

The versatile 26-year-old joined up with Ian Baracloughs squad in Belfast but will remain behind to continue treatment, with a chance he returns for next Tuesdays home match against Hungary.

Liverpool right-back Bradley is yet to join up with the squad having remained on Merseyside for assessment on a knee problem.

Similarly, goalkeeper Peacock-Farrell, who is at Sheffield Wednesday on loan from Burnley, is yet to join up with the squad and will miss the Luxembourg trip, although the 25-year-old should come into contention for the Hungary match.

It is understood that Peacock-Farrell is not injured and will be available for the Owls League One match against Cheltenham on Saturday before joining Baracloughs squad. Conor Hazard and Luke Southwood are the other goalkeepers available for Northern Ireland.

Baracloughs options were boosted on Monday with news that Leicester defender Jonny Evans will be available for the Luxembourg trip, having not been named in the original 25-man squad.

Evans, 34, has been battling a long-term foot injury but after managing 25 minutes of Leicesters 2-1 Premier League win over Brentford on Sunday, he will make the trip to Luxembourg.

However, Evans will not be available for the Hungary match as he manages his return to action.
Kristina Korban is a TikToker and single mom living in Kyiv, Ukraine. Kristina Korban/TikTok

Ukrainian TikToker Kristina Korban spoke to Insider about what life is like in Kyiv.

Korban faces six-hour long lines for groceries, hair loss from stress, and "a pinch of PTSD."

She told Insider that she'll consider therapy after the war ends.

Kristina Korban, a 32-year-old TikToker living in Kyiv, Ukraine, told Insider that she thought she heard fireworks on the night that Russia first invaded.

As she pieced together the truth  that Russian forces had attacked with airstrikes and missiles  she shared the news with her 626,000 followers on TikTok. In her first video about the invasion, which was posted on February 24 and has more than 9 million views at the time of writing, Korban said this "might be the beginning of something serious."

In the three weeks that have followed, Korban has given an inside look at life in Kyiv, from what it's like to grocery shop to how Ukrainians are paying for essential items.

More than 3.1 million Ukrainians have fled the country, according to statistics released by the UN. But like many others, Korban  a single mother to a 2-year-old daughter  says she has no plans to leave. She spoke to Insider about how her life has changed for herself and her family.

Korban says that although she has 'a pinch of PTSD,' she won't use the free therapy being offered

Korban told Insider that she feels it's safer to stay in Ukraine with her family than to try to leave due to the "chaos" outside, and the amount of time it would take to get out of the city.

"And I consider myself a pretty patriotic Ukrainian, so I don't feel like we should have to leave and I don't want to leave," Korban said. "I don't want to be forced out of the country. This is our home."

Korban's online presence has changed drastically over the past couple of weeks. She previously used her platform to share advice about finance and investment. In a video shared on March 7, she said her hair is falling out due to stress.

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"I've legit lost half my hair by now," Korban told Insider. "I thought it was bad, like postpartum when you have hair loss."

Korban opened up about how the war has affected her physically and mentally.

"We're all very exhausted. We don't sleep much, especially since a lot of the action is like in the wee hours of the morning," she told Insider. "And definitely emotional. Every three or four days I have a mental breakdown. I keep myself together and then I have like one day that's an emotional roller coaster."

She said that she feels like she has "a pinch of PTSD," because she'll mistake everyday noises, such as somebody shutting a kitchen cabinet, for an explosion outside.

Post-traumatic stress disorder, also known as PTSD, is a mental health problem that develops after somebody experiences a traumatic event. The condition was first recognized in war veterans, and was previously given several names, including "shell shock," according to Mind.

Korban said that while a lot of local therapists are offering their services for free, she doesn't feel that she's in the right mindset to take advantage of it.

"I don't feel that I'd be in the right mind to sit down and have a therapy chat when I'm in such a stressful situation," Korban said, adding that she'll consider it "maybe after" the war ends.

Korban said that she hasn't left her home often since the invasion began, but one recent trip to the supermarket and to the pharmacy took six hours due to long lines.

"What's changed the most is not being able to really go anywhere or feel safe, you know, leaving the house, you go to the grocery store, you're technically risking your life," Korban said. "[It's] just the fear of what's beyond your four walls."

Korban has started a donation campaign for the people of Ukraine on Chuffed, a non-profit fundraising website. At the time of writing, $30,000 has been raised for families who have lost their sons in battle, those without pay, and for the elderly, according to the website. To donate, visit the fundraising page.

Read the original article on Insider
Its like a disco in your mouth, except there's no pressure to dance.

Thats what it means to celebrate National Cheesesteak Day in Delaware on Thursday.

On that day you're entitled to host a party for your taste buds where only good vibes are welcome.

Here are 12 places where you can celebrate National Cheesesteak Day in the Small Wonder, including options for vegan, pork and seafood lovers.

There are six locations across the state, but many people on the internet claim Elsmere has an extra special place in their hearts.

Regardless of which location is your favorite, Casapulla has been going strong for over 50 years and four generations. The long-time restaurant certainly has a knack for keeping customers coming back.

You can choose among an original ribeye steak, ribeye cheesesteak, pizza steak and more.

Not everyone can say President Joe Biden visited their restaurant. While theyre not the only restaurant in the state with those bragging rights, it does speaks volumes.

Philly-style steak sandwiches are offered with beef or chicken, prepared with onions and hot peppers.

Claymont Steak Shop, Newark and Wilmington

This place opened its doors over 50 years ago when cousins Sam Demetratos and Bob Hionis founded their restaurant chain in Claymont, after moving there from Greece.

Call ahead: New Wilmington brunch spot blooms in a landmark breakfast location

The shops award-winning cheesesteaks are proudly made with fresh meat thats sliced and diced on the spot.

Customers can choose their favorites. The classic Claymont is thinly sliced ribeye and American cheese, available large or small. But there is also a mushroom cheesesteak, chicken cheesesteak, pizza cheesesteak, Buffalo chicken cheesesteak, pepper steak and more.

The First State Brewing Company's scrapple cheesesteak sandwich - complete with its five cheese fondue topping.

Here you'll find arguably the most whimsical cheesesteak in Delaware. The bad boy they offer is made with scrapple, the beloved loaf of pork scraps many Delawareans cant get enough of.

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Delawares gas prices are driving you crazy?Here are 7 cool, low-mileage activities

Since its a cheesesteak, it only makes sense that its doused in five-cheese fondue, onions and bell peppers.

Not a scrapple fan? You can also snag a Delaware Cheesesteak, with shaved ribeye, Cascading Reactions Witbier, braised onions, sauteed mushrooms and Provolone on a hoagie roll.

109 Patriot Drive, Middletown; visit firststatebrewing.com or (302) 285-9535

For nearly 20 years this restaurant has been satisfying cravings.

For almost half that time, Ioannoni's has used fresh meat instead of frozen for its cheesesteaks, which punctuates their desire to provide customers with a memorable sandwich.

'Mare of Easttown' has ties to UD: Creator's whose brother coaches Blue Hens

Ioannonis largest cheesesteak is 21 inches, which is about as long as three 16.9-ounce water bottles stacked on top of each other.

624 E. Basin Road, New Castle; ioannonis.com; (302) 322-5000

The Broad Street Bully is a mean cheesesteak from Go Vegan Philly in Wilmingon.

This restaurant dishes up a sandwiches that gives you the best of both worlds: a sandwich that tastes just as good as a meaty cheesesteak, except its healthier and noticeably less greasy.

Its March Madness and the owners of Go Vegan put their game-face on every time they serve up these vegan treats, which they affectionately named the Broad Street Bully.

The vegan cheesesteak is served with your choice of oyster mushrooms or ground Impossible meat, along with your favorite toppings of peppers, mayo, ketchup, onions on a long roll with fries.

607 N. Lincoln St., Wilmington; goveganphilly.org; (302) 543-4431

Despite its name, this shop offers more than just pizza pies. They can whip up a mean cheesesteak, too.

The cheesesteak was very good, one customer raved on their Facebook page. They have great food and the people there are the best, another patron said.

2392 Dupont Parkway, Middletown; Visit Little Italy Pizzeria on Facebook; (302) 378-7070

Little Italy 2 Townsend (325 Main St., Townsend); See above for FB page; (302) 378-9494

This mainstay has built a reputation from filling up bellies with its home-style cooking. The shop is also known for its deep roots, since the business has been around for more than four generations.

With gas prices out of control, Main Street has become even more convenient for foodies in Kent County who want a tasty cheesesteak, but want to stay close to home.

40 S. Main St., Smyrna; Visit Main Street Market on Facebook; (302) 653-8837

In SoDel, this business takes a lot of pride in using fresh bread from Liscios bakery. A meaty sammich is one thing, but it hits a little different when those rolls are extra zesty.

Additionally, Nothing Better owner Nick Bohenko said he suspects his shop might be a little more liberal with its use of cheese than most places.

14882 Hardscrabble Road, Seaford; nothingbetterllc.com; (302) 875-2400

A three-pound Chef Philly Cheesesteak sandwich created by Clint "Chef Bones" Harris, owner of TenderBones Rib Shack in Bear, rest in a box. The cheesesteak cost $18 and is a special request only item that's not on the menu.

This popular restaurant carries a lot of weight in the cheesesteak community. Its not hard to understand why, because it sells a cheesesteak that weights over 2 pounds.

That sandwich isn't on the menu and it's by special request only.

Folks cant get enough of TenderBones. On the restaurants Facebook page, one person said they traveled from D.C. to Bear just to get a cheese steak, but they were sold out.

I need this in my life!! a hungry TenderBones fan wrote on Facebook. road trip!!!, another hyped supporter wrote.

And, hey, if ever there was inspiration for a road trip, it was a hot and gooey, perfectly executed cheesesteak.

This hidden gem has been glistening in Sussex for years and their downstate sammies are topped off with Southern comfort.

Best cheesesteak and subs around, one person wrote on the shops Facebook page.

The best, a wordsmith patron echoed.

3544 Williamsville Road, House; Visit Williamsville Country Store on Facebook; (302) 422-4455

A Zheesesteak with Zries, top, and a Zteak and Zhrimp with Zries are displayed in the Zoagies food truck. The food truck is located in New Castle.

This food truck stands out like a unicorn among cute puppies.

It offers deep-fried seafood cheesesteaks and hoagies such as the Zochness Monster of the Zea, Zodzilla and Triple Zea Monster.

Chef Zoagie, the owner of Zoagies, started out from humble beginnings, cooking food in a deep-fryer from Walmart and delivering meals on a bicycle. Grinding his way up from the bottom has helped him go viral and serve oodles of people with his sizzling food.

1401 N. Dupont Highway, New Castle; zoagies.com

Andre Lamar is the features/lifestyle reporter. If you have an interesting story idea, email Andre Lamar at alamar@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: National Cheesesteak Day offers TenderBones, Zoagies, Go Vegan Philly




The chance of a pregnant person passing COVID-19 to their baby is low, a new study shows.

Fewer than 2 percent of babies born to pregnant individuals with COVID-19 also test positive for the virus, according to a study published this month in the scientific journal BMJ.

An international research team led by the University of Birmingham's WHO Collaborating Centre for Global Women's Health examined data from 472 studies that involved more than 18,000 infants born to COVID-19 positive parents from around the world to craft their findings.

America is changing faster than ever! Add Changing America to your Facebook or Twitter feed to stay on top of the news.

Researchers found that while 1.8 percent of babies born to parents with COVID-19 also tested positive for the virus, the odds of a newborn testing positive increased if the parent had severe COVID-19 or was diagnosed with the disease after giving birth.

Vaginal birth and breast feeding did not increase the chances of a baby testing positive for the virus when their parent had COVID-19, researchers also found.

Although the world is now in year three of the COVID-19 pandemic and millions of people have contracted the virus, scientists still do not have a full understanding of the risks associated with contracting the virus when pregnant.

The new study helps to shed some much-needed light on the risk posed to babies when their parents are infected. In an editorial to the study, Associate Professor at the University of Hawaii Catherine McLean Pirkle wrote that the findings from the study "seem reassuring."

"Although the results indicate that mother-to-child transmission is possible in utero during the antenatal period, during labour or delivery (intrapartum), and after delivery (postpartum), rates of positivity among infants born to mothers with SARS-CoV-2 are low," Pirkle wrote.

"Ours is the first study to use the World Health Organization's stringent methods to show that it is possible for the virus to be spread from the mother to baby while in the womb, during childbirth, and after delivery," said Shakila Thangaratinam, professor of maternal and Perinatal Health at the University of Birmingham and lead author of the study. "Parents and healthcare professionals can be reassured that only a very small proportion of babies born to mothers with SARS-CoV-2 test positive."

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Thangaratinam added that parents should also be reassured that there is a low-risk of transmitting COVID-19 via vaginal birth, skin-to-skin contact and breastfeeding.

Health care professionals and policy makers should still be aware that babies can be infected with the virus at any time during pregnancy and delivery, Thangaratinam added.

Researchers also noted that babies born to parents who are positive for COVID-19 should be tested after birth and monitored closely, and vaccination during pregnancy should be encouraged to prevent infection and severe complications in parents.

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Clay Center, KS (67432)

Today

Periods of rain. High 54F. Winds N at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall near a half an inch..

Tonight

Rain early...then remaining cloudy with showers late. Low 49F. Winds NNW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall around a quarter of an inch.
Donald Trump on Monday suggested the US deploy nuclear submarines to put pressure on Vladimir Putin.

He suggested the submarines ply a route "up and down" the Russian coast.

Trump said he heard Putin "constantly using the n-word"  the "nuclear word"  during their talks.

Former President Donald Trump said on Monday that the US should put pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin by sending its nuclear submarines to ply the Russian coast.

"I listened to him constantly using the n-word, that's the n-word, and he's constantly using it: the nuclear word," Trump said during an appearance on Fox Business, referring to his talks with Putin during his presidency.

"And we say, 'Oh, he's a nuclear power.' But we're a greater nuclear power. We have the greatest submarines in the world, the most powerful machines ever built," he told the host Stuart Varney.

"You should say, 'Look, you mention that word one more time, we're going to send them over and we'll be coasting back and forth, up and down your coast," Trump said. "You can't let this tragedy continue. You can't let these, these thousands of people die."

The US has a fleet of 14 Ohio-class ballistic-missile submarines "designed specifically for stealth and the precise delivery of nuclear warheads," per the US Navy.

On February 27, Putin placed Russia's nuclear-deterrent forces on high alert in response to what he said were "illegitimate Western sanctions" imposed following his country's invasion of Ukraine.

Earlier this month, retired Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg  who served as national security advisor to Vice President Mike Pence during Trump's presidency  suggested that the US deploy all of its ballistic-missile submarines to see whether Putin was "bluffing."

Trump's latest proposition, however, appears to run counter to the US's approach of avoiding direct military intervention in Russia's war in Ukraine. For instance, President Joe Biden has ruled out maintaining a no-fly zone over Ukraine, which would most likely result in head-to-head clashes with Russian forces.

Trump has publicly expressed several suggestions on how to handle the war in Ukraine  including a proposal that the US put Chinese flags on its fighter jets to "bomb the shit out of Russia."

Read the original article on Business Insider
BEIJING (AP)  Ukraine is appealing to a Chinese maker of civilian drones to block what the Ukrainian government says is their use by the Russian army to target missile attacks.

Vice Prime Minister Mykhailo Federovs appeal to DJI Technology Co., publicized on Twitter, highlights the tensions over Ukraine for Chinese companies. Foreign Minister Wang Yi said this month Moscow is Beijing's most important strategic partner" at a time when Western tech and other companies have withdrawn from Russia over its Feb. 24 invasion.

Russian forces are using DJI products in order to navigate their missile, Federov wrote in a letter to DJI. He appealed to DJI to deactivate drones in Ukraine that were purchased and activated in Russia, Syria or Lebanon: Block your products that are helping Russia to kill the Ukrainians!

DJI, in a letter on its own Twitter account, responded that it can't deactivate individual drones but can impose geofencing, or software restrictions that usually are used to keep drones away from airports or other sensitive areas. The company said that would affect all DJI drones in Ukraine.

DJI, headquartered in Shenzhen, near Hong Kong, is one of the biggest makers of civilian drones used by photographers, businesses and hobbyists. It is a leader in technology that uses satellite navigation to guide drones to precise locations.

Beijing says Washington is to blame for the conflict and earlier endorsed Moscow's security concerns about Ukraine and the expansion of NATO, the U.S.-European military alliance, which President Vladimir Putin cited as the reason for his invasion.

Federov said Russian attackers used a version of DJIs AeroScope technology acquired in Syria. The company says that is a safety feature built into all its recent drones that broadcasts their location and tracks other drones up to 50 kilometers (35 miles) away to prevent collisions.

That system cannot be turned off, DJI said. As for geofencing, the company warned it is not foolproof and won't take effect in drones that aren't connected to the internet for software updates.

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The company is available to discuss these issues, DJI said.

A spokesman for DJI, Adam Lisberg, said in an email the company had no updates following the statement on Twitter.

The company didnt respond to Federovs appeal to stop doing business in Russia and cut ties with any partners there.
BERLIN (Reuters) - Ukraine needs a Marshall Plan to deal with the consequences of Russia's invasion, German Finance Minister Christian Lindner said on Tuesday.

"Our support for the (Ukrainian) people's fight for freedom will continue," Lindner said in a speech to the Bundestag lower house of parliament. "Our solidarity with our European neighbour has a lasting basis and that's why we need an international Marshall Plan for Ukraine."

(Reporting by Joseph Nasr; Editing by Paul Carrel)
LONDON (Reuters) - Ukraine wants China to play a more "noticeable role" in halting the war being waged by Russia on its territory and also to become a future guarantor of its security, a senior aide to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Tuesday.

Andriy Yermak, who heads Zelenskiy's office, also said he expected a dialogue "very soon" between Ukraine's leader and Chinese President Xi Jinping, without elaborating.

China, the world's no. 2 economy, has long been forging closer energy, trade and security ties with Russia but is also Ukraine's biggest trading partner. It has resisted pressure from Western countries to condemn Russia's invasion.

"So far we've seen China's neutral position. And, as I said before, we believe that China ... should play a more noticeable role in bringing this war to (an) end and in building up a new global security system," Yermak told a virtual news conference organised by the Chatham House think-tank in London.

"We also expect China to contribute meaningfully to this new system of security for Ukraine and we also expect China to be one of the guarantors within the framework of this security system," he said, speaking through an interpreter.

"We treat China with utmost respect and we expect it to play a pro-active role there."

SECURITY GUARANTEES

Before Russia's invasion, Kyiv had said it wanted security guarantees from major powers, calling the existing global security architecture "almost broken".

China and Russia are permanent members of the U.N. Security Council, along with the United States, Britain and France.

Ukraine, a former Soviet republic, aspires to join NATO and the European Union, but Moscow firmly opposes those plans. Beijing has also criticised NATO's eastern expansion.

The United States warned China last week against helping Russia in its invasion of Ukraine, which began on Feb. 24.

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Beijing has said it wants a diplomatic solution to the conflict, and that it supports the territorial integrity of both Russia and Ukraine, while also recognising Moscow's "legitimate" security concerns.

Moscow says what it calls its "special military operation" is aimed at disarming Ukraine and ridding it of dangerous nationalists who threaten its own security. Kyiv and Western countries say this is a pretext for waging an unprovoked war against a sovereign democratic state.

(Reporting by Reuters, Editing by Timothy Heritage and Gareth Jones)
By Crispian Balmer

ROME (Reuters) - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy urged Italy on Tuesday to seize a mystery yacht worth some $700 million that has been linked to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

In an address to the Italian parliament, Zelenskiy said Putin and his wealthy backers often went to Italy on holiday and should have all their assets frozen to put pressure on them to end the invasion of Ukraine.

"Don't be a resort for murderers. Block all their real estate, accounts and yachts - from the Scheherazade to the smallest ones," he said, referring to a superyacht that is moored in the Italian port of Marina di Carrara.

The sleek, six-deck vessel https://www.superyachtfan.com/yacht/scheherazade has two helicopter landing pads and can host up 18 guests and 40 crew. Its owner has never been publicly identified, but there have been insistent rumours in the media that it belongs to Putin or a member of his inner circle.

An organisation set up by the imprisoned Alexei Navalny, a fierce Putin critic, released a report on Monday saying it had evidence that the boat belonged to the Russian leader.

It said many of its crew were drawn from Russia's Federal Protective Service (FSO), which is tasked with protecting the Russian president, and regularly flew to Italy.

The Kremlin did not immediately respond to a request for a comment on whether Putin was the owner of the Scheherazade or on whether members of the FSO were crew members.

An Italy police source told Reuters on Tuesday that investigators did not believe the yacht was owned by anyone in Putin's entourage. However, the source added that the government was still trying to ascertain who the owner was.

Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi told parliament on Tuesday that his government had seized more than 800 million euros of assets owned in Italy by Russian businessmen as part of EU sanctions targeting Putin, his friends and associates.

However, officials have said very little is known about what Putin might own, or where he holds his assets.

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In order to apply more pressure on Moscow, Zelenskiy told Italian lawmakers that the European Union needed to impose a full trade embargo on Russia, including a ban on oil purchases.

"Support a ban on entering your ports for Russian ships, so that they feel the cost of their aggression," he said.

(Additional reporting by Pavel Polityuk and Mark Trevelyan; Editing by Nick Macfie)
When Russias invasion of Ukraine began nearly a month ago, the countrys State Border Guard Service announced that all men ages 18 to 60 were banned from leaving Ukraine and must serve in the war effort. Heartbreaking images showed fathers saying goodbye to their families and sending their loved ones off to safety in neighboring countries  while they stayed to fight Russian forces from taking their home.

According to the U.N., more than 3.5 million people have made perilous journeys and fled Ukraine. Over 2 million have crossed the border into Poland. While the majority of that number is made up of women and children, there have been reports of women who have stayed behind to join their fellow Ukrainians.

More than 15% of Ukraines army is made up of women, a recent survey conducted by the countrys Ministry of Foreign Affairs showed. And since the invasion began on Feb. 24, more women have taken up armed resistance against Kremlin-led forces. Women who are not official members of the Ukrainian army have been taking crash courses in battlefield medicine and how to use guns.

Soldiers in Uzhhorod, western Ukraine, march at a ceremony on the return of a brigade from an operation in the east of the country. (Serhii Hudak/Ukrinform/Future Publishing via Getty Images)

One woman defending Kyiv is 29-year-old Daria Vasylchenko, who has been responsible for maintaining security in a neighborhood north of the capital. Speaking to the Washington Post, Vasylchenko, who worked in public relations before the war, described how men waiting to enlist in the forces question why she is in the army. They say something like, Lady, why are you doing this, when we are here for that? she said. I just smile and say that everyone has their own job and everything will be fine.

Alona Bushynska, 32, a professional makeup artist, also joined the Territorial Defense Forces in Kyiv when the war began. She helps her country by preparing medicines and making hot food and drinks. However, she also has experience with guns, because her grandparents, who were competitive sport shooters, showed her how to use different types of weapons. She told the Post she does not want to use her gun, but that she is ready to protect myself if necessary.

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In western Ukraine, Kate Matchyshyn told the British newspaper the Sun that she had never imagined she would join the countrys armed forces, but that she now understands how to use basic weapons, including how to assemble an AK-47. It is a very hard thing for a woman to kill, and I never thought that I would ever have to do it, she said. But we have been forced to train for such a terrible thing by Russia. Russians are killing Ukrainian children, so Ukrainian women will do what they have to do to protect them.

Tetiana Chornovol, a Ukrainian soldier and former Parliament deputy, carries an antitank guided missile near Kyiv on Sunday. (Genya Savilov/AFP via Getty Images)

Bohdana Ostapyk, a 23-year-old businesswoman who worked in public relations, now helps coordinate weapon training sessions in Lviv. About 40 local residents attend the sessions every day, the Sun reports. The war might end in a few weeks, or it might go on for years, and if that is the case, every single person needs to know how to use a weapon  including women, Ostapyk said.

While the country remains under attack, female politicians have turned to defend Ukraine in other ways.

Kira Rudik, a Ukrainian member of Parliament who has taken up arms since the first day of the invasion, told CNN on International Womens Day: On the first day of war, we all gathered together  and decided  how we can be the most useful to our country. So I am most useful here where I can bear arms and I can motivate others to do the same. She added: I can make sure that [Russian President Vladimir] Putin has much more people to fight than he originally thought that he would have, because along with Ukrainian men, there are women who are standing up, bearing arms and adding to those numbers  because we are enormously strong and we are enormously brave.

Kira Rudik, a Ukrainian member of Parliament who armed herself at the beginning of the war, says she stands ready. (Via Twitter)

Following suit is Tetiana Chornovol, a former deputy in Ukraines Parliament and now a lieutenant. As the threat of the Russian invasion escalated, Chornovol enlisted in the army and trained as an antitank-missile operator. Fighting from Kyiv, the mother of two told the New York Times she had sent her children to safety before reporting for duty as a reserve officer. Now she commands two teams making up a dozen soldiers.

It wasnt until recently that women in Ukraine were given full equality in the armed forces. When Russia invaded the southern peninsula of Crimea in 2014, hundreds of women left their jobs as students, office workers and mothers and joined the army as volunteers. According to Defense One, of the 54,000 women who served in the armed forces in 2017, just 6,282 had combatant status  leaving the rest of those women without full benefits from the government that their male counterparts would receive.

This dramatically changed that year, after the military opened more training programs for women  recognizing those who had put their lives on the line for their country.

On Monday, the United Nations human rights office confirmed that 925 civilians have been killed since Russia invaded on Feb. 24. This includes 850 adults and 75 children. Most casualties were caused by explosive weapons, including shelling from artillery and missile and airstrikes.

_____

How are Ukrainian forces taking out so many Russian tanks? Use this embed to learn about some of the weapons systems the U.S. is sending to the Ukrainian army.
Nazanin was poised, dignified, joyful in her press conference on Monday (Getty)

I am so grateful: those were the four words chosen by Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe after she thanked in turn her family in Iran and the UK, in particular her husband and daughter; politicians; the media; her lawyer in Iran; her friends; her medical team; and the relatives of her fellow prisoners.

It was a lengthy list, summing up her gratitude to so many for the part they played in securing her freedom.

Yet according to the ungrateful hashtag trending on Twitter last night, Zaghari-Ratcliffe had been insufficiently grateful to the UK government for its role in her release. The hashtag send her back is now also trending.

Why? Well, it seems that a legion of (mostly anonymous) keyboard warriors took umbrage when she asked how many foreign secretaries it took to return a British detainee. Five? Whats happened now should have happened six years ago.

David Bannerman, a former Conservative MEP for the East of England, retweeted an anonymous account sniping: The words youre desperately searching for are many thanks to the British government and taxpayers for paying the 400m ransom

Bannerman added for good measure: I do hope shes not biting the hand that saved her. Does she bear no responsibility for being in a country with such a nasty regime?

Perhaps Zaghari-Ratcliffe frustrated Bannermans expectations of how a female hostage should look and behave. At her press conference yesterday she was poised, dignified, joyful  and, yes, angry. In the view of many watching: rightly so.

This is a woman who spent six years in and out of the hellish Evin jail, in and out of solitary confinement, brutally isolated from the husband and daughter she loved and cherished, banished from the country she had for nearly a decade called home.

Why had it taken so long for the authorities to extricate her? The 400m Iran paid the UK for Chieftain tanks which were never delivered was, the British government belatedly admitted, a legitimate debt. As such, it could and should have been repaid by the UK years ago.

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The excuse that it was hard to reimburse Iran because of sanctions doesnt really stand up to scrutiny, as there was a window of opportunity in 2016 when sanctions were lifted.

That said, and as I acknowledged last week, theres no denying the hard graft of Foreign Office officials, and successive foreign secretaries. But Zaghari-Ratcliffe, her family and the media are entitled to ask some very tough questions of the government.

Former foreign secretary Jeremy Hunt  one of the five who tried to free Nazanin from Iran  put it perfectly when he tweeted: She doesnt owe us gratitude: we owe her an explanation.

He went on to say candidly: Shes absolutely right that it took too long to bring her home. I tried my best  as did other foreign secretaries  but if trying our best took six years then we must be honest and say the problem should have been solved earlier.

To keep up to speed with all the latest opinions and comment sign up to our free weekly Voices Dispatches newsletter by clicking here

Hunt suggested several reasons for the delay  including ministerial turnover, a reluctance to pay an apparent ransom and complications over how to pay a country that is sanctioned  and backed an independent investigation into what went wrong. As he pointed out: This kind of open scrutiny as to whether we could do things better is what happens in democratic, open societies.

Perhaps Zaghari-Ratcliffe will also take a rueful pleasure in the fact that she is now once again living in a country where people can express their views freely, on Twitter and elsewhere. And as a woman strong enough to survive all the physical and mental privations the Iranian authorities chose to throw at her, I have no doubt she can withstand the slings and arrows of outrageous Tweeters.

To misquote Helen Reddy: She is woman, hear her roar. In Britain we do. And Amen to that.

Cathy Newman presents Channel 4 News at 7pm
WASHINGTON - The Biden administration lacks the funds to purchase a potential fourth coronavirus vaccine dose for everyone, even as other countries place their own orders and potentially move ahead of the United States in line, administration officials said Monday.

Federal regulators and health officials have not yet determined whether a fourth shot is needed, and some experts question whether the extra dose will be necessary to boost protection for the general population.

Subscribe to The Post Most newsletter for the most important and interesting stories from The Washington Post.

But administration officials said placing orders for additional doses ahead of time - rather than waiting for the United States to be swamped by another wave of the virus - was imperative and a key lesson from the pandemic's past two years. They also noted that the fast-moving omicron variant evaded some immune protection conferred by existing vaccines, demonstrating the need to invest in more targeted shots that could better fend off omicron and potential future variants.

"Vaccines don't just appear when you snap your fingers and say, 'Okay, I want the vaccine.' We've got to make it," said a senior administration official. "And this year, it's going to be more complicated, because there's a very significant chance - although we're still waiting for data - that the vaccines are going to need to be tweaked to cover omicron."

Analysts at Kaiser Family Foundation, a nonpartisan health research organization, independently confirmed that the United States would need to purchase hundreds of millions of additional doses to ensure that every American could receive four shots, if necessary, said Jen Kates, who leads global health policy for the organization and previewed the forthcoming analysis.

"If their policy goal is to have enough doses available to provide a fourth dose to everyone, there are not enough doses purchased. They will run out of supply," Kates said.

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Kates said her team reviewed several alternate scenarios, such as lowering its projection to 70 percent of Americans who would be vaccinated with four doses, rather than 100 percent. Even with that lower target, "there's not enough" doses already purchased, Kates said, adding that the full analysis would be published later this week.

About 65 percent of Americans, or roughly 217 million people, are considered "fully vaccinated" by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, according to federal data, and about 200 million of those people have received two doses of the mRNA vaccines produced by Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna. Meanwhile, roughly 97 million Americans have received a booster shot, which is about 29 percent of the entire U.S. population, according to federal data.

Pfizer, BioNTech and Moderna last week filed for emergency authorization of second booster shots of their coronavirus vaccines - with Pfizer and BioNTech targeting people 65 and older, while Moderna sought permission for all adults - saying the shots would bolster waning immunity that occurs several months after the first booster.

The companies also are pursuing coronavirus vaccines for children under age 5, although federal regulators have yet to authorize those shots, as they await additional data about their effectiveness.

Pfizer and Moderna did not respond to requests for comment about the status of the Biden administration's vaccine orders.

White House officials said they have grown concerned that vaccine manufacturers will prioritize orders already being placed by other countries - such as Japan, Colombia, Vietnam and the Philippines, which collectively plan to buy, or have already bought, more than 200 million additional doses of mRNA vaccines from Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna this year, according to an internal tracker kept by administration officials and shared with The Post. Some countries - such as Chile, which recently purchased 2 million Moderna doses - also are beginning to administer fourth doses.

Public health experts agree that waiting to place vaccine orders could delay shipments to the United States, citing a 2020 episode when Trump administration officials turned down an opportunity to buy an additional 100 million doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine. Although Trump officials later changed their minds, Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla warned them the United States would have to wait more than six months for the additional doses to be shipped, he wrote in his new memoir, "Moonshot: Inside Pfizer's Nine-Month Race to Make the Impossible Possible."

"[W]e would have had to take supplies from Canada, Japan, and Latin American countries, all of which had placed their orders earlier than the U.S.," Bourla wrote in a book excerpt published by Forbes, adding that then-White House senior adviser Jared Kushner called him to insist that Pfizer should immediately prioritize the United States' order. "I refused to do that, and the debate between the two of us became heated."

Bourla said manufacturing "miracles" allowed Pfizer to ultimately meet its commitments to other countries while accommodating the additional U.S. order.

While the omicron wave has been in retreat for two months in the United States - with confirmed cases plunging from more than 700,000 per day in mid-January to about 32,000 per day now, according to The Post's rolling seven-day average - public health experts warn that cases are likely to go back up, citing a spike across Europe caused by BA. 2, a subvariant of omicron.

But those warnings have yet to move congressional leaders, who are still debating the size of a coronavirus funding package and how to pay for it. Key Republicans said they still wanted a fuller accounting of the trillions of dollars the administration has already spent on the coronavirus response - and are questioning the administration's call to action last week.

"The basic thing we ought to figure out is, is there a need?" said Sen. Richard C. Shelby of Alabama, the top Republican on the Senate Appropriations Committee. "Secondly, if there's a need, where's all the money we appropriated?"

"The administration needs to take the money that's been appropriated and use that to prepare for what might be coming down the road, if there are new variants that affect a lot of Americans," added Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, on Tuesday, who has emerged as a top skeptic of the White House ask for additional funds.

Other Republicans said they were still waiting on detailed answers to questions around critical supplies.

"Before I know how many they own today - how many vaccines, how many tests, how many therapeutics - it's hard for me to assess whether they need more," said Sen. Richard Burr of North Carolina, the top Republican on the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee.

Burr said he's talked with the administration "constantly," particularly Zients, the White House coronavirus coordinator, who is among the senior officials pressing their funding case on Capitol Hill, as well as in public forums.

"Ninety-three percent of the money that was allocated for covid response - direct covid response - has been spent. So there's very little left," Zients said on the forthcoming podcast with Slavitt. "The remaining funds are for areas like  medical care for veterans, or FEMA disaster relief. So we don't have good resources to draw on from the prior allocated funds, and we need to make sure that this gets funded. So it's up to Congress to either pass it on an emergency basis without offsets, or find viable offsets."

White House officials also have warned that they will soon be unable to purchase additional therapeutics, including monoclonal antibodies, a key tool to help those who become infected, especially the immunocompromised and others at high risk.

But with House lawmakers in their home districts this week and unable to agree with Senate leaders on how to finance any package, there is no sign the stalemate will end soon.

Top lawmakers had initially planned to pay for more than $15 billion in coronavirus aid as part of a long-term bill to fund the government. But some House Democrats rejected one of the financing mechanisms, which would have clawed back funds set aside for state governments to address coronavirus-related needs. The pushback ultimately forced House Democratic leaders to strip the coronavirus aid from the bill. A new financing mechanism hasn't been settled on, as Democrats attempt to plot a path forward.

"I don't know that those conversations have been held just yet," Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., the Senate's top GOP vote counter, said Monday. "But my assumption is, if something's going to move, they'd have to figure that out."

"The House is working to reach agreement with the Senate on acceptable offsets," a senior Democratic aide said.

Kates, the Kaiser Family Foundation expert, said the challenge of preparing for the pandemic's next phase is complicated by the virus's unpredictability. "It's possible in three months, we'll all be saying, 'Hey, we weren't prepared, but fortunately, we're in good shape.' Or we could really be staring down something quite ominous," she said. "We just don't know."

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Chinese FM makes four-point proposal on China-Pakistan relations

Xinhua) 08:08, March 22, 2022

Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi (L) speaks at a joint press conference with Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi in Islamabad, Pakistan, on March 21, 2022. (Xinhua/Ahmad Kamal)

ISLAMABAD, March 21 (Xinhua) -- Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said here Monday that China and Pakistan are committed to enhancing their strategic coordination and pragmatic cooperation.

Speaking at a joint press conference with Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Wang said he is currently paying his first visit to Pakistan since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, and he has held extensive and in-depth talks with Qureshi on bilateral ties.

As the world is facing turbulence and challenges, Wang said China and Pakistan need to strengthen their strategic communication and join hands to build a closer China-Pakistan community of a shared future, so as to bring stability to regional peace and prosperity.

Wang proposed that efforts be made in the following four areas to further China-Pakistan ties.

First, giving firm support to each other. No matter what changes take place in the international situation and their respective countries, China will stick to its friendly policy toward Pakistan, firmly support the Pakistani people in taking a development path that fits their own national conditions, and support Pakistan in defending its sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity, Wang said.

It is hoped that various political parties in Pakistan will strengthen their cooperation and unity to ensure development and stability in the country, he said.

Second, accelerating common development and revitalization. China and Pakistan should enhance the integration of their development strategies, build the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor with high quality, and stay committed to advancing key cooperation projects and expand cooperation in green development, digitalization, poverty reduction, health and other fields, Wang noted.

China will support Pakistan in developing industries, strengthening commerce and revitalizing agriculture so as to achieve a more balanced, independent and sustainable development, Wang said.

Third, deepening counter-terrorism cooperation. China supports Pakistan in severely punishing the perpetrators of the Dasu terrorist attack, appreciates its efforts to strengthen the security of Chinese personnel and projects in Pakistan, and will, as always, help Pakistan improve its law enforcement and security capacity, Wang said.

Fourth, maintaining closer multilateral coordination. The two countries should strengthen coordination on international and regional issues such as Afghanistan and Ukraine, jointly practice true multilateralism, earnestly safeguard the basic norms governing international relations, oppose power politics, bullying and unilateral sanctions, and work to help the international order advance in a more just and reasonable direction, Wang said.

(Web editor: Xia Peiyao, Liang Jun)
The sign on the door at Anns Bakery & Deli in Ukrainian Village reads: Anns Bakery No longer Supplies Russian-made Products!

Inside, shoppers navigate a maze of snacks and pickled vegetables, deli cases full of cheese and sour cream and brightly-wrapped candy piled high. Pierogi are carefully crimped in the kitchen before they are put in deli cases; some are stuffed with blueberries, others with potato and cheese. People come to Anns from as far as Wisconsin and Michigan for their share of blintzes and kielbasa and Eastern European sweets.

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Wolodymyr Walter Siryj, owner of Anns since 1991, stopped putting Russian products on the shelves at the deli years ago, after the country invaded Crimea in 2014. Siryj is Ukrainian; he came to Chicago from Lviv in the 1970s, at age 27. His customers, he said, dont want to buy Russian. And as for himself  hes a patriot, he said.

Ukrainian people like Ukrainian products, Siryj said, including the Ukrainian fruit juices in one aisle and the sweet Roshen-brand chocolates in another. (The Roshen Confectionary Corp. was founded by former Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, Volodymyr Zelenskyys predecessor.)

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Ann's Bakery and Deli owner Wolodymyr Siryj stopped putting Russian products on the shelves at the deli years ago, after the country invaded Crimea in 2014. Siryj is Ukrainian; he came to Chicago from Lviv in the 1970s, at age 27. (John J. Kim / Chicago Tribune)

Chicago is home to the second-largest Ukrainian population in the U.S.; according to Chicago Sister Cities International, about 200,000 people of Ukrainian descent live in Illinois. In addition to Chicago, many people of Ukrainian descent reside in northwest suburbs such as Palatine and Bloomingdale, according to the Ukrainian National Museum in Ukrainian Village.

Most of the countrys largest exports to the U.S. are not food products, other than animal and vegetable fats and oils, which make up just under 6% of exports, according to the Ukrainian embassy.

Right now, Siryj isnt having a problem stocking products from Ukraine, which he buys through distributors. If the war keeps going on, he said, it might become one.

Russian products are no longer sold at Deli 4 You in northwest suburban Norridge, said Malgorzata Wroblska, a store manager. After Russia invaded Ukraine, the deli returned Russian products to its distributor for a refund. The decision, Wroblska said, was obvious.

Most of Deli 4 Yous customers, as well as its products, are Polish. But before the war, the deli carried some Russian products as well, such as vodka, champagne and mayonnaise. (President Joe Biden has since signed an executive order banning imports of some Russian food products, including seafood and alcohol.)

Wroblska doesnt anticipate problems stocking Polish goods. But getting products from Ukraine  like some types of soft drinks and candy, cookies and oil  could become challenging as the months go by, she said. The deli might have to look for substitutes if the war goes on.

All day, Wroblska said, regulars at Deli 4 You listen to Polish radio, trying to keep up with the news from Europe.

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A sign informs shoppers that Russian foods and other products are not sold at Ann's Bakery and Deli, March 17, 2022. (John J. Kim / Chicago Tribune)

Everyone is worried, she said. Some employees at the deli are Ukrainian, and Wroblska said some had been planning to return to the country to visit.

Now, she said, they are just staying here and waiting.

Ten miles away in Rogers Park, neighborhood grocery Devon Market is known for selling food items from around the world.

From Russia and Ukraine, owner Shaul Basa carries items such as caviar and pickles, sprats, or a type of canned fish in oil, certain types of cookies and sunflower seeds.

He said hes trying to buy as much as he can from Ukraine.

After the war began, Basa anticipated potential shortages of some of the products he carries from Ukraine, including buckwheat and sunflower oil, and bought extra, which he stores in a warehouse. The market is not too bad right now, he said. But he anticipates shortages of some items soon. I can see it coming, he said.

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Maybe, Basa said, the war will stop by then. We pray for it, he said.

At Anns, Siryj said he has relatives in Lviv, the city from which he came to Chicago decades ago. For now, he said, his relatives are safe.

Americans can help Ukraine by donating money, Siryj said. He has donated to the Ukrainian army, he said, but is at a loss for what else he can do.

I am crying, Siryj said, when talking about the war. What can I say?

tasoglin@chicagotribune.com
Sen. Josh Hawley, a Republican from Missouri Evelyn Hockstein/Pool via AP

Experts say Josh Hawley is off-base in his characterization of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson's record.

Hawley has misleadingly suggested that Jackson was too " lenient" toward child pornography offenders.

But experts tell Insider his claims ignore the context and debate around how to properly sentence people convicted of such crimes.

Republican Sen. Josh Hawley on Monday defended his criticisms of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, refusing to back away from what legal experts and fact-checkers have found to be deeply misleading suggestions that President Joe Biden's Supreme Court nominee took a lenient approach to child pornography offenders.

"I want to be candid with you today, so you know exactly what it is I want to talk about," Hawley told Jackson during the first day of her confirmation hearing, before discussing a number of child pornography cases from her time as a federal district judge, in which he says she imposed lighter sentences than the federal guidelines recommended.

Jackson herself addressed Hawley's criticisms for the first time on Tuesday. She pushed back hard on what she said was a mischaracterization of her record. Sen. Dick Durbin, the top Democrat on the Judiciary Committee, tried to get ahead of Republicans by asking Jackson about her record and by personalizing the attacks, asking how she felt that her family had to hear Hawley's charges against her.

"As a mother and a judge who has had to deal with these cases, I was thinking that nothing could be further from the truth," Jackson said.

A spokesperson for Hawley tweeted out a clip of Jackson's Tuesday response and reiterated the criticisms of her, indicating the senator has no intention of dropping the issue. Hawley, a Missouri Republican and rumored 2024 hopeful, cherry-picked quotes and ignored context to craft the baseless notion that Jackson did not take seriously enough crimes involving the possession of child pornography, legal experts told Insider. Besides Jackson, federal judges across the ideological spectrum believe the current guidelines are outdated and improper, the experts said.

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"The claims take Judge Jackson's record completely out of context," Jelani Jefferson Exum, dean of the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law and leading expert on sentencing law, told Insider. Jackson "has never been known as an overly-lenient or one-sided jurist," she added, calling Hawley "dishonest" to single out a few of Jackson's cases and "distort her record, which is quite mainstream."

On Monday, Hawley dismissed defenses of Jackson's record.

"I will note that some have said the federal sentencing guidelines are too harsh, especially on child sex crimes and especially on child pornography," Hawley said in his opening statement. "I'll be honest, I just don't agree with that. The amount of child pornography in circulation has absolutely exploded in recent years."

Hawley's claims seem to have upended what was expected to be largely civil proceedings. Other Republicans, who have struggled to find a consistent message to oppose Jackson's nomination, have now latched on to and propped up Hawley's line of attack.

"We're going to ask you what we think you need to be asked," Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina said Monday, encouraging Hawley to ask Jackson about her sentencing record. "We'll see what she says. Very fair game."

Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson and Sen. Josh Hawley were all smiles before their private meeting. Drew Angerer/Getty Images

Jackson's experience on the Sentencing Commission

Hawley first aired his accusations against Jackson on Twitter last week, going as far as to say her record "endangers our children." The claims unleashed a wave of pushback from some of his Democratic colleagues, the White House, and supporters of Jackson.

"Attempts to smear or discredit her history and her work are not borne out in facts," White House press secretary Jen Psaki said during a news briefing last week, hailing Jackson's long list of endorsements from major law-enforcement officials and organizations across the country.

At issue is both Jackson's time as a federal district judge and her service on the US Sentencing Commission, a bipartisan independent federal agency that advises Congress and the executive branch on how to best interpret federal law when it comes to sentencing convicted criminals.

Jackson served as vice-chair of the commission from 2010-2014, after President Barack Obama nominated her and she was confirmed by the Senate. Hawley claimed in one of his tweets that Jackson "advocated for drastic change in how the law treats sex offenders by eliminating the existing mandatory minimum sentences for child porn."

In 2012, Jackson and the rest of the commissioners released a bipartisan report that looked at sentencing data from the federal courts and found that "a growing number" of them considered the current guidelines to be "overly severe."

"The current sentencing scheme results in overly severe guideline ranges for some offenders based on outdated and disproportionate enhancements related to their collecting behavior," the report reads.

The commissioners concluded that the existing guidelines should be reviewed to better reflect the new reality of the crimes being committed. For example, given technological advances, possessing child pornography online should now be factored into the guidelines, the report argued.

The commission "did not eliminate mandatory minimums for child pornography offenders  they could not  only Congress can adjust mandatory minimums, and they remain in place," Jefferson Exum told Insider.

What the commission did was "appropriately adjust the applicable guidelines calculations based on real offense conduct, social science, and crime trends, as part of its mandated duties," she added.

Historically, Congress and the commission have tangled over mandatory minimum sentences for child pornography and related crimes, Ronald Weich, dean of the University of Baltimore Law School, told Insider.

"There has been a widespread understanding, including from the sentencing commission, that the guidelines do not fairly assess culpability," said Weich, who worked on the commission around four decades ago.

Nancy Gertner, a retired federal judge appointed by President Bill Clinton, told Insider that Hawley's attacks are "a complete red herring."

That 2012 report was unanimous, meaning that Republican commissioners also approved the proposed recommendations to reduce the federal guidelines for people convicted of viewing child pornography but not producing it, Gertner added.

Still, Hawley refuted the context, saying in a statement last week that: "As for the other Commissioners who supported this bad recommendation, they probably shouldn't be on the Supreme Court either."

Supreme Court nominee Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson listens during confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee Monday, March 21, 2022, on Capitol Hill in Washington. Jacquelyn Martin/AP Photo

Jackson's record on child pornography cases

Hawley also pointed to a slew of child pornography cases Jackson decided as a federal district judge, accusing her of being too lenient on offenders by imposing lighter sentences.

In 2021, long after Jackson left the agency, the Sentencing Commission found that most federal courts viewed the sentencing guidelines as overly severe.

The commission's own statistics portray how Jackson, as a federal district judge, was well within the mainstream of her peers on the bench. Federal guidelines were followed in less than 30% of cases in fiscal year 2019. The commission urged Congress to reexamine the issue then, but lawmakers failed to do so.

Crucially, Gertner told Insider, the federal government itself began to stop pushing the harshest allowable sentences. The 2019 statistics found that the Trump-era Justice Department called for a below-guideline sentence in roughly 20% of the applicable cases.

"Judge Jackson's record is entirely consistent with what judges did across the country, Republicans and Democrats," Gertner, who is also a senior lecturer at Harvard Law School, told Insider. "The guidelines lumped in the same category offenders who were really remotely not the same."

Moreover, in five of the seven cases that Hawley referenced, Jackson imposed a sentence higher than what the probation officer recommended, Jefferson Exum told Insider. And in five of the cases, the prosecution also asked for the lower sentence.

"So, none of this is Judge Jackson being soft on crime," she said, "Rather it is Judge Jackson ... being smart and thoughtful about appropriate, proportionate sentencing."

Independent fact-checkers also found Hawley's claims to be lacking. The Washington Post's Fact Checker gave three Pinocchios for "selectively quoting" Jackson and ignoring "a long debate within the judicial community about whether mandatory minimums were too high." The Associated Press found that Republicans twisted her record.

Republican Sens. Ted Cruz, Josh Hawley, and Mike Lee huddle during a break in Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson's Supreme Court confirmation hearing Evan Vucci/AP

Hawley sets up questioning for confirmation hearings

Hawley was never anticipated to be a swing vote for Jackson's nomination, given that he opposed her confirmation to her current seat on the US Court of Appeals of the DC Circuit and he's voted "no" on all 48 of Biden's judicial nominees so far.

But his attack leading up to the confirmation hearings and on Monday teased some of the GOP's messaging strategy against Jackson this week.

Some other Republicans on the committee, including Sens. Ted Cruz of Texas, Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee and Mike Lee of Utah, have also expressed concerns about Jackson's sentencing record.

During her opening remarks on Monday, Blackburn said Jackson has a "consistent pattern of giving child porn offenders lighter sentences."

"Your philosophy, it appears, is backward on these issues," Blackburn claimed.

The stakes are much lower for Republicans this time around compared to the recent confirmation fights for former President Donald Trump's nominees Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett. Jackson's nomination is historic, yet her addition to the bench will not change its ideological makeup. If confirmed, she'll replace retiring Associate Justice Stephen Breyer, a liberal, and maintain the court's 6-3 conservative tilt cemented under Trump.

No Republican has publicly stated their support for Jackson's nomination, but the White House is vying to peel off some GOP votes for a bipartisan confirmation. Biden has made it clear that he wants his nominee to receive bipartisan support. Still, Jackson only needs a simple majority to advance to the Supreme Court, which Democrats can secure on their own with all 50 senators and Vice President Kamala Harris as the tie-breaker.

Former Sen. Doug Jones of Alabama, who has guided Jackson's nomination, told reporters on Monday that Hawley's allegations "shouldn't be a factor" in any of the senator's final decisions on whether to vote for her.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Ukrayinska Pravda

VALENTYNA ROMANENKO - WEDNESDAY, 4 MAY 2022, 17:33 Ukrainian defenders continue to destroy units of the Russian occupiers and their equipment with great professionalism. Source: the press centre of the DShV command [Command of the Assault Troops of the Armed Forces of Ukraine] and the press service of the National Guard Details: The assault troops showed a video with the aftermath of the Russian armoured vehicles, together with their crews, destroyed by the artillery of one of the units of the D
(iStock)

A Twitter user has claimed that she was turned down for a job role due to her strong Welsh accent.

Ellie Anderson, 22, posted a screenshot of the rejection letter to the social media platform with the caption: First time Ive ever been told Ive got a strong Welsh accent, so I suppose thats a win?

The rejection letter stated that Andersons strong Welsh accent and regional activities would not suit the office environment, despite the employer praising her for her fantastic interview.

We thought you were fantastic, and performed very well throughout, the letter read. Your skill set would reflect well in the role.

It continued: Im sorry to say, however, that we have decided not to proceed with your application.

It was decided your strong Welsh accent, accompanied by your regional activities, would not suit the office environment.

First time Ive ever been told Ive got a strong Welsh accent, so I suppose thats a win?  pic.twitter.com/zNdzlcyGhy  Ellie (@ElunedAnderson) March 21, 2022

Andersons post has received over 19,000 likes since she posted it on Monday, and she has received a slew of advice from people telling her the response could be considered discrimination.

Employment lawyer Deeba Syed responded to the tweet with: This is horrible and definitely discrimination under the Equality Act. If you want have a chat on DM me.

Another Twitter user said: Now I may be slightly out of touch with UK employment law but what the eff is this, if it isnt discrimination?

Take them to the cleaners, whomever they are. Unbelievable. This tweet was typed in a Welsh accent.

Now I may be slightly out of touch with UK employment law but what the eff is this, if it isn't discrimination?



"Strong Welsh accent"



Take them to the cleaners, whomever they are. Unbelievable.



This tweet was typed in a Welsh accent.  Claire Hopkin  (@claireindubai) March 22, 2022

Another said: Unwise of them to put their overt, direct discrimination under the Equality Act 2010 in writing, innit?

Story continues

Anderson has had several lawyers reach out to her with offers to look into the employers response.

One lawyer, Jamie Hanley, who is a partner at Trade Union Law said: Ellie - if you want my team at @TradeUnionLaw to look at this for you please send me a DM. Would be happy to assist.

Barrister, Matthew Scott also retweeted Andersons tweet with the caption: Unbelievable! And bonkers. And unlawful.

The Independent has contacted Anderson for comment.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky addresses the Italian Parliament via live video from the embattled city of Kyiv on March 22, 2022 in Rome, Italy. Photo by Alessandra Benedetti - Corbis/Corbis via Getty Images

Zelenskyy called on Italy to stop Russian oligarchs from using the country as a safe haven.

"Almost all of them use Italy as a place for vacation. So don't be a resort for murderers," he said.

The Ukrainian president addressed Italian lawmakers during a video address on Tuesday as Russia's invasion continues.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy urged Italy on Tuesday to stop Russian oligarchs from using the country as a safe haven.

"You know those who brought war to Ukraine," Zelenskyy said while addressing Italian lawmakers in a video speech that was posted to his Telegram. "Those who order to fight and those who promote it."

He added: "Almost all of them use Italy as a place for vacation. So don't be a resort for murderers."

Zelenskyy urged lawmakers to seize Russian leaders' real estate and block access to oligarchs' bank accounts, yachts, and other assets.

"Let them apply their influence for peace to be able to come back to you someday," Zelenskyy said. "Support greater sanctions against Russia."

He also suggested Italy place an embargo on Russian oil imports and ban Russian ships from entering its ports.

Since Russian President Vladimir Putin launched his attack on Ukraine nearly four weeks ago, the US, UK, and European Union have sanctioned a number of Russian oligarchs  powerful and wealthy individuals accused of having close ties to Putin.

As a result of the sanctions, many oligarchs have been stripped of their wealth and assets.

Italian authorities on Saturday seized a building complex owned Russian oligarch Alexei Mordashov, and the country has taken control of yachts and villas belonging to other oligarchs  all worth hundreds of millions of dollars.

Zelenskyy's appeal for Italian lawmakers to do more to punish Russian elites comes after a string of virtual addresses to other countries, including the US, Germany, and Canada.

Meanwhile, Russia's war against Ukraine moved into its 27th day as Putin's forces continue to bombard Ukrainian cities and civilians.

Ongoing peace talks between the two sides have yet to lead to an end to the war.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Long before the University of Lynchburg was established as Lynchburg College in 1903  before the city of Lynchburg itself was founded, before Europeans came to colonize what would become the United States of America  the Monacan Indian Nation had lived on the land for thousands of years.

On March 21, UL formally acknowledged its presence on traditional Monacan land and announced a new scholarship for qualifying incoming students.

We are honored to share this moment that will become a movement with the Monacan Indian Nation, Allison Jablonski, university provost, said on the sunny spring afternoon, where various UL faculty, students and members of the Monacan Indian Nation gathered on the Dell.

After about a year in the making, according to Jablonski, the official statement of land acknowledgement was signed at the university honoring the Monacan people, an integral part of the community and history.

Monacan Indian Nation members have worked for, and still work for, the university as faculty members, while others have attended as students.

Bradley Branham, son of former Monacan Indian Nation Chief Dean Branham and a first-generation college student who graduated from University of Lynchburg in 2015, read the universitys full statement aloud.

We honor the Indigenous people of this region who have woven their lives into the nearby mountains that rise and rivers that flow across the land. We honor the Indigenous people of this region who have hunted, harvested, crafted, traded, worshiped, and dreamed, educating their descendants through storytelling and oral traditions, the statement read, in part. We acknowledge that through oppression, disease, systematic attack, race integrity laws, and the inequities that plagued Virginias educational system, the Monacan Indian Nation was significantly reduced in numbers. As the result of a targeted paper genocide, their culture and identities became virtually extinct.

Today, the Amherst County-based Monacan Indian Nation has more than 2,000 tribal members.

Matthew Gillett, University of Lynchburg student body president, said he grew up in Oklahoma, which was land historically designated by the U.S. government as Indian territory during the Indian Removal Act era.

Multiple Indigenous tribes, particularly from the East Coast, were forcibly removed from their native lands beginning in 1830, sending them along the Trail of Tears to reach Oklahoma. With such painful histories, Gillett stressed the importance of honoring that many live their lives on Monacan land as they study or work at the university, and a relationship of respect with the Monacan Indian Nation is paramount.

Land acknowledgement is an important step that I am proud our university is taking, but it is also important that these do not become empty words, Gillett said. This land is Monacan land. It is our duty to honor their heritage each and every day.

The land acknowledgement statement celebrated the Monacan Indian Nation in the present day and highlighted the tremendous work it has done, and continues doing, to keep its culture and history alive and educate others in the process.

On behalf of me and my people, I say thank you, said Lou Branham, former assistant chief of the Monacan Indian Nation who works at the Monacan Nations ancestral museum in Amherst County. As I look out onto this land today, and even though buildings of higher education have been built, in my vision, I can still see my ancestors walk among the trees, and their presence backs me wherever I go.

The universitys statement also emphasized the importance of providing equitable teaching and learning opportunities to all Indigenous communities. To that end, Jablonski announced a new Monacan Nation Scholarship, one of the highest monetary awards offered by the university.

The scholarship will be available for qualifying, incoming Virginia students who are members of the Monacan Indian Nation. Renewable for up to four years and adjustable to tuition rates, the scholarship will provide full tuition for the student awarded it.

The first recipients of the new scholarship were at Mondays ceremony: Nicholas Fink and Mckayla Martin, two Amherst County High School seniors preparing to attend UL.

This years scholarships total about $21,500, Jablonski said.

Bradley Branham talked of the challenges Indigenous people have historically faced in accessing education opportunities.

There are many people that have walked on, and that are still with us, who did not and still do not have equal access to education. Attending a college or university was never an option for many people in my tribe, and at times, nearly a pipe dream. I stand on their shoulders, he said. My hope is that this land acknowledgement will challenge the University of Lynchburg to go above and beyond in creating true access to higher education for all indigenous people who seek better opportunity and advancement.

UL is not the first institution of higher education in the region to acknowledge its presence on traditional Monacan land.

A few months ago, Randolph College held a Monacan land acknowledgement ceremony, unveiling a temporary sign to hold the place of a forthcoming permanent plaque that will tell the story of Monacan presence on the colleges location.

Randolphs Monacan land acknowledgement is part of a larger, ongoing project created by a few students and a professor in the history department, in conjunction with the Monacan Indian Nation and with support from the colleges administration.

UL does not plan to stop with a written statement.

In accordance with the urge from Sharon Foreman, director of the Center for Community Development and Social Justice and associate professor of sociology, to make the land acknowledgement statement alive, other initiatives planned going forward include displaying the official Monacan Indian Nation flag in the campus student center and possibly elsewhere, developing an Indigenous symposium, scheduling more Indigenous scholars to be part of integrative seminar series educating others on Indigenous history and culture, and creating an oral history project with elders of the Monacan Indian Nation, Jablonski said.

The University of Lynchburg and the Monacan Nation will be stronger together, all while changing lives, Jablonski said. While we celebrate this moment, we must also recognize that this land acknowledgement is just one step toward creating a vibrant and inclusive campus that recognizes the long history of racism and oppression in the U.S., and strives to uplift the contemporary lives of indigenous peoples.

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After witnessing Vladimir Putin brutally, yet routinely, assault basic freedoms in Russia and Ukraine, it is reassuring to think of free speech as alive and well in America.

Yet polls and recent news events show free speech to be under renewed assault here too, and often from both political sides.

Free speech disputes are hardly new in our Land of the Free but, inflamed by new media and clickbait propaganda, they certainly sound a lot louder and, too often, out of control.

Take, for example, the wave of televised school board meetings that turned rowdy over such seemingly simple questions as how we should raise our kids.

Although the furor over such issues as critical race theory, which isnt even taught in public schools but energizes a lot of culture warriors, seemed to quiet down after Novembers off-year elections, only to move to Republican-controlled state legislatures.

In just the first three weeks of 2022, more than 70 bills have been filed in 27 states seeking to regulate how and what educators may teach about race, history and sexuality in schools, according to an analysis by PEN America, a nonprofit group that promotes freedom of expression and calls the legislation educational gag orders.

Floridas Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis has gained national attention and set himself up for a possible presidential bid by supporting a bill to ban discussion of sexual orientation or gender identity in the states lower grades.

Famously rebranded by critics as the Dont Say Gay bill, its language is so ambiguous about such critical terms as age appropriate and developmentally appropriate that both sides argue about what it really means, which makes a lot of teachers increasingly confused and nervous.

At the college level, we have such cases as University of Illinois at Chicago law professor Jason Kilborn, who fell into hot water over a question on a final exam that he had been using for years. It contained slurs, self-censored with dashes as n- and b, by an imaginary woman of color in a pretend civil case.

The headline-making controversy led to his ouster, placement on leave for more than a year and a requirement to complete diversity training courses, according to his federal lawsuit. Thats too bad. Diversity education shouldnt become a punishment, but instead of an opportunity for us to learn about one another in our diverse society.

This is not a left versus right issue, Kilborn told a Chicago Tribune reporter. The issue is extremism.

Indeed. If both sides are too busy expressing their passionate arguments to bother to listen to the other side, whats the point of arguing?

More than any time that I can recall since the 1960s, the chaotic Jan. 6, 2021, assault on the Capitol seems to offer an extreme example of where were headed when being heard becomes more important than peacefully resolving disputes.

Yet in court, Jan. 6 defendants and some of their defenders, including the Republican National Committee, see the rioters as engaging in legitimate political discourse, partly in response to what they see as uncontrolled rioting in the streets by cancel culture, woke liberals and Black Lives Matter on the left.

The left too often responds against elites on the right, even when it puts them at odds with the working-class voters who used to be the lefts strongest supporters.

But perhaps, as my millennial son said about peaceful resolution of such disputes, Thats so last century, Dad.

I hope not. The best response to offensive speech, according to a wise, old civil libertarian saying, is more speech. Unfortunately, today we increasingly see people on both sides breaking their own rules so much that it divides families and neighbors, confusing our ability to understand one another enough to find common ground, if there is any left.

Only 34% of Americans in a new national poll commissioned by Times Opinion and Siena College said they believed that all Americans enjoyed complete freedom of speech. An overwhelming 84% of adults said it is a very serious or somewhat serious problem that some Americans avoid speaking freely in everyday situations for fear of retaliation or harsh criticism.

As someone who offers my opinions for a living, I understand that fear. But in our diverse society, we still need to talk. Otherwise, how do we learn?

Pages column is provided by Tribune Content Agency.
Pongo the dog is a kind old man looking for a warm home to live out his golden years in.

Pongo is an 8-year-old Brittany spaniel who is currently available for adoption at Midlands Humane Society. Shelter staff members say Pongo is a polite gentleman whos ready for a couch to lounge on. He still enjoys his walks, but doesnt need to get as active as he used to now thats hes in his older age.

He does have a heart murmur that his owners regular vet should keep an eye on. His adoption fee is $225, which includes altering, a microchip and age-appropriate vaccines.

In other shelter news, Midlands is happy to announce the date of its annual gala fundraiser. This years event will be on Friday, May 13, and will once again take place at the Mid-America Center. Tickets are now on sale and can be purchased at the Midlands website.

More information about the event will come as the date draws nearer. Kori Nelson, director of development and marketing at Midlands, said they are currently looking for supporters to put together gift baskets to put up for silent auction at the gala. Values can range from $20 and upward, and Nelson said to contact her at 712-396-2264 or knelson@midlandshumanesociety.org with any questions.

More information about fostering, volunteering and donation opportunities can be found at midlandshumanesociety.org or by calling 712-396-2270. Like their Facebook page to keep up with daily shelter news. The shelter can also be found @midlandshumane on Twitter and @midlandshumanesociety on Instagram.

 Joe Shearer
In 2011, the Nebraska Department of Correctional Services wrote a bill that would allow well-behaved prisoners the chance to shorten their time behind bars.

Eleven years later, that same department is applying the resulting law in a way neither the state senator who sponsored the bill nor the then-director of Nebraskas prisons intended.

Prison officials now shorten a prisoners final release date, but never change the day that prisoner becomes eligible for parole.

The result: Thousands of prisoners sentenced under the law have potentially stayed in prison for days, weeks or months longer than the laws authors intended.

The debate over the meaning of three dozen words buried in a state law has made its way to the Nebraska Supreme Court, whose decision could shorten the stays of thousands of people in the states chronically overcrowded prisons.

The Flatwater Free Press, in partnership with The World-Herald, looked at the case in light of the debate over how Nebraska should address its prison overcrowding and whether it should build a new prison.

On one side: The Corrections Department argues that its properly following the 11-year-old law when it comes to calculating when a prisoner is eligible for parole. If theres a flaw, its in the language of the law itself, state lawyers have argued in court.

On the other: Robert Heist II, who has been imprisoned since 2016, argues that the department is misreading the law and delaying parole eligibility.

In some cases, prisoners end up being released with no supervision  jamming out in prison-speak  before they even become parole eligible.

When you become parole eligible after youre done with your sentence, it doesnt make any sense. Thats just ridiculous, Heist said in an interview. And it is contributing to overcrowding, because if you postpone peoples parole eligibility, theyre just sitting around longer.

Nebraskas prison good time calculations are complex. The law has gone through several makeovers during its half-century on the books.

Legislative Bill 191 was meant to add to the states already existing good time  day-for-day credit prisoners earn for behaving, which effectively cuts many sentences in half. The change proposed by prison administrators in 2011 allowed prisoners to earn an additional three days of good time each month if they avoided certain disciplinary offenses after being imprisoned for a year.

The bill, written by Corrections officials and sponsored by then-Sen. Brenda Council, was expected to save the state at least $1.08 million over a decade.

This provision has the potential to lower the prison population, and, therefore, reduce costs, Bob Houston, former corrections director, said at a 2011 legislative hearing. It also rewards good behavior within the prison system.

But the states interpretation of the law  correct or not  quietly contributes to the states ongoing struggle with overcrowded prisons. It keeps the thousands of parole-eligible prisoners sentenced since 2011 from earning up to 36 days per year toward their parole eligibility date.

Nebraska continues to grapple with one of the most crowded prison systems in the country, reaching 152% of the systems design capacity as of December. The state has sought advice from outside consultants like the Boston-based Crime and Justice Institute on how to tackle the issue.

But little attention has been paid to the states interpretation of the LB191 law. Heist first filed a grievance of the parole calculation in June 2019. So far, no one in the Ricketts administration or the Legislature has pushed to change the wording of the law so that its meaning can be clarified.

Getting prisoners in front of the Parole Board sooner is a good thing as it relates to overcrowding, said Sen. Steve Lathrop, chair of the Legislatures Judiciary Committee, who has grappled with prison overcrowding for years. Anything we can do that gets someone parole eligible sooner, I think is beneficial.

The question now before the Nebraska Supreme Court: Should the three days a month earned for good behavior be applied to the date when a prisoner first becomes eligible for parole?

The state senator who sponsored the bill and the former head of prisons say yes.

Making prisoners parole eligible sooner was an intended result of the bill, both Council and Houston told the Flatwater Free Press.

I introduced this bill as a means of providing additional ways to reduce the prison population and get people parole eligible, Council said in an interview.

The days were meant to apply to both a persons parole eligibility date and jam date, she said.

If theyre not calculating it that way, theyre calculating it wrong, Council said.

The bill was meant to save the department money, Houston said. Getting people in front of the Parole Board sooner would have played a major role in those cost savings.

I would have definitely been in favor of affecting the minimum as well as the maximum so that peoples parole eligibility date could come sooner, said Houston, who retired from Corrections in 2013 and is now a criminal justice instructor at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. Even though the maximum is coming down, the real effect of reducing the population is their ability to parole sooner.

But the state is simply following the letter of the law, state lawyers have argued to the Nebraska Supreme Court. As written, they say, that law doesnt allow for the extra good time days to go toward parole eligibility.

Corrections doesnt dispute what Council and Houston said about the intentions of good time in 2011 legislative hearings, according to court records. But the department argues its irrelevant.

Parts of Heists claim are outside the courts jurisdiction, the state argued during oral arguments in September. State law outlines that every committed offender shall be eligible for parole when the offender has served one half of the minimum term of his or her sentence and that good time shall be deducted from the maximum term.

This interpretation of the law has potentially affected thousands of prisoners who could have had at least a little time shaved off their sentences. But the most egregious cases are those prisoners who jam out before even becoming parole eligible.

In 2019, the department told Heist that 62 prisoners at the time had tentative release dates that preceded their parole eligibility because of their earned good time.

As of March 2022, the prisons roster listed as many as 306 individuals sentenced since 2011 who were released before they became eligible for parole.

Those prisoners  whose sentences should have included a shot at parole  become guaranteed jam outs, Heist said.

Under questioning at the Nebraska Supreme Court, the states lawyers didnt dispute that inverted sentences  when mandatory release actually comes before parole eligibility  can and do happen.

Yes, it is possible that (inverted sentences) can occur, Scott Straus, assistant attorney general for the state, said during oral arguments. However, the plain language of the statute does not let us even get to whether that result is absurd or not.

Is it an absurd result to have inverted sentences? one justice then asked Straus. Or is that just a byproduct of the statutory language created by the Legislature, which, whether they intended to or not, was what happened?

Yes, your honor, Straus said. I believe it is simply a byproduct of it.

Six months later, the court has yet to issue an opinion.

The Nebraska Department of Correctional Services would not respond to questions about ongoing litigation, spokeswoman Laura Strimple said in an email.

The legal issue at play isnt clear cut, according to a longtime Douglas County judge.

After reading the states good time laws, Douglas County District Judge Peter Bataillon said he could see how applying those extra three days a month to parole eligibility could be argued either way.

Thank God thats up to the Supreme Court to make those big decisions, Bataillon said. But the Legislature could very easily change that law if they wanted to.

The good time law, as currently applied, removes parole as an option for some prisoners  even though parole is generally regarded as a better way to reacclimate prisoners to society.

Parolees have required check-ins with their parole officer, and must line up a job and a place to live. The board often requires them to complete certain clinical programming like substance abuse treatment and violence reduction programs before being released.

Not applying good time days toward parole eligibility removes an incentive for good behavior, the very thing the additional good time days were meant to encourage, said Doug Koebernick, inspector general of the Nebraska Correctional System.

That parole eligibility date is a carrot, Koebernick said. Thats a really great incentive to get your act together, to get things done, do what the Board of Parole wants you to do.

In the recent report by a state-led working group reviewing criminal justice policies, all committee members, including both Republicans and Democrats in the Nebraska Legislature, agreed that its preferable that prisoners are released with some form of supervision, either parole or probation.

You dont just want someone walking out of a maximum security prison  theyre not ready for it, said Spike Eickholt, government liaison for the Nebraska ACLU. Youre setting them up to fail. Society is better off having that supervision.

Its unclear what would come of a Supreme Court decision. And it isnt the first time the departments calculations have resulted in a jam date that comes before parole eligibility.

In 2014, a World-Herald investigation led the department to realize it was using a flawed formula to calculate sentences, releasing more than 200 people too early. Those miscalculations also resulted in more than 100 prisoners being released before they were eligible for parole.

In that case, the department hadnt acted on a Nebraska Supreme Court ruling from 2013 detailing the proper way to calculate sentences with mandatory minimums. Houston, the director at the time, told The World-Herald that he hadnt been aware of the ruling until informed by the newspaper.

The Flatwater Free Press is Nebraskas first independent, nonprofit newsroom focused on investigations and feature stories that matter.

The Flatwater Free Press is Nebraskas first independent, nonprofit newsroom focused on investigations and feature stories that matter.
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It's always annoying to have people around you at the movies rustling bags, crunching popcorn and slurping down soda. But with one new movie, it's not just irritating. It's practically deafening.

The noise itself is no louder than usual. The problem is the movie. It's quiet. Really quiet.

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Crunch at your own risk.

On Friday, John Krasinski debuted his horror thriller film "A Quiet Place," and in this case the title accurately reflects the viewing experience.

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Save for the rare scream and some soft music, most of the film is silent. It follows the lives of the Abbotts, a family led by Krasinski and the actor's real-life spouse Emily Blunt, as they try to navigate a world overrun by monsters who hunt by noise.

The only chance for human survival is remaining silent.

That means any real-life sound, whether it's popcorn being chewed or the theater's air conditioning running, seems all the louder.

When 20-year-old Jade Vendivel went to the theater with her roommate on Monday, she told The Washington Post she thought they were just going to be watching "another scary movie."

Vendivel admitted she was wrong, describing a theater that went "dead silent" after the previews ended.

"It got to the point where I could only put a piece of popcorn in my mouth every 10 minutes whenever the sound would get high enough," said Vendivel, who lives in Los Angeles. "Even then, I would have to hold the popcorn in my mouth until it was soft enough to chew without making any noise."

She added she even had to muffle her own gasps during the movie with a blanket she brought to the theater.

"There was one particular scene where it zooms in on John Krasinski's face when he's trying to tell his children to be quiet and I fully stuffed the blanket into my mouth," she said.

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The film's producers noticed viewers weren't touching their popcorn during screenings, the Wall Street Journal reported.

"People feel they need to be quiet," one of the producers, Brad Fuller, told the Wall Street Journal. "It's like mob rule -- if someone starts crunching loudly, the rest of the theater is going to go after them."

In the days since the film hit U.S. theaters on Friday, scores of people have taken to social media to share their harrowing experiences of trying to eat, drink and even breathe normally without incurring the wrath of other patrons.

One user tweeted that fellow audience members were "so passive aggressive over people making noises ..."

Jacob Burns, a 20-year-old junior at Texas State University, tweeted an alternative name for the movie, "How Self-Conscious Can We Make You About Every Tiny Sound You Make in A Movie Theater with 100 Strangers All Trying to Eat Popcorn At the Same Time?"

Burns told The Post he made the mistake of choosing "A Quiet Place" to be the first movie into which he ever sneaked in food, saying it was the "worst possible choice of film to try to eat a full meal in."

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"It was in Styrofoam and a plastic bag," he said about his food. "It was really bad."

While Burns did eventually manage to eat by strategically waiting for louder music, he said the experience came with a great deal of embarrassment and apologizing.

"I wouldn't do it again," he said.

Beyond food, the intense silence can amplify breathing or even shifting in theater seats.

Arizona resident Leslie Huynh, 17, told The Post she had to chastise her friend for sniffling during the film, adding that she was concerned her own breathing would be offensive.

"I was holding my breath and I was breathing really slowly because I was like 'Am I breathing too loud?'" Huynh said. "I was just trying not to breathe at all."

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Although having to sit completely still, not breathing and not eating may seem like a terrible way to spend an hour and a half, moviegoers such as Burns said being quiet was a way to respect the film.

Any noise would have detracted from the movie's strategic use of silence, Burns said, pointing to parts of the film during which audiences view the action from the perspective of one of the characters, who is deaf. These scenes have minimal to no sound, he said.

Others said the real-life silence made them feel like they were in the quiet place, fearing for their lives alongside the Abbotts.

"It definitely made the impact of the movie hit a lot closer to home," Vendivel said. "It felt like we were part of their experience trying to hide from these aliens. If we messed up and made noise then the family would be one step closer to dying."

With a viewing experience like that, it's no surprise the film raked in a staggering $50 million over its opening weekend, and many are still flocking theaters to see it.

For anyone who hasn't seen the film, but plans to, Vendivel has some simple advice.

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"Save your money and don't buy concessions," she said. "You definitely won't have time to eat any of it, or even if you tried to, you'd definitely be either kicked out by other moviegoers or glared down as hard as possible."

RELATED STORIES:

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'A Quiet Place' roars at box office with $50M debut

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Watch the latest movie trailers.

Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 126 Woody introduces the gang to a homemade spork toy with self-esteem issues in "Toy Story 4." Read the review. (Pixar / AP)
The Libyan National Army (LNA), led by East-base strongman Khalifa Haftar, has rejected Ukraines claims that the self-style army is sending fighters to combat alongside Russian forces.

The Ukrainian Defense Ministry leveled the charges against the LNA saying the Libyan fighters will be flown aboard Russian air force planes, Libya Observer had reported Sunday.

The ministry added that Haftars private jet, Dassault Falcon-900 P4-RMA, which he uses in most of his travels, landed on March 16 in Moscow coming from the United Arab Emirates and left on March 18 to Austria and then Italy.

Major General Khaled Mahjoub, an LNA media official has denied the accusation stressing that the army has nothing to do whatsoever with the Ukrainian war, Libya Update quoted the Major General as saying.

The Libyan National Army is preoccupied with combating terrorism and the mafias of human smuggling in Libya, especially on the southern border of the country, Mahjoub said.

Russia is an ally of Haftars LNA.
Fitch Ratings has downgraded Tunisias Long-Term Foreign-Currency Issuer Default Rating (IDR) to CCC from B-, reported Tunisian News Agency TAP.

The agency said that the downgrade to CCC reflects heightened fiscal and external liquidity risks in the context of further delays in agreeing on a new program with the IMF after the political changes of July 2021, which is necessary for access to most official creditors budget support.

Fitch reminds that it typically does not assign Outlooks or apply modifiers to sovereigns with a rating of CCC or below.

Fitch underlined the entrenched social opposition and on-going friction with unions curtail the governments ability to enact strong fiscal consolidation measures, complicating efforts to secure the IMF program, TAP added.

Along with higher commodity prices, slow reform implementation could lead to a situation where debt restructuring is required for debt sustainability, even under an IMF program. However, the government has firmly stated that it is not considering a debt restructuring and Tunisia has never engaged in a Paris Club treatment, TAP said, quoting the rating agency.

The Rating Agency forecast the central government deficit to remain high at 8.5% of GDP in 2022, compared with 7.8% in 2021.

We project revenues will recover in 2022 as the economy expands and tax forbearance measures lapse, but this will be largely offset by rising fuel, cooking gas and cereal price subsidies and a growing interest burden, Fitch noted underlining that wages and interest will absorb close to 70% of revenues and continue to significantly constrain fiscal flexibility despite a hiring freeze.

Fitch projects the deficit to narrow to 6.9% of GDP in 2023, largely on the back of lower spending on energy and food subsidies as international prices moderate.

We forecast debt/GDP to reach 84.0% in 2022 and 84.7% in 2023, the rating agency said, explaining that the government funding needs are high due to the large deficit and debt maturities that will stand at 9.2% of GDP in 2022 and 8.9% in 2023.

For the Rating Agency, an agreement on a successor IMF arrangement to the program that expired in 2020 remains key for external financing, as Tunisia has lost access to international markets. Although the commitment of external official creditors to help Tunisias democratic transition and contain migration flows across the Mediterranean remains strong, many partners financial support is linked to an IMF agreement.

The Agency reminds that the 2022 budget assumes that an IMF program will be in place by mid-year and Tunisia will receive about $4 billion in external funding, from a $700 million loan not conditional on an IMF deal.

Our base case assumes an agreement on an IMF program in 2H22, with disbursements conditioned on the adoption of some reforms, Fitch Rating indicated. This would likely result in additional delays in official creditor fund disbursements compared with the budget schedule and there are also execution risks, it added.

We expect Tunisia to continue to compensate low net external funding by borrowing heavily from domestic sources. Despite progress in bridging the difference between the governments and the unions positions on the reform agenda, there is continued strong social opposition to fiscal reforms and possibly contentious upcoming political events, such as the planned constitutional referendum (July 2022) and parliamentary elections (December 2022).

This means an agreement may not be reached and the government could struggle to implement agreed reforms required for scheduled IMF disbursements.

In a no-reform scenario, Tunisia may ultimately be deemed to require a Paris Club treatment before being eligible for additional IMF funding, with implications for private-sector creditors.

A small team from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) will visit Tunisia at the end of March to continue discussions with the authorities on a new financing agreement for the country, IMF spokesman Gerry Rice told a press conference in Washington last week.
France reiterated, Monday, its support to the Morocco-proposed Autonomy Plan as a serious and credible basis for discussions for the resolution of the dispute over the Sahara.

Frances position on the Sahara is constant, in favor of a just, lasting and mutually acceptable political solution, in accordance with the resolutions of the United Nations Security Council. In this perspective, the Moroccan autonomy plan is a serious and credible basis for discussion, said the spokeswoman for the French foreign Ministry.

This statement comes after Spain officially announced it recognizes the Moroccan autonomy initiative as the most serious, realistic and credible basis for resolving the dispute over the Sahara, heralding a new dawn in Morocco-Spain relations.

France is committed to good relations between its European partners and its neighbors on the southern shore of the Mediterranean. It is through dialogue that the common challenges can be overcome, said the spokeswoman for the French Foreign Ministry.

In this vein, French Senator Christian Cambon said Madrids new stance is a big step in Europe-Morocco Cooperation and gives back to the Moroccan-Spanish relationship all its importance.

President of the France-Morocco friendship group in the Senate said Spains new stance recognizing the Moroccan autonomy initiative in the Sahara as the most serious, realistic and credible basis for the resolution of this dispute is a big step that allows to clear up any clouds between the two countries, which penalized cooperation between Europe and Morocco.

In these times of crisis and global difficulties, we need a lot of solidarity with Morocco, which is a friendly country, he said, underlining that each country that recognizes the merits of the autonomy plan is making a positive contribution to peace.

Recalling the position of France which has long supported the autonomy plan for a fair and negotiated solution under the aegis of the United Nations, Cambon said that the broad autonomy offered by Morocco is likely to bring a solution to a very painful conflict.

The Eugene Delacroix Circle, an association of French elected officials for friendship between peoples, also welcomed the historic change in Spains position on the Sahara.

The Kingdom of Spain joins the international community and regards the autonomy initiative presented in 2007 by Morocco as the most serious, realistic and credible basis for resolving the conflict over the Moroccan Sahara, the group said in a statement.

The two nations are closely linked by several centuries of common history, by geography and by a common destiny, said the association which welcomed the end of the crisis between the two Kingdoms and calls for the resumption and reinforcement of exchanges and of the natural friendship between the two peoples.

In the same context, the European commission welcomed the Spanish support for Moroccos autonomy plan, saying the new development opens positive prospects for ties between Madrid and Rabat.

The European Union welcomes any positive developmentbetween its member states and Morocco in their bilateral relations, which can only be beneficial for the implementation of the Euro-Moroccan partnership, said Nabila Massrali, a spokeswoman for EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell.

The EU supports the efforts of the UN envoy as well as the political process with the aim of reaching a political, fair, realistic, feasible, lasting and mutually acceptable solution, Massrali told the press.

This came after Spanish PM openly expressed support for Moroccos territorial integrity saying in a letter to King Mohammed VI that the autonomy plan is the most serious, credible and realistic basis for a political solution to the Sahara issue.

Moroccos foreign ministry welcomed the change in position which augurs well for bilateral ties based on transparency and the absence of unilateral actions.

The Moroccan ambassador to Spain finally returned to her job in Madrid after Spain vowed to respect Moroccos territorial integrity.

It is a pleasure to go back to work in Madrid and reinforce ties between Spain and Morocco, Moroccan ambassador Karima Benyaich told EFE news agency.

The row between Morocco and Spain blew up after the latter admitted last April the Polisario separatist leader Brahim Ghali under a false identity to help him evade justice in Spain where he was facing a lawsuit on charges of rape and other serious rights violations.

Spains support for the autonomy plan came in a series of such moves by global powers such as the US which recognized Moroccos sovereignty over the Sahara in Dec 2020. Berlin an influential country in the EU has also supported the autonomy proposal.
Ribons portfolio now includes two first-in-class clinical programs, RBN-2397 and RBN-3143, targeting broad indications in oncology and inflammatory diseases

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., March 22, 2022--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Ribon Therapeutics, a clinical stage biotechnology company developing therapeutics targeting stress support pathways, today announced that it initiated the healthy volunteer portion of its Phase 1, first-in-human, single ascending dose and multiple ascending dose (SAD/MAD) safety and pharmacokinetic study of RBN-3143. RBN-3143 is a novel, orally administered, first-in-class inhibitor of PARP14 with potential as a therapy in a range of inflammatory diseases, with an initial focus in atopic dermatitis. PARP14 is highly expressed in tissues of inflammatory diseases, aiding the infiltration of inflammatory cells such as eosinophils and neutrophils, the reduction of which has potential advantages over current therapies.

"Todays news of the initiation of RBN-3143, our second program to move into the clinic, is an important advancement for Ribon that broadens our Companys portfolio to now include first-in-class programs in both oncology and inflammatory diseases, leveraging our pioneering research in the role of NAD+-utilizing enzymes in stress support pathways," said Prakash Raman, Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer, Ribon Therapeutics. "As a first-in-class, oral small molecule inhibitor of PARP14, RBN-3143 has the potential to be a differentiated therapy for the treatment of numerous inflammatory diseases. We look forward to progressing this important study."

"Based upon our extensive research and expertise evaluating NAD+-utilizing enzymes in stress support pathways, we identified that PARP14 expression is elevated in multiple tissues undergoing chronic inflammation, including atopic dermatitis, psoriasis, and asthma," said Heike Keilhack, Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer, Ribon Therapeutics. "By inhibiting PARP14, RBN-3143 has the potential to broadly treat inflammatory diseases with an oral agent. In preclinical inflammatory disease models, we observed that oral dosing with RBN-3143 led to a decrease of key inflammatory cytokines and cells such as eosinophils and neutrophils as well as significant improvement of disease symptoms. Further, RBN-3143 was safe and well-tolerated in preclinical studies. We look forward to further investigating the clinical profile of RBN-3143 to understand its potential to help patients with unmet needs."

Story continues

About PARP14

PARP14 is a NAD+-utilizing monoART (mono-ADP-ribosyltransferase) controlling cell signaling and regulating protein function. PARP14 expression is elevated in tissues of various inflammatory diseases, but it is not highly expressed in normal tissues. High PARP14 expression leads to the increase of first order cytokines, specifically alarmins, and second order cytokines, Th2 and Th17 cytokines, and ultimately the increase in disease tissue eosinophils and neutrophils which drive pathology.

About RBN-3143

RBN-3143, a first-in-class, oral small molecule inhibitor of PARP14, has the potential to be a differentiated therapy for the treatment of numerous inflammatory diseases. This is the second program emerging from the BEACON+ platform to enter clinical development. Selective inhibition of PARP14 leads to a decrease in alarmins and dampening of the IL-17 and IL-4/13 signaling pathways. Ribon has demonstrated efficacy in multiple preclinical models of inflammatory disease. RBN-3143 is currently being evaluated in a Phase 1 clinical study in healthy volunteers and atopic dermatitis patients.

About Ribon Therapeutics

Ribon Therapeutics is a clinical stage biotechnology company developing therapeutics targeting novel enzyme families activated under cellular stress conditions that contribute to disease. The company explores novel areas of biology to develop effective treatments for patients with limited therapeutic options and has active clinical programs in oncology and inflammatory disease. Leveraging our proprietary BEACON+ (Blocking the Enzyme Activity Component of NAD+) platform, we are building a pipeline of selective, small molecule inhibitors to numerous NAD+-utilizing enzymes, beginning with monoARTs (mono-ADP-ribosyltransferase), which have applications across multiple therapeutic areas. Ribon is located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. For more information, visit https://ribontx.com/.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220322005304/en/

Contacts

Investors:

Brendan Burns

Argot Partners

212.600.1902

Ribon@argotpartners.com

Media:

David Rosen

Argot Partners

212.600.1902

david.rosen@argotpartners.com
ReportLinker

Major players in the smart workplace market are Carrier, Honeywell, Johnson Controls, Daikin Industries, General Electric, Philips Lumileds, Acuity Brands, LG Electronics, OSRAM, RavenWindow, Schneider, Research Frontiers, NICE Systems, SAGE Electrochromics, Bosch Security Systems, Cisco Systems, Inc.

New York, March 22, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Reportlinker.com announces the release of the report "Smart Workplace Global Market Report 2022" - https://www.reportlinker.com/p06246475/?utm_source=GNW

, Siemens AG, Kronos Incorporated, ATOSS Software AG and Teem Technologies.



The global smart workplace market is expected to grow from $33.55 billion in 2021 to $38.07 billion in 2022 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 13.5%. The change in growth trend is mainly due to the companies stabilizing their output after catering to the demand that grew exponentially during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021. The market is expected to reach $60.60 billion in 2026 at a CAGR of 12.3%.



The smart workplace market consists of sales of technologies, services and solutions by entities (organizations, sole traders, and partnerships) that connect and engages the employees with their workplace. Smart workplace uses technology and networking to enable people for working better, faster, and smarter and also helps in improving productivity and collaboration between people.



The main types of products for the smart workplace market are smart light, security systems, energy management systems, heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) control systems, and audio-video conferencing systems.Smart lights are a lighting technology in the smart workplaces that is connected to the internet and can be controlled remotely, through voice-assistants and are capable of making decisions and following schedules.



The offices used in the smart workplace market are retrofit buildings and new construction offices. These solutions are used by software, services, and managed services.



North America was the largest region in the smart workplace market in 2021.Asia-Pacific is expected to grow faster in the forecast period.



The regions covered in this report are Asia-Pacific, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, North America, South America, Middle East, and Africa.



The increase in demand for smart equipment is expected to drive the smart workplace market in the forecast period.There is an increasing need for smart equipment in workplaces for data security, to make work easier, for an environmentally friendly workplace and for reducing energy costs.



For instance, the smart lighting market is expected to increase twofold from $11.07 billion in 2020 to $22.57 billion by 2025. The increasing smart equipment demand would boost the smart workplace market forward.



The launch of a new platform for developing a virtual representation of a physical environment is a key trend in the smart workplace market.In June 2020, Infogain, a USA-based company that is engaged in designing smart workplace solutions launched Azure Digital Twins that is a platform for developing a virtual representation of a physical environment.



Azure digital twins uses the Azure IoT hub to connect the sensors and other IoT devices that keep everything up-to-date with the physical world.



In September 2020, Securitas, an intelligent protective services company has announced the acquisition of STANLEY security electronic security businesses in five countries Germany, Portugal, Switzerland, Singapore, and India for an undisclosed amount.The acquisition aims to double Securitas security solutions and electronic security business and add significant electronic security expertise to deepen the capabilities in Switzerland and Portugal along with establishing the first electronic security presence in Singapore and India.



STANLEY Security is a USA-based company that is engaged in providing a wide range of smart security systems and value-added services like video surveillance.



The countries covered in the smart workplace market report are Australia, Brazil, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Japan, Russia, South Korea, UK, and USA.

Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p06246475/?utm_source=GNW



About Reportlinker

ReportLinker is an award-winning market research solution. Reportlinker finds and organizes the latest industry data so you get all the market research you need - instantly, in one place.



__________________________

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CONTACT: Clare: clare@reportlinker.com US: (339)-368-6001 Intl: +1 339-368-6001




Some 2,128 patients were in hospital with the virus in Scotland on Sunday, a record high. (PA Images)

The number of patients in hospital in Scotland with coronavirus has reached the highest so far since the start of the pandemic.

The latest figures show that 2,128 patients were in hospital with the virus on Sunday, a record high, with 31 of those in intensive care.

The data has raised concerns over the Scottish Parliament's decision to go ahead with easing restrictions.

First minister Nicola Sturgeon confirmed last week that from Monday businesses such as bars and restaurants will no longer be required to retain customer contact details.

COVID cases continue to rise in the UK. (Getty)

The legal requirement for businesses, places of worship and others to take reasonably practicable measures set out in Scottish government coronavirus guidance is also being ended.

Public health expert Prof Linda Bauld warned last week that Scotland was approaching record numbers for COVID sufferers in its hospitals. She said: "Let's hope we are heading towards the peak or we are already at it in terms of infection because the problems in our hospitals are, once again, pretty acute."

On Monday, Sajid Javid said there are 11,500 people with COVID-19 in English hospitals. However, he said nearly 60% of that number - about 6,900 patients - are in hospital for something other than treatment for coronavirus.

Watch: Fourth dose of COVID vaccine 'under review', says Sajid Javid

Between 12 and 18 March, 551,198 people were confirmed to have tested positive for COVID in the UK, a 38% rise - or increase of 152,378 - on the previous seven-day period.

Health secretary Sajid Javid during the Conservative Party Spring Forum at Winter Gardens, Blackpool, on Friday. (PA)

Read more: Waning immunity likely to blame for rising COVID cases in elderly

Javid told Times Radio on Monday: At the moment, in English hospitals we have around 11,500 people that are COVID-positive, but of those people the NHS estimates almost 60% are not there because of COVID  they are there for something else.

"That might be a hip operation or something, but they happen to be COVID-positive.

So those that are actually there for COVID is a much smaller number and so that does give us a lot of confidence that we are learning to live with COVID."

Story continues

He acknowledged there had been an increase in coronavirus cases but that numbers were significantly below the Omicron variant peak.

But Professor James Naismith, Director of the Rosalind Franklin Institute, and Professor of Structural Biology, University of Oxford, said the high infection rates around the UK were a risk for the vulnerable.

A spring COVID booster programme has been rolled out for over 75s and vulnerable groups. (PA)

He said: "My main concern is for the vulnerable for whom this disease is serious. Every effort must be made to triple vaccinate as many people as possible, quadruple vaccinate the most vulnerable."

From Monday, a spring booster is available to people aged 75 or over and those who are immunosuppressed.

The booster will be made available to about five million people, with 600,000 expected to receive invitations in the first week.

Javid said: It will top up their protection against this virus and allow them to go about their daily lives with more confidence.

He said a further booster programme, for those aged 50 and over, was a possibility in the autumn.

Watch: Health secretary says 'currently no COVID variants of concern'
After much debate, praise, criticism  and a lawsuit  over the rental inspection ordinance, the City of Opelika asked the court to dismiss the lawsuit during a hearing at the Lee County Justice Center on Monday.

Judge Christopher Hughes decided to take the case under advisement because the parties had additional information to submit for his review. Once Hughes has reviewed all the documentation he will enter a written order, according to his judicial assistant.

The ordinance was passed by the Opelika City Council and made effective as law on Jan. 1.

It requires landlords to register their rental properties with the city and requires the property be inspected no more than once every three years when vacant to make sure its meeting the city code standards. The standards must be met before the property is eligible to be rented.

Three Opelika rental property owners, Edna Ward, Eleanor Perry and SMB Rentals, managed by Susan Bolt, filed a lawsuit against the city in December stating that the ordinance is an overreach of the government.

They are represented by attorney Albert L. Jordan from Wallace, Jordan, Ratliff and Brandt LLC in Birmingham and Al Agricola from Agricola Law in Opelika.

The City of Opelika is represented by Joshua Jackson of Samford & Denson, LLP from Opelika and David Canupp of Lanier Ford from Huntsville.

Standing

Canupp told Judge Hughes there were three claims made against the ordinance: that it violates the First and Fourth Amendment and the Alabama Landlord Tenant Act.

The Opelika City Council made changes to the ordinance to eliminate the First and Fourth Amendment challenge in February, which Canupp says weakens the plaintiffs argument.

I think clearly those claims are gone, Canupp said. Then the question becomes, Is there a case that can be brought by these plaintiffs at this time and under Alabama law?

Canupp said the plaintiffs do not have standing to bring the claim before the court and that the law states that a mere disagreement about whether a law is valid is not enough to give someone standing.

Albert Jordan, representing the three rental property owners, said his clients are taxpayers and that there should be no question their status as taxpayers is honored in Alabama law and taxpayer standing is enough.

Jordan also referenced a statute that states there shall be no ordinances adopted or enforced relative to landlords that affect the landlord-tenant relationship and said the ordinance reaches beyond the contract between the two.

Canupp said the rental ordinance coexists with state law and doesnt prohibit anything that the state law permits.

Tax dollars

Canupp said one concern of the plaintiffs involved the money that was already paid to Incapsulate, LLC to create a software system to enforce the law. He said that individuals cant prevent the payment of money because its already been paid.

The law says that while taxpayers may generally have standing to prevent a forward-looking illegal disbursement of funds the law has never allowed a taxpayer to come in and try to recover government funds that have already been spent, Canupp said. You cant go and put the genie back in the bottle.

Make no mistake: this is not merely about the recovery of money thats already gone out the door, Jordan said. Its about stopping them from continuing to do it. Its about stopping them from continuing to use tax money to single out residential landlords and to impose burdens on them.

Jordan said that in the affidavit from Opelika Planning Director Matt Mosley, the plan is to continue to use taxpayer money moving forward with a $30,000 annual fee to be paid to Incapsulate.

Jordan said theres a lot at stake here for a lot of people, as there are about 4,000 rental properties in the City of Opelika, according to the documentation he received.

Is it legal?

Canupp said the ordinance was well known to members of the public and was debated at a city council meeting. These plantiffs had the opportunity, if they were going to challenge it, to do so then, he said. The city council and the mayor approved this ordinance. This was not an illegal expenditure of municipal funds.

But Jordan said they couldnt have filed a lawsuit before the ordinance was adopted.

Canupp said the rental ordinance that Opelika created is similar to four or five other ordinances that exist in Alabama intended to improve rental properties that are not maintained.

The ordinance allows the city to know who has rental properties and to allow the city to have a specific inspection to make sure theyre being kept up to standard, according to Canupp.

Now, since this ordinance has gone into effect, the city has found that its been extremely effective, Canupp said. The inspections have shown that we have tenants throughout the city without hot water, with smoke detectors that dont work and windows that are screwed shut.

It merely creates an inspection procedure; thats all it does, he said.

Jordan said that the city can enforce building codes, health codes and other general laws without this new ordinance.

The problem that they said exists is that theres a complaint-based system that is the process by which they enforce their building code, and they want to use this ordinance to develop something other than a complaint-based system, he said. The complaint-based system is available for owner-occupied residential property, and we think thats the benchmark by which you have to evaluate the question of whether they can claim that they come within this escape hatch from the preemption requirements.


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New voting maps not perfect but fairer than before
In the detective genre, which Pynchon and Anderson exploit, blithely, do we really put plot first? When I think of "The Maltese Falcon," I don't think about the falcon. I think of the faces of those who are after it, and the looks on the faces of Bogart and Mary Astor in their not-long goodbye. Plot, I contend, in every genre, can be deployed in the way T.S. Eliot once wrote about "meaning" in his narrative poems. It's there, he argued, "to satisfy one habit of the reader, to keep his mind diverted and quiet, while the poem does its work upon him: much as the imaginary burglar is always provided with a nice piece of meat for the house-dog." Same with plot. It's the steak you throw over the fence to distract the guard dog while you come up with something more interesting.
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Im glad shes doing better!!

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yay amanda! nichelle nichols next!

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glad she's in a place where she doesn't need a conservatorship anymore and that it looks like she has the support of her parents

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Thats great. At least from appearances, her c-ship seems to have been handled miles better than Britneys - like they gradually worked her towards independence, getting her into school and doing her thing with design, and now she doesnt need it theyre voluntarily giving it up.



(Though comparing it to Britneys is a bar so low its somewhere in the ninth circle of Hell)



Edited at 2022-03-21 11:06 pm (UTC)

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Yeah, like at the very least her parents did not force her to continue working as an entrateiner while she could not care for her own person.



I do not know many details of Bynes's arrangement, but at the very least that.



Peace and good vibes to Amanda and anyone reading this who has a mental illness!!!! <3<3<3

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From all appearances it looks like a conservatorship that actually worked how in theory theyre supposed to work. Its good to see a situation where(at least from what we can see) someone has the support needed and whos best interest was actually the goal. The fact the parents are in agreement to end it gives me hope that it was what it appeared. But Im happy for her that shes in a good spot and will be able to fully take care of her own stuff now.

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If you have people that actually love you trying to help they can work, you dont want a person on their own in and out of rehab all the time either. I'm so happy that seems to be the case with Amanda.

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That's great. Happy for her

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Aww that's great and that her parents seem to be in favor.

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I hope she can move on and lead a healthy, low-key life and that her parents continue to support her and that she feels safe enough with them to reach out if things start to spiral in the future. it seems like she does trust that they have her best interests at heart. once you break that trust, there's no going back, so I hope they're able to keep that line of communication open.

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Knowing she's working on removing her face tattoo was also encouraging.



There was something about it that was so... like she was just an absolutely open wound. Like she needed to remind people to respond to her with compassion.

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https://pagesix.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2022/03/amanda-bynes-22.jpg?quality=80&strip=all



vs



https://deadline.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Screen-Shot-2022-02-25-at-8.38.48-PM.png



Edited at 2022-03-21 11:57 pm (UTC) it looked like she got the old one partially removed and then had it redone. it used to be all wonky looking and now it looks symmetricalvs

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I don't know either way how accurate it is, but I get a lot of news accidentally at work when I open a new tab on Edge and it does a grid of clickbait, lol... one recent set of articles:



https://hollywoodlife.com/2022/03/10/amanda-bynes-removing-heart-face-tattoo-video/?msclkid=c0dedd00a9f311ecbcd3325b512a069a



https://pagesix.com/2022/03/10/amanda-bynes-shares-face-tattoo-removal-progress-on-instagram/?msclkid=c0dec702a9f311ec84961c5ed362c041



Both are from circa March 10th, and indicate she's removing the tattoo as preparation for the court appearance.



I certainly don't mean to tatt shame, it's just this one in particular felt so steeped in her personal pain and not part of a larger cohesive ink aesthetic. Thanks Jesus Candle 420!I don't know either way how accurate it is, but I get a lot of news accidentally at work when I open a new tab on Edge and it does a grid of clickbait, lol... one recent set of articles:Both are from circa March 10th, and indicate she's removing the tattoo as preparation for the court appearance.I certainly don't mean to tatt shame, it's just this one in particular felt so steeped in her personal pain and not part of a larger cohesive ink aesthetic.

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Good for her!

Im glad everyone is on the same page, agreeing shes ready to make her own life choices again.

Her parents seem like good people, so rare with child actors.

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I cannot believe it had been 9 years already

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Jesus, time really does fly.

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Nine. Good gravy.

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The whole thing is so sad to me bc it just felt like it came out of nowhere and just spiraled so quick. Im glad shes ok

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i've always wondered if her underlying condition got triggered by her excessive pot smoking. cannabis can help with mood regulations but if you have a serious condition that's gone undiagnosed and untreated, it can easily lead to social anxiety, depression and psychotic breakdown at worst.

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There really needs to be more conversation about the effect of todays modified weed and mental health conditions

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With my bipolar disorder, I have only had psychosis once in my entire life and that one time was after consuming some strong ass edibles for the first time. Weed frequently gives me paranoia and panic attacks but that was the scariest shit I have ever experienced, that complete break with reality. People really need to talk more about the dangers of weed psychosis and mixing drugs (even soft drugs) with certain disorders.

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I had such bad episodes of dissociation after taking edibles, I wasnt the same for months. Worst of all after enough time had passed Id try it again multiple times because everyone around me insisted weed is so harmless and gaslit me about it. People get so defensive if you share a negative experience with it but its just not for everyone.

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i unfortunately had TWO episodes of psychosis (about a year apart) after doing dabs :/ i have bipolar and i was unmedicated at the time. smoking definitely exasperated my condition in general.

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This happened to a guy I knew. He was a large, muscular man. I think he was also either manic depressive or bipolar...? Might have had some other stuff going on, too. He started smoking pot constantly, kind of out of nowhere, and then just completely lost it. He began to claim that he could communicate telepathically to his cats, he went nuts on his girlfriend and ended their relationship (probably for the best, though, she sucked) and the next time I saw him (only a couple of months later) it was shocking, he had lost all of his muscle and was so skinny. He had a complete breakdown and his parents had to intervene. They got him help, he quit smoking and drinking, and was eventually able to get his life together again. But man, that was a scary time. Literally no change in his life between his previous stability and his breakdown besides the cannabis.

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My mom spiraled last year, one week I was chatting with her on the phone and the next she was convinced people were out to kill her. Ripping shit out of the walls, trying to set her couch on fire to "release spirits"

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i hope she's well! can't believe it's been 9 years

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Im glad shes getting out of it, unless someone is completely incapacitated, I cant support conservatorships. I wish her all the best and continued healing!



Edited at 2022-03-22 12:12 am (UTC)

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I would love to see her back on a sitcom or even the big screen. She has amazing comedic timing and deserves redemption when it comes to her acting career if thats what she wants of course.

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NEW: Western officials believe Russian generals are getting killed in high numbers on Ukraine's front lines because of failures to get orders to poorly disciplined troops.



 generals have even had to go out to the front lines to stop troops from looting.https://t.co/R4Nz0jMqS7  Jack Detsch (@JackDetsch) March 21, 2022 This is completely fucking wild to me

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Edited at 2022-03-22 05:40 am (UTC)  orc army

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please delete this!





edit: someone laughed but im serious. hes a monster and no one needs to see his face all blown up like that next to all of this devastation.



Edited at 2022-03-22 01:44 pm (UTC)

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He's exactly the type of person Tolkien had in mind for the Orcs when he was writing LOTR....he really said fuck the fascists

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This morning, Dmitry Medvedev decided to post a lengthy letter "On Poland" - it is a curious mix of Soviet and pan-Slavic mythology with mockery, dire criticism and veiled threats against Poland - here are the key points   Max Fras (@maxfras) March 21, 2022 Medvedev wrote letter to Poland. I don't know what Russians are doing and who is supposed to be happy about this letter outside of Putin. They really just went "let's offend everyone because we are already criticized" route.

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Poland forgets Soviet Army liberated it from Nazi occupation - instead, Soviet 'occupation' is equated with Nazism - this is a deceitful and disgusting rhetoric  Max Fras (@maxfras) March 21, 2022

So how did that Nazi occupation come about? Are we just pretending the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact wasnt a thing now? Gotta say, calling Polish people political idiots kinda undermines the claim that Russians have the utmost respect for them. Russias leaders must really believe it if theyre trying this piss on your leg and tell you its raining shit. So how did that Nazi occupation come about? Are we just pretending the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact wasnt a thing now? Gotta say, calling Polish people political idiots kinda undermines the claim that Russians have the utmost respect for them. Russias leaders must really believe it if theyre trying this piss on your leg and tell you its raining shit.

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The US recently deployed troops to the Poland border, idk if that's a sign there's a threat or they're just taking precautions

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I'm torn between being really optimistic that ukrainians seem to be turning this into the sort of war of attrition that russia won't have the troops/equipment to win and really terrified about what putin might be capable of when he's humiliated, frustrated and stuck in a stalemate. I hate that I can't do anything except donate and hope for the best :(

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wild that one person can destroy the world. Hitler tried, but failed. if he'd had nuclear weapons? hoooo boy.

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reallyyyyyy hoping that if that order comes, putin ends up with two bullets in the back of his head 

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Putin won't win this. But he also won't admit defeat and that's where it gets scary. I fear this will not end well.

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I read the article about the last journalist to leave Mariupol (it was posted in the last thread but)

No words for this story by AP photographer Mstyslav Chernov, who along with his colleague was the last journalist in Mariupol before he escaped last week. A visceral story of how Russia is annihilating this city. https://t.co/kQk3VFWYEy  Neil Hauer (@NeilPHauer) March 21, 2022



It's really dark, it's so bad there. I mean in some ways I want to be optimistic but it seems like that it's completely lost, thinking about how they'll work to do this to every city and pretty much have the ability to do so is terrifying.



Edited at 2022-03-22 12:41 am (UTC) On the Today show this morning the reporter was on a farm interviewing the family who owned it. Zelenskyy has asked farmers to continue their work like normal and they're trying so hard. So many parts of the world rely on Ukraine for food, are the Russians going to burn it all down? It's really worrying.I read the article about the last journalist to leave Mariupol (it was posted in the last thread but)It's really dark, it's so bad there. I mean in some ways I want to be optimistic but it seems like that it's completely lost, thinking about how they'll work to do this to every city and pretty much have the ability to do so is terrifying.

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So many parts of the world rely on Ukraine for food, are the Russians going to burn it all down? It's really worrying.



A third of Yemen's wheat supply comes from Ukraine and Russia. Undoubtedly, this conflict will cause even more hunger in places like Yemen, Egypt (

A third of Yemen's wheat supply comes from Ukraine and Russia. Undoubtedly, this conflict will cause even more hunger in places like Yemen, Egypt ( which imports 80% of its wheat from Ukraine and Russia ), Turkey, etc. It's not completely hopeless, as plenty of countries can grow their own wheat and will likely help buttress any shortages short-term. But it's a completely fucked situation.

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this article is so fucking devastating

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God, there's just no words. And the fuckers have the gall to blame it on "Ukrainian nationalists"? I hope they all fucking burn.

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Reading about how many Ukrainian cities are just being devestated is heartbreaking.



Everyone can claim the soldiers dont want to be there Theyre still doing it. Theyre still murdering civillians. Theyre still bombing cities.

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Still shocked how easily people fell for the Russian propaganda in the Oscars posts.





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Yeah, it was pretty much copy and paste pro-war Russian propaganda that started to show up in the comments of my city's subreddit days after the invasion. Unfortunately for those Russian trolls my province is full of Ukrainians (and their descendants) that fled from the Holodomor so the anti-Russian sentiment here is HIGH and they were getting downvoted into oblivion. I forget that most ONTDers probably have zero insight of the history of Russian aggression that people here do and are way more vulnerable to misinformation.

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wait what happened?

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Seconding the question, what happened, which Oscars post?

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The misinformation going on in the Amy Schumer Oscars post was wild.

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I uh... completely missed that because I instinctually scroll past anything to do with the Oscars. Guess it's time to look through the tags and find out what was going on.

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Zelensky is a fascist apparently.

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There have been a few really messy posts today. Not a good day for ONTD. :\

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I've noticed an uptick of these types of comments. Interestingly, they rarely come spew their shit in these posts. Good for us, but also it's pretty obvious what the end-game is for these commenters.

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It was a reality check that misinformation creeps at every corner!

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My God, I just got reading that shitshow. Like, if Zelenskky is SUCH a fascist and SUCH a terrible person, WHERE THE FUCK YOU BEEN FOR 25 DAYS UP IN THIS TAG?



ONTD PoliSci went OFF.

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Why did I go look

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Yeah, that was wild.

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What's wild is how some users initially responded to the outlandish claims by just going "oh wow thanks I had no idea!" instead of being, like







Critical thinking, y'all! It pays to have it!

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I've been using the Lj notes feature so much lately

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I haven't read it yet but glad to know this before going in

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I had to get out of that post. I could feel my blood pressure rising.

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I really appreciate the ONTDers who were on top of that and debunking.

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Hey, was that user with Rihanna icon banned or something? I just realized we've been low on 'Well, the DEMOCRATS...!' comments all this time. I don't think they're a troll, they just seem medically unable to not mention democrats in posts like this.

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Ironic that someone with the username iwillshutup wouldnt fucking shut up.

Kudos to everyone in that thread debunking the misinformation. I saw some flame and pencil reactions on some of the comments from people I would have thought would know better. Disappointing.



Edited at 2022-03-22 04:46 am (UTC)

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God I'm scared to look.

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Don't forget this is a Russian owned website guys.

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Ukrainian band Go_A:







Lithuanian band The Roop:







(watch with adblockers off, obv) Two of last year's Eurovision contestants have released songs to raise money for Ukraine if anyone's interested.Ukrainian band Go_A: Kalyna Lithuanian band The Roop: Love is All We Got (watch with adblockers off, obv)

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I have Kalyna on repeat tbh those days 

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Zelensky mentions Romantschenko in address. He survived in Buchenwald, Dora-Mittelbau, Peenemunde, and Bergen-Belson And he was killed by a Russian projectile that hit an ordinary Kharkiv high-rise building. Each passing day makes clear what [Russias] denazification is. pic.twitter.com/D7E6Y32fCi  Christopher Miller (@ChristopherJM) March 22, 2022

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Reading this made me genuinely nauseous. I truly do not understand how anyone could put their own ambition over the innocent lives of others. Obviously Putin is a power-hungry psychopath, but what is even the point of power when it causes so much destruction? How can he possibly gain any satisfaction from this?

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Putin saying that their society needs a purification in his recent speech told me everything about the propaganda he is spreading



He doesnt care about nazism in Ukraine. Hes just using it as justification

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this is making me so angry. it's just so deeply unjust.

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I'm still fucking seething at this, especially in light of all the whataboutism that has been happening on ONTD lately. But it warms me that Zelenskyy mentioned Mr. Romatschenko in his address. So I'll take that with me, above all.

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When I was a little girl (like 6 or 7), my dad worked in the research department at Konica (when they still made cameras), which was in Astoria, Queens NY. One of the of men in his department was this lovely older gentleman named Saul. He soldered circuit boards. He loved when my dad brough me to work with him during the summer. He got me my first proper egg cream. He used to give me and my sister a massive gingerbread house every Christmas, even after my dad had to stop working because he got sick. And I asked him about the tattoo on his arm one day. My dad tried to shush me, but Mr. Saul waved him away and said, "If we do not teach them, Steve, it will happen again."



And that was the first time I ever heard about Bergen Belsen.



I was too shocked to cry. Honestly, it began my life long love of history. Because hearing these stories...they're important. They're so important. And all I see when I see a picture of this man is Mr. Saul. and I am quite literally crying in rage. I'm not one to wish bad things on people, but I swear I wish [redacted] on P*tin. I do. For every baby, for every child, every person....all of them. It's not fair. It's so not fair.

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Yeah my mum tells me about a pair of Austrian neighbours she had when she was younger that she would visit and have tea with (in the 50s?) and one day he told her about walking to one of the camps hiding an egg in his fist above his head.

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And it's not even just the Holocaust that people should be thinking of when it comes to what Russia is doing right now. The Soviet Union also did a bunch of messed up shit, particularly with the gulags. My mom never met her grandfather because he got sent to Siberia for being an eastern rites Catholic priest. There's so much death and destruction caused by autocratic dictator wannabes that we say we never want to happen again, but yet history just keeps repeating itself because people truly don't want to take the steps to make sure it never does happen again.

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this makes me so fucking angry. It's just so unfair.

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Why was someone in the building when everyone is supposed to hide in bomb shelters?

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The Biden Administration has made a practice in recent weeks of sharing intelligence about Russian intentions prior to Russia taking those steps. These latest statements are an indication that the U.S. government is concerned about a credible threat of a Russian cyber attack. https://t.co/IcBt25Nx6s  Alex Iftimie (@aiftimie) March 21, 2022



This is more about organizational threats bc management is cheap and lazy , but its a good reminder to make sure your devices are up-to-date. This is more about organizational threats, but its a good reminder to make sure your devices are up-to-date.

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What can we do for ourselves?

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And hope that no major infrastructure has open doors for hackers to exploit like with the pipeline ransomware attack last year Basically the stuff CISA recommends: https://www.cisa.gov/4-things-you-can-do-keep-yourself-cyber-safe And hope that no major infrastructure has open doors for hackers to exploit like with the pipeline ransomware attack last year

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i'm a few days behind on this, but i read an article a few days ago on mariupol and the aftermath of the maternity hospital bombing, and it's just gutting. the world really sat back and watched putin raze chechnya and syria to the ground, and now he's doing it all over again. it's unreal how one man has so much power to deliver all this death and misery onto so many innocent people.

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Have you watched frontlines documentary, Putins war? It discusses how he came to power and jfc. The very first video they used of him talking to his security council a few days before the invasion was genuinely chilling. That man has everyone under his thumb, all provided by fear. If he talks to his trusted colleagues like that in front of cameras, how does he talk to them behind closed doors?

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i did, i think i even posted in one of the previous posts. that opening bit of them "voting" to approve the invasion of ukraine is downright chilling, the way he has a grip on that entire cabinet and they're all sweating as they repeat the script back to him. horrifying.

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I havent posted the tweet bc its just too upsetting given what I recently went through with my mom , but RU also targeted a senior living facility and they still dont know how many survived.



Putin is always projecting. He says he wants to de-nazify when hes the one trying to rid Ukraine of anyone that doesnt meet the superior Aryan demo.

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As I watch the continued destruction in Ukraine, it makes me angry with myself because while I knew things were bad in Syria , I didnt pay attention the way I should have, didnt follow credible news sources the way I should have. Everything Putin is doing now, hes done before.

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So, when we getting our own ONTD PoliSci banner? Ya'll who were in that Oscar post need some kind of recognition, whew chile.

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Its beenrough on Twitter today, seeing a mutual get jumped for pointing out antiziganism was gonna run rampant during the war, so heres a donation fund for Ukrainian Roma refugees, who are frequent targets of right wing violence, which has obviously escalated because Russians hate Roma and the first targets of violence is usually our community.

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Hey op, what is EOD?

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End of Day

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End Of Day.



Don't worry, I had to look it up, too. English is my first language. LOL

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I wondered about that too. I thought it meant European [something] Date.

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Biden says Putin is weighing use of chemical weapons in Ukraine - Reuters  Phil Stewart (@phildstewart) March 21, 2022

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Oh god

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Considering how Biden was warning what Russia would do before they did it, this isn't looking good.

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Christ

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This is the Syria playbook all over again. Sickening

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It really is

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Not surprising unfortunately considering NATO reports Russia's heading towards a stalemate.

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Dancers for 7M Films rack up millions of views on social media, but some claim the management company is isolating dancers from their loved ones https://t.co/MmdJWyflzm  Rolling Stone (@RollingStone) March 19, 2022

James Derrick, better known as BDash, rose to fame when he competed on S2 of World of Dance. He later auditioned for S12 of SYTYCD. During quarantine, he began posting high production dance videos on TikTok and Instagram with a group of dancers, all of which were made by 7M, a management company. He and his girlfriend Miranda Wilking (another 7M dancer) began attending Shekinah Church. Both the church and 7M are owned by Robert I. Shinn (who is also the pastor at Shekinah).According to an archived version of the Shekinah Church International website from 2009, the church was founded by Dr. Israel Shinn (another name apparently used by Robert Shinn) whom the website describes as a former medical doctor who had successfully practiced medicine for seven years before God spoke to him to go into ministry full time.In 2009, Lydia Chung sued Shekinahs pastor [Shinn] for alleged fraud and labor laws violations. Chung claimed that Shinn exerted undue influence, mind control, coercive persuasion, oppression and other intimidating tactics over her to get her to turn over $3.8 million in property and other assets, all in the name of God, and that shed been forced to work six days a week without pay. The judge ruled in favor of Shinn.Joey Knucklehead Turman, who used to dance with BDash, said that this has happened to BDash before. In 2008 they were in a krump group together and they were required to attend (a different) church several times a week. This group exhibited other cult like control over their members, including being isolated from their families and not socializing with people outside the group. "We werent allowed to go anywhere. We werent allowed to go back home to visit family because we were told that there would be a natural disaster or wed be cursed.In 2011, after a prophecy the pastor had made related to a major event didnt come true, things in their group began to fall apart, which is when Joey and BDash finally left. Joey is concerned that BDash is now in a similar situation. He says that he now recognizes the signs of being controlled by a cult so he tried contacting BDash to help him get out, but BDash has brushed aside his concerns.BDash's former roommate Samantha expressed similar concerns. Both Joey and Samantha said that BDash's personality has changed and that he won't meet with them in person. Samantha knew something was wrong when he started talking about fringe ideas on their first phone call in months. It was essentially two hours of conspiracy theory after conspiracy theory, from things like COVID isnt real, to [theories about Joe] Biden, who was about to be sworn in as president, Long says of the call. He would say things along the lines of, Just do your own research. The tone he was speaking in really concerned me and I could tell that something was really off.BDash and his girlfriend Miranda got married and did not invite her family (or even tell them until afterward), who she was previously very close with. Her parents and sister have become increasingly worried about her, saying that she stopped communicating with them, blocked all of her family members on social media, and refused to come home to attend her grandmother's funeral. Both Miranda's family and BDash's friends say their behavior has changed completely since joining 7M.Miranda's sister Melanie said that she went to services at Shekinah Church with Miranda. Melanie, who is also a dancer, said that initially it was fun because there were a lot of other dancers she knew in attendance but that she was put off when the congregation became increasingly demanding of her time. When she missed a service to pick up a friend at the airport, church members called her repeatedly trying to get her to cancel her plans. As a result of not leaving her friend stranded at the airport, she wasnt invited to the next service. She said. This is not healthy and this is not normal.Miranda's family became increasingly concerned and posted a video discussing many of their concerns about her and 7M:Miranda posted a response on TikTok disputing their claims, saying that she has been in contact with her family but that she didn't attend her grandmother's funeral because she didn't feel safe around her dad. She said the reason she has chosen to communicate with her family less was because they disapproved of her moving in with Derrick. She said that when she returned to her old apartment to get the last of her things, her dad blocked the driveway with his car while her mom grabbed her arm and told her that she was in a cult. After she left, her parents called the police and said that Derrick had kidnapped her.BDash posted a response that said Mirandas parents disapproved of their relationship because he is a poor Black man from Compton. He said Mirandas father falsely accused him of kidnapping and domestic abuse. BDash said that 7M is not a religious organization but a secular for-profit company run by people who have faith in God. He added that the company manages [his] bookings and helps with taxes and finances" and Talents pay agencies and management companies to control their bookings and finances. That is not a cult activity. Its called doing business.An LA-based choreographer who has been in the business for over 20 years said that she found a 7M dancer who she was interested in hiring for an upcoming project. When she DMed him, every question she asked (even asking what dance styles he specialized in) got some variation of "Please reach out to my manager [7M] with any questions." She said that normally she speaks directly to dancers, not managers. When she contacted 7M, the dancer's manager was not knowledgeable about the industry at all and did not even know what standard SAG rates were. She said any agent or manager would know about that basic information.Since the Wilkings went public, several people in the L.A. dance community have spoken out on social media saying theyre worried about friends involved with the management company. None of the other dancers in 7M or members of its creative team responded to DMs requesting comment on their experiences with the company. Members of the Los Angeles dance industry who spoke to Rolling Stone say they want their friends to leave this company. They claim it has changed the people they once knew and dominated their lives, causing them to worry about their loved ones wellbeing. source 1
Fuck Warner Brothers for those racist and sexist shenanigans. Does Awkwafina have a big role in the sequels?

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I think she doe sin the third one

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I dont actually think she has a huge role in that book. But the third one is my least favourite so I may be remembering wrong.

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I wanted to pick up the books, are they any good

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so, just something I can pick up if I need a palate cleanser or a quick read?

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Read Last Tang Standing instead

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I can recommend the audiobooks, i listened to all three in a week and cried at work during some scenes.

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they're fine but I hesitate to call them mindless beach reads since they can be a little difficult to follow if you're not closely paying attention and making an effort to differentiate between the 30,000 different minor characters since iirc the book doesn't make it easy lol

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I honestly loved Raya and the Last Dragon. I get the criticism but I thought it was so good, I watched everyday for like a week lol.

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i just watched it last week and loved it

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At least the new writer is also an Asian woman. But TEN TIMES less than the white man is just insane; of course Adele Lim was right to protest.

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Ten times more with a lot less experience too. Sounds about White.

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i haven't even seen the first one - is it any good?

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yes

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Its actually really fun! I wish I had seen it in theaters

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It's a great rom com

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Yeah, I really liked it!

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second the great rom com

It's quite fabulous visually too

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I didn't like it.

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Yes and all the actors are v nice to look at. Although people have their thoughts about Awkwafina, she does have comedic timing, so Ill give her that.

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yeah I really liked it!

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i cried in the mahjong scene.

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I just checked Chiarelli's IMDB, and he only had The Proposal and Now You See Me 2 (story) as writing credits before he got CRA gig. Meanwhile, Adele Lim had written numerous TV episodes and executive-produced entire seasons.



How can you even begin to justify this?

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You know the answer.

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omg the hype for this has died way down, why is it taking them forever to make the sequel

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Probably hoping that if enough time passed people would forget Constance Wu's fuckup over the Fresh Off the Boat renewal. She really Katherine Heigl'd her career.

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They need to hurry up and make this, I loved the first one, and I need to see Harry Shum and Gemma Chan together

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So does my bi behind.

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they waited way too long

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Good for Adele Lim for standing up for herself.

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This movie is not the representation we need

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Good for Adele for knowing her worth, saying no, and getting those Disney dollars instead. I wonder how much they are paying the new writer?

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Spare us more Constance please god. She was so damn bland. I'm glad the third book focuses more on Henry and Astrid though.

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Good! Im glad she said something and glad there was a social media backlash



She should be there



I hope she stubs on the red carpet

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Although if I was in charge I might be petty and have her announce the best actress winner lol

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she "should" be there even though she isn't nominated and is already booked to work, which also involves hundreds of other people working?

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not being nominated for a solo award doesn't mean you aren't nominated, she's the lead in a movie that's nominated 7 times including best picture. so yeah if tony hawk and dj khaled will be there she should be there

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Did she turn you down or something

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There are a ton of presenters that have nothing to do with any of the movies nominated.



I much rather Rachel be there instead of them. She could present an award or the film, and enjoy the night.

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Mhmmm

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Lol, what a pathetic move on the Academy's part. The Academy + Amy Schumer deserve to get cancelled!

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It was Disney, ABCs parent company, who was preventing her from attending in the first place. They apparently didnt want to temporarily halt production on Snow White.

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yeah...it's one night, she's not nominated and hundreds of people are working on snow white. i mean it's cute but she don't need to be there.

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https://variety.com/2022/film/global/pinewood-studios-fire-snow-white-1235205601/ and there was a fire on set some time ago. seems like they have schedule problems

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weird because they let her leave for the baftas surely she could get two days off

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and I see their point bc filmmaking is expensive and tightly scheduled.





But I don't feel bad for them losing money.

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BULLYING WORKS!

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good for her... the lil freakout on the duexmoi subreddit is amusing tho.

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wym

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I saw them calling her a spoiled brat for...wanting to attend the big award show for which the movie she was the star of is nominated many times.

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to everyone curious its just a bunch of she BULLIED Disney, I always knew she was a spoiled brat!!!!! just as bad as Ansel Elgort nonsense

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That's weird, I feel like the r/movies and r/oscarrace subs have been Team Rachel.

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Lmao. What a mess!

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I'm sure the Snow White crew is thrilled with this last minute development.

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They get paid no matter what. The only people who might possibly lose money is Disney.

You seriously crying over their wallet?

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I didn't say anything about Disney's money so, no.

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Really gross Tony Hawk got an Oscar invite before the LEAD ACTRESS in a BEST PICTURE CONTENDER.

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https://www.reddit.com/r/Deuxmoi/comments/tja58c/i_have_tea_on_biweekly_discussion_thread/i1l4v5a/



Matt Belloni, Puck newsletter and The Town podcast, said on today's episode he heard there was a big back and forth about RZ getting an invite. She's in Lindon filming Snow White, is #1 on the call sheet, and Disney didn't want to lose the 100s of thousands of $$ to stop production and fly her out. Sounds like someone on her team may have been in her ear to go public and force Disney's hand.



Belloni and guest sided with RZ on this saying it's another unforced error on Disney's part (similar to ScarJo and keeping talent happy). Also mentioned Spielberg hates being embarassed and will probably not want to be asked about her absence on the red carpet. Expect Disney will backtrack, eat the cost and fly her out. She and her team seemed to have played that well; hope she didn't accidentally piss of Spielberg though.

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Disney losing money is lmao, but I do worry how this will affect the crew and what COVID protocols will actually be taken.

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Like, this is a multi-BILLION dollar company! We're supposed to feel sorry for that bitch?! We don't! Keeping the crew safe from COVID and paid is a valid concern, but nobody in their right mind cares about the mouse's coins.

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I keep reading this.

The crew will be fine. She'll be gone two, three days at most. And the crew will get paid no matter what.

As shitty as the Brits have tried and succeded in breaking trade unions and workers rights, those in the trades associated with film or TV production have a lot of protection. They getting paid.

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I'm curious about the last part and if she thinks it's worth it pissing off Disney and the production team in London. And anyone in Hollywood who saw this go down.



Edited at 2022-03-22 07:51 pm (UTC)

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What a kindness after they already secured legendary movie icons like Shawn Mendes and DJ Khaled...........

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the ott negative reactions towards her making like. two comments about it, especially when theyre like all about how she ~bullied~ Disney. people wanted to be mad about the Oscars because the network has bungled the ceremony has been bungled from day fucking one, and the fact that they kept inviting Peoples Choice Award level of presenters while actors and hair and makeup artists and editors and sound design people have been treated like crap by the network. all to chase an audience that doesnt care about the Oscars and wouldnt if they even nominated crap like No Way Home (a movie I liked but its insane anyone thought it should be nominated for Best Picture)



this ceremony is so cursed. we need to move the Oscars back to February and cut awards season in half, Im fucking exhausted.

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Look at that, whining works!



jk she should've been invited in the first place.

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Theater kids always get what they want. The whining was annoying as hell but I knew it was a stragedy to get sympathy.

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She thanked everyone for the 'shock and outrage' in her initial comments before the story even got really picked up so she knew what she was doing. I don't blame her tho!



Edited at 2022-03-22 08:08 pm (UTC)

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How did they seriously not invite her and she is in one of the movies nominated?! Smh.



It would be funny if she turned down the invite, but Im sure people would talk shit about her.

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There will not likely be any progress towards net-zero climate goals without hydropower, which could fast become a favorite investment themeeven more so amid a Russian war on Ukraine that has sent oil prices to record highs, with a supply shock looming.

But back in the United States, the massive potential of hydropower has been stymied by environmental contradictions.

For decades, environmentalists and dam builders in the United States have been locked in a bitter battle. Theres no denying the fact that Americas 90,000 dams serve a very important purpose: they store water, provide renewable energy and prevent floods. In the U.S., hydropower currently accounts for 37% of total U.S. renewable electricity generation and about 7% of total U.S. electricity generation; provides over 90 percent of Americas long-duration energy storage, and powers an estimated 30 million homes.

Unfortunately, there are tens of thousands of outdated, obsolete dams nationwide whose impacts to ecology or public safety outweigh the benefits they provide. These structures are known to worsen the impact of climate change by releasing greenhouse gasses and destroying carbon sinks in wetlands and oceans; they destroy habitats, increase sea levels, and displace poor communities. For instance, dam construction on the Snake River has led to a massive fish kill and decimated salmon and steelhead runs.

The golden era of dam building swept the nation in the 1940s and 1950s, impounding some of the most important rivers of the American west. But environmentalists have lately been winning a good deal, with the U.S. now leading the movement to decommission dams. According to Free Rivers: The State of Dam Removal in the U.S., report by American Rivers, 57 dams were removed in 2021, reconnecting more than 2,131 miles of rivers. American Rivers has been advocating for dam removals on environmental grounds. A total of 1,951 dams have already been removed nationwide, roughly equal to 2% of the more than 90,000 dams inventoried by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

But make no mistake about it: hydropower remains a very integral part of the U.S. energy ecosystem. You can clearly tell that by President Joe Bidens infrastructure law, which puts $2.5 billion toward projects including upgrades at existing structures for hydropower and energy storage as well as dam removals.

We do recognize that (hydropower) is probably going to play some role in the transition. Its certainly better than coal, Ted Illston of American Rivers has conceded.

To set the record straight, lifecycle greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions for run-of-river and pumped storage hydropower facilities are the lowest of any energy resource, according to a report by the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Even when you factor in hydropower with reservoirs, hydropower is still slightly lower than solar energy.

And some states are willing to go against the grain by increasing their hydropower output. In southwestern Pennsylvania, eight locks and dams that for decades helped barges move goods along the Allegheny, Monongahela, and Ohio rivers will in a few years also generate enough power for 75,000 homes.

Retrofitting dams

Hydropower, which uses flowing water to spin turbines connected to generators, hasnt received as much federal funding and tax incentives as wind and solar, but sees room for growth. Of the countrys 90,000 dams in the country, only 2,500 produce power. According to an estimate by the Electric Power Supply Association based on federal data from 2012, non-powered dams could produce enough power for 9 to 12 million homes.

Rye Development, a Boston-based hydropower company, is retrofitting the dams in southwestern Pennsylvania with turbines to generate electricity. The retrofits are expected to be operational as early as 2025. The company says the upgraded structures will also limit damage to the rivers water quality and fish.

To get certified, companies must show their structures meet protections for endangered species, cultural and historical uses of rivers, passage for fish, and recreational areas. In Pennsylvania, Rye consulted with the Low Impact Hydropower Institute early in its process and is among a small number of companies seeking certification from the group. The group says its environmental standards are often stricter than state or federal guidelines.

Rye says its dams in Pennsylvania will include structures to support fish migration. It is also building a fishing pier since federal regulators require hydropower producers to support recreation on river systems.

On a recently certified dam in West Virginia on the Ohio River, for example, dissolved oxygen levels were found to meet or exceed state standards in a 5-year study. In some states, dams certified by the organization qualify for green-energy programs.

The hydropower industry and conservation groups will continue clashing over dams. Part of the challenge is that most dams in the U.S. were built more than half a century ago. The risk of dam collapses has fueled demolitions in recent years, with more than 40% of the countrys nearly 2,000 dam removals in the past century happening in the last decade. Some are also torn down largely for environmental reasons. Last month, federal regulators moved a step closer to approving what would be the largest dam demolition in U.S. history. Removal of the four hydroelectric dams on the Klamath River near the Oregon-California border would help save the rivers salmon and other fish species that cant reach breeding habitats because of the structures.

But in the transition to low-carbon energy, its going to be hard for the U.S. to completely swear off dams and hydropower.

Its very easy for individual river systems to get lost in the message of climate change and the need for renewable energy, Shannon Ames, executive director of the Low Impact Hydropower Institute, which grades hydropower dams based on environmental criteria, has told Associated Press.

With persisting drought affecting hydropower production west of the Mississippi River, the industry has a more direct path to expansion in eastern states.

By Alex Kimani for Oilprice.com

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Reader Update: Whether you are new to the oil and gas industry or an energy market veteran, you will regret not signing up for Global Energy Alert. Oilprice.com's premium newsletter provides everything from geopolitical analysis to trading analysis, and all for less than a cup of coffee per week.

Chart of the Week

- Oil and gas producers in the Middle East are back in vogue as the prospect of a major Russian supply disruption puts the oil market on edge.

- Germany has been courting Qatar for energy supplies, Japan has asked the UAE to increase its exports, whilst the British Prime Minister traveled to Riyadh and Dubai asking the OPEC heavyweights to increase production.

- In the meantime, Saudi Aramco has more than doubled its 2021 net income, coming in at $110 billion, drastically decreasing its net gearing and allowing it to issue bonus shares.

- With windfall profits assumed to edge even higher in 2022, Saudi Aramco plans to boost its upstream capital expenditures by some $40-50 billion, fortifying its stature as the main global swing producer.

Market Movers

- Rockcliff Energy, a US shale gas-focused exploration company, could reportedly seek 4 billion in a sale as its Haynesville production base in Texas has already moved beyond 1 billion cubic feet of production recently.

- US oil major ExxonMobil (NYSE:XOM) enhanced its Mediterranean upstream portfolio with yet another discovery in Cyprus offshore waters, finding another high-quality gas reservoir in Block 10, the same block that saw the 7 bcf Glafcos discovery in 2019.

- Italian energy major ENI (NYSE:E) recorded an important oil and gas discovery in Algerias Berkine basin, with the Zemlet-el-Arbi concession reportedly holding 140 million barrels of crude and unspecified amounts of natural gas.

Tuesday, March 22, 2022

The international community was swift to react to Russias invasion of Ukraine nearly a month ago, but Western economies are now running out of options as they look to increase the Kremlin's pain. Europes next round of sanctions should hit Russian oil and coal exports (gas has been conveniently left out), provided the member states can agree on a joint policy, which they currently cannot. Meanwhile, the Iranian nuclear deal appears to be stuck in limbo, hurting hopes that a new source of oil supply would soon be online. At the same time, Saudi Arabia has reemphasized the importance of the OPEC+ agreement in stabilizing the oil market, although there seems to be little appetite within the cartel to boost production beyond the current plan.

EU Members Torn Over Further Russia Sanctions. Internal pressure has been increasing on members of the European Union as several members called for the imposition of an oil imports embargo on Russia. This initiative was quickly played down by Germany, with the country claiming that any dependence reduction should be gradual.

Saudi Arabia Expects More Houthi Attacks. Saudi Arabia announced that it would not incur any responsibility for oil shortages in global markets, should further attacks from Houthi militias in Yemen cause damage  the latest attack on Sunday triggered a fire at a Jeddah oil storage facility.

Oil Service Majors Shy Away from Full Russia Exit. US oilfield services firms Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) and Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) declared they will be suspending their future Russia operations but maintaining their current portfolio in line with international laws and sanctions.

Germany Wants Qatari LNG Deal. The German government indicated that it is on the verge of cutting a long-term LNG supply deal with Qatar. This news comes on the back of Germany committing to build two new LNG terminals. Qatar stopped short of saying a deal had been finalized.

Saudi Arabia and Kuwait Agree on Joint Gas Project. Riyadh and Kuwait signed a deal to jointly develop the Durra gas field, discovered in 1960 but heretofore untapped because it lies in a contested border area. It is expected to produce 1 billion cubic feet of gas per day and 84,000 b/d of condensate at peak production rates.

Shell Tries Again with Jackdaw Field. Having seen its initial development plan for the Jackdaw field in the UK North Sea rejected last year on environmental grounds, UK oil major Shell (LON:SHEL) submitted an amended plan for the field, presumably hoping that the current gas price environment will facilitate the decision.

Lithium Prices Are Shooting Through the Roof. Chronically low lithium inventories continue to push prices of the metal to new peaks, with battery-grade lithium carbonate already pricing around $77,000 a tonne, up 10% in March alone, meaning that last years fivefold appreciation is still far from over.

Shale Lifts Argentinian Oil Production. Increasing production from Argentinas large Vaca Muerta shale play, up at 222,000 b/d already, has nudged the Latin American countrys total oil production to an 11-year high last month, up 14% year-on-year at 570,000 b/d.

Belgium Sours On 2025 Nuclear Decommission Deadline. Wary of high fossil fuel prices, the government of Belgium announced it would extend currently operating nuclear power plants in the country, namely Doel 4 and Tihange 3, by another 10 years so that they are not decommissioned in 2025.

Saudi Arabia Expects Output Capacity Growth by 2025. Saudi Aramco seeks to increase its production capacity to 13 million b/d by 2027, with growth coming primarily from the offshore fields of Marjan, Berri, and Zuluf. The expected growth of roughly 1 million b/d indicates that current hopes of more supply might be far-fetched.

Aluminum Soars on Australias Sanctions. The price of aluminum soared this week after Australia banned the export of alumina or aluminum ores to Russia, disrupting Rusals refining operations as well as sending prices to $3,520 per metric ton, only a handful dollars away from the peak reached two weeks ago.

Britain Wants to Nationalize Gazprom UK Subsidiary. The British government is reportedly considering the nationalization of Gazproms UK-based retail supply arm, Gazprom Marketing & Trading Retails, an entity that has been supplying roughly 20% of Britains commercial gas volume.

Canadas Rail Strike Difficult to Extinguish. The Canadian government called for a quick end to a strike at the countrys second-largest Canadian Pacific Railway (CP) as large volumes of wheat and (perhaps even more importantly) potash fertilizers risk getting stuck in the country amid soaring prices.

By Tom Kool for Oilprice.com

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Carol Adams, president and CEO of the DuSable Museum of African American History, will retire on Dec. 31, according to an announcement from the museum. Adams joined the institution on Nov. 9, 2009.

During her years in office she developed Chicago Public Schools Teacher Training Programs, the "Making History Come Alive" program and the DuSable Mobile Museum. She also oversaw the museum's first traveling exhibition, "Geoffrey & Carmen: A Memoir in Four Movements."

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The museum's board will lead a national search for her successor. Until then, board member Robert Blackwell Sr. will serve as interim president and CEO.

"Carol Adams has been a strong leader and has managed the museum through both good and challenging times," said DuSable board chairman Clarence Bourne in a statement. "The board is grateful for her many contributions to the museum over the last five years and wishes her success in retirement."
Reports that Washington sent a significant number of Patriot missiles to Saudi Arabia suggest that Biden is trying to revive the alliance between the two countries.

In the short term, Saudi Arabia has made it clear that it has no intention of increasing oil production beyond the current OPEC+ plan.

Saudi state oil giant Aramco reported its latest financial results last weekend. In the report, the company boasted a twofold jump in net profits for 2021, which was hardly a surprise after a year of soaring oil prices.

But the company also reported plans to boost its maximum sustainable production capacity to 13 million bpd, likely sparking optimism about future supply among energy-starved importers in the West, at least according to this Quartz article.

Over the long term, a boost in Saudi oil production capacity would certainly be good news for oil importers. The problem, however, is that these importers are energy-starved now - or rather, they want to avoid being energy-starved if they decide to increase their sanctions on Russia. In this, no help is coming from Saudi Arabia.

The Kingdom has made its stance clear on numerous occasions. The fact that it basically turned a deaf ear on calls from the White House to boost OPEC+ production should have been enough, but it wasnt. Several more calls, escalating to demands, were made before the White House realized Saudi Arabia wouldnt budge. And if Saudi Arabia doesnt budge, neither will the rest of OPEC or OPEC+, which also involves Russia.

Then it was The UKs turn. Prime Minister Boris Johnson visited both Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates this month, officially to discuss the energy market situation, not so officially to ask for more oil, as this Wall Street Journal report said.

The UKs Premier, according to a spokesperson, set out his deep concerns about the chaos unleashed by Russias unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, and stressed the importance of working together to improve stability in the global energy market, the WSJ reported.

His hosts, however, apparently saw things differently. The Wall Street Journal cited unnamed Saudi government officials who said that Johnson had basically left empty-handed. Indeed, the Saudi state news agency said the UKs Prime Minister had discussed the international geopolitical situation with Crown Prince Mohammed but did not mention oil markets at all.

That the love between the West and the Middle East has cooled recently is not news. It has been a prolonged process. Yet it seems that some in the West have failed to grasp the fact that this process has been unfolding.

President Biden condemned the Saudi Crown Prince for the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi but appeared to believe it would not affect bilateral relations. The UK has faced pressure over its arms supplies to Middle Eastern countries, including Saudi Arabia, and more pressure to condemn the Saudi heir for the Khashoggi murder following the example of the White House.

The West, as represented by the U.S. and the UK, has found itself between a rock and a hard place. For all the renewable energy enthusiasm exhibited by politicians on both sides of the Atlantic, oil and gas have continued to be essential to keep the economy going. Of course, this could have been thought about before the two started showering Russia with sanctions, but apparently, things were too urgent to stop and think.

Now, they will be forced to stop and think. Saudi Arabia is boosting its oil production capacity because it firmly believes reports of the death of oil demand are strongly exaggerated. This is good news for importers, and this means all importers. Saudi Arabia is a big supplier to China and India, two of the biggest importers. And it seems to have much better political relations with them. Chances are, Riyadh will prioritize its Asian clients over its Western allies if only to teach the latter a lesson.

It seems the message from Saudi Arabia is already being received. The Wall Street Journal reported this week that Washington had sent a significant number of Patriot missile interceptors to Saudi Arabia after yet another missile and drone attack on Saudi targets by the Yemeni Houthis. It could be a signal that the White House has finally got its priorities straight and is being practical instead of moralistic.

By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com

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When oil prices crash, small, privately held companies are the first to go under. When prices go up, small, private oil drillers fatten up like their Big Oil sector players and drill more. Except right now, Big Oil isnt drilling.

Privately-owned oil producers in the United States emerged as the drivers behind the latest oil production increase in the country towards the end of the second pandemic year. While Big Oil worried about shareholder opinions, private drillers worried about their debts. Now, this trend has only gathered pace.

In an analytical piece from last week, the Wall Street Journals Gregory Zuckerman told the story of one such company, Endeavor Energy Resources, solely owned by its founder, Autry Stephens. Endeavour Energy Resources, the author noted, was one of few U.S. companies that were boosting oil output. And it was making its owner a lot of money, turning him into one of the wealthiest people in the industry.

West Texas Intermediate is currently trading above $100 per barrel. Many would argue that this price surge is a result of the war in Ukraine, and there is indeed a big war-related premium to all world oil benchmarks. However, one thing many are currently forgetting as the war hogs headlines is that oils fundamentals were taking it on the way to $100 a lot earlier.

Investment banks forecast oil above $100 months before the war began, and they were basing these forecasts on oils fundamentals, which included limited supply growth and strong demand rebound. OPEC+ has been adamant it would not pump more than it agreed to under its output recovery plan, and Big Oil has been basically shrinking its core business to stay on the good side of shareholders apparently more concerned about emissions than returns.

This looks like the perfect environment for smaller companies who do not report to shareholders to shine and, according to the WSJ report, they are shining. Data from Pickering Energy Partners cited in the story shows that Endeavor Energy Resources and Mewborne Oil Co. together operate more drilling rigs in the United States than Exxon and Chevron taken together.

Of course, Exxon and Chevron have a lot of operations outside the United States, but the local oil industry is a priority for both. However, they have shareholders to answer to and emission footprints to cut. Its not just emissions, either.

Capital spending in oil and gas has been on the decline for years, despite fluctuations in benchmark prices. According to the International Energy Agency, spending peaked at $780 billion in 2014 and has since then been on a downward curve. Climate policies are one reason for this. Another would be post-crash caution. And then the pandemic hit the industry and amplified the caution significantly.

Small drillers are also struggling to find funding, Margaret P. Graham, chief executive of MPG Petroleum, told Oilprice.com. Private equity firms and banks have grown cold towards the industry, she explained, amid the administrations war on the industry at large.

According to an op-ed in the WSJ by Paul H. Tice, an investment manager and professor of finance, U.S. energy policies and changing shareholder sentiment have caused a rethinking of the industrys business model. The fallout of the pandemic added its own burden in the form of supply chain disruptions, which persist to date across industries.

The main risk to the industry over the next decade is not the potential for oil and gas demand to go down because of the global energy transition away from fossil fuels, wrote Tice. It is the high likelihood of more energy supply-chain bottlenecks created by government officials.

This is a problem for all oil producers, big and small. However, due to their sheer size, bigger companies seem to be more exposed to adverse government action as their plans tend to be, well, bigger than the plans of small independents.

Right now, the federal government is signaling it is willing to work with the industry to boost local production of oil, despite some mixed signals such as the White House Press Secretarys statement that methods proposed to boost U.S. oil production were a misdiagnosis. Yet there is precious little it can actually do now to help the industry soon enough to make a quick difference in prices at the pump.

Yet there are also other challenges that concern both small and large oil players, and these have to do with supply chains. Shortages of frac sand, steel, and cement have been plaguing the industry in its attempts to recover from the worst of the crisis.

The labor shortage has not spared oil and gas, and companies are having trouble finding enough workers. Its worse than other industries, too, because in addition to layoffs that shrunk the workforce in the oil patch during the pandemic, the oil industry is also suffering from workforce aginga problem aggravated by younger generations aversion to the pariah industry.

Despite all this, oil companies are drilling for more oil and smaller companies seem to be drilling more than large ones. Yet, due to the abovementioned constraints, a substantial enough output increase that would help push retail fuel prices down would take quite a while, even if all small drillers begin drilling for more production.

By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com

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Europe risks being exposed to a systemic deficit of diesel supply that could worsen and even lead to rationing of fuel, the top executives of the worlds largest independent oil traders said on Tuesday.

Following the sanctions against Russia over its invasion of Ukraine, as well as buyers self-sanctioning, the global markets could lose around 3 million barrels per day (bpd) of Russian crude and products supply, with European diesel supply a big concern, the executives said at the FT Commodities Global Summit today.

According to Russell Hardy, chief executive at the worlds biggest independent trader Vitol, The thing that everybodys concerned about will be diesel supplies.

Particularly for Europe, the continent imports around half of its diesel supply from Russia and the other half from the Middle East, Hardy said at the FT summit.

That systemic shortfall of diesel is there, he added.

This is a global problem but for Europe its very hard because Europe is so short of diesel, Gunvor CEO Torbjorn Tornqvist said at the Financial Times Commodities Global Summit as carried by Bloomberg.

Europes diesel shortage is worsening as Russian oil refiners have started to cut back on refinery throughput, Tornqvist added.

Diesel stocks globally were already low even before the Russian invasion of Ukraine, but the shortage has now been exacerbated by the lower global diesel supply from Russia.

In the highly volatile global energy markets since Russias war in Ukraine began, even the biggest traders are exposed to rising margin calls. Via futures contracts in commodities, trading houses hedge against risks. Without commodity derivatives, many traders would not be able to move physical volumes of oil.

The European Federation of Energy Traders (EFET), whose members include Trafigura, Vitol, Shell, and BP, among others, has urged European central banks for time-limited emergency liquidity support to ensure that wholesale gas and power markets continued to function, the Financial Times reported last week, citing a letter the federation sent earlier this month.

By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com

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Dear Readers: Every year I step away from my column briefly to work on other creative projects.

Ill be back next week. Todays Best of topic from 10 years ago concerns workplace sexual harassment.

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Dear Amy: I have been working off and on as a freelance consultant for a nonprofit organization.

I work from a home office and take occasional meetings with employees of the nonprofit. I also meet with clients.

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Recently the organization hired a new director; I was working as a consultant on a project for the organization at the time.

Soon after his hiring, the new director asked to have lunch with me.

The new director and I went to a nearby restaurant to talk about possible future projects, etc.

At the end of the luncheon, as we were saying goodbye on the curb outside the restaurant, I reached my hand out to shake his.

Suddenly, he pulled me toward him and kissed me full on the lips.

I was so shocked that I said a weak goodbye and left him standing there.

I completed my assignment feeling awkward and wondering if I wanted to work with him in the future. This is not a decision I can make lightly as there are very few job opportunities in my area of expertise, and now I dont know what to do.

Amy, I would appreciate your perspective on this situation. I wonder if he has a problem that should be reported to the board of trustees.

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I also wonder if I am making too much of this.

Am I?

 Kissed Consultant

Dear Kissed: Addressing the question of whether you are making too much of this: Do your other colleagues and clients kiss you on the lips after a business meeting? Does this director kiss male colleagues and consultants on the lips after a meeting?

I assume the answer to both questions is no.

People who are subjected to unwanted sexual contact often wonder if they are overreacting. They are often also encouraged to doubt their own instincts.

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There is a very common-sense boundary around business meetings, and its not really that challenging or confusing to stay within the boundary. Physical contact after a business meeting should be confined to a handshake.

Yes, I believe you should write a letter to the board of trustees regarding this new employee.

Explain in very simple language what happened, i.e., At the end of our business lunch, when I extended my hand to shake his, Mr. Smith pulled me toward him and kissed me on the lips. I was shocked at the time, and upon reflection continue to be concerned about his conduct. In my experience consulting for this organization, I have always conducted myself professionally and until now have always been treated with professionalism, and respect.

If the board handles this well, expect to revive your business relationship and work with the organization in the future.  December 2012

Dear Amy: Your answer to Kissed Consultant was way off the mark. This consultant was kissed by a new director of the nonprofit she was consulting for, and you want her to notify the board of directors?

What if he misread her signals, or what if he is from another culture and didnt know any better?

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 Appalled

Dear Appalled: This man should already know better than to pull a business associate close and kiss her full on the lips after their first meeting.

One way to educate him would be for the board of directors to let him know what is and is not acceptable professional conduct.  December 2012

Dear Amy: I know you took flak for your response to the Kissed Consultant, who said that a male director of the nonprofit she was consulting for kissed her on the lips after a business lunch. You suggested she should notify the board of directors about this mans actions.

I thought your comments were right on. When this happened to me, I reported it to my boss (it was his boss who was the kisser).

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He talked to his boss, who apologized.

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 Happened to Me

Dear Happened: Unless this sort of thing has happened to you, I dont know if people can understand what a violation this is from a business associate who, incidentally, is also a complete stranger.

No matter what the intention might have been, this is not an affectionate or friendly act, but one that seems aggressive. It is highly inappropriate.  December 2021

Got a question for Amy? Enter it here and well send it to her.

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2021 Amy Dickinson.
The Omaha man who fell over a railing in the Capitol District has died.

Walter Bowens, 22, died Thursday after suffering a brain injury on March 13.

Witnesses reported that Bowens tried to slide down an outdoor railing and lost his balance, falling down several steps and hitting his head on the concrete. Omaha police said the fall occurred just before 2 a.m. near 11th Street and Capitol Avenue.

He was taken to the Nebraska Medical Center, where he died.

Bowens' death will be recorded as an "accidental death," said Omaha Police Officer Chris Gordon, a spokesman for the department, as multiple witnesses shared that there was no foul play involved in the fall.

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Former U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano will appear virtually at a forum hosted by the University of Nebraska at Omaha and the Atlantic Council.

The forum will be hosted on UNOs website and Atlantic Council platforms at 5 p.m. April 25.

Napolitano served as Homeland Security secretary in former President Barack Obamas administration from 2009 to 2013.

Napolitano will deliver remarks and discuss the role of U.S. leadership in a changing world with former Defense Secretary and former U.S. Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb.

A UNO press release described the Atlantic Council as a nonpartisan organization that galvanizes U.S. leadership and engagement in the world.

Napolitanos appearance is part of the fourth installment of the Chuck Hagel Forum in Global Leadership series. Jody Neathery-Castro, a UNO associate professor of political science, will serve as moderator of the discussion.

Napolitano is a professor of public policy at the Goldman School of Public Policy at the University of California, Berkeley. She also is the founder and faculty director of that universitys Center for Security in Politics.

Before her tenure as Homeland Security secretary, Napolitano was governor of Arizona. She previously served as Arizonas attorney general and U.S. attorney.

The forums three previous guests were former Vice President and current President Joe Biden in 2019, former Secretary of State John Kerry in 2020 and inaugural Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge in 2021.

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Habitat for Humanity of Omaha will receive an $11 million donation from MacKenzie Scott, part of the $436 million that the philanthropist and author is giving to Habitat for Humanity International and 84 of its U.S. affiliates.

The money will be used to create affordable housing and will help more metropolitan Omaha families become first-time homebuyers, Habitat for Humanity of Omaha said.

This donation allows local gifts to go even further to help families in our community have a stable, affordable place to call home, Habitat Omaha CEO Amanda Brewer said in a statement. We can build more, serve more and accomplish more when we work together.

The $436 million to Habitat is one of the largest gifts to an organization that Scott, the former wife of Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, has made since she announced plans to give away the majority of her wealth.

Brewer said the donation is a great start to helping Habitat Omaha reach the goals of its four-year plan to invest $108 million in removing barriers to homeownership in metropolitan Omaha. Those goals include building and renovating more houses, providing more mortgage opportunities to families, creating a down payment assistance fund and preserving existing housing stock.

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Nomi Health, which offers COVID-19 testing in Nebraska, will offer $1 million in free behavioral health care to front-line health care workers in Nebraska and a handful of other states beginning this spring.

The free virtual care will be offered through a partnership with Tava Health, a 2-year-old company that typically provides such care through large employers such as hospitals, school districts and universities.

Nomi has offered COVID testing in Nebraska throughout much of the pandemic, first under contract as part of the states TestNebraska program and later through its own community testing sites.

Dallen Allred, Tavas CEO and co-founder, said the free care will be primarily video-based talk therapy offered by providers in the communities that are being served. The company has contracts with therapists all over the country, including roughly 15 in Nebraska.

Services in Nebraska will start June 1, he said. A Tava team was slated to start reaching out to hospitals and clinics in Nebraska this week to help them begin getting the word out to employees.

Rebecca Langle, Nomi Healths director of corporate social responsibility, said the program is open to those who consider themselves front-line health care workers. Each person will have access to 12 sessions through the end of the year. The service also will be offered in Florida, Texas, Utah, Colorado and Hawaii.

Once a front-line health care worker signs up, Allred said, the company will determine what issues theyre struggling with and whether they have any preferences in provider specialty or gender. If a patient meets with a therapist but later changes providers, their clinical notes will follow them.

While many employee assistance programs are designed for short-term use, he said, the Tava program is designed to work with short-, medium- and long-term cases.

With COVID-19, he said, demand for such services has skyrocketed. The good news is that awareness and acceptance of behavioral health issues is growing and the stigma is being pulled down bit by bit.

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Widespread rain showers that began Monday afternoon across eastern Nebraska are expected to continue through Wednesday.

Unofficial figures provided by the National Weather Service office in Valley indicated that Omahas Eppley Airfield had received 1.04 inches of rain as of 3:30 p.m. Tuesday. According to meteorologist Paul Fajman, Lincoln reported 0.62 of an inch of rain by that time, while Beatrice recorded 0.82 and Nebraska City had 1.22 inches.

In Iowa, Council Bluffs reported 0.87 of an inch of rain through 3:30 p.m. Red Oak recorded an inch, and Shenandoah had 0.93.

We are expecting a little more precipitation yet, Fajman said. Higher amounts are going to be possible the farther east you go into Iowa.

Most of the additional precipitation should fall as rain, Fajman said. There is a small chance for some snow to be mixed into that. We are not expecting that to accumulate on the roads. You may see some accumulation on grassy surfaces or even elevated surfaces.

In Omaha on Wednesday, winds are expected to remain strong, with sustained winds of 20 to 25 mph and gusts of up to 45 mph.

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LOS ANGELES  Nebraska Rep. Jeff Fortenberry spoke with Dr. Eli Ayoub twice in 2018, asking him both times if he would hold another fundraiser on his behalf.

Maybe something similar to the one Ayoub held in February 2016 in L.A. Maybe something smaller, more intimate.

But when FBI agents showed up to Fortenberrys home nine months later, Fortenberry said he had a hard time placing Ayoub.

I dont know if I know him, Fortenberry said.

I think his name is Ayoub, Elias, FBI agent Todd Carter responded.

Im not placing him, Fortenberry said. I may have (met him). I cant say I have.

Fortenberry thought some more.

If its Ayoub, he may have given me a political contribution, he said.

Ayoub did much more. Ayoub testified Monday that he took a brown paper bag of $30,000 cash from an associate of Nigerian billionaire Gilbert Chagoury and distributed it to friends and relatives. He had them write checks to Fortenberrys campaign at a fundraiser the doctor held on behalf of the congressman.

Day 4 of Fortenberrys federal trial Tuesday delved into whether Fortenberry lied to FBI agents investigating the funneling of foreign money into U.S. politicians campaigns. Chagoury, a controversial figure who has been connected to corruption in Nigeria and to Bill and Hillary Clinton, had used Ayoub to steer money to several Republicans, including Fortenberry.

It is illegal for U.S. politicians to accept foreign money. Fortenberry, a nine-term congressman representing Nebraskas 1st District, is charged with one count of concealing the source of illegal contributions to his campaign and two counts of lying. If convicted after this weeks trial, the 61-year-old would face up to five years in prison on each charge, though supervised release also would be a possibility.

Fortenberrys defense team says the congressman had no knowledge, direct or otherwise, that he had received foreign money. And Tuesday, they cast the lying charges as a reach.

The real liars are the agents who interviewed Fortenberry, attorney Ryan Fraser suggested Tuesday.

Fraser and attorney Glen Summers accused the FBI agent and an IRS agent, James OLeary, of ambushing the Fortenberrys at their Lincoln home in the March 2019 interview.

Fortenberry had just returned that week from a trip to Nairobi where he was being briefed on elephant poaching. At the time of his return, eastern Nebraska was experiencing massive flooding and Fortenberry had toured some of the affected areas that Saturday.

He wasnt home when agents first showed up at 1 p.m. When the FBI agents returned that evening, two Lincoln police officers were waiting for them.

Fortenberry explained that he had called then-Lincoln Police Chief Jeff Bliemeister because two people claiming to be federal agents had knocked on his door.

We have gotten death threats against us, Fortenberry told agents. I have small (actually: teenaged) children. The milieu and the context in which we are operating should give you a deeper understanding of why Im upset.

Fortenberry and the agents stepped into the living room, according to an FBI agents video played in a courtroom Tuesday.

Sit down, he told the agents. Were gonna have a little conversation before we have a conversation.

Because of the nature of your inquiry ... the surprising lack of professionalism you have shown ... this has resulted in us calling the local police chief and wasting their time.

As the three sat down, Carter began to give the standard admonition that Fortenberry needed to be candid with agents.

I want to remind you that lying to the FBI is illegal, Carter said.

You lied to me, Fortenberry shot back. You said you were from Omaha.

In Omaha, yes, Carter said. Not from Omaha, correct.

The L.A.-based agents later testified that they sometimes lie to gain access to people, to get them to talk. Hence their representation to Celeste Fortenberry that day that they needed to talk to Fortenberry about a national-security matter. And also their false statement that they already had spoken to Fortenberrys office about what they were going to talk about.

Its common for us to use ruses, OLeary testified.

After expressing his displeasure, Fortenberry settled into a high-backed chair in front of floral print drapes in his Lincoln living room. The agents apologized for the confusion they created and asked Fortenberry if the Lincoln police officers could leave.

I want them present, he insisted.

Unbeknownst to Fortenberry, something else was present: Carter had a camera planted somewhere on him or his belongings, perhaps in a briefcase or satchel. The video was grainy and tilted.

The audio was clear  and prosecutors say it was damning.

Carter got to the point. They were investigating In Defense of Christians, a group that Fortenberry supported.

Toufic Baaklini, a Chagoury go-between, had founded IDC in 2014 and Fortenberry had spoken at several IDC banquets as it fought for one of his principal causes: protecting religious minorities in the Middle East.

In return  and Fortenberry says unbeknownst to him  Chagoury had funneled $30,000 in cash to Fortenberrys campaign. He did so through a Los Angeles fundraiser put on by Ayoub and, indirectly, by Baaklini.

During that interview, Carter concealed something else: that FBI agents had recorded a June 2018 phone call Fortenberry had made in which he asked Ayoub if he would hold a second fundraiser. During that phone call, Ayoub had thrice told Fortenberry that the fundraiser was funded with $30,000 cash that probably came from Chagoury.

Carter showed Fortenberry a photo of Ayoub. Asked a few times, Fortenberry said he couldnt place him. The defense pointed out that agents had been using a 10-year-old photo of Ayoub that showed him with dyed-black hair and eyebrows. Ayoub, 77, now has silver hair and eyebrows.

But prosecutors said Carter made it clear he was talking about Ayoub  a man Fortenberry had just spoken by phone with. A man who had just told Fortenberry that Baaklini had injected money, probably Chagourys money, to Fortenberrys campaign.

And Fortenberry was evasive, they say.

Carter asked: Are you aware if Baaklini ever provided any money to anyone to conduct conduit contributions?

Fortenberry: No, Im not aware.

Carter: Are you aware of any foreign nationals giving direction or orders for the purpose of conducting illegal campaign contributions?

Fortenberry: You know, no.

As agents pressed Fortenberry, the congressman leaned forward in his chair. He put his elbows on his knees.

Well at this point youre starting to accuse me of something, he said. I dont know what youre digging for but Im trying to help.

Fortenberry paused.

I think youre leading somewhere here and youre not making me comfortable. Ive been trying to help you with whatever you need. ... Its not clear to me what youre doing now so we have to call a timeout.

Fortenberrys attorney, Ryan Fraser, said his client was clearly thrown off by the dated photo of Ayoub. Eventually, Fraser noted, Fortenberry recognized who the agents were referring to and described a couple of conversations with Ayoub. One was a trip to Nebraska so Ayoub, a graduate of Creighton University Medical School, could visit relatives. The other was another possible fundraiser in Los Angeles.

I had done a previous, um, fundraiser with (Ayoub) out there, Fortenberry said. I thought it would be nice to do it again. But that didnt happen.

The defense has suggested that Fortenberry wasnt hiding anything and clearly had no idea his campaign had received foreign money  evidenced by the fact that he was openly disclosing his desire for a second fundraiser. Prosecutors counter that Fortenberry didnt come clean about Ayoub until 32 minutes into the FBI interview.

Any explanation that Fortenberry didnt realize the agents were talking about Ayoub was undercut three months later by Fortenberry himself.

Fortenberry asked for a second interview. In July 2019, he and his then attorney, former Rep. Trey Gowdy, sat down with prosecutor Mack Jenkins in Washington, D.C. Prosecutors have indicated that they thought Fortenberry would come clean at this interview.

But prosecutors now argue that Fortenberry dug himself a deeper hole, contradicting some of his responses to the agents questions in the Lincoln interview.

At the second interview, Fortenberry acknowledged what he wouldnt in the Lincoln interview: that Ayoub told him on the June 2018 phone call that the amounts, as I recall, the amounts wouldnt be as large because Gilbert (Chagoury) wouldnt be involved.

Jenkins: And that was (Ayoubs) response to you asking about another fundraiser?

Fortenberry: Yeah ... That was discomforting to me, so I ended the conversation.

In reality, prosecutors say, Fortenberry did not end the conversation. Instead, he went on to ask for a second fundraiser.

As for the first fundraiser, Fortenberry insisted in the D.C. interview with Jenkins that everything about this event was standard and engaging and people being generous.

A bit later, Jenkins asked: And youre aware that foreign nationals cant contribute to campaigns?

Why wouldnt I know that? Fortenberry scoffed. Im a member of the United States Congress.

Jenkins: Youd be surprised.

Fortenberry: Its my obligation to know that. Im a lawmaker in charge of a political campaign.

Jenkins asked how he acted on the information that Chagoury probably provided $30,000 in cash.

I didnt have any more events, Fortenberry said. That was how I acted on it.

But, Jenkins noted, Fortenberry continued to talk about another event during the June 2018 phone call with Ayoub, even after Ayoub told him it may have been Chagourys cash.

And prosecutors say Fortenberry failed to act as other politicians had when told they had received Chagourys money: disgorge the money by donating it to charity.

After the June 2018 phone call, it took Fortenberry more than a year  and two interviews with federal agents  before he got rid of the money.

In the D.C. interview, Jenkins asked Fortenberry if it was weird that Ayoub had told him that his campaign had received $30,000 in cash and that the money probably came from Chagoury.

That would have been horrifying, Fortenberry said. Not weird. Horrifying.

And, Fortenberry said, he would have disowned that money immediately.

Prosecutors are expected to wrap up their case Wednesday morning. The defense has told the judge they will put on about a day of testimony.

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LOS ANGELES  It took place three years before the fateful Jeff Fortenberry fundraiser that has the nine-term Nebraska congressman facing a federal trial this week.

But it was singed on Alexandra Kendricks brain.

The political fundraising consultant  who counts Fortenberry among her many elected clients  testified Monday that she will never forget taking a phone call in 2013.

From the other end of the phone, the host of a fundraising party for then-Rep. Jack Kingston relayed some horrifying news to Kendrick: All the money they raised at a fundraiser was dirty, siphoned to the campaign through a foreigner. Different nationalities had been at the fundraiser. The FBI was involved.

And she remembers precisely where she was when she got the phone call: at an Atlanta T.J. Maxx, the discount department store. In the purse section. Because of course she was.

That call felt like an hour  it was probably five minutes, Kendrick said. Its just a worst-case scenario. Its like a betrayal.

It stuck with her. So much so that in early 2016, she hesitated over several factors connected with a fundraiser that was being thrown for Fortenberry in suburban Los Angeles.

There were some red flags, Kendrick said. I had many concerns. For one, we werent given an RSVP list before the event. ... Thats not normal. I was apprehensive.

She said she shared that story as a sort of storm warning to Fortenberry. But she doesnt remember his reaction. She just remembers her apprehension.

Whether Fortenberry shared, or should have shared, that apprehension is the focus of a trial this week in a downtown Los Angeles courtroom. A jury will decide whether Fortenberry is guilty of three felonies: that he tried to conceal illegal foreign donations and that he lied during two interviews with FBI agents investigating such contributions to his campaign. The trial is expected to wrap up Wednesday or Thursday.

Monday afternoon, Dr. Eli Ayoub took the stand and admitted to funneling Nigerian billionaire Gilbert Chagourys cash to Fortenberrys campaign. Monday, he gave a rich detail: the cash from Chagoury came in a brown paper bag.

A go-between handed the money to Ayoub. Ayoub set the bag of cash in the back seat of his car. After arriving for lunch following a funeral, Ayoub handed his keys to a valet and went inside the restaurant.

Then he remembered: the brown bag of $30,000 cash was still sitting on the seat.

So you left $30,000 cash in the back seat of your car? prosecutor Mack Jenkins asked.

Yes, I remembered I forgot it in the car during lunch, and I was very nervous about it, Ayoub testified.

Kendrick, a key witness for the government, was nervous about something else. Her client, Fortenberry, finally felt like he had gotten recognition for a cause he had been championing for years: the protection of Christians and other religious minorities who are subjected to religious persecution in the Middle East.

Kendrick said Fortenberry, a Republican representing Nebraskas 1st District, felt his mission in Congress was acting on behalf of those folks. Among those religious minorities are the Yazidis, who were persecuted, abused and sometimes killed by ISIS members. About 3,000 Yazidis have resettled in Lincoln  and Fortenberry says Lincoln has the largest population of Yazidis outside of Iraq.

Fortenberry often said that it is a constituency that has no natural elected official.

Now, after introducing congressional resolutions of support for such religious minorities, Fortenberry was about to get financial recognition.

He was excited because he finally had a group of people who were willing to financially support him to thank him for the work that he had done, Kendrick said.

Whether Fortenberry should have sensed that he was getting dirty money was a subject for several of the trials witnesses.

Kendrick said the lead-up to the Feb. 20, 2016, L.A. fundraiser blared all sorts of sirens to her. Biggest thing: She couldnt get the fundraisers host, Ayoub, to tell her who was attending. She knew the event involved a number of nationalities. The event for Kingston, a former Georgia congressman, involved several Palestinians, Kendrick said.

Fortenberrys attorney, John Littrell, noted that many of the Fortenberry events attendees were U.S citizens of Lebanese descent. Littrell asked Kendrick if her real concern amounted to racial profiling. Was she simply concerned because the fundraiser involved Lebanese people?

It was more than that, Kendrick said. Any time you cant get a list of names and know where the money is coming from  its concerning for a multitude of reasons.

Frustrated, she eventually sent a brief to Fortenberry outlining the upcoming fundraiser with this asterisk: *We have been unable to get an rsvp list from the hosts.

Kendrick referred in court Monday to that asterisk as one-part call for help, one-part cover my bottom.

She said her concerns were threefold: whether anyone would attend the fundraiser; whether any money would be raised after all the work to get to LA; and, most importantly, whether the fundraiser would comply with Federal Election Commission laws, especially against foreign money.

At the time, the limit on individual donations was $2,700 per individual or $5,400 from couples.

In turn, Kendrick set up a table at the back entrance of the home. Required campaign forms were there, she said, because she didnt want a repeat of the Kingston episode.

She collected names and forms and money. Lots of it: $36,000.

It was in the top tier of fundraisers, Kendrick said.

Kendrick and Fortenberry were thrilled  until Fortenberry noticed something. At least a half-dozen of the donations came from either Ayoub or his relatives. Ayoub and his wife wrote a check for $10,000.

In the wake of that discovery, Fortenberry asked Toufic Baaklini, who described himself Monday as the in-between who passed along Chagourys money, if there was anything wrong with the fundraiser.

Baaklini said he assured them there was not.

Later Monday, Ayoub, 77, took the stand and described his long-ago connection to Nebraska. The ear-nose-and-throat specialist received his training at Creighton University, spending nine formative years of his career in Omaha.

Some 30 years later, the Los Angeles physician got involved with In Defense of Christians  the group supporting religious minorities in the Middle East.

Eventually, Ayoub doled out more of Chagourys money to other politicians campaigns: $50,000 to former presidential candidate Mitt Romney; $30,000 to California Rep. Darrell Issa; and $20,000 to former Nebraska Rep. Lee Terry.

Those elected officials disgorged the money  the official term for purging dirty donations from a campaign, usually by turning them over to charity. Fortenberry took more than two years to do the same.

Ayoub said he initially didnt disclose anything about Fortenberry or the 2016 fundraiser to FBI agents. In fact, it wasnt until he received a March 2018 text message from Fortenberry that he informed the FBI that he had funneled Chagourys money to a fourth politician: Fortenberry.

Jenkins asked Ayoub, now cooperating with prosecutors, if he knew what he was doing was wrong.

At that time, I believed it was illegal, but I was too blinded by the events in the Middle East, by the persecution of the Christians in the Middle East, Ayoub told jurors. I failed myself, I failed my friends and I failed my values. What I did was against my values.

Littrell did what the defense team has done with all prosecution witnesses. He tried to: 1) establish that Fortenberry was never expressly told about Chagourys money; and 2) get each witness to vouch for Fortenberrys character.

Judge Stanley Blumenfeld Jr. blanched at those efforts. Typically, witnesses are not permitted to testify to the general character of a defendant. In other words, judges wont allow hes a good guy testimony, just as they wont allow hes a bad guy testimony.

Littrell: Fortenberry is an honest person?

Kendrick: Yes.

Littrell: He is a law abiding person?

Kendrick: Yes.

Littrell: He is a devout Catholic. You are a devout Catholic?

Kendrick: Trying to be.

Littrell: He helped you on your faith journey?

Finally, prosecutors objected. The judge sustained the objection, ordering jurors to disregard commentary on Fortenberrys reputation.

That is essentially (character) testimony by the defense, Blumenfeld said sternly. You should move on.

Testimony Tuesday is expected to turn to prosecutors allegations that Fortenberry lied in two interviews with the FBI over the investigation into the fundraiser.

Fortenberry denies he lied. It is not yet clear whether he will take the stand.

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The Republican race for governor in Nebraska is heating up, with the debut of third-party attack ads and recent polls indicating three top contenders.

Taken together, they appear to signal a competitive race involving Conklin Co. CEO Charles W. Herbster, University of Nebraska Regent and livestock producer Jim Pillen and State Sen. Brett Lindstrom, an Omaha financial adviser. Its an especially high-stakes contest in Nebraska, where the Republican nominee is likely to become the next governor.

Third-party ads targeting Herbster and Lindstrom surfaced online Friday.

The ad against Herbster, from a group called Conservative Nebraska, echoes frequent criticisms of his campaign: That he has weak ties to the state and a track record of paying Nebraska property taxes late.

Herbster heads Carico and Herbster Angus Farms in his hometown of Falls City, but Conklins administrative offices are in Kansas City, Missouri. Other companies he leads are also based out of state.

Nebraskas just flyover country to Missouri millionaire Charles Herbster, the ad says.

Gov. Pete Ricketts confirmed at a Monday press conference that he contributed funds to Conservative Nebraska for the ad. His main reason, he said, was that Herbster hasnt been truthful about how hes spending his money.

The governor told the Nebraska Examiner that he and his father, TD Ameritrade founder Joe Ricketts, gave a total of $600,000 to the group.

Conservative Nebraska filed a statement of organization on March 17, Nebraska Accountability and Disclosure Commission records show. Mark Fahleson, a former chair of the Nebraska GOP, is listed as its treasurer.

Gov. Ricketts admitted to dipping into his familys billions to fund a dark money negative attack ad against me and the hardworking men and women I employ, Herbster said in a statement. Hes not just attacking me, hes attacking President Donald J. Trump, who has endorsed me to be the next governor.

Herbster took a shot at Pillen, whom Ricketts endorsed, saying the governor had picked a successor who cannot defend his record or speak for himself.

A spokesperson for Pillens campaign  which has not been the target of a third-party ad  said the campaign was not involved in either of the ads aimed at his opponents.

The Pillens have not contributed to, and are not involved with, any independent expenditure in the gubernatorial race, campaign manager Kenny Zoeller said. A Lindstrom spokesman said that campaign also wasnt involved in the Herbster ad.

The ad targeting Lindstrom labels the senator a liberal tax-and-spender. Its paid for by another group, Restore the Good Life Inc.

The nonprofits articles of incorporation were filed with the Secretary of States Office on Jan. 12 by Tanner Lockhorn, a banker in Lincoln. He declined to comment when reached by phone Monday.

The ad targets Lindstrom for voting to raise the states gas tax  referring to Legislative Bill 610, which overcame Ricketts veto in 2015. The bill was written to incrementally increase the gas tax by 6 cents a gallon over four years to generate funding to address a growing backlog of bridge and road work.

Then-Sen. Jim Smith of Papillion, a conservative, led that effort, which was supported by the Nebraska Farm Bureau, Nebraska Farmers Union, Nebraska Trucking Association and Nebraska Association of County Officials. It was opposed by Americans for Prosperity-Nebraska and Nebraska Petroleum Marketers.

The ad also alleges that Lindstrom voted to expose you to new sales taxes on everything you buy, referring to his vote in the Revenue Committee to advance a resolution to put a constitutional amendment in front of voters that would end all taxes (including taxes on income and property) except consumption and excise taxes. Lindstrom has said the idea, called the EPIC consumption tax plan, in its current form would create too many problems.

And it targets a bill Lindstrom sponsored this session, LB 891, that was part of a joint effort with Sen. Lynne Walz of Fremont to deliver property tax relief by revamping the state school aid formula. Walz abandoned the effort, and Lindstroms bill is stalled in the Revenue Committee.

Lindstrom campaign spokesperson Pat Trueman called the allegations baseless, anonymous smears in a statement, pointing to Lindstroms record of supporting tax cuts as a state senator. Trueman specifically mentioned a bill Lindstrom sponsored last year to eliminate state taxes on Social Security income.

With nothing to offer but more mudslinging, its understandable but disappointing that some of Bretts opponents have decided to hide their attacks behind a third party, Trueman said. They must be seeing the same thing we are in polling; Nebraskans are ready for a new generation of leadership.

Randall Adkins, a political scientist at the University of Nebraska at Omaha, said individuals may donate to a candidate because they sincerely support them or for strategic reasons  but outside groups only spend strategically.

When people are spending outside money against you, that typically means that theyre fearful of you, he said. That means youre doing well.

Polling from February and March is another indicator the race is close.

A poll of over 1,000 Nebraska voters by Data Targeting for Neilan Strategy Group in February found that Herbster received support from 27%, Pillen from 26% and Lindstrom from 21%. Those numbers shifted in Herbsters favor when voters were told that Herbster is endorsed by former President Donald Trump and Pillen is endorsed by Ricketts.

The poll was conducted via phone and online surveys, and the results have a margin of error of plus or minus 2.9% and a confidence interval of 95%. Perre Neilan, owner of Lincoln-based Neilan Strategies, did not disclose who paid him to do the polling but said they arent affiliated with any of the candidates or their campaigns.

Over the weekend, the Herbster and Lindstrom campaigns released polling that indicated the gap between Pillen and Lindstrom has narrowed.

The Lindstrom campaign released results from a poll of 500 Republican voters conducted from March 7-9 by 3D Strategic Research. It indicated that Herbster was leading with 30%, followed by Pillen with 23% and Lindstrom with 20%. Eighteen percent were undecided.

His campaign emphasized another finding in the poll: That Lindstrom was ahead by six points among voters who had seen, read or heard about the three candidates and second among voters who had voted in at least three of the last four GOP primaries.

The margin of error for the overall sample in that poll is plus or minus 4.38% at the 95% confidence interval.

A phone survey of 600 Republican voters from the Herbster campaign, conducted by Herbster supporter Kellyanne Conways KAConsulting between March 8 and 10, told a similar story.

Herbster received support from 27%, according to the polling memo, and Pillen and Lindstrom were neck-and-neck at 18% and 17%. It showed a bigger chunk of undecided voters than the Lindstrom campaigns poll: 35%.

The margin of error for the Herbster campaigns overall survey was plus or minus 4% at a 95% confidence interval.

Along with the margins of error, Adkins said its important to remember these are coming from campaigns. But, even then, he said, the takeaway is that the race is close.

Its still an open contest, he said.

Pillens campaign declined to comment on the recent polling.

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A man reacts standing near his house ruined after Russian shelling in Kyiv, Ukraine, Monday, March 21, 2022. At least eight people were killed in the attack. (Efrem Lukatsky/AP)

Ukrainian forces fought off continuing Russian efforts to occupy Mariupol and claimed to have retaken a strategic suburb of Kyiv on Tuesday, mounting a defense so dogged that it is stoking fears Russias Vladimir Putin will escalate the war to new heights.

Putins back is against the wall, said U.S. President Joe Biden, who is heading to Europe this week to meet with allies. And the more his back is against the wall, the greater the severity of the tactics he may employ.

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Biden reiterated accusations that Putin is considering resorting to using chemical or biological weapons, though Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said the U.S. has seen no evidence to suggest that such an escalation is imminent.

The warnings came as attacks continued in and around Kyiv and Mariupol, and people escaped the battered and besieged port city.

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The hands of one exhausted Mariupol survivor were shaking as she arrived by train in the western city of Lviv.

Theres no connection with the world. We couldnt ask for help, said Julia Krytska, who was helped by volunteers to make it out with her husband and son. People dont even have water there.

Explosions and bursts of gunfire shook Kyiv, and heavy artillery fire could be heard from the northwest, where Russia has sought to encircle and capture several the capitals suburban areas.

Early Tuesday, Ukrainian troops drove Russian forces from the Kyiv suburb of Makariv after a fierce battle, Ukraines Defense Ministry said. The regained territory allowed Ukrainian forces to retake control of a key highway and block Russian troops from surrounding Kyiv from the northwest.

Still, the Defense Ministry said Russian forces partially took other northwest suburbs, Bucha, Hostomel and Irpin, some of which have been under attack almost since Russia invaded nearly a month ago.

A Western official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss military assessments, said Ukrainian resistance has brought much of Russias advance to a halt but has not sent Moscows forces into retreat.

Western officials say Russian forces are facing serious shortages of food, fuel and cold weather gear, leaving some soldiers suffering from frostbite. Ukrainians have reported hungry soldiers looting stores and homes for food.

The invasion has driven more than 10 million people from their homes, almost a quarter of Ukraines population, according to the United Nations.

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Thousands of civilians are believed to have died. Estimates of Russian military casualties vary widely, but even conservative figures by Western officials are in the low thousands.

On Monday, Russias pro-Kremlin Komsomolskaya Pravda newspaper, citing the Defense Ministry, reported that almost 10,000 Russian soldiers had been killed. The report was quickly removed, and the newspaper blamed hackers. The Kremlin refused to comment. The Western official said the figure is a reasonable estimate.

Facing unexpectedly stiff resistance that has left the bulk of Moscows ground forces miles from the center of Kyiv, Putins troops are increasingly concentrating their air power and artillery on Ukraines cities and civilians.

Talks to end the fighting have continued by video. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said he would be prepared to consider waiving any bid by Ukraine to join NATO  a key Russian demand  in exchange for a cease-fire, the withdrawal of Russian troops and a guarantee of Ukraines security.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he saw progress in the talks.

From my outreach with various actors, elements of diplomatic progress are coming into view on several key issues, and the gains are enough to end hostilities now, he said. He gave no details.

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The Western official, though, said that there were no signs Moscow was ready to compromise.

In the last update from Mariupol officials, they said March 15 that at least 2,300 people had died in the siege. But there are fears the toll could be much higher. Airstrikes over the past week devastated a theater and an art school where many civilians were taking shelter.

Thousands have managed to flee Mariupol, where the bombardment has cut off electricity, water and food supplies and severed communication with the outside world. The city council said Tuesday that more than 1,100 people who had escaped the siege were in a convoy of buses heading to a city northwest of Mariupol.

But the Red Cross said a humanitarian aid convoy trying to reach the city with desperately needed supplies still had not been able to enter.

Perched on the Sea of Azov, Mariupol is a crucial port for Ukraine and lies along a stretch of territory between Russia and Crimea. The siege has cut the city off from the sea and allowed Russia to establish a land corridor to Crimea.

But its not clear how much of the city Russia holds, with fleeing residents saying fighting continues street by street.

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A senior U.S. defense official, speaking condition of anonymity to give the Pentagons assessment, said Russian ships in the Sea of Azov were shelling Mariupol. The official said there were about seven Russian ships in that area, including a minesweeper and a couple of landing vessels.

Ukraines Defense Ministry said that troops defending the city had destroyed a Russian patrol boat and electronic warfare complex. Britains Defense Ministry said Ukrainian forces continue to repulse Russian attempts to occupy Mariupol.

Those who have made it out of Mariupol told of a devastated city.

They bombed us for the past 20 days, said 39-year-old Viktoria Totsen, who fled into Poland. During the last five days the planes were flying over us every five seconds and dropped bombs everywhere  on residential buildings, kindergartens, art schools, everywhere.

Beyond the terrible human toll, the war has shaken the post-Cold War global security consensus, imperiled the world supply of key crops, and raised worries it could set off a nuclear accident.

Wildfires broke out near the decommissioned Chernobyl nuclear power plant, but Ukraines natural resources minister said the flames had been extinguished and radiation was within normal levels. Chernobyl in 1986 was the scene of the worlds worst nuclear disaster.

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As part of a series of addresses to foreign legislatures, Zelenskyy urged Italian lawmakers to strengthen sanctions against Moscow, noting many wealthy Russians have homes in the country.

Dont be a resort for murderers, he said from Kyiv.

Anna reported from Lviv, Ukraine. Associated Press writer Yuras Karmanau in Lviv, and other AP journalists around the world contributed to this report.
More than 18,000 Ukrainian refugees have arrived in France in three weeks. They are taken care of by the prefectural services and associations
The Racial Justice Policy Committee of the Reentry Alliance of Nebraska opposes the construction of a new prison. We realize that that long-term overcrowding and under-staffing in Nebraska prisons are serious and complicated issues that must be addressed.

However, we also know, and NDCS Director Scott Frakes acknowledges, overcrowding cannot be solved by building and filling one replacement prison when there are eight other overcrowded prisons in the department as well.

As individuals and organizations who work to support reentrants, we know intervention before the commission of crime would be easier, much less expensive, and better for everyone in the state.

Nebraska needs to stop criminalizing poverty, race, mental illness and many drug offenses. We urge investment in proactive and proven preventive solutions rather than warehousing those who are mothers and fathers, brothers and sisters, and our neighbors unnecessarily.

With attention to the needs of families and children, we could constrict the flow entering the pipeline to prison. Incarceration is reduced when individuals and their families have access to meaningful employment with adequate wages, medical coverage, mental health and substance abuse services, affordable housing, reliable food sources and social safety net programs without disqualifications unrelated to need.

We do not expect state government to correct every social ill or satisfy every individuals want. On the other hand, we oppose allowing construction of one prison to siphon $270 million dollars from the State Treasury while conditions in the other eight remain intolerable. Those funds could address the very systemic issues that result in excessive incarceration of persons removed from their families and their communities only to return still damaged.

We recognize other solutions exist; other countries and all but one other states have reduced prison populations  even closed prisons  without an attributable increase in crime.

We recommend the legislature address overcrowding by authorizing and funding a study of existing data on when sentence duration becomes so counter-productive that it increases the likelihood of recidivism instead of deterring crime, being a just punishment, and a means of rehabilitation.

We further recommend increasing services in communities, reducing criminal offenses and the stacking of charges, reducing sentence durations, scheduling timely in-prison programming in all prisons, broadening parole and compassionate release eligibility for the aged, the infirm, and the reformed who pose little danger to public safety, and freeing the innocent by establishing prosecutorial, judicial and Pardon Board reviews.

Please contact state senators and urge votes to save $270 million instead of constructing a new prison.

Mary Ann Barton wrote this on behalf of the Racial Justice Policy Committee of the Reentry Alliance of Nebraska.
WEBSTER CITY, Iowa  Pleasant Hill Community Lines most recent annual report says a lot about 87-year-old Leonard Rotschafers three decades at the small electric cooperative in northwest Iowa.

General manager: Leonard Rotschafer.

Customer relations and complaints: Leonard Rotschafer.

Accounts payable: Leonard Rotschafer.

He does everything, said Jim Cisco, Pleasant Hills board president, laughing. Hes unbelievable.

At a time when the federal government worries that the merger-driven ballooning of big businesses  from tech firms to drugmakers and meatpackers  are stifling competition, padding profits and potentially gouging consumers, the northwest Iowa cooperative has found success in staying small.

Really small. Pleasant Hill Community Line provides power to about 120 farmers, families and businesses in the rural area south of Webster City, according to the Des Moines Register.

Its residential electric costs rank 38th lowest in the state, based on an analysis of 181 rural cooperatives, municipal and investor-owned utilities by Jim Martin-Schramm, a Winneshiek Energy District board member in northeast Iowa.

Thats better than the two big investor-owned utilities serving Iowa: MidAmerican Energy ranks 41st, and Alliant Energy, 178th, the analysis shows.

We run with volunteers. We have no vehicles. No employees. No office, Cisco said, adding that Rotschafer contracts with the board to read the co-ops meters, so our overhead is pretty low.

Boone Valley Electric Cooperative, which vies each year with Pleasant Hill as the states smallest electric provider with about 130 customers, does even better, with the states 19th-lowest residential rates.

Like Rotschafer, Boone Valleys Curtis Meinke fills several roles at the cooperative in rural Humboldt County, about 40 miles north of the Pleasant Hill cooperatives service area.

Meinke and his wife, Karla, read meters in 20-below-zero snowstorms and 100-degree heat. Theyve fielded outage calls during a funeral and while on vacation and occasionally get angry stares from unhappy customers at the grocery store.

Like Rotschafer, Meinke is committed to the cooperative.

Boone Valleys service area includes the first home in Iowa to receive electricity under the 1936 Rural Electrification Act. The New Deal legislation provided loans that helped accelerate the co-op movement, in which farm communities banded together to establish electrical systems in areas too sparsely populated to draw commercial providers.

Theres a lot of history here, said Meinke, who farms and runs a trucking business as well as working part time for the cooperative.

The members have been reluctant to merge or sell out to a larger co-op, he said.

But Boone Valley and Pleasant Hill are nearing a crossroads: Rotschafer and Meinke, 58, both have to find people to replace them in jobs that are more community service than paying gigs.

After two knee replacement surgeries, Rotschafer lets Cisco scramble down steep ice-covered paths to read hard-to-reach meters in the Briggs Woods county park. The board has yet to decide how to move forward once Rotschafer decides to retire, Cisco said.

Meinke acknowledged his eventual departure could likewise put the Boone co-op in a bind.

Its going to be a challenge, he said of finding someone to take over his role.

His wife wants to talk about retiring, but Meinke is hesitant. We disagree, he said. But I cant do it without her. So I dont know how many more years well do it.

Rural electric cooperatives arent immune to the consolidation thats swept through the country. Citing the need to become more efficient, lower costs and improve service to members, many have allowed themselves to be acquired by larger operations.

Rotschafer said Pleasant Hill put itself up for sale in 1970, when the cooperatives infrastructure needed significant repairs, most likely after a severe storm.

We were in bad shape, he said. But no one would make us an offer. So, we rebuilt the lines. And its worked for us.

Cisco said the cooperative takes pride in having served its rural customers for 93 years. Many of the founding members descendants still live in the area and are active on the board.

For 30 years, Rotschafer and his wife, Colleen, have read the systems 123 meters once every three months, a billing cycle thats unique to Pleasant Hill. More recently, it has been Cisco who makes the quarterly rounds with Rotschafer. They check meters monthly for large hog confinements, businesses and government operations.

Nowadays, most utilities have little handheld scanners and someone drives up and down the neighborhood, Cisco said, just scanning numbers off of the meter. Or utilities use smart meters that transmit power and gas usage data to their home offices, eliminating the role of readers.

Luckily, Rotschafer can read some of Pleasant Hills meters with binoculars, Cisco said. Others are more work.

Rotschafer and Cisco are walking down in ditches, crawling across ice, Cisco said. We have one meter where you practically have to drop a rope over a ravine to go read it.

Meinke said he and his wife drive about 180 miles each month to read Boone Valleys meters. The cooperative provides power to Renwick, a town of about 275, but the city reads its own meters and maintains its power lines.

Both Boone Valley and Pleasant Hill buy power wholesale and distribute it through their locally owned electric lines. Boone Valley has 60 miles of lines; Pleasant Hill, 30 miles.

Power for both cooperatives comes from Corn Belt Power Cooperative in Humboldt. Boone Valley buys it directly from Corn Belt, and Pleasant Hill buys it via Webster Citys municipal utility, which also provides billing services and repairs lines during outages.

Working from their home, Meinke and his wife manage the billing, using a computer program developed for the cooperative. He handles outage calls and calls Prairie Energy Cooperative in Clarion or another utility to repair lines during storms.

Im on call 365 days a year, 24 hours a day, Meinke said.
DAR celebrates 50 years of service to Lake Houston

The Humble Cemetery has a particular shine to it now. The headstones that honor some 22 veterans from various wars have been cleaned, reset and restored.

Thank Humbles Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) for that.

Local high school seniors are recognized for their good citizenship and awarded with valued scholarships.

Thank Humbles DAR for that, too.

When health care and other essential workers on the front lines were faced with a medical mask shortage early in the pandemic, Humbles DAR responded by hand-sewing masks and donating them to local essential workers who needed them the most.

We always have a special project we are working on, Jane Thomas told The Tribune. At this time, it is the preservation of headstones in the old Humble Cemetery, but we also are making mats out of recycled grocery bags for homeless veterans. We completed eight last year. These are very labor intensive to make.

Most service and community organizations chose one or two major projects as their focus.

Not Humbles DAR. Their list of accomplishments outshines most community organizations  books drives for veteran-patients, tree plantings at elementary schools, collecting school supplies for Title I elementary schools, setting flags and laying wreaths at the Veterans National Cemetery, awarding scholarships to deserving high school graduates and Junior ROTC members, obtaining a Texas State Historical Marker for the Humble Cemetery, donating books to the Humble Museum and the Harris County Library.

There is more: Preparing breakfast boxes for Camp Hope and care packages for active-duty military, distributing food to local food banks, donating clothes for the Dress for Success program.

That is quite the accomplishment for the 93 ladies of the James Tull Chapter, the official name of Humbles Daughters of the American Revolution, each one a direct, bloodline descendant from an ancestor who aided in achieving American independence.

I could give you quite a list of our activities and accomplishments over the last 50 years, said Thomas, who holds the Humble chapters highest office as chapter regent.

Thomas is a relative newcomer to DAR, becoming a member in 2016 when a couple of her cousins told her that they were all eligible because an ancestor served in the American Revolution.

I started out as a volunteer mostly with VA activities as I, myself, am a veteran, said Thomas. Then I chaired Constitution Week, Service to Veterans and Project Patriot.

That was just the beginning for Thomas, becoming a deputy representative for the VA volunteer service, helping out at the Conroe VA Clinic, and volunteering at Fisher House where military and veteran families can stay at no charge when a loved one is in the hospital.

I was hooked on DAR, said Thomas, and it has been so rewarding.

Her service continues as regent, leading the Humble chapter in participating in the Four Chaplains Ceremony at the VA Hospital, holding a Vietnam Veterans Recognition Day last year, and assisting the Blue Star Moms with care packages for active-duty troops.

The James Tull Chapter is named after the ancestor of the Humble chapters founder, Mrs. Justice (Nina) Smith, the organizing regent, and 14 additional chapter members. Tull, according to Thomas, was born in 1754 in Maryland, serving as a Maryland regular in the Continental Army, and taking part in major Revolutionary battles including the Battle of Long Island, Battle of White Plains and Battle of Trenton.

The Chapter was founded Feb. 1, 1972. Four of the original members from 1972 survive and were honored at a celebratory tea Feb. 5 at Humble Methodist Church. They are Pat Ford, Nancy Coker, Georgia Fields and Mary Lea Layton Taylor. Humble Mayor Norman Funderburk proclaimed Feb. 5 James Tull Chapter 50th Anniversary Day.

The DAR, now almost a million members strong, is a womens service organization founded in 1890 to preserve the memory and spirit of those who contributed to securing American independence.

DAR members, just like the James Tull Chapter members, provide millions of hours of community service each year around the world. Their national headquarters in Washington, D.C., is noted for its genealogical library, decorative arts museum, historic document collection and concert hall.

Any woman 18 years or older, regardless of race, religion, or ethnic background, who can prove they are a direct descent from a patriot of the American Revolution is eligible to be a member.

Our mission is threefold  historical preservation, patriotism and education, explained Regent Thomas. The future of our James Tull Chapter is so bright. We will keep our focus on our three missions. Rest assured. We will always have so many projects and ways to volunteer. These are all endeavors that are essential to our community.

Learn more about the James Tull Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution, on their webpage, texasdar.org/chapters/JamesTull/preservation.htm.
DECATUR  Story is a little guy with a job to do.

He's got big paws to fill, said Jennifer Dahn, founder of PawPrint Ministries and Story's human mom. Literally. Payton had huge paws.

PawPrint Ministries is a Decatur-based nonprofit that brings comfort dogs to visit Central Illinois hospitals, nursing homes, schools, disaster areas, and anywhere someone might benefit from a furry friend with a wet nose. Dahn was inspired to start the group after helping with the recovery effort at a tornado disaster area in Washington in November 2013.

Payton, a golden retriever who was the organization's first dog, died unexpectedly a couple of weeks ago. Story will pick up the baton.

He is going to carry on Payton's story in the community, Dahn said, which is how the 8-week-old golden retriever got his name. He is already in training.

It's lots of treats and positive reinforcement, and reinforcing the behaviors we want to see and lots of puppy snuggles, Dahn said. We hope that this Story will leave a lasting legacy on our community.

The ministry has a wealth of dogs and volunteers who spend 12 to 18 months in training, learning to be calm and loving in any circumstances, Dahn said. First the dogs have to pass a temperament test to see if they're suited to being a comfort dog. Then, once that's been established by the training director, human and dog visit a wide variety of places and the dog is placed in every kind of situation he or she might encounter.

Dahn took Payton to the Illinois State Fair to visit veterans, for example, and there were Clydesdales there. Payton had never seen a Clydesdale and didn't know what to think, though he retained his good manners anyway. Teaching the comfort dogs to stay calm even when they're in new and possibly intimidating situations is a key component of training.

PawPrint does the certification of comfort dogs and has a program of its own creation. Volunteers and their dogs put in a lot of hours, both in training and in serving the community, so it's a big commitment of time.

His job will be to cheer people up when they're having a bad day, Dahn said.

Unlike service dogs, who must be allowed into any place their human goes, comfort dogs have to be invited, she said. Rather than helping a person with everyday tasks, which is generally a service dog's job, comfort dogs are there to snuggle and be petted. Petting a service dog is forbidden, but petting a comfort dog is expected.

Who doesn't love a puppy snuggle? Dahn said.

Contact Valerie Wells at (217) 421-7982. Follow her on Twitter: @modgirlreporter

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The extraordinary events that are part of the U.S. Capitol legacy are not lost on state Rep. Kam Buckner, D-Chicago, a self-described "history buff" who served on Sen. Dick Durbin's staff for six years.

Buckner said he would sometimes sneak into some of the hearing rooms and sit there and kind of just take in the historical things that had happened there, such as famous speeches given by then-Sen. John F. Kennedy or the infamous Army-McCarthy hearings.

But Buckner had a front-row seat to history Monday, witnessing the first Supreme Court confirmation hearing of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, the first Black woman nominated to serve on the nation's high court. She would take the seat of Justice Stephen Breyer, who announced his upcoming retirement in January.

Buckner, speaking Tuesday, said the enormity of the moment still hadn't hit him.

"It really means that once again, we've not overcome completely some of our original sins, but it proves that with perseverance and a commitment to getting things right, that it's finally moving in the right direction," Buckner told Lee Enterprises. "So it was extremely emotional for me."

He, Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton and state Sen. Mattie Hunter, D-Chicago, were invited guests of Durbin, the Springfield Democrat who is chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee that is holding the hearings.

The Illinois delegation could be seen on Monday sitting behind Jackson as she testified before members of the committee.

Stratton, Illinois' first Black lieutenant governor, told Lee Enterprises that it was "really an honor for me to meet her and to be in that room during that time," noting that of the 115 justices who have served on the court, only five have been women and Jackson would be the first Black woman.

"Representation does matter," Stratton said. " ... As we think about the kinds of decisions that the Supreme Court makes, it's important that the court reflects the American people. ...

"There's a saying, 'You can't be what you can't see,'" she said. "There are going to be a lot of young people, if she is confirmed, who will be able to see themselves in a way that they've never been able to before."

Buckner, Stratton and Hunter had a brief opportunity to meet Jackson before the hearing. Stratton said she hoped " that (Jackson) would be blessed throughout the process."

Senators continued to question Jackson as the hearings continued Tuesday. The committee will hear from legal experts Thursday before an eventual vote to move her nomination to the Senate floor. Democrats hope to wrap up Jacksons confirmation before Easter, barring unexpected developments.

Beyond the barrier-breaking impact of Jackson's nomination, Stratton said she stood out for her qualifications, saying "she was poised and she was confident and she seems ready."

"She just has to be confident that she has had the experience and the knowledge base and an understanding of the law that has prepared her to serve on the highest court of the land, and to bring her full and authentic self into that space," Stratton said.

Hunter said it was "surreal to see it happen in the flesh."

I am so grateful for this moment in history, as its yet another significant first," Hunter said. "I hope that we continue to see Black women take more significant roles not only in federal government, but in other leadership roles across all sectors in this country."

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100 years ago

March 22, 1922: Dr. Theodore Burgess resigned as president of Bradley Polytechnic Institute at Peoria. He had been part of Bradley since its founding in 1897, and president since 1904. But now he said he wants to return to teaching and leave the administrative duties to someone else.

75 years ago

March 22, 1947: New neighbors in town include Mr. and Mrs. Merrill Grafton and their two daughters, from Billings, Montana. The Graftons couldnt find a house in Bloomington at first, so they had been living in Randolph. Their new Bloomington home is at 1006 N. Prairie Street.

50 years ago

March 22, 1972: A former Atlanta man has been promoted to head the social science department at Western Technical Institute in La Crosse, Wisconsin. John M. Hamilton attended Atlanta schools and holds two degrees from ISU. His parents still live in Atlanta.

25 years ago

March 22, 1997: Woodford County citizens are forming a chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving. Their action was sparked by the death of two Carlock sisters last year on I-39 near El Paso. The tragedy was blamed on a drunk driver, who was reportedly sentenced to twelve years.

Compiled by Jack Keefe; jkeefe@coldwellhomes.com.
Ukraine's military said on Tuesday residents should brace for more indiscriminate Russian shelling of critical infrastructure, as U.S. President Joe Biden issued one of his strongest warnings yet that Moscow is considering using chemical weapons.



Russian troops have failed to capture any major Ukrainian city more than four weeks into their invasion, and increasingly are resorting to causing massive destruction to residential areas using air strikes, long-range missiles and artillery.



The southern port of Mariupol has become a focal point of Russia's assault and lies largely in ruins with bodies lying on the streets, but attacks were also reported to have intensified on the second city Kharkiv on Monday.



Ukraine's armed forces said in a statement issued on Tuesday that Russian forces were expected to continue to attack critical infrastructure using "high-precision weapons and indiscriminate munitions.



Without citing evidence, Biden said Russia's false accusations that Kyiv had biological and chemical weapons illustrated that President Vladimir Putin was considering using them himself.



Putin's "back is against the wall and now he's talking about new false flags he's setting up including, asserting that we in America have biological as well as chemical weapons in Europe, simply not true," Biden said at a Business Roundtable event.



"They are also suggesting that Ukraine has biological and chemical weapons in Ukraine. That's a clear sign he's considering using both of those."



The Russian embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment.



Biden also told businesses to be alert for possible cyber attacks by Russia. "Its part of Russias playbook," he said in a statement.



Washington and its allies have previously accused Russia of spreading an unproven claim that Ukraine had a biological weapons programme as a possible prelude to using such weapons itself, but Biden's remarks on Monday were some of his strongest yet on the subject.



Russia says it does not attack civilians although the devastation wrought on Ukrainian towns such as Mariupol and Kharkiv are reminiscent of previous Russian assaults on cities in Chechnya and Syria.



Putin calls the war, the biggest attack on a European state since World War Two, a "special military operation" to disarm Ukraine and protect it from "Nazis". The West calls this a false pretext for an unprovoked war of aggression.



Biden is due to travel to Europe this week for meetings with allied leaders to discuss tighter sanctions on Russia, on top of the unprecedented financial penalties already announced. Ahead of the trip he discussed Russia's "brutal" tactics in a call with European leaders on Monday, the White House said.



Russia's siege and bombardment of Mariupol port, which European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell called "a massive war crime", is increasing pressure for action.



But EU foreign ministers on Monday disagreed on whether and how to include energy in sanctions, with Germany saying the bloc was too dependent on Russian oil to declare an embargo.



A Ukrainian service member walks, as the Russian invasion continues, in a destroyed village on the front line in the east Kyiv region, Ukraine March 21, 2022. REUTERS/Gleb Garanich

NO SURRENDER



The conflict has driven almost a quarter of Ukraine's 44 million people from their homes, and Germany predicted the refugee number could reach as high as 10 million in coming weeks.



Ukraine on Monday rejected a Russian demand to stop defending besieged Mariupol, where hundreds of thousands of civilians are suffering through Russian bombardments laying waste to their city.



A part of Mariupol now held by Russian forces, reached by Reuters on Sunday, was an eerie wasteland. Several bodies lay by the road, wrapped in blankets. Windows were blasted out and walls were charred black. People who came out of basements sat on benches amid the debris, bundled up in coats.



Some, though, have managed to escape. About 8,000 were safely evacuated on Monday through seven humanitarian corridors from towns and cities under fire, including about 3,000 from Mariupol, Ukraine's deputy prime minister said.



The eastern cities of Kharkiv, Sumy and Chernihiv have also been hard hit.



Among the dead in Kharkiv is Boris Romanchenko, a 96-year-old Holocaust survivor whose flat was shelled by Russian forces last week.



"Please think about how many things he has come through," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said late on Monday.



"But (he) was killed by a Russian strike, which hit an ordinary Kharkiv multi-storey building. With each day of this war, it becomes more obvious what denazification means to them."



On Monday night, a witness in Kharkiv said she saw people on the roofs of apartment buildings dropping grenades or similar ordnance onto the streets.



A second witness, outside the city, reported hearing more intense explosions than on any day since Russian troops began attacking last month.



Reuters could not immediately verify the accounts.



In Kyiv, six bodies were laid on the pavement by a shopping mall struck overnight by Russian shelling. Emergency services combed wreckage to the sound of distant artillery fire.



The governor of Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia region said buses evacuating civilians from front line areas were hit by shelling on Monday and four children were wounded in separate incidents.



Ukrainian officials hope that Moscow will negotiate a withdrawal. Both sides hinted last week at progress in talks on a formula which would include some kind of "neutrality" for Ukraine, though details were scarce.



Japan reacted angrily on Tuesday after Russia withdrew from peace treaty talks citing Tokyo's decision to join the international campaign of sanctions. Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Russia's decision was "completely unacceptable".

Source: REUTERS









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

Featured Video
The New Patriotic Party (NPP) presidential candidate aspirant and Member of Parliament for Essikado-Ketan Constituency, Joe Ghartey says gradually his constituency is becoming an education hub in the Western Region.



The former Railways Development Minister made this known recently when Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia cut sod on behalf of the government for the construction of a 21st Century Lower Secondary in Essikado in the Western Region.



Mr Ghartey who spearheaded the formation of the UMAT School for Railway and Infrastructural Development said "today, there are students in level 200 in the University and they have started certificate courses as well."

He added that "So, what is happening is that, this area is becoming a hub for education and it already its starting to have an economic impact on the surrounding area."







The new 21st Century School is next to the Railways University.



He explained that "if you go to the Kojokrom for example, the demand for housing is now on the rise, the same in Ketan and the same is happening in Essikado."



He stressed that so quite apart from the fact that it will bring education to this area, educational facilities as huge as this, also have an economic impact because people come and engage in economic activities within the schools and the surrounding area.



He thanked the government for what it has done but said like Oliver Twist, they would always ask for more.

He also thanked Omanhin Nana Kobina Nketsia "who insisted that he wanted a place like this and played a big role in having it here.



On his part, Dr. Bawumia thanked the "indefatigable MP for Essikado " Hon. Ghartey for his role in ensuring the 21st Century Lower Secondary project come to the area.



According to Dr. Bawumia, "STEM education goes beyond school subjects. It gives a skill set that governs the way we think and behaves merging science, technology and engineering and mathematics education and it will help solve challenges the country faces today."



He added that "It is for these reasons that we are building these module 21st Century Lower Junior High Schools across the country."



The Vice President explained that the school for which sod has been cut will be a two-storey, 10-unit classroom block, adding that "It is very modern and has five laboratories; biology laboratory physics laboratory, chemistry laboratory, computer laboratory and also robotics and artificial science laboratory."



Source: Peacefmonline.com/Ghana









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Mrs Agnes Teiko Nyemi-Tei, the Director, Down Syndrome Ghana Foundation, has appealed to parents of children with Down syndrome to desist from hiding them from public places.



She said the condition, where parents of children with special needs like Down syndrome, felt ashamed of their children, and preferred to hide them from the eyes of the public was completely wrong and worsened the condition of the children.



The worlddownsyndromeday.org defines Down syndrome (or Trisomy 21) as a naturally occurring chromosomal arrangement that has always been a part of the human condition, being universally present across racial, gender or socioeconomic lines in approximately one in 800 live births.



It usually causes varying degrees of intellectual and physical disability and associated medical issues.



Mrs Nyemi-Tei said: Hiding your child does not do any good to your child. Lets come out, showcase our children, and lets not be afraid that they will be marginalized or something.



So if you are going to church or market, go with him or her. Just try hard to accept your childs condition, set achievable standards for the child and work at it. Because I believe that even though they have a little intellectual disability, there are a lot of things they can do if they are exposed to them.



In sharing her experience as a mother of a child with Down Syndrome, Mrs Nyemi-Teiko, said: Yesterday I was peeling cassava, she just brought a bowl, fetched water and was washing it. She put it in a cooking utensil for us to cook and it was lovely. Everything you do, she wants to do same. She can wash her own undies and handkerchiefs; she can get dressed herself and do everything herself.



It was difficult for me when my child was diagnosed of it but I have come to accept it. Such children like music and dancing, so I have enrolled her in a dance factory and shes doing well. She doesnt attend a special school but the normal school and I think that is helping a lot, she added.



The Director cautioned parents with such children to desist from moving from spiritualists to herbalists to seek solutions to the conditions, and asked some s-called Prophets with no knowledge on Down syndrome to stop giving unrealistic and incapable directions to such desperate parents.



March 21, 2022 was World Down Syndrome, observed on the theme: We Decide.



According to the United Nations, it is not yet know why down syndrome occurs, however, it has always been a part of the human condition.



The UN admonished people around the world to advocate full inclusion in society for people with Down syndrome and for everyone.



It said the estimated incidence of Down syndrome was between one in 1,000 to one in 1,100 live births worldwide and each year, approximately 3,000 to 5,000 children were born with this chromosome disorder.



The quality of life of people with Down syndrome could be improved by meeting their health care needs, including regular check-ups with health professionals to monitor mental and physical condition and to provide timely intervention.



Such timely interventions include physiotherapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, counseling or special education.



The UN also states that individuals with Down syndrome could achieve optimal quality of life through parental care and support, medical guidance, and community based support systems such as inclusive education at all levels.



This facilitated their participation in mainstream society and the fulfillment of their personal potential.





Source: GNA









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WASHINGTON  Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson forcefully defended her record as a federal judge Tuesday, pushing back against Republican assertions that she was soft on crime and declaring she would rule as an independent jurist if confirmed as the first Black woman on the high court.

In a marathon day and evening of questioning that lasted more than 13 hours, Republicans aggressively pressed Jackson on the sentences she has handed down to sex offenders in her nine years as a federal judge, her advocacy on behalf of terror suspects at Guantanamo Bay, her thoughts on critical race theory and even her religious views. At one point, Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas read from childrens books that he said are taught at her teenage daughters school.

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[ Watch live: Ketanji Brown Jackson Supreme Court confirmation hearings ]

Several GOP senators grilled her on her child pornography sentences, arguing they were lighter than federal guidelines recommended. She responded that she based the sentences on many factors, not just the guidelines, and said some of the cases had given her nightmares.

Could her rulings have endangered children? As a mother and a judge, she said, nothing could be further from the truth.

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In what Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin, D-Ill., described as a trial by ordeal, Jackson attempted to answer GOP concerns and also highlight the empathetic style that she has frequently described when she is handing down sentences. The committees Republicans, several of whom have their eyes on the presidency, tried to brand her  and Democrats in general  as soft on crime, an emerging theme in GOP midterm election campaigns.

Jackson told the committee that her brother and two uncles served as police officers, and that crime and the effect on the community, and the need for law enforcement  those are not abstract concepts or political slogans to me.

Tuesdays hearing was the first of two days of questioning after Jackson and the 22 members of the panel gave opening statements on Monday. On Thursday, the committee will hear from legal experts before an eventual vote to move her nomination to the Senate floor.

Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson testifies during her Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, March 22, 2022. (Andrew Harnik/AP)

President Joe Biden chose Jackson in February, fulfilling a campaign pledge to nominate a Black woman to the Supreme Court for the first time in American history. She would take the seat of Justice Stephen Breyer, who announced in January that he would retire after 28 years on the court. Jackson would be the third Black justice, after Thurgood Marshall and Clarence Thomas, and the sixth woman.

Barring unexpected developments, Democrats who control the Senate by the slimmest of margins hope to wrap up Jacksons confirmation before Easter, though Breyer is not leaving until the current session ends this summer.

She said the potential to be the first Black woman on the court is extremely meaningful and that she had received many letters from young girls. Jackson, who grew up in Miami, noted that she had not had to attend racially segregated public schools as her own parents did, and the fact that we had come that far was to me a testament to the hope and the promise of this country.

Her nomination also supports public confidence in the judiciary, Jackson said.

Responding to Republicans who have questioned whether she is too liberal in her judicial philosophy, Jackson said she tries to understand what the people who created this law intended. She said she relies on the words of statutes but also looks to history and practice when the meaning may not be clear.

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Democrats have been full of praise for Bidens Supreme Court nominee, noting that she would not only be the first Black woman but also the first public defender on the court, and first with experience representing indigent criminal defendants since Justice Marshall.

Republicans praised that experience, too, but also questioned it, focusing in particular on work she did roughly 15 years ago representing Guantanamo Bay detainees. Jackson said public defenders dont pick their clients and are standing up for the constitutional value of representation. She said she continued to represent one client in private practice because her firm happened to be assigned his case.

Picking up on a thread started by Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley and amplified by the Republican National Committee in fundraising emails, Cruz questioned Jackson on her sentences for child pornographers, at one point bringing out a large poster board and circling sentences he said he found egregious.

Cruz  who along with Hawley is a potential 2024 presidential candidate  asked Jackson if the voice of the children was heard.

Again noting that she is a mother, Jackson defended her decisions by saying she takes into account not only sentencing guidelines but also the stories of the victims, the nature of the offenses and the defendants histories.

A judge is not playing a numbers game, she said. A judge is looking at all of these different factors.

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The White House has rejected Hawleys criticism as toxic and weakly presented misinformation. And sentencing expert Douglas Berman, an Ohio State law professor, wrote on his blog that while Jacksons record shows she is skeptical of the range of prison terms recommended for child pornography cases, so too were prosecutors in the majority of her cases and so too are district judges nationwide.

Beyond crime, Republicans raised issues that have proved winning for them in recent campaigns.

Jackson bristled at questions from South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham, who voted for her confirmation as an appeals court judge last year but has openly expressed his frustration after President Joe Biden picked her over a South Carolina judge. Graham asked her about her religion, and how often she goes to church, in angry comments referring back to what he said was unfair criticism of Justice Amy Coney Barretts Catholicism ahead of her 2020 confirmation.

Jackson  who thanked God in her opening statement and said that faith sustains me at this moment  responded that she is a Protestant. But she said she is reluctant to talk about her faith in detail because I want to be mindful of the need for the public to have confidence in my ability to separate out my personal views.

On critical race theory, a controversial topic particularly in some public schools, she told Cruz: Ive never studied critical race theory, Ive never used it, it doesnt come up in my work as a judge.

Asked about abortion, Jackson readily agreed with comments that Justices Barrett and Brett Kavanaugh made when they were up for confirmation. Roe and Casey are the settled law of the Supreme Court concerning the right to terminate a womans pregnancy. They have established a framework that the court has reaffirmed, Jackson said.

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That line of questioning from Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., and Jacksons answers bypassed a key point: The court right now is weighing whether to overrule those cases that affirm a nationwide right to abortion.

The White House said Tuesday that Biden had watched part of the hearings and was proud of Jacksons grace and dignity.

The president was struck by how she swiftly dismantled conspiracy theories put forward in bad faith, said White House deputy press secretary Chris Meagher.

Associated Press writers Jessica Gresko, Lisa Mascaro, Josh Boak, Colleen Long and Kevin Freking in Washington and Aaron Morrison in New York contributed to this report.
The Member of Parliament (MP) for Ellembelle, Mr Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, has initiated steps for the construction of a bridge over the River Fia to link the Northern part of Basake popularly called Mayeli-Aloma near Aiyinasi.



The project estimated at a cost of GHc30,000 is being sponsored by the Office of the Member of Parliament, with communal support from the farmers.



The bridge, when completed, would afford the 380 settler farmers at Mayeli-Aloma who cultivate cash and arable crops such as cocoa, rubber, coconut, cassava, plantain and other vegetables, the opportunity to transport their goods to the market centers.



Addressing the farmers during a visit to their farmlands, Mr Buah asked the government to put the feeder road linking Basake and Mayeli-Aloma, a farming community, in decent shape.



The MP said construction of that feeder road was critical as children could not go to school at Basake and a chunk of their farm produce could not get to the market centers as commuters could not move back and forth due to the deplorable state of the road.



Mr Kofi Buah asked parents in the farming community to start a Pre-School in the village to enroll their children in school and solicit governments intervention.



He said the NDC government had a record of accomplishment of bringing development to the District and that he would continue to fight for more development for the area.



Mr Kofi-Buah said the NDC Minority was fighting in Parliament due to hardships in the country and the need to bring development to the doorsteps of the people.



Mr Sabutey Agbey who spoke on behalf of the farmers, expressed gratitude to the MP for initiating the project to ease the burden of settler farmers.



He appealed to the District Assembly and the Minister for Roads and Highways to fix their road and make it motorable.

Source: GNA









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This year's Ramadan fasting is expected to start on Saturday, April 2 or Sunday, April 3, 2022, depending on the day a new moon will be sighted.



If the moon is sighted on Friday, April 1, 2020, fasting will commence the next day. However, if the moon is sighted on April 2, then Sunday, April 3, 2022, shall be the first day of the 2022 Ramadan.



This was contained in a communique issued at the close of the 28th annual national Ramadan conference in Koforidua, the Eastern Regional capital, last Saturday.



The three-day conference, which started on March 17, 2022, was attended by Regional Chief Imams, secretaries, Muslim chiefs, as well as some Islamic scholars.



The conference, on the theme: "Peace: Essential tool for stability and prosperity, did not deliberate only on the specific day for the commencement of this year's Ramadan but also discussed some issues of national interest.



Call for peace



The deputy national secretary of the Hilal Committee, Baba Dawud, who read the communique, called on Muslims, particularly those in Bawku in the Upper East Region, to give peace a chance, while efforts were made to find a lasting solution to the impasse in the area.



That, he said, would enable the youth to exert their time and energy on more productive ventures to build their future for better livelihoods.



On the upbringing of children, Alhaji Dawud said the conference resolved that children should be properly catered for by their parents and guardians, including providing them with opportunities that would enable them to grow into useful citizens.



With regard to food security, he said the Ministry of Food and Agriculture must ensure that farming inputs, such as fertiliser, were made available.



Alhaji Dawud further appealed to the government and other stakeholders to intensify awareness of the COVID-19 virus to help contain its spread.



On the 2021 Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) results, he claimed that about 70 per cent of the candidates had called for the re-marking of their examination scripts due to poor performance.



The deputy secretary, therefore, asked for the immediate publication of the chief examiners report and statement from the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) explaining the wide gap in passes between this year's results and those of previous years.



Road accidents



Speaking about the prevailing situation of road accidents that were claiming lives and maiming others, Alhaji Dawud urged the law enforcement agencies to ensure that all broken-down vehicles were removed from the roads, while speed limits were also adhered to.



Others who addressed the conference were the executive secretary of the Office of the National Chief Imam, Alhaji Awaisu Bio Salisu, and the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Inner Cities and Zongo Development Fund, Alhaji Ben Abdallah.



The rest were the Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) for New Juaben South, Mr Appaw-Gyasi, and the Member of Parliament for New Juaben South, Mr Michael Okyere Baafi.





Source: graphiconline.com









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Ms Hannah Akua Oparebea Acquah, Rector of the Ghana College of Nurses and Midwives (GCNM) has advised the Graduating class of 2022 Nurse Assistant Clinical programme of the Family Health Nursing and Midwifery School to aspire to the utmost level in nursing.



She said higher education was of the essence for practice in todays complex healthcare system.



Speaking on the theme, The Ideal Nurse for the 21st Century Ghanaian Healthcare System, at the 2022 Matriculation and Graduation ceremony for the Family Health Nursing and Midwifery School, the Rector enumerated a number of attributes that an ideal nurse should exhibit in her line of duty.



He mentioned Care, empathy, commitment, critical thinking, effective communication skills, professionalism among other attributes as the traits ideal for the 21st Century nurse.



She also admonished both Matriculants and Graduands to embrace mentorship and supervision from their predecessors and other senior colleagues in the nursing profession.



Ms Oparebea Acquah reminded them to manage their time and resources well and to take their studies seriously by actively participating in both theoretical and clinical sessions.



In her welcome address, the Ag. Dean of the School of Nursing and Midwifery, Dr. Patience Aniteye, congratulated the graduands and encouraged them to give off their best in the service to humanity.



To the Matriculants, Dr Aniteye admonished the students to brace themselves for the journey ahead and to take advantage of the human and material resources available to facilitate their learning.



She was grateful to Management for the additional infrastructure, including lecture halls, offices for staff, and a conference room to accommodate the increasing population of the School which now stands at over four hundred (400) with almost seventy percent 70 per cent offering Bachelor of Science in Nursing and Midwifery.

Source: GNA









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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The Federal government has announced that fully vaccinated travelers coming into Nigeria will no longer be required to take a pre-departure PCR COVID-19 test.



The Chairman of the Presidential Steering Committee, Boss Mustapha, disclosed this during a briefing of the PSC announcing a revision of International Travel Protocols on Monday, March 21.



Mustapha added that passengers who are unvaccinated or partially vaccinated are still expected to take a COVID-19 PCR test 48 hours before departure, or do a Day 2 and day 7 test on arrival.



He stressed that such passengers will be expected to pay for their PCR tests through the Federal Governments travel platform, while fully vaccinated passengers will not be charged for rapid antigen tests at the airport.





Source: LIB









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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Mali's former prime minister Soumeylou Boubeye Maiga, arrested over corruption allegations last year, died of an undisclosed illness in hospital.



He died on Monday, March 21, one of his lawyers said.



Maiga, 68, was detained in August over his suspected role in the purchase of a presidential plane during the rule of ex-president Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, ousted in a military coup a year earlier.



He was charged with multiple counts of graft and was awaiting trial.



His lawyers maintained that he was innocent.



One of his lawyers told Reuters he died at a clinic in the capital Bamako on Monday morning, where he had been hospitalised on medical parole since December.



His family and doctors had unsuccessfully pushed for Maiga to be allowed to travel abroad for treatment as his health deteriorated in Bamako's main prison. However, relatives said authorities did not reply to their evacuation requests.



Maiga, a former defence minister, was named prime minister in 2017 and resigned two years later, four weeks after a massacre of about 160 Fulani herders by an ethnic vigilante group shocked the West African nation.













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The Police have refuted allegations of Mr Oliver Barkar-Vormawor, the #FixTheCountry convenor, that he was called to come back for the food he donated to the Ashaiman Police Station.



The claims by Mr Vormawor that he donated the food at the station but was later called to come back for them as a result of an order from above is false and should be disregarded.



In a press statement issued and signed by Police Chief Inspector Stella Dede Dzakpasu, Public Affairs Unit of Tema, and copied the Ghana News Agency, the Police said their attention had been drawn to a story making the rounds on social media in relation to an alleged food donations to suspects in Police custody at Ashiaman.



It said Mr Vormawor, recently out on bail on a charge of treason felony, intended to make a food donation at the Police station.



The statement said, however, he was informed through his lawyer that, the intended donation was against Police Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) and should refrain from such action.



It said despite the notice, Mr Vormawor showed up at the Police station in the company of some other individuals with a musical band, insisting on making the donation.



The statement said the Police therefore stood their grounds and refused Mr Vormawor the chance.



It said after loitering around the station for a while amidst noise making and inconveniencing other persons at the station, he and his group finally dispersed.



The statement said the feeding of persons in Police custody was the responsibility of the Government and it was a responsibility being discharged according to law and laid down procedures.



It said however, due to cultural sensitivities and arrangements, families of suspects were usually allowed to provide food to them from time to time.



The statement said in line with Police processes, food items brought to suspects in custody were subjected to stringent safety and security protocols.



It said the Police were held accountable for whatever happened to people in their custody, and for that reason, they took all necessary precautions to ensure their safety.



The statement said Police did not accept food from any sources except families and people nominated by the suspects being held in custody for that purpose.



As a Command, we are left to wonder what the motives of Mr Vormawor are since the feeding of suspects in custody is hardly an enterprise, he can sustain even for more than a day. We, therefore, urge the public to disregard his antics which are obviously calculated just to court public attention, it said.





Source: GNA









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The impact of climate change is threatening access to safe and sustainable water resources in many communities in Northern Ghana, a study conducted by WaterAid Ghana, a water and sanitation focused organisation, has revealed.



Challenges posed by climate change including long droughts, high temperatures, increased and erratic rainfall and floods are lowering ground water level and contaminating existing water sources, thus posing threat to access to quality and sustainable water.



The Research was conducted in four districts, the Bongo, Kassena-Nankana West and Bawku West Districts in the Upper East Region and Wa Municipality in the Upper West Region.



The findings were made known to stakeholders in Bolgatanga.



Dr Francis Bukari, a Senior Lecturer, Department of Community Development, University for Development Studies in Tamale, who was the lead consultant, conducted the research with support from Dr Raymond Aabeyir, Senior Lecturer, Department of Geography, University of Business and Integrated Development Studies, Wa.



The research, part of WaterAid Ghanas water security and climate resilience advocacy plan revealed that many communities in Northern Ghana were already water stressed and the increased climate variability presented a significant challenge to water security.



The findings revealed that the most common source of safe drinking water in the communities was hand pump boreholes but due to climate changes there were seasonal changes in the water table, thereby affecting sustainable access to safe water by many communities.



Climate Change is already affecting water access to more people in the selected districts, Majority of the respondents (67.4 per cent) have experienced change in access to water and more effort was being used to pump water due to seasonal change in water table, it added.



It said Water Sector Strategic Development Plan and the National Environmental Sanitation Strategy and Action Plan, two national documents that guide the development and management of environment and sanitation sector in Ghana gave little attention to climate change as an environmental problem.



The research recommended that apart the urgent need for government to prioritise the provision of WASH services especially boreholes to communities in Northern Ghana, the National Development Planning Commission needed to support the District Assemblies to integrate climate change and water security into local development planning and make adequate resource allocation for implementation.



It said government should effectively implement the National Climate Adaptation Plan/Strategy and Nationally Determined Contributions with clear synergies and opportunities to help address water security and reduce vulnerability and build climate resilience in Ghana.



To guide effective country-driven climate change adaptation, Ghana should reflect the importance of water management for reducing vulnerability and building climate resilience, by putting adaptive Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) at the centre of planning and investment for climate change adaptation.



Promoting investment and implementation that incorporates management, restoration and sustainability of natural infrastructure  the ecosystem services provided by healthy watersheds and coasts  and their benefits for climate resilient development of the agriculture and energy sectors



Mr Jesse Danku Coffie, the Head of Programmes, WaterAid Ghana, noted that water security was not only a human right but a catalyst to attaining the Sustainable Development Goals and there was the need to address the climate change issues and ensure communities had access to sustainable and safe water for use.





Source: GNA









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Deputy Ranking Member on the Education Committee of Parliament, Hon. Dr. Clement Apaak, believes former President John Dramani Mahama has been vindicated by the government's likely decision to review the flagship policy, Free Senior High School (SHS).



To him, though it is not too late, it has been long overdue since the policy is a good one, except that it has been "poorly managed".



Speaking On Okay Fm's Ade Akye Abia programme, the Builsa South MP described the Akufo Addo government as "clueless" and not receptive to differing opinions on how to manage the economy, hence the current state of most Ghanaians.



"Former President Mahama was severely censured when he asked that the free SHS policy should be reviewed, but here he is now being vindicated by the very people who lacked foresight and called him all sorts of names.



"Though the FSHS policy is a good one, it has been poorly managed by the government and its appointees.



"....it is rather unfortunate, but things will be made better by the next John Mahama government," he assured.



Free SHS Up For Review  Oppong Nkrumah



All 16 flagship programs of the government including the Free Senior High School are up for stock-taking.



This is according to Information Minister, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah.



This is one of the many decisions taken at a 3-day crunch cabinet meeting, held at Peduase Lodge to proffer solutions to the economic hardships in the country.



"The President has directed that the flagship programs should be protected and fully implemented to ensure that the impact is achieved".



However, he wants it done within the constraints of item number 2 which is the fiscal framework we are working with. If based on the caps that we are working with we will have to rescope a particular flagship program, we will do it and see how much we can achieve," the Information Minister said."

Lack of Accountability

The NDC MP also accused government of not being accountable to Ghanaians on resources spent on the FSHS policy.



According to him, in the 2020 Mid-Year Review of the Budget Statement and Economic Policy (July 23rd 2020) page 2, paragraph 9, government reported that a total of GHC 3.2 billion (3,200,000,000) was spent on fSHS since its inception (2017-2020).



On page 241 of the 2021 Budget Statement and Economic Policy (12th March 2021) government allocated (1.9 billion) 1,974,021,968 to the fSHS programme, which is listed as item 4 in Appendix 6.



Based on items 1 and 2 above, the total expenses on fSHS by the end of 2021 should be 5,174,021,968 (2017-2021).



However, in the 2021 Mid-Year Fiscal Policy Review of the Budget Statement and Economic Policy (29th July 2021) page 49, paragraph 284, it is contained that since the inception of the fSHS government has invested 7.62 billion (7,620,000,000) to implement the fSHS programme.



Based on items 4 and 5 above, government has expended an additional 2.4 billion (2,445,978,032) on the fSHS programme, which was not budgeted for in the 2021 budget. So far all efforts to get government to account for this extra 2.4 billion has failed, he added.

Source: Isaac Kwame Owusu/Peacefmonline/[email protected]









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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Former President John Dramani Mahama says Ghanaians are suffering economic hardships because of what he describes as "general incompetence and corruption" in the Akufo-Addo-led government.

For him, the incumbent President Akufo-Addo and his government has failed to demonstrate competence in the delivery of his promises to the Ghanaian electorate.



He said whereas President Akufo-Addo promised to turn the countrys economy into that of a prosperous nations, he has rather worsened the economic situation in the country due to the general incompetence in his government.



Former President Mahama made the remarks when he launched the TEIN app at the University of Professional Studies, Accra (UPSA) on Monday afternoon, March 21, 2022.



He is of the view that general incompetence, corruption and mismanagement have combined to make life unbearable for Ghanaians, particularly the youth under the Akufo-Addo-led government.



For him, no group is harder hit by the general hardship in the country than the young people, adding that the issues that affect the youth of Ghana who dominate our population are many.



Mr Mahama added that the youth have been worse off than any other demographic group in the country under the leadership of President Akufo-Addo.



He said right from Senior High School to the tertiary level, students are all suffering the economic and social distress created by the bad leadership of President Akufo-Addo.



The former President said non-release of funds, poor management of curricular, erratic school calendars, and poor relationship with teachers and lecturers among others, has created turbulent conditions that are far from what is needed to ensure quality educational outcomes in the country.



Mr Mahama said the country is experiencing its worse form of unemployment under the watch of President Akufo-Addo with no hope to address the situation.



He described the governments efforts to address the rising unemployment situation in the country as short-sighted, populist and poorly conceived ideas that have done more harm than good.



He expressed the worry that government has not been able to pay the Nation Builders Corps (NABCO) and National Service Personnel for several months.



The former President also expressed the concern that many government institutions have been politicised, with many of them now virtually serving as a wing for the incumbent government.





He said the failure of this government has been spectacular in all fronts, adding that NDC as a party would use all constitutional instruments to make the Akufo-Addo-led government accountable to Ghanaians.



Mr Mahama was of the view that the Akufo-Addo-led government came to power on the back of mouthwatering promises to make life easier for Ghanaians and ensure rapid development of our country, but has badly mismanaged the economy than any President under the countrys Fourth Republic.



Indeed we all recollect some of those mouthwatering promises including one by the current President to transform this country Ghana within 18 months, he noted, adding that hardship created by the bad governance of the Akufo-Addo-led government has never been witnessed in the country before in the past 30 years.



Commendation



He commended the youth wing of the NDC for the initiative, urging them to continue to work for the return of the party to power.



He further urged the partys youth to make the NDC the party of choice for the young people in the country, adding that TEIN has produced many young and talented politicians for the party and the country as a whole.



Mr Mahama said the App will ensure seamless communication among all TEIN chapters across the country, adding that the App will also help to mobilise volunteers for the party.



He noted that the App would particularly help the party to select members to serve as polling agents in their respective polling stations and also in the performance of some special party duties.



He has therefore called on TEIN members to mobilise more young people for the party, particularly those in the informal sector, saying that everyone counts in the NDC.



Better managers



The 2020 running mate of former President Mahama, Professor Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang, for her part, said Mr Mahama would better manage the country than the current government since he (Mr Mahama) understands power and how to use it to transform the wellbeing of the Ghanaian people.



She said he uses his power to encourage and not to intimidate, adding that Mr Mahama understands that the essence of power is to create peace and not insecurity.



For her, the NDC as a party cares about the youth and that the party will continue to invest in the youth to help build the country.



Prof. Opoku-Agyemang also encouraged the leadership of TEIN to reach out to more women in their mobilisation drive, as women play key roles in all institutions.



The National Chairman of the party, Mr Samuel Ofosu Ampofo also commended the leadership of TEIN for developing the app.



He said the partys leadership would take keen interest in activities on the app, urging the developers to upload all the partys documents there to help TEIN members and all users of the app to better understand the party and its principles.



He, however, admonished TEIN members to combine social media activities on the app with the grounds work in order to optimise the partys efforts in winning power in the 2024 general elections.









Source: graphiconline.com









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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A National Communications team member of the NPP, Ellen Ama Daaku has charged the opposition NDC to refrain from blaming the Akufo-Addo's government for the prevailing global economic downturn that has hit almost every nation.



She said that the current hardship in Ghana is not about poor economic management by the government but rather occasioned by the COVID-19 pandemic and the ongoing Russia - Ukraine war which is beyond the control of every government worldwide.



Speaking on Good Morning Ghana show on Metro TV, the NPP National Women's Organiser hopeful said that the Akufo-Addo's government is well-positioned to ensure that the economy bounces back to ameliorate the suffering of the people.



In response to a comment by Beatrice Annan, an NDC Communication team member on what measures the government was taking to reverse the situation, Ellen Ama Daaku said that the controversial e-levy is one of the innovative ways the government is introducing to overturn the prevailing economic condition in Ghana.



The NPP's "iron lady" further said that budgets to all government appointees, agencies and social intervention programmes are cut between 20-30% as part of the government's mitigation measures to reduce the burden on the government's purse.



The final year GIMPA law student encouraged all Ghanaians to ignore the ugly noises from the opposition NDC party and have faith in the government and its economic team.



She demanded the NDC to prove their patriotism and love for Ghana by professing solutions to help remedy the situation confronting Ghanaians.



Ellen Ama Daaku was optimistic that the retreat held by the President and his cabinet to discuss the economy would be more fruitful to meet the expectations of all Ghanaians.

Source: Peacefmonline.com/Ghana









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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Flames get close to fire equipment as Chicago firefighters battle an extra-alarm fire at a home goods store in the 3000 block of West Lawrence Avenue March 22, 2022. (John J. Kim / Chicago Tribune)

A mattress and discount store in Albany Park will have to be torn down after a three-alarm fire burned down the building and its roof collapsed Tuesday afternoon, Chicago Fire officials said.

Customers of JoJo Discount, 3040 W. Lawrence St., were able to leave the building and no one was injured, Chicago Fire spokesperson Larry Merritt said.

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Firefighters were alerted to the fire at noon and the fire was put out by about 2 p.m., Merritt said.

Its pretty expensive damage, Merritt said.
North Tongu MP, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, has insisted that Prof Naana Opoku-Agyemang helped the NDC in the 2020 General Election contrary to assertions by Dr Obed Yao Asamoah that she had no impact.



Ablakwa said that the running mate for former President John Mahama, Prof Opoku-Agyemang, helped the National Democratic Congress (NDC) win a lot of parliamentary seats in the Central Region, myjoyonline.com reports.



If you look for example at the Parliamentary elections, youll observe that the NDC came up from a deficit of having only 4 seats at the 2016 elections. We won only four seats with a 17.4% share, of the votes.



After Professor Naana Jane Opoku Agyemangs announcement, nomination, inclusion and her hard work, we moved from 4 to 13 seats with a greater share of the parliamentary votes of 56.52%. This is Electoral Commissions data, Okudzeto is quoted.



He added that he will support Prof Opoku-Agyemang if she becomes the running mate for the NDC for the 2024 General Elections.



Former Chairman of the NDC, Dr Obed Yao Asamoah, said that Naana Opoku-Agyemang did not make any impact in the Central Region in the 2020 General Elections.



The lady who is a running mate to Mahama lost the Central Region in the last election. Lost a whole constituency," he said





Source: ghanaweb.com









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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Former Deputy Communication Minister, Felix Ofosu Kwakye, has said that the current economic hardship being faced by Ghanaians will continue until the Akufo-Addo led government is booted out of power.



According to him, the government can not solve the current economic challenges because it is incompetent.



He added that the government does not listen to the views of people who are not part of the government, citinewsroom.com reports.



Ofosu Kwakye further stated that the only way to stop this hardship is to vote out the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and vote in the National Democratic Congress (NDC).



The suffering will persist until they (NPP) are booted out for the NDC that is more responsive to the needs of the people, prudent in the use of public resources and that will stay away from the ostentation that has plagued government under this administration.



I dont think that anybody has lost track of what exactly needs to be done. This is a very intransigent government that does not respect the views of people outside of it. They are hopelessly incompetent yet they do not want to take onboard advice that is necessary to get us out of this mess, he is quoted to have said on the Eyewitness News.



The former deputy minister also said that the government failed to act even though there were clear signs the economy was heading into trouble.



This crisis has been going on for months un-end, and yet they have done nothing about it. It has gotten worse so when you hear that they have gone into meetings to think through measures to get us out, one can only laugh because it is this same group of people who have led us into this mess, he said.



Meanwhile, President Nana Akufo-Addo has urged Ghanaians to be patient as the government works to resolve the current challenges.



The government held a crunch cabinet to come up with means to help curb the current hardship been faced by Ghanaians.



It has stated that at least 15 social intervention policies including the Free Senior High School policy will be reviewed as well as a 30 percent reduction in the pay of government appointees.





Source: ghanaweb.com









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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Dr Obed Yao Asamoah, a former Chairman of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), has advised the 2020 flagbearer of the NDC, John Dramani Mahama, to turn his attention to the Volta region in order to win the 2024 presidential elections.



He said in an interview on Joy News that, the former President must put his house in order to give him the strength to be able to win easily and massively.



He noted that if John Dramani Mahama runs against Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia in the 2024 general elections, it will be very difficult for him to win the elections.



Dr. Asamoah explained, Lets take the Savannah region. The NPP and NDC have equal strength. In the case of the Northern Region itself, I think the NPP has an edge. Then you have Bawumia in the East, Walewale area. He will have a considerable influence.



Comparing John Mahama's vote count in the last election to the vote count of his predecessors, the former Attorney-General and Minister of Justice argued that he [Mahama] was unable to generate massive votes in the Volta region.



He said, Volta Region is supposed to be the World Bank of the NDC. What exactly did Mahama do for the Volta Region? Remember the last election, he didnt get the kind of votes Jerry and others were getting  the 80/90 per cent. They lost a seat in Hohoe. Hes got some homework to do.



Dr. Obed Yao Asamoah further indicated that Prof Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang, the 2020 running mate of John Dramani Mahama, could not make any impact for the NDC in the Central Region, therefore, she needs to be changed.



The lady who is a running mate to Mahama lost the Central Region in the last election; lost a whole constituency.



"So it means there has to be some fresh thinking. There could be some amends we make to make her succeed. But for now, she didnt make an impact, he said.



Dr. Asamoah is of the view that Alan Kyerematen, when elected as the flagbearer of the NPP, could also spell doom for the opposition party as he may not be able to garner enough votes in the Central Region.



Alan Kyerematen is a factor to consider. He could win. If he does, it poses a threat to the NDC in the Central region because his mothers side is from Central Region.



He, however, advised the NDC to make substantial gains in the capital city, Accra.



The reason they made the progress was first of all in the case of Greater Accra, there was a rift between the government and spare parts dealers. They thought that the taxation against them was too much. A lot of them supported the NDC.



We were prepared to allow Okada. That was also a significant factor against the NPP, he added.





Source: ghanaweb.com









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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Joyce Bawah Mogtari, an aide to former President John Dramani Mahama, has said that the government together with the Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia has lost touch with the economic realities citizens are confronted with.



Citing a number of headlines attributed to President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo which sought to absolve him from blame on the economic downturn, Bawah-Mogtari said the President and his vice are responsible for running down the economy.



She noted that corruption and the profligacy by the president, his vice and party devotees were key drivers of the economic downturn.



According to her, the result of the government's profligacy is what has plunged Ghanaians into hardship especially with the increase in prices of goods and petroleum products.



She mentioned that the governments desire to implement the Electronic Transactions Levy (E-Levy) was a reflection of its insensitivity and how Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia has lost touch with the economic realities facing the citizenry.



What we are experiencing today is an economy that has been run down by a potpourri of bad governance, bad policies, misappropriation and misapplication of state funds, multiple acts of corruption at the highest levels of government, and the profligacy of President Akufo Addo, Bawumia and their aficionados.



The end result is the hardship they are inflicting on Ghanaians especially the poor, who are worse affected, the rampant increases in the prices of goods and petroleum products.



Governments quest to worsen our plight with the imposition of an E-levy, is a reflection of the insensitivity of this government and how the economic management team led by Dr. Bawumia has lost touch with the economic realities we are confronted with, she posted on her Facebook wall.



The economy in recent times has witnessed a downward spiral.



Many economists have cited the depreciating Cedi, increase in fuel prices and general cost of living as pointers to this claim.



Some analysts have asked the government to seek an IMF bailout programme however government has shot down the proposal whiles banking its hopes on the E-levy.



The President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, over the weekend held a crunch meeting with key members of his government to decide the best way out for the administration.



Whiles government is yet to announce the outcome, Information Minister Kojo Oppong-Nkrumah, has hinted that all government flagship programmes are up for review.



Read below the full post by Joyce Bawah Mogtari



Good morning Everyone!!



New Headlines Attributed to President Akufo-Addo and Co!



Lets build our country together



Ghana is not the only Country facing challenges etcetcetc



Let's not continue to mince words, my brothers and sisters.



What we are experiencing today is an economy that has been run down by a potpourri of bad governance, bad policies, misappropriation and misapplication of state funds, multiple acts of corruption at the highest levels of government, and the profligacy of President Akufo Addo, Bawumia and their aficionados.



The end result is the hardship they are inflicting on Ghanaians especially the poor, who are worse affected, the rampant increases in the prices of goods and petroleum products.



Governments quest to worsen our plight with the imposition of an E-levy, is a reflection of the insensitivity of this government and how the economic management team led by Dr. Bawumia has lost touch with the economic realities we are confronted with.





Source: ghanaweb.com









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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STC Chief Executive Officer, Nana Akomea says the electronic transaction levy, popularly called e-levy, proposal by the Akufo-Addo government is a brilliant idea to fix the economy.



Speaking on Peace FM's 'Kokrokoo' programme, Nana Akomea urged Ghanaians to embrace the e-levy believing it will hugely benefit Ghanaians.



He revealed why the proposal hasn't been accepted yet but was of a strong view that the e-levy will be passed.



"The only reason the e-levy hasn't been approved is that we don't have the numbers in Parliament. Period! If we had the numbers in Parliament, we would have passed the e-levy in December and, by this time, it would be working," he said.



Nana Akomea explained how beneficial the e-levy will be for the development of Ghana saying, "the electronic transaction business is one of the fastest growing businesses in this country. In 2016, electronic transactions, MOMO, electronic transfers amounted to 80 billion cedis. In 2016, electronic transactions, MOMO, electronic transfers amounted to 80 billion, last year, 2021, it moved from 80 billion in 2016 to 950 billion cedis. The volume of electronic business going on in this country, so it shows [I mean] if the part of the economy is growing so well, you tax a little''.





Source: Ameyaw Adu Gyamfi/Peacefmonline.com/Ghana









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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Former Philippine Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Secretary Mark Villar. (Photo: Mark Villar/Facebook)

A Twitter account posing as senatorial aspirant and former Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) secretary Mark Villar was deleted after a March 19 tweet saying Walang solid north pero may solid Marikenos! (There is no solid north, but there are solid Marikenos!)

The tweet was posted on Saturday (March 19) attached with a clip of Sonshine Media Network Internationals (SMNI) live coverage of a Marikina City grand rally in support of Ferdinand Bongbong Marcos Jr. and Sara Duterte.

Source: @SecMarkVillar/Twitter

The fake account is no longer accessible as of Tuesday.

Villar told the public through a Facebook post on Sunday that the Twitter account was not his, and that it was created to sow divisiveness among the UniTeam supporters and tarnish his name and other candidates of the UniTeam.

We condemn such dirty tactics. We shall file the necessary complaint with the cybercrime divisions of law enforcement agencies to hold accountable the person/s who are employing such unlawful and dirty tactics, he said.

Villar is running for senator under the UniTeam slate of the late dictator's son and namesake Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos, Jr. and his running mate President Rodrigo Duterte's daughter Sara Duterte-Carpio.

He supported the dictators son as early as the 2016 elections, during the latters bid for vice presidency, when Marcos Jr. lost.

The former DPWH secretary has been subjected to scrutiny due to his familys business Vista Land, one of the largest property developers in the Philippines. Vista Land was founded by former Senate President Manny Villar, Marks father.

There are 12 seats in the Senate that are being contested in the May 9 elections.

Mark Ernest Famatigan is a news writer who focuses on Philippine politics. He is an advocate for press freedom and regularly follows developments in the Philippine economy. The views expressed are his own.

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As Thailand readies itself to welcome in a brand-new year with vibrant Songkran and Easter celebrations, Anantara Chiang Mai Resort launches fun festive treats for the whole family  an all you can eat ice cream pool party and an Easter Sunday Egg-stavaganza.

Songkran sanook starts on the rooftop of Anantara Chiang Mai Serviced Suites on April 15th with a pool party  three hours of all you can eat ice cream including a wide variety of flavours and a huge array of toppings to satisfy the sweetest tooth. Anantara Chiang Mais Songkran Ice Cream Pool Party includes fun games and activities in and out of the pool. Prices: for adults THB 799; kids between 813 years old THB 400; kids under 8 years old are free.

The fun continues on Easter Sunday, April 17th where the whole family can feast on a festive buffet of fresh salads, sushi and sashimi, chilled gazpacho soup, seafood towers, honey-baked ham and grilled meats, pizza and pasta favourites and indulgent desserts. While the parents are enjoying the relaxing riverside feast, kids will be busy with fun activities such as a bouncy castle, face painting, egg painting, and an Easter egg hunt. Prices: for adults THB 1,190; kids between 813 years old THB 450; Kids under 8 years old are free.

To beat the heat guests who book over the festive season from 13-16th April will also receive a free Khao Chae Thailands favourite summertime dish. For a full range of offers over the Thai New Year festive season please visit https://www.anantara.com/en/chiang-mai/offers and to book please call + 66 (53) 253 333 or email chiangmai@anantara.com
Starting in 1st grade is exciting and a major transition. New research suggests that children would get off to a better start in first grade if teachers built on the pedagogy from kindergarten. Credit: Shutterstock / NTB

Since 2018, Norwegian schools and kindergartens have a statutory duty to co-operate on the transition from kindergarten to school and after-school care. Previously, the responsibility lay with kindergarten alone.

Recent research indicates that schools still have some work to do to enable five and six year olds to make the best possible transition.

"It's important for primary schools to build on the pedagogy that the children recognize from kindergarten. This supports a safe transition for many children," says Tuva Schanke, an associate professor at NTNU's Department of Teacher Education.

"Incorporating activities that the children did in kindergarten or organizing the school day to have similarities with the kindergarten are examples of how teachers can bring familiarity to the new school setting.

Schanke is behind a study in which she observed two school classrooms and two kindergarten classrooms over 10 months. A total of 12 adults and 57 children between ages five and six participated.

Creating an inclusive, cooperative and community atmosphere

In the kindergartens Schanke visited, the oldest children worked with aesthetic expression in literature, nature and art. They went on their own trips and had their own projects where they gathered and developed social and school-related skills. The activities took place both indoors and outside and were carried out as a group.

Indoors, kindergarten teachers often gathered the oldest children around a large table, where there was room for everyone to work on activities. The children were encouraged to inspire and help each other. They could move freely around the room and talk to anyone they wanted.

Children were supported in contributing in different ways by taking on varied roles in the activities, and they were able to use their bodies, speech and different materials.

The kindergartens linked the activities to inclusion, cooperation and support, with the aim to develop friendships and community.

"As kindergartners, the children often had the opportunity to choose activities themselves and influence the content with their interests, imagination and creativity. Coming into a school setting that allows for various forms of participation that they recognize from kindergarten is a positive support for many children's well-being," says Schanke.

Individual learning and new rules

Schanke observed few forms of work and activities in the first grade classes she visited that the children were familiar with from kindergarten.

At school the children encountered a completely different organization and structure than they were used to from kindergarten. The group size was larger and fewer adults were present. The days were organized according to a schedule of subject classes and recess times. The children had assigned seats in the classroom and learning was less cooperatively based.

The focus was much more on individual learning and less on group learning.

"A lot of the activities and work methods in school are often teacher led, making it more difficult for the children to participate in a way that builds on what they did in kindergarten. There, the children often initiated and led activities, did activities together and shared knowledge spontaneously with each other. The children also became good at including the whole group this way," says Schanke.

Schanke observed that the start of the school year in August was characterized by the first graders learning new rules, how to behave at school and establishing a calm work environment.

Students were instructed to listen to those who were talking, to receive and follow instruction and to sit quietly in their assigned seat. They needed to work on their task and raise their hand if they wanted to say something to the group.

These guidelines make clear how dramatic the transition to a larger group of children with fewer adults present is. Free play and activities that children could decide on for themselves were reserved for recess times and outings.

"These differences in activities and work methods are challenging for some kids, especially the sitting still, working independently on assigned tasks and the lack of free choice of activities," says Schanke.

"A number of children in first grade mentioned that they miss their life in kindergarten, especially the time they used to have to play with friends."

Schanke says thatbeyond her own researcha number of other studies indicate that there are clear differences between the last year in kindergarten and first grade in school. However, she emphasizes that there is as yet no national mapping of this data.

Pushback against school rules

Schanke discovered that when the first graders participated in a "listening corner"an activity where the teacher covers academic content and asks questions of the childrenthe pupils broke or bent the rules for participation. In this way they could be more active than the classroom rules allowed for.

"It was clear in my study that some children found it challenging to sit still and follow the teacher's review. Other children found it difficult to answer questions."

"The children challenged the rule of answering one at a time by answering spontaneously and often at the same time, helping each other to find answers to questions," she says.

Schanke observed that by pushing back against the school's norms and rules, the pupils managed to create more room to maneuver and participate in the listening corner.

"School has a lot of rules. Children's resistance or pushback can be understood as meaning that they want to influence their own everyday lives, and create space for their own interests."

"Simply listening to the children and observing what they do can provide important understanding about where the children want more room to maneuver," says Schanke.

Researcher's advice

Schanke emphasizes that in order to create a good transition, both the school and the kindergarten need to set aside time to get to know each other, preferably with the oldest children in the kindergarten and the first graders. In this way, the school can build on the experience the children bring with them into first grade and give them an experience of security and coherence.

"Getting to know the kindergarten environment the children come from can help schools build a good understanding of what the children are used to, what they like to do and how they work on different projects."

"It doesn't hurt for the children to get to know their school a little bit during their last year in kindergarten. Then they can gain a little confidence in knowing what their school looks like and some of the new adults they'll be meeting. Maybe they can try out some activities that they can look forward to continuing when they return in August," says Schanke.

Schanke also says schools need to incorporate more play, and teachers should allow for more active and varied participation, in order to engage more pupils through friendship, curiosity and creativity. In this way, the first graders can experience school as more meaningful, familiar and age-appropriate.

"Both parties also need to understand that children aren't done with their kindergarten life when they start school. They carry a rich experiential base from kindergarten and actively use these experiences in their school life," says Schanke.

The question arises for some people whether children will learn what they are supposed to if kindergarten pedagogy is implemented in first grade.

Schanke responds by saying that the premise of "should learn" is challenging, because there are no competence goals in first grade. "Competence goals come only after second grade. That said, children explore, discover and learn a lot in kindergarten, and both my kindergarten study and many others have demonstrated the children's skills, creativity, cooperative ability and strategies," she says.

"Given this foundation, I believe the children will continue to develop their competence and contributions in first grade using a similar approach," she says.

Better school start for everyone

Schanke's study is based on data material from her doctoral degree, the research project Preparing for and entering school that she conducted from 2013 to 2018.

Schanke is now participating in the project Bedre skolestart for alle (A better school start for all), a collaboration between NTNU, Trondheim municipality, Queen Maud's University College for early childhood teacher education, Linnaeus University and Roskilde University. One of the focus areas is highlighting how children experience their transition to school.

Explore further Screening kindergarten readiness
Fungi that live on plant roots can help with the uptake of nutrients. Credit: Shutterstock

Invasive, alien species are bad for ecosystems. They reduce bidoversity and disrupt food chains, including our own.

History is full of examples of intentional and unintentional introductions of invasive species. The introduction of cane toads to Northern Australia in the 1930s to fight cane beetles led to decline of many native predators. The fungus that causes chestnut blight snuck into North America via infected nursery stock; four billion trees died in 40 years.

It's easy enough to see the devastation by invasive species of plants, just look your window: spotted knapweed, Eurasian milfoil and giant hogweed have completely changed communities across North America .

Soil ecosystems

What about creatures in the soil? Have they been affected by invasive species? Which species have gone extinct? Which ones are proliferating? It is important to think about soil as an invisible ecosystem, because many agricultural practices include the deliberate addition of microbes to the soil, biofertilizers.

Biofertilizers are microbes that are grown specifically for application to soil. There are many microbes that are used as biofertilizers, including bacteria and fungi, and the most common application is to improve crop nutrient status. These products are considered by some to be a more sustainable alternative to synthetic fertilizers.

The use of mycorrhizal fungifungi that grow on plant rootsas biofertilizers is becoming more common. Applying them as a kind of fertilizer makes sense because these fungi grow in plant roots and help plants get more nutrients from the soil.

The root structure of red daikon radish. Farmers are being sold biofertilizers to increase crop yield. Credit: Shutterstock

Companies encourage farmers to use biofertilizers with the promise that biofertilizers will lead to healthier soil. The number of companies making mycorrhizal fungi has increased dramatically in the last decadebut there's no easy way to know what they're selling, where it's being used and how much is being released into the environment.

My lab looks at how mycorrhizal biofertilizers move in the environment and how they affect native ecosystems. Because mycorrhizas are an important part of all ecosystems, introducing an alien mycorrhizal fungus may have unintended consequences for native mycorrhizas and ecosystems in general.

Alien species

The application of biofertilizers and mycorrhizal products involves introducing potentially invasive species. These products, which are alien to the environments they are placed in, must establish in a novel environment under a wide range of conditions. To do this, they need to compete against, and replace, native fungi. This is the definition of an invasive species.

The use of biofertilzers may not be a big problem if these products stay where we put them, like in the greenhouse or in a farmer's field. But if there is one thing we've learned about microbes in the last 24 months, it is that they move, and they move fast. There is evidence that mycorrhizal fungi can move over long distances, through atmospheric currents or even as passengers on migratory birds.

In all ecosystems, mycorrhizal fungi link plants in a community through hyphaethin strands of fungus that carry nutrients to plants. In this way, mycorrhizal fungi and their plant hosts become a superorganismwith plants belonging to different species linked via mycorrhizal hyphae (the filaments that make up the network of a fungi).

This allows plants to sense conditions elsewhere in the network by receiving warning chemicals through hyphae if there is a herbivore somewhere in the network and increasing defense chemicals before an attack occurs. Mycorrhizal fungi can also change the flow of sugars from the canopy when a seedling is shaded and needs more carbon.

The problem is, even though these networks are crucial for ecosystems, science does not understand how they are affected by biofertilizers. There is currently no research on how mycorrhizal networks are affected by the introduction of biofertilizers or what it means for ecosystems. Neither is there research beyond my lab of how far these products are moving. But science is clear on one thing: once we release these organisms into the environment, we lose the ability to control them.

Some fungi in soil can be useful, others can damage the soils ecosystem. Credit: Shutterstock

Regulating biofertilizers

This is the crux of the matter: we do not know how big of a threat biofertilizers pose to ecosystems. Yet, these products continue to be marketed and released globally, with little or no regulation. In Canada, they are considered soil additives under the Fertilizer Act, which is the federal legislation overseeing the safety of fertilizer and soil supplements. Regulation focuses on the toxicity of biofertilizers to humans and other animals, not their risk as invasive species.

A better framework might be the Plant Protection Act, which exists to protect plants, agriculture and forestry from the spread of plant pests. While mycorrhizal fungi are not pests, they are not universally beneficially in all contexts. For example, these fungi can act as a carbon drain for plants, suppressing their growth under certain conditions. It is not a stretch to say that, in some cases, they might act as plant pests.

If biofertilizers are not universally beneficial for all plants in all conditions, they pose a real threat to soil biodiversity and perhaps even plant diversity. If biofertilizers outcompete local fungi, this could change the composition and productivity of plant communities. This is a problem for natural systems, but also for agriculture and forestry.

We need to better regulate these products to ensure that they are not a threat to ecosystems. The thin skin of soil on our planet is home to the creatures who keep our ecosystems functioningwe must not forget about them in our quest to make agriculture more sustainable.

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
Newly acquired data in the Hayabusa2 mission suggests that the asteroid Ryugu is actually an extinct comet that lost its water ice due to heat from increased solar radiation after getting closer to the inner asteroid belt. Credit: Hitoshi Miura from NCU, Japan

Asteroids hold many clues about the formation and evolution of planets and their satellites. Understanding their history can, therefore, reveal much about our solar system. While observations made from a distance using electromagnetic waves and telescopes are useful, analyzing samples retrieved from asteroids can yield much more detail about their characteristics and how they may have formed. An endeavor in this direction was the Hayabusa mission, which, in 2010, returned to Earth after seven years with samples from the asteroid Itokawa.

The successor to this mission, called Hayabusa2, was completed near the end of 2020, bringing back material from Asteroid 162173 "Ryugu," along with a collection of images and data gathered remotely from close proximity. While the material samples are still being analyzed, the information obtained remotely has revealed three important features about Ryugu. Firstly, Ryugu is a rubble-pile asteroid composed of small pieces of rock and solid material clumped together by gravity rather than a single, monolithic boulder. Secondly, Ryugu is shaped like a spinning top, likely caused by deformation induced by quick rotation. Third, Ryugu has a remarkably high organic matter content.

Of these, the third feature raises a question regarding the origin of this asteroid. The current scientific consensus is that Ryugu originated from the debris left by the collision of two larger asteroids. However, this cannot be true if the asteroid is high in organic content (which will confirmed once the analyses of the returned samples are complete). What could, then, be the true origin of Ryugu?

In a recent effort to answer this question, a research team led by Associate Professor Hitoshi Miura of Nagoya City University, Japan, proposed an alternative explanation backed up by a relatively simple physical model. As explained in their paper published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters, the researchers suggest that Ryugu, as well as similar rubble-pile asteroids, could, in fact, be remnants of extinct comets. This study was carried out in collaboration with Professor Eizo Nakamura and Associate Professor Tak Kunihiro from Okayama University, Japan.

Comets are small bodies that form on the outer, colder regions of the solar system. They are mainly composed of water ice, with some rocky components (debris) mixed in. If a comet enters the inner solar system the space delimited by the asteroid belt "before" Jupiterheat from the solar radiation causes the ice to sublimate and escape, leaving behind rocky debris that compacts due to gravity and forms a rubble-pile asteroid.

This process fits all the observed features of Ryugu, as Dr. Miura explains, "Ice sublimation causes the nucleus of the comet to lose mass and shrink, which increases its speed of rotation. As a result of this spin-up, the cometary nucleus may acquire the rotational speed required for the formation of a spinning-top shape. Additionally, the icy components of comets are thought to contain organic matter generated in the interstellar medium. These organic materials would be deposited on the rocky debris left behind as the ice sublimates."

To test their hypothesis, the research team conducted numerical simulations using a simple physical model to calculate the time it would take for the ice to sublimate and the increase in rotational speed of the resulting asteroid due to it. The results of their analysis suggested that Ryugu has likely spent a few tens of thousands of years as an active comet before moving into the inner asteroid belt, where the high temperatures vaporized its ice and turned it into a rubble-pile asteroid.

Overall, this study indicates that spinning top-shaped, rubble-pile objects with high organic content, such as Ryugu and Bennu (the target of the OSIRIS-Rex mission) are cometasteroid transition objects (CATs). "CATs are small objects that were once active comets but have become extinct and apparently indistinguishable from asteroids," explains Dr. Miura. "Due to their similarities with both comets and asteroids, CATs could provide new insights into our solar system."

Hopefully, detailed compositional analyses of the samples from both Ryugu and Bennu will shed more light on these issues.

Explore further Two teams report on study of Hayabusa2 asteroid samples

More information: Hitoshi Miura et al, The Asteroid 162173 Ryugu: a Cometary Origin, The Astrophysical Journal Letters (2022). Journal information: Astrophysical Journal Letters Hitoshi Miura et al, The Asteroid 162173 Ryugu: a Cometary Origin,(2022). DOI: 10.3847/2041-8213/ac4bd5

Provided by Nagoya City University
Motorist Jesus Gutierrez, who had been waiting in line since around 3 a.m., gets a tank of free gas pumped by volunteer Justin Kerr at a BP station in Albany Park on March 17, 2022, in Chicago. (Jose M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune)

It should be no surprise that gas giveaways would remain popular as skyrocketing prices mean higher costs reverberate across numerous industries, and businessman Willie Wilson isnt the only one handing out fuel.

Kenyatta Smith, a senior pastor of the South Sides Another Chance Baptist Church in the Longwood Manor neighborhood, knew it. His church has hosted two gas giveaways and both were wildly popular.

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The churchs third giveaway on Sunday was no different. Volunteers serviced more than 300 cars following a fundraising effort.

The day before, the massive New Life Covenant Church and its Pastor John Hannah reportedly serviced about 200 motorists at a station a few miles north next the Dan Ryan Expressway.

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Both events followed a chaotic gas handout last Thursday when hundreds of motorists besieged a West Side gas station, causing traffic jams and unmanageable crowds in pursuit of $50 in free gas donated by Wilson. He sent volunteers to 10 gas stations to give away $200,000 in gas.

About a week and a half ago, we decided to give gas not knowing that other people were deciding the same thing, Smith told the Tribune on Monday.

Wilson is planning an even larger gas giveaway on Thursday, where he plans to give away $1 million in gas at nearly 50 city and suburban stations.

Russias invasion of Ukraine and sanctions levied in retaliation has sharply spiked gas prices around the world, putting a strain on businesses, driving up everyday costs, particularly on travel and delivery industries.

Raising money for gas is also a popular request on crowdfunding websites such as GoFundMe.

The need among the community is so great. Soaring gas prices have caused a hardship for too many of our citizens, Wilson, a former mayoral, senate and presidential candidate, said in a written statement last week announcing a second giveaway. Wilson said the 49 participating gas stations have agreed to lower their prices so that recipients may get more gas.

In order to avoid another traffic calamity, officials with the citys Office of Emergency Management and Communications and Chicago police released a joint statement saying their agencies were coordinating with Dr. Wilson and his staff to provide city and department resources to alleviate traffic congestion and ensure public safety during his gas giveaway at participating stations located in the city of Chicago.

Gas prices have experienced a small dip in recent days, but the average cost in Illinois remains $4.50 per gallon  up from $3.69 last month  according to AAA.

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A wealthy self-made businessman from humble roots, Wilson is known for his philanthropic work, using his fortune to pay bail for criminal defendants, paying peoples property tax bills and donating thousands of face masks early in the pandemic.

Such gifting has earned Wilson both praise for helping the needy and criticism that his efforts could persuade voters should he again run for office.

Smith said Sundays gas giveaway were a no-brainer to church leaders, who were able to organize it with community partners in about three days. The recent price rise created a communitywide ripple effect that overextended his communitys most vulnerable residents and working families.

The church, which is preparing to build a community center on its property, provides meals to seniors and clothing and toy drives for neighborhood children.

Sometimes we just need a hand up now more than ever before, Smith told the Tribune in a telephone interview Monday. Were just trying to meet the need of the issues in our community. This is a humanity (issue). Our mission is to help as many people as we can.

wlee@chicagotribune.com
Nazli Kibria, a Professor of Sociology, studies migration, race, family, and childhood with a focus on South Asia and the Asian American experience.. Her work looks broadly at how social inequalities and injustices impact the lives of families and communities. Credit: Boston University

In late 2019, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation launched the Voices for Economic Opportunity Grand Challenge, a call for ideas from individuals and organizations to broaden the national conversation about poverty and economic mobility. Nazli Kibria, a professor of sociology at CAS, teamed up with Karen V. Hansen, a professor of sociology at Brandeis University, to propose the Cascading Lives Project, a website and digital learning toolkit that shares people's life stories and their experiences of downward mobility. They were one of 28 groups who received $100,000 grants for their projects.

The project's title refers to the concept of cascading eventssuch as a loss of income or an illnessthat often precipitate subsequent declines, whether social, personal, or financial.

"When people undergo a personal or economic crisis and don't have the resources or the safety net to cope with it, there can be this spiraling, or cascading, process," says Kibria, a professor of sociology and the associate dean of the faculty for the social sciences. "It was important to us to look at people's entire life stories because we can't understand the impact of a crisis unless we look at it over the long term."

One of the project's primary goals is to encourage young adults to change public opinions and negative stereotypes about poverty. The digital toolkit is designed to facilitate conversations about economic inequality and mobility in high school and college classrooms.

Kibria, Hansen, and their research team, including Max Greenberg, a sociology lecturer at CAS, hope the project combats damaging narratives about poverty in the United States by amplifying a diverse set of voices and experiences.

Kibria discussed the project with CAS.

CAS: How did this project come about?

Kibria: We had originally submitted the proposal before COVID, and then we received news that we got the grant at the start of the pandemica collective cascading moment itself. We scrambled to figure out what we could do and couldn't do to complete the project in this new environment, but it actually worked out really well. We conducted life histories with people over Zoom. We interviewed people three separate times over the course of a year to see how they were coping with the pandemic, which has obviously been an economic shock for a lot of people. We decided to narrow our focus to mostly people working in hospitality because that was a sector that was really impacted from the get-go.

Now, we are working to create an educational resource website, which we're hoping will be useful for educators in a lot of different places. We focused on high school teachers and developing the materials for them, but we also think the website and the teaching materials and the stories could be used in college courses.

What drew you to this project?

It felt very personal because I am a parent of a child with special needs. He's now an adult, but at the time of his diagnosis and all the years of therapy afterwards for severe intellectual disabilities, I felt sort of the spiraling impact because that is a circumstance where it's very difficult to hold on to other parts of one's life. One's career, relationships with family, friends, and their communityeverything is threatened. Fortunately, I had a lot of support, but this project felt very real to me. I could understand how one crisis can just kind of spiral and cascade. I felt like I was on the precipice of that myself.

How many interviews did you conduct and how did you find and select interviewees?

We interviewed more than 30 people, predominantly in Massachusetts and Georgia. Part of understanding how people cope with crises is the kind of structure of institutional support they haveaccess to health insurance, things like thatand Georgia and Massachusetts have very different profiles. It was a nonrandom selection process. We contacted various hospitality organizations and associations, groups for restaurant workers, hotel workers, and so forth, and tried to deliberately sample so we had a spread of people in different kinds of jobs and at different career levels. We also tried to get a racially diverse sample.

We looked for people who were willing to share a lot about their lives, and to do it over the course of a year. Our goal was to get a varied understanding of people's lives in these circumstances. So, our methodology was very much qualitative and focused on getting the richest information possible.

What else do you hope to do with this project beyond the website and learning modules?

We are working to publish academic papers about our findings and hope to write a book. We're still thinking about that. We have thought about writing a book of biographies and related materials specifically geared toward young adult readers.

What lessons can these people's stories teach us about economic inequality and mobility, and the impact of economic crises on families?

One basic lesson, which perhaps is not so surprising, is that the ability to cope with an economic crisis really depends on the resources you have, whether it's savings, family that is able to provide you with a safety net, those kinds of things. But beyond that, what really came through in our interviews was the impact of support from local government, from school systems, and also from community organizations like churches.

A lack of support can really throw someone off. We spoke with one woman, Patricia, and hers is a story that I can very much relate to. She worked as a booking receptionist at a major downtown Boston hotel. Before COVID, she had negotiated a schedule that worked for her childcare needs. She needed the daytime schedule because without it, she couldn't take care of her children when they came home from school. One of her children has special needs and she needed to be home for his appointments with therapists. Then, when COVID hit, she was furloughed. When the hotel was bringing people back, they couldn't give her the same schedule and she couldn't go back to work because she was told that she had to work in the afternoon and evening. So you can see how these cascading events play out.

These stories show us the resilience of people and how they creatively cope. These stories are not just about hardship and loss, but also about how people deal with it and, in many ways, rise to the occasion.

And how do you hope to change societal attitudes towards poverty, whether it's through this project or in general?

That's an important question. I think because we are educators, our focus has been on getting younger people to think more broadly about poverty and about economic inequality. We're convinced that if we can get people to look at someone's life in its entirety, to see their humanity and their life course, that people will develop a different understanding.

So much of what we see is just a single snapshot of people in poverty, one statistic here and there, whether it's as X percentage or whatever, but there's always more behind these figures. If we want to develop empathy, which I think is a critical part of shifting the narrative, we need to get people to understand the human dimension and the long term impact of it.

Explore further Economic pressure and stress caused by poverty directly impacts children as well as parents
Historical flood events from the derived dataset (20072019): (a) Number of events per administrative level 3 (Parroquia) based on the 3365 historical records; (b) Location of the historical flood reports (2194) that included coordinates. Credit: Remote Sensing (2021). DOI: 10.3390/rs13142764

One of the important applications of climate knowledge is in the area of disasters. Being able to predict the scale of a potential disaster and the risks a disaster could impose on a community in the future is valuable and crucial information for not just government agencies and aid organizations, but also to support individuals and communities to both build strategies to become more resilient, and to anticipate when a disaster is likely to occur.

Disasters can differ widely based on region, climate, time of year, socioeconomic context, and other factors. However, while we have seen significant advances in understanding risk for some disaster types, such as drought and hurricanes, progress has lagged behind for other typessuch as floods and particularly flash floods. While floods differ based on the water source and land area, it is generally recognized that flash floods can be especially dangerous.

Andrew Kruczkiewicz, Agathe Bucherie, Simon Mason, and their colleagues have delved into these definitions for a recent paper. We asked Agathe and Andrew for their insight into this intersection of climate data and application.

Some people might see dividing floods into different types as splitting hairs, but it's true that a 'coastal' flood is very different in many ways from a 'flash' flood. Why do you think these distinctions are crucial? Why do we need to categorize disasters?

Agathe Bucherie: Not all floods are the same. They can have different root causes and behavior, leading to very different impacts. Understanding and categorizing floods according to their triggers is key to improving disaster predictions. Indeed, techniques used for coastal flood forecasting (for instance based on storm surge models) differ significantly from riverine flood forecasting (commonly using large scale hydrological network monitoring) or flash flood forecasting (primarily based on local and extreme precipitation forecast). Furthermore, flood risk differs significantly in time and space from one flood type to another. Mapping accurately where and when populations are more likely to be affected by each type of flood is crucial to improve disaster risk perception. Unfortunately, some disasters like flash floods remain neglected, and some communities in highlands, far from commonly mapped flood-prone areas such as coastal or floodplains, might feel safe and not aware of the flash flood risk. Floods have very different behaviors, and knowing which type of flood communities are exposed to is crucial for disaster practitioners to anticipate what type of impact to expect. For instance, flash floods, characterized by localized and suddenly devastating events, are the most damaging and deadly flood type globally. Appropriate disaster preparedness and response actions might therefore differ from one flood type to the other.

What's the history of this work at the International Research Institute for Climate and Society?

Andrew Kruczkiewicz: IRI has been one of the leaders in climate research generally for nearly three decades, and has applied that research to disasters for the past 20 years. For example, more than a decade ago the institute published a report on how advances in climate and weather forecasting should (and shouldn't) be integrated into disaster-risk management policy and practice. Since then, various activities have evolved here at IRI, with key collaborations from our work with the Red Cross, World Food Programme, World Bank and Group on Earth Observations. Over the past five to ten years, the humanitarian and development communities have begun to develop more structured approaches to incorporate forecast and risk based strategies within their standard operating procedures. However, destructive, rapid-onset extreme events such as flash floods and mudflows have remained elusive in terms of moving beyond "once-off" projects.

Our work on flash floods was jump-started by a four-year NASA grant to work in collaboration with the IFRC Climate Centre and Ecuadorian Red Cross to co-develop a new impact-based forecast for flash flood. That project also supported the design of an "early action protocol" so that the Red Cross could align the forecast with a replenishable source of funding for early action to be taken.

Recently, IRI's disaster work has led to collaboration across Columbia University, including with a new disasters and resilience network through which the Climate School will be developing additional activities related to the science, policy and practice of disasters.

Additional collaborations with Ecuador's National Meteorological Institute (INAMHI), the NOAA Cooperative Institute for Severe and High-Impact Weather Research, and the Climate School's Center for International Earth Science Information Network has supported IRI's work in this interdisciplinary space.

How has the inclusion of remote sensing data improved our understanding of floods and flood risk?

Agathe: Remote sensing techniques are increasingly used to analyze the spatial and temporal distribution of flood risk globally, especially to characterize flood hazard and exposure. One of the most common applications is the use of Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) imagery to monitor current and detect past inundated areas, and assess structural flood impacts. However, the detection of flash flood events remains a challenge using Earth Observation. While remote sensing is useful to map areas exposed to flood risk based on historical flood frequency, we are particularly interested in integrating remote sensing to analyze the flash flood susceptibility of a watershed, in case of heavy rain. We use Digital Elevation Model, Land Use Land Cover and Sand content product derived from remote sensing techniques to extract catchment geomorphology and surface characteristics, indicating increased flash flood potential. In addition, we explore the benefit of using remote sensing for the assessment of structural vulnerability, with a pilot project in the urban area of Quito, Ecuador. Using Google Street View, we designed a process that allows us to build training datasets to automate the mapping of flood vulnerability for urban areas in geographic regions. This was developed in collaboration with Lehman College City University of New York led by graduate students Raychell Velez, Diana Calderon and Lauren Carey and Carolynne Hultquist at CIESIN, published here.

How do you hope policymakers use this study?

Andrew: The overarching goal is to produce an Early Action Protocol (EAP) for flash floods by integrating this study with static and dynamic information on flash flood hazard, exposure and social vulnerability in Ecuador. However, doing so is a process that necessitates engagement with decision makers from the earliest stages of the project. One of the most promising elements of this project is that from the earliest design stages, policy development has been an equal, if not greater, motivating factor. While there are various early warning systems for disasters, including for floods and flash floods, there are few systems that integrate early action within the warning. There are even fewer that align structured, replenishable funding sources with the action. While it is challenging to balance the pursuit of rigorous science with the urgent need to produce a "usable output," we strive to ensure that expectations are matched across each partner organizations, donors, and collaborating scientists, so that the constraints and opportunitiesas well as the timeline for various types of outputs (not limited to data outputs)are communicated.

Given that our work is focused on developing anticipatory action plans specifically for the humanitarian sector, we need to keep in mind the ethical considerations and tradeoffs between developing rapid, project-based outputs that may be short-lived, and spending additional resources to develop policy responses and standard operating procedures that will take longer to do but will likely last beyond any project's lifecycle. This balance is difficult and asks for scientists to step outside of their comfort zone. However, at IRI we understand the importance of being clear about the privilege and responsibility that comes with working in the disaster community, especially within the humanitarian sector. In many cases, challenges in anticipating disasters may seem to be a 'data' problem. But even if that is the case, data is not necessarily the solution, and many times data is not the primary issue. The more significant challenges are in getting existing data integrated within policy and community action.

Explore further Getting ahead of climate change

More information: Andrew Kruczkiewicz et al, Development of a Flash Flood Confidence Index from Disaster Reports and Geophysical Susceptibility, Remote Sensing (2021). Andrew Kruczkiewicz et al, Development of a Flash Flood Confidence Index from Disaster Reports and Geophysical Susceptibility,(2021). DOI: 10.3390/rs13142764

This story is republished courtesy of Earth Institute, Columbia University http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu.
Fig 1. Day-by-day depiction of the experimental evolution design shown at the population level and at the sperm level. On day 1 sterility is induced by transferring worms to auxin-containing media. Auxin activates TIR1 to target the degron tag on SPE-44. The depletion of SPE-44 stops the production of sperm thereby inducing sterility. Females start laying eggs on day 1, using sperm from experimental males. On day 2, competitor males are added to the population at a ratio of 1 competitor male to 2.5 experimental males. Progeny are collected on day 3 from eggs laid on day 2 and then heat-shocked on day 4 to induce ectopic expression of the toxic protein PEEL-1. This expression kills competitor cross-progeny, leaving only the progeny from sperm transferred during the day 1 mating phase. Each selective event is followed by a recovery generation. Credit: PLOS Genetics (2022). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1010063

From elaborate dances to stunning plumage displays to dramatic head-butting, male animals have an array of ways to distinguish themselves from competitors while wooing a potential mate. But it's not their only chance to prove their worthiness.

Sexual selection can take place after mating, too, and new research from UO scientists suggests that it can have a surprisingly large impact on evolution.

Just as a male with a flashier tail might be more likely to win a mate, sperm that are more resilient or stronger swimmers could be more likely to successfully fertilize an egg. Over time, this selection can shape the process of evolution, as genes that make sperm more competitive are preferentially passed on.

In lab experiments that followed Caenorhabditis elegans worms for many generations, sexual selection after sperm are released was a bigger driver of evolutionary change than sexual selection before mating. Researchers in the lab of UO biologist and Provost Patrick Phillips report their findings in a paper published Feb. 14 in PLOS Genetics.

The C. elegans worm is commonly used by researchers as a model organism to study disease and biology in humans.

Thanks to recent advances in gene-editing technology, "we were able to develop a genetic tool that gives us very fine temporal controlwe can turn sperm production on and off in worms," said Katja Kasimatis, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Toronto who led the research as part of her doctoral work at the UO.

That made it possible to tease apart the relative contributions of sexual selection before mating and after insemination.

"It's something we haven't been able to do before," Kasimatis said. "It's really hard to isolate what's happening post-insemination."

She and her colleagues followed worms for 30 generations. (A perk of doing research with worms: The animals go from birth to reproductive age in about 3.5 days.) They introduced new competition at different points, either before or after mating took place, by manipulating when the worms produced sperm.

Increased competition before matingadding worms with different genetics to the mating pooldecreased selection and slowed the rate of evolutionary change, the team found.

But more competing sperm enhanced selection and increased the rate of evolutionary change. Over 30 generations, males' reproductive success increased by five to sevenfold.

The team also identified about 60 genes that showed rapid change over the course of the experiment. Those genes probably contribute to reproductive success in some way, but more than half of them haven't yet been studied in detail.

"It suggests we have a lot of work to do," Kasimatis said.

Kasimatis's doctoral work at the UO, including the research in this paper, won her the Dobzhansky Award from the Society for the Study of Evolution, a top prize for early-career scientists in the field of evolution.

"Dramatic differences between the sexes have fascinated biologists for hundreds of years," Phillips said. "Katja was able to use genetic engineering to switch sperm competition on and off, use experimental evolution to rigorously test hypotheses that have intrigued the field for a long time, and then use whole-genome DNA sequencing to drill right down to the genes underlying evolutionary change. In many respects, this study represents the culmination of my hopes for what we could accomplish when I began using the worm system for evolutionary studies nearly 30 years ago."

Explore further Why fruit fly sperm are giant

More information: Katja R. Kasimatis et al, Post-insemination selection dominates pre-insemination selection in driving rapid evolution of male competitive ability, PLOS Genetics (2022). Journal information: PLoS Genetics Katja R. Kasimatis et al, Post-insemination selection dominates pre-insemination selection in driving rapid evolution of male competitive ability,(2022). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1010063
Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain

Not a single country met the World Health Organization's quality for air in 2021, a new study suggested. And consequently, millions are breathing polluted air that does not satisfy WHO health guidelines, according to the report that analyzed real-time air quality of 6,475 cities.

Only 222 cities have the average air quality that met WHO's standard, according to the study conducted by IQAir, a Swiss pollution technology company that monitors air quality.

The data was collected by tens of thousands of ground-level regulatory air quality monitoring stations operated by governments, non-profit organizations, research institutions, educational facilities, companies and citizen scientists around the world.

The WHO's standard is that average annual readings of hazardous airborne particles (PM2.5) not exceed 5 micrograms per cubic meter.

Air pollution is considered the largest environmental threat, leading to 7 million deaths per year and other respiratory problems such as asthma and lung cancer, the report stated. Exposure to PM2.5 increases both the risk of contracting COVID-19 and of suffering more severe symptoms when infected.

Bangladesh was the most polluted country, while New Delhi, India, is the world's most polluted capital. The countries with the worst air pollution were India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, all exceeding WHO guidelines by 10 times.

Conversely, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Australia, Canada, Japan and the United Kingdom ranked among the best countries for air quality, only exceeding the guidelines by 1 to 2 times.

Factors that have affected U.S. air pollution are wildfires and dependence on fossil fuels, according to the air quality report. In the U.S. the city with the worst pollution was Los Angeles.

Lower-income communities in the U.S. are the ones that suffer the most burdens from air pollution, the IQAir report summary stated.

"We've got the report, we can read it, we can internalize it and really devote ourselves to taking action," Glory Dolphin Hammes, CEO of IQAir North America, told CNN. "There needs to be a major move toward renewable energy. We need to take drastic action in order to reverse the tide of global warming; otherwise, the impact and the train that we're on (would be) irreversible."

The top 10 best air quality countries or regions

New Caledonia U.S Virgin Islands Puerto Rico Cape Verde Saba Finland Grenada Bahamas Australia Estonia

The top 10 worst air quality countries or regions

Bangladesh Chad Pakistan Tajikistan India Oman Kyrgyzstan Bahrain Iraq Nepal

Explore further Delhi shuts schools again after court warning to curb pollution

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Chunyu Liao, lead author of the study, in the HIRI lab Credit: Mario Schmitt

What tasks need to be done today, and which is the most urgent? People have to constantly set priorities in their daily life. Bacteria are no different: They too must prioritize when combating viruses with CRISPR. However, it was unclear how this prioritization takes place. Scientists from the Helmholtz Institute for RNA-based Infection Research (HIRI) in Wurzburg, a joint venture of the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) in Braunschweig and the Julius Maximilian University (JMU) Wurzburg, in cooperation with researchers from the universities of Wurzburg, Freiburg and Leipzig, have now described an underlying mechanism for the first time. Their study was published in the journal Nature Microbiology.

Most bacteria use CRISPR-Cas systems to protect themselves against infecting viruses. The defense systems target snippets of viral DNA and store them between fixed, repeating sequences. These segments, consisting of alternating repeats and snippets of viral DNA, then produce CRISPR ribonucleic acids (RNA). The CRISPR RNAs help the system to recognize and combat viruses. Picking up a viral DNA snippet provides immediate protection. By storing the snippets within the bacterial DNA, protection can be passed on to new generations.

Preventing system overloadbut how?

However, the storing process is not without risk: With tens or even hundreds of snippets, probing for that many viruses at one time would overwhelm the CRISPR-Cas systems. As a result, the systems have devised a way to prioritize the newest snippets for defense. This way, they provide stronger protection against the viruses most recently encountered by the cell. While this phenomenon has been known, the underlying mechanism has remained a mystery.

Using the CRISPR-Cas9 system from the pathogen Streptococcus pyogenes as a model, the research team has now discovered that the leader RNA prioritizes immune defense. This sequence is located adjacent to the segment of repeats and viral DNA and is responsible for picking up the viral snippets. During transcription, it folds with the first two repeats surrounding the newest snippet, driving production of the first CRISPR RNA over other CRISPR RNAs. Thus, the system prepares to search for this virus. "The mechanism is specific to many CRISPR systems involving the Cas9 protein commonly used for genome editing, although other mechanisms likely exist for prioritizing anti-viral defense," says Chunyu Liao, lead author of the study published in the journal Nature Microbiology and former HIRI postdoc.

New CRISPR element, new possibilities

"This outcome was fully unexpected. The leader RNA was only thought to direct where new viral snippets were integrated," explains corresponding author of the study, Chase Beisel. Beisel is a professor at JMU and head of the Synthetic RNA Biology Department at HIRI.

"The structure formed between this sequence and the first two repeats is a new element in CRISPR biology. It reveals another mechanism by which RNA can contribute to immune defense. Our research assigns a whole new role to the leader sequence, which has not previously been associated with CRISPR RNA production," adds Liao. According to Beisel, the findings are significant: "The 2020 Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded, among other things, for the discovery of how CRISPR systems involving Cas9 produce CRISPR RNAs. Our study offers new insights into this process: It shows why the location of these snippets is as important as their sequence."

Beyond providing insights into the arms race between bacteria and viruses, this newly discovered mechanism could be used to develop multiplexed CRISPR technologies for the treatment of diseases, which are caused by a variety of mutations in the genome.

Explore further New approach enables faster characterization of CRISPR immune systems

More information: Chunyu Liao et al, Spacer prioritization in CRISPRCas9 immunity is enabled by the leader RNA, Nature Microbiology (2022). Journal information: Nature Microbiology Chunyu Liao et al, Spacer prioritization in CRISPRCas9 immunity is enabled by the leader RNA,(2022). DOI: 10.1038/s41564-022-01074-3
The central Rocky Mountains in Alberta, Canada. Credit: Anders Carlson.

An international team of researchers has found evidence that suggests the Ice-Free Corridor (IFC) proposed to have existed between ice sheets along a route from Beringia to the Great Plains came to exist approximately 13,800 years ago. In their paper published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the group describes using cosmogenic nuclide surface exposure dating to date boulders left behind by the ice sheets that once covered the IFC, and their conclusion that early travelers likely came by boat.

Over the past several decades, scientists have been trying to pinpoint the time and place that humans first came to inhabit North America, as well as the manner of their arrival. Most in the community agree that the first humans to inhabit North America came from Eurasia, but when and how this happened is still debated. One theory suggests that people came down from near what is now the Bering Strait by walking along the IFC, a corridor formed by spaces between ice sheets. This journey would have taken them through what is now western Canada and down into what is now the Great Plains in the United States. Researchers have found evidence of people living in parts of western North America going back to 15,000 years ago. Thus, if they came down via the IFC, then the IFC must have existed at that time. In this new effort, the researchers tested this notion by dating boulders left behind by the ice sheets that once covered the IFC.

Cosmogenic nuclide surface exposure dating involves measuring the effect of cosmic rays penetrating an object, in this case, a boulder. When cosmic rays strike a boulder, they produce beryllium-10. Thus, to date a boulder's exposure to rays, the researchers measured the amount of beryllium-10. In this scenario, the researchers worked under the assumption that the rocks were hidden beneath hundreds of feet of ice prior to the opening of the IFC. Testing by the researchers showed the boulders to have been left behind by the ice sheets approximately 13,800 years ago, which suggests the IFC was not formed until that time. They conclude by suggesting their findings indicate that the first people to come to North America did so using boats along the coast, not by traveling the IFC.

Explore further Ice age discovery may reveal early migration route of first Americans

More information: Jorie Clark et al, The age of the opening of the Ice-Free Corridor and implications for the peopling of the Americas, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (2022). Journal information: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Jorie Clark et al, The age of the opening of the Ice-Free Corridor and implications for the peopling of the Americas,(2022). DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2118558119

 2022 Science X Network
Magnolia grandis is one of the world's most threatened trees, with a total population of fewer than 120 adult trees. This photo, taken in northern Vietnam, shows the tree's characteristic dark red flower and large leaves. Credit: Chu Xuan Canh, Fauna and Flora International, Vietnam

A series of studies on endangered species that make their homes on the border of Vietnam and China underscores the growing importance of transboundary conservation efforts in the face of climate change. As the world warms, many plant and animal species migrate from their traditional habitats, increasing the likelihood of local and global extinctions. A special issue of the journal Frontiers of Biogeography co-edited by the American Museum of Natural History's Director of Biodiversity Informatics Research Mary Blair stresses that strategic, coordinated approaches toward managing transboundary species and landscapes is essential to preventing biodiversity loss.

"Biodiversity is undergoing dramatic loss on the global level, and we know that it is essential to human health and wellbeingand that one of the most complex and challenging threats to biodiversity is climate change," said Blair, who works in the Museum's Center for Biodiversity and Conservation and co-edited the special issue along with collaborators Minh Le from Vietnam National University and Ming Xu from Henan University in China. "There's an urgent need for more information about how climate change is already affecting the distributions of key endangered species and habitats to inform conservation action planning, especially in areas where there may be limited capacity or resources for management, such as Southeast Asia."

Globally, more than half of all terrestrial birds, mammals, and amphibians have distributions that cross national borders. In addition to threats such as deforestation and hunting, these species may be harmed by the construction of border infrastructure and the lack of coordination of conservation activities on either side of the border. These threats are likely to be exacerbated by climate change. A previously conducted study predicts that most areas climatically suitable as habitat for about one-third of mammal and bird species will have shifted to a different country by the 2070s.

To further investigate this issue, in 2018, with funding from the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation, Blair, Le, and Xu began a project focused on a suite of ecologically and culturally important species that live near the China-Vietnam border and are at risk from climate change. These include one of the most endangered animals in the world, the Cao Vit gibbon, which is found in only one small forest patch; one of the world's most threatened trees, Magnolia grandis, with a total population of fewer than 120 adult trees; and the Francois' langur, a monkey that thrives in a special type of forest that grows over limestone.

Lichtenfelder's tiger gecko, Goniurosaurus lichtenfelderi, is a forest-dwelling lizard found on both the islands and mainland of northern Vietnam and southern China. The species is categorized as Vulnerable in the IUCN Red List. Credit: Hai Ngoc Ngo

"Our analyses show that suitable habitat for species like the Cao Vit gibbon and the Owston's civet will significantly shrink and become highly fragmented, whereas habitat for the endangered crocodile lizard will substantially shift under future climate scenarios. The results of the study will play a crucial role in formulating appropriate transboundary conservation measures," said Minh Le. "The special issue is published almost concurrently with the approval of the new Vietnam National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan, which highlights the importance of assessing impacts of climate change on biodiversity, especially highly endangered species, in the country and designing transboundary conservation measures in collaboration with neighboring countries."

"The project is also timely and important to China's national biodiversity conservation plan. China is reforming its protected areas by establishing a more efficient conservation network to better protect species and ecosystems in the country, including the 'new immigrants' expected to arrive under future climate change," said Ming Xu. "Results of the project have also been used to support China's National Spatial Planning Initiative, which requires delimitation and implementation along three control lines, namely the ecological protection boundaries, permanently protected farmlands, and urban development boundaries."

The special journal issue includes these detailed studies as well as commentary from the three editors on best practices for using species distribution models (SDMs), which can identify how a species' range might shift under climate change. They authors agree that, especially in transboundary conservation contexts, SDMs should be collaboratively developed from the outset with all of the stakeholders.

The endangered Vietnamese crocodile lizard, Shinisaurus crocodilurus vietnamensis, which is seriously imperiled by anthropogenic threats, including habitat loss and degradation and over-collection for the international pet trade. These photos were taken at the conservation breeding facility at Cologne Zoo. Credit: Thomas Ziegler

"Borders often exemplify complex sociopolitical contexts and histories between countries," Blair said. "So conservation scientists, practitioners, and managers have an obligation to understand those contexts and know how they relate to our work and the goals of conservation. As global changes, including climate change, continue, we will have to increasingly work across borders to achieve biodiversity conservation goals and to do better science."

Explore further Climate change impacts conservation sites across the Americas

More information: Mary E. Blair et al, Species distribution modeling to inform transboundary species conservation and management under climate change: promise and pitfalls, Frontiers of Biogeography (2022). Mary E. Blair et al, Species distribution modeling to inform transboundary species conservation and management under climate change: promise and pitfalls,(2022). DOI: 10.21425/F5FBG54662 Wei C. Tan et al, A present and future assessment of the effectiveness of existing reserves in preserving three critically endangered freshwater turtles in Southeast Asia and South Asia, Frontiers of Biogeography (2021). DOI: 10.21425/F5FBG50928 Hai Ngoc Ngo et al, Modeling the environmental refugia of the endangered Lichtenfelder's Tiger Gecko (Goniurosaurus lichtenfelderi) towards implementation of transboundary conservation, Frontiers of Biogeography (2021). DOI: 10.21425/F5FBG51167 Mary E. Blair et al, Climate change threatens the conservation of one of the world's most endangered transboundary tree species: Magnolia grandis, Frontiers of Biogeography (2021). DOI: 10.21425/F5FBG51059 Mary E. Blair et al, Karst as an abiotic driver of Francois' langur distribution, with predictions for biological communities on karst under climate change, Frontiers of Biogeography (2021). DOI: 10.21425/F5FBG51838 Tuan Anh Nguyen et al, Rapid decline and fragmentation of the distribution of an enigmatic small carnivore, the Owston's Civet, in response to future climate change, Frontiers of Biogeography (2021). DOI: 10.21425/F5FBG53201 Hoang Trinh-Dinh et al, Assessment of climate change impacts on one of the rarest apes on Earth, the Cao Vit Gibbon Nomascus nasutus, Frontiers of Biogeography (2021). DOI: 10.21425/F5FBG53320 Tham Thi Nguyen et al, Molecular phylogenetic analyses and ecological niche modeling provide new insights into threats to the endangered Crocodile Lizard (Shinisaurus crocodilurus), Frontiers of Biogeography (2022). DOI: 10.21425/F5FBG54779
A Mashpi glass frog (Hyalinobatrachium mashpi) observed on a leaf in the Andes region of Ecuador. H. mashpi have similar color patterns (left), transparent abdomens (center), and exhibit similar behavioral patternsnamely extended parental carelike other members of its genus. On the right, a male Mashpi glass frog protects its eggs until they hatch as tadpoles. Credit: Lucas Bustamante and Jaime Culebras

An international team of biologists and researchers have identified two new species of endangered glass frogs near active mining areas in the Andes, discoveries they say highlight the region's "cryptic diversity" while simultaneously underscoring the importance of conservation in a global hotspot for biodiversity.

With similar color patterns and transparent abdomens, the Mashpi glass frog (Hyalinobatrachium mashpi) and the Nouns' glass frog (Hyalinobatrachium nouns) look very similar to other members of its genus. They also exhibit similar behavioral patternsnamely extended parental careas related species of glass frogs (Hyalinobatrachium).

But bioacoustic analysis of Mashpi glass frog's unique call and improvements to DNA sequencing helped researchers differentiate the species from their closest relatives. Their findings are outlined in a new article in PeerJ, an open-access journal of biological sciences, and conclude more than seven years of observation and comparative analysis of species across Central and South America.

Highlighting 'cryptic diversity'

More than 1,000 amphibian speciesincluding 83 members of the Centrolenidae familyare found scattered across the Andes, a majority of which can only be found in narrow mountain ranges and river valleys that dot the terrain.

"A lot of these sites are incredibly remote, which is one of the reasons why we were able to discover new species," explained Becca Brunner, a Ph.D. candidate in environmental science, policy, and management and one of the study's first authors. "You can walk just a couple of kilometers over a ridge and find a different community of frogs than where you started."

Like other members of the genus, H. mashpi have transparent abdomens that offer a glimpse of their internal organs. Credit: Becca Brunner

Evolutionary biologist Juan M. Guayasamin, a professor at Universidad San Francisco de Quito in Ecuador and Brunner's co-first author, said identification of H. mashpi and H. nouns exemplifies the region's "cryptic diversity."

Biologists originally confused H. mashpi with H. valerioi, a lowland glass frog, due to their strong physical resemblance. The frogs were basically indistinguishable, but by comparing comprehensive DNA samples and call recordings with similar species in Central America, Colombia, and other areas of Ecuador, Brunner and Guayasamin were able to discern that the similar individuals were actually two unique species.

Brunner, who studies amphibian vocalizations and bioacoustics, was able to analyze recorded H. mashpi calls to determine differences in frequency, duration, and timing.

"When you analyze the different call characteristics of other glass frogs, you can tell that the calls of H. mashpi don't overlap," Brunner said. "In other words, its call is the most distinguishing characteristic for the species."

Researchers were unable to record H. nouns calls during their fieldwork due to issues accessing their habitat. Both species are typically found guarding fertilized egg clutches on the underside of leaves high above rivers. Subsequent DNA analysis revealed a substantial difference between the genetic makeup of H. mashpi and H. nouns.

"The problem is not finding new species, the real challenge is having the time and resources to describe them," Guayasamin said. "Taxonomists are an endangered kind of scientist."

The Mashpi glass frog (A) and Nouns' glass frog (B) exhibit morphological similarities to closely related members of the same genus (C, D, E and F). Researchers say these similarities are an example of "cryptic diversity" in the Andes. Photos by Jaime Culebras (A, D, E, F), Jose Vieira (B), and Luis Coloma (C). Credit: University of California - Berkeley

A call for conversation

The researchers are concerned that the Ecuadorian government's embrace of explorative and extractive mining will threaten Andean biodiversity. Due to the associated threat of population decline or extinction, Brunner and Guayasamin recommend listing both species as "Endangered" under guidelines established by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

Both H. mashpi and H. nouns are located in forest regions that have suffered agriculture-related deforestation over the past decades. H. nouns were observed in areas with active mining operations, while H. mashpi was observed in areas adjacent to existing mining leases.

"The few remaining patches are now under the pressure of mining activities, which are highly polluting and have the opposition of numerous local communities," Guayasamin said.

A frog's ability to breathe underwater through cutaneous respirationa process where gas exchange occurs across the skin rather than lungs or gillsmakes them highly vulnerable to water-related pollution and habitat destruction. Brunner cautioned that the narrow distribution of species in the Andes makes H. mashpi and H. nouns incredibly susceptible to disruption.

Brunner and Guayasamin consider the Andes hotspots for biodiversity. The dense cloud forests (left) and flowing rivers (right) that dot the terrain are home to hundreds of endemic species that can only be found in narrow regions. Credit: Lucas Bustamante

"If a mining company came in and destroyed the few streams where we know these frogs exist, that's probably extinction for the species," Brunner said.

Ecuador made global headlines in 2008 by adopting a new constitution that established the right for "Pachamama," or Mother Earth, to exist and to "maintain and regenerate its cycles, structure, functions and evolutionary processes."

These protections were recently affirmed in a suit brought before Ecuador's Constitutional Court, which ruled that mining activities in the Los Cedros nature preserve violated the protected area's right to exist. Brunner welcomed the ruling as a good example of "giving teeth to the rights of nature."

Explore further Glass frogs living near roaring waterfalls wave hello to attract mates

More information: Juan M. Guayasamin et al, Two new glassfrogs (Centrolenidae: Hyalinobatrachium) from Ecuador, with comments on the endangered biodiversity of the Andes, PeerJ (2022). Journal information: PeerJ Juan M. Guayasamin et al, Two new glassfrogs (Centrolenidae: Hyalinobatrachium) from Ecuador, with comments on the endangered biodiversity of the Andes,(2022). DOI: 10.7717/peerj.13109
Credit: Pixabay

Dog attacks on other dogs or cats are traumatic events for pet ownersbut what do we know about how commonly they occur, or how you might reduce the risk of your pet being involved?

A recent study by the University of Adelaide, in conjunction with the Animal Emergency Centers in Melbourne, demonstrated that in four separate emergency veterinary hospitals, 2.4% of all presentations were the result of dog attacks.

"As an emergency veterinarian, I see directly the emotional and financial cost when a pet is attacked by a dog," said lead author Dr. Christine Heyward, an Adelaide alumna working in Melbourne who carried out the research with the university.

"There have been many studies (around) dog bites on humans but this is one of the first studies to report the numbers of cases and investigate risk factors relating to being attacked by a dog."

Thankfully, almost 92% of dogs that presented with bite injuries survived the attacks and were later discharged and given a clean bill of health. Cats, however, were not so lucky: their survival rate through to discharge was less than halfat 46%.

"This is likely due to the smaller size of cats," said Dr. Susan Hazel, from the School of Animal & Veterinary Sciences at the University of Adelaide, adding that cats also tended to present with more severe injuries than dogs.

The emotional cost of such trauma is distressing to owners, but they often needed to dig into their pockets too. In most cases involving dogs and cats, the cost was between $360 and $380, but she said some longer hospital stays were likely to cost their owners thousands of dollarsand in one serious case, the bill ran to more than $13,000.

Risk factors for a dog presenting after a dog attack included being a cross-bred versus pure-bred dog and being neutered. However, dogs aged between two and seven were actually less likely to be attacked.

Dr. Heyward said: "It's hard to interpret why neutered dogs might be more likely to present. It's possible that non-neutered dogs sustained fewer injuries in fightsor were involved in less fights. Neutered dogs had a 76% survival rate when presenting versus only 39% for non-neutered dogs, so they were more likely to present but may have had less severe injuries."

Where the animals live also makes a difference: In lower socio-economic areas, dogs were more likely to be attacked at home by a known attacker; in areas with a higher socio-economic score, dogs were more likely to be attacked in public by an unknown dog.

Dr. Hazel said it was interesting to compare these results to what we know about dog attacks on humans. She explained: "(For instance) in a recent study from the University of Queensland, pediatric dog bites were clustered in lower socio-economic areas south of Brisbane."

She said while most dogs were friendly and much-loved companions, people needed to be aware that dogs not only bite people but also other animals. If a dog is showing aggressive behavior, owners needed to exercise due care and responsibilitykeeping them on a leash when outside the home, or safely contained . . . for example, inside or in a secure and fenced yard.

Dr. Hazel added: "If your animal is attacked by a dog, that attack should be reported as soon as possible to your local council, which will then investigate.

"Through research into dog attacks it is hoped we can design programs to reduce the risk of dog bitesthis will be a win-win for both animal and human welfare."

Explore further Study: Dogs may show grieving behavior after death of canine companion

More information: Christine L. Heyward et al, Characteristics and outcomes of dog attacks to dogs and cats in Melbourne, Australia: A retrospective study of 459 cases (2018), Preventive Veterinary Medicine (2022). Christine L. Heyward et al, Characteristics and outcomes of dog attacks to dogs and cats in Melbourne, Australia: A retrospective study of 459 cases (2018),(2022). DOI: 10.1016/j.prevetmed.2022.105609
Fig 1: Illustration of exciton formation using light energy. In metal, an exciton is believed to form when the hole left by an excited electron pairs up with an electron at the Fermi level. Credit: City University of Hong Kong

In a world first, a team co-led by a physicist at City University of Hong Kong (CityU) has discovered that excitonsexcited electrons bound to empty electron "holes"can exist stably and travel rapidly through metal. Because excitons can be generated by energy from light and have no electrical charge, this discovery makes them potential candidates as a higher-speed alternative to free electrons as a carrier of digital information.

Excitons form when certain materials absorb energy from light to excite electrons, the negatively charged particles in atoms. The electrons are boosted to a higher energy level to leave positively charged spaces or "holes" in their original position. Owing to electrostatic attraction, a hole and an excited electron can pair up without recombining, forming an exciton that behaves like an uncharged particle (Fig 1).

"When an exciton's electron recombines with a hole, energy is emitted as light, which could be harnessed for data transfer in the optoelectronics industry," says team co-leader Dr. Ma Junzhang, Assistant Professor in the CityU Department of Physics. "Excitons would be better data carriers than free electrons, whose negative charge slows them down, but excitons are very unstable, especially in metals. In fact, before our study, stable and mobile excitons were thought to be impossible in metals."

The researchers succeeded in generating and detecting excitons in metal because of a combination of optimal test conditions and unique characteristics of their chosen material, tantalum triselenide, TaSe 3 . The research was headed by CityU and the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI) in Switzerland, and the results were published in Nature Materials in an article titled "Multiple mobile excitons manifested as sidebands in quasi-one-dimensional metallic TaSe 3 ." The joint corresponding authors of the paper were Dr. Ma Junzhang, and Professor Shi Ming and Dr. Markus Muller from PSI. Collaborators included researchers from Rutgers University, Princeton University, Stanford University, and other institutions.

Fig 2: Diagram of crystalline structure of TaSe3, showing a layer of parallel triangular chains of atoms. Credit: Ma Junzhang, et al.

Importance of excitons as robust information carriers

The exciton is expected to play an important role in the future of information transmission thanks to both its charge neutrality and ability to move through a solid. Unlike negatively charged free electrons, excitons are unhindered by external electric fields, magnetic fields, and defects in the surrounding material.

"Excitons are potentially more robust and efficient information carriers than free conducting electrons, which transmit our information today," says Dr. Ma. "Even though excitons have been found in semiconductors and have been used to design field-effect transistors, phototransistors, light-emitting diodes, and solar cells in the laboratory, almost all experimentally observed excitons move very slowly, greatly limiting their efficiency in information transfer."

Most importantly, excitons have remained elusive in metals. They are rarely reported for metals because of the abundance of free conducting electrons. These free electrons dampen the attraction between any singular hole and electron (known as screening), thus suppressing the formation of excitons. Any excitons that are able to form in metals are too unstable for practical use and even experimental observation.

Conventional optical experiments to detect excitons also have severe technical limitations.

But now, by using a powerful and sensitive technique called angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (or ARPES) to analyze the electronic band structure in a crystalline solid with special properties (TaSe 3 ), the CityU and PSI team have made a breakthrough in the study of excitons in metals. Namely, they have discovered the existence of robust excitons traveling at high speed through a metal.

Fig 3: During angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES), an electron is ejected into a vacuum and an exciton is formed when the hole left by the electron pairs up with an electron at the Fermi level. The researchers gained insight into the excitons forming and moving inside the TaSe 3 sample by measuring the energy of the electrons emitted into the vacuum. Credit: City University of Hong Kong

Experimental design

In their quest to find stable excitons in metals, the research team turned to the metallic compound TaSe 3 for its low density of free conducting electrons and hence poor screening effect, to maximize the chance of exciton formation. In addition, TaSe 3 consists of stacked layers of parallel triangular chains of selenium prisms enclosing tantalum metal atoms (Fig 2). It thus behaves like a one-dimensional metal, allowing excitons to travel along a specific straight path, because the one-dimensional chains are like high-speed train tracks.

The team predicted that the so-called quasi-one-dimensionality of TaSe 3 would enhance the attraction between the electrons and holes within excitons, yet could allow the two charged components to be in different layers and chains. In that way, the holes and electrons would be separated from each other and would keep from mixing, thus preventing the annihilation of excitons and extending their lifetime.

By using ARPES, the researchers systematically recorded the electronic structure of TaSe 3 . The instrument shone a narrow beam of high-energy light onto the sample to excite electrons so that they escaped into a vacuum, while activating excitons in the TaSe 3 (Fig 3). The ARPES equipment analyzed the angles and energy of the escaped electrons to reveal information on the presence, structure, and motion of excitons.

New theoretical model of mobile excitons

Fig 4: Illustration depicting different exciton subtypes identified in the study. The team found that excitons in TaSe 3 possess at least three different internal structures: intrachain (in pink), interchain (in red), and trion (in blue) formed from two electrons and a hole. Credit: Ma Junzhang

After ruling out other plausible mechanisms, the team concluded that all the observed phenomena in their ARPES experiments could be well explained by the presence of multiple stable subtypes of mobile excitons moving at high velocity along one dimension. Dr. Muller, in collaboration with theoretical physicist Professor Christopher Mudry from PSI, then developed a complete theoretical model of mobile excitons in one-dimensional metals. The theoretical model demonstrated good agreement with the results of the experiments.

An important feature of the model is an explanation for the multiple subtypes of excitons detected (Fig 4). The team concluded that excitons in TaSe 3 possess at least three different internal structures depending on two variables. The first variable is whether a hole binds to one electron (forming an exciton) or two electrons (forming a trion). The second variable is whether the holes and electrons belong to and travel along the same TaSe 3 chain (resulting in intrachain excitons) or neighboring chains (resulting in interchain excitons and interchain trions).

The findings are significant, as it was previously thought that stable excitons could not exist within metals. The study has also demonstrated for the first time that excitons can move rapidly within a metal along a specific direction, which would in practice increase data transfer efficiency. Moreover, the team has experimentally shown that certain exciton properties in TaSe 3 can be manipulated and controlled by surface modification (electron doping) with potassium vapor.

The findings and the new theoretical model not only provide a roadmap for the further study of excitons, especially in metals, but also promote their application as high-speed information carriers in conductor devices in the future.

"Our work now paves the way to generating high-velocity but tunable mobile excitons in metals," says Dr. Ma. "This new field and direction will advance research and development in computing and communication devices that transmit optoelectronic information."

More information: Junzhang Ma et al, Multiple mobile excitons manifested as sidebands in quasi-one-dimensional metallic TaSe 3 , Nature Materials (2022). Journal information: Nature Materials Junzhang Ma et al, Multiple mobile excitons manifested as sidebands in quasi-one-dimensional metallic TaSe(2022). DOI: 10.1038/s41563-022-01201-9
A Hillside man was charged with 10 felony counts of burglary on Monday, with authorities alleging he was part of a crew that operated around Chicago.

Dion Butts, 24, was arrested by members of the Chicago Police Department, the Organized Retail Crime Task Force and U.S. Marshals in the 100 block of South Oak Avenue in Hillside on Sunday, according to a news release.

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Butts was identified as one of the offenders who forced entry into multiple businesses across the city and stole more than $180,000 worth of merchandise and cash, authorities said. The series of burglaries took place between Nov. 26 and Feb. 3, police said.

During a news conference Tuesday, Superintendent David Brown alleged Butts was a member of a prolific smash-and-grab crew.

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Butts appeared in bond court on Monday where the series of alleged burglaries was recounted.

On Nov. 26 at 1:03 a.m., Butts, along with other defendants who were not named, used a brick to break through a glass window to enter a GameStop where they stole games before fleeing in a Jeep, prosecutors said. Two liquor stores allegedly were hit the same night by the group.

On Jan. 4, Butts, along with others, allegedly burglarized Burberry on Michigan Avenue, taking $70,000 in merchandise, according to prosecutors. A lawyer for Butts could not immediately be reached.

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Judge Mary Marubio set a cash bond in the amount of $150,000. Butts is due back in court on March 28.

tatturner@chicagotribune.com
Meltwater from Greenland glaciers like the one pictured can contribute significantly to sea level rise. Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich monitors the height of Earths oceans so that researchers can better understand the amount and rate of sea level rise. Credit: NASA Earth Observatory using Landsat data from USGS

On March 22, the newest U.S.-European sea level satellite, named Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich, became the official reference satellite for global sea level measurements. This means that sea surface height data collected by other satellites will be compared to the information produced by Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich to ensure their accuracy.

Launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base in November 2020, the satellite is continuing a nearly 30-year legacy started by the TOPEX/Poseidon satellite, which began its mission to measure sea surface height in the early 1990s. A series of successor satellites have carried on the effort since then, with Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich being the most recent. Its twin, Sentinel-6B, is slated to launch in 2025.

"These missions, of which Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich is the latest, are the gold standard when it comes to sea level measurements, which are critical for understanding and monitoring climate change," said Josh Willis, Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich project scientist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California.

Long-term records of sea level height are key to monitoring how much and how fast the oceans are rising in a warming climate. "We can't lose track of how much sea level has gone up because if we do, it's hard to predict what's going to happen in the decades to come," Willis added.

"The unprecedented accuracy of the sea level measurements provided by this mission ensures not only the continuity of a 30-year data record, but allows improving our understanding of climate change and the impact of rising seas on coastal areas and communities," said Julia Figa Saldana, ocean altimetry program manager at the European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites (EUMETSAT).

After Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich launched, it settled into orbit flying 30 seconds behind its predecessor, Jason-3. Science and engineering teams have spent the time since launch making sure Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich was collecting the intended data and that the information was accurate. Some of the initial data was made available last year for use in tasks like weather forecasting. And after further validation, the scientists agreed that Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich should become the reference satellite for sea level measurements.

Later this year, teams will move Jason-3 into what's called an interleaved orbit. From that new position, the ground trackor the strip of Earth that Jason-3's instruments see as the satellite travels around the planetwill run in between the ground tracks of successive orbits for Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich. Jason-3 will keep measuring sea level height from the interleaved orbit, although it will no longer serve as the official reference sea level satellite. But by continuing to collect sea level data, Jason-3 will essentially double the number of measurements seen by each pass of Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich, helping to greatly increase the spatial resolution of sea level measurements provided by both satellites.

More about the mission

Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich, named after former NASA Earth Science Division Director Michael Freilich, is one of two satellites that compose the Copernicus Sentinel-6/Jason-CS (Continuity of Service) mission.

Sentinel-6/Jason-CS was jointly developed by ESA (European Space Agency), EUMETSAT, NASA, and NOAA, with technical support on performance from CNES (France's National Centre for Space Studies). Spacecraft monitoring and control, as well as the processing of all the altimeter science data, is carried out by EUMETSAT on behalf of the EU's Copernicus program, with the support of all partner agencies.

JPL, a division of Caltech in Pasadena, contributed three science instruments for each Sentinel-6 satellite: the Advanced Microwave Radiometer, the Global Navigation Satellite SystemRadio Occultation, and the Laser Retroreflector Array. NASA also contributed launch services, ground systems supporting operation of the NASA science instruments, the science data processors for two of these instruments, and support for the U.S. members of the international Ocean Surface Topography Science Team.

Explore further Major ocean-observing satellite starts providing science data

More information: For more about Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich, visit:

www.nasa.gov/sentinel-6 For more about Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich, visit: To access data from Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich, visit:

podaac.jpl.nasa.gov/Sentinel-6?sections=data

search.earthdata.nasa.gov/search?q=sentinel-6
These six cubes show the simulated distribution of galaxies at redshifts 9, 8, 5, 3, 2, and 1, with the corresponding cosmic ages shown. As the universe expands, the density of galaxies within each cube decreases, from more than half a million at top left to about 80 at lower right. Each cube is about 100 million light-years across. Galaxies assembled along vast strands of gas separated by large voids, a foam-like structure echoed in the present-day universe on large cosmic scales. Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center/F. Reddy and Z. Zhai, Y. Wang (IPAC) and A. Benson (Carnegie Observatories)

A team of scientists has predicted the science return from one of NASA's Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope's groundbreaking planned surveys, which will analyze millions of galaxies strewn across space and time. The mission's enormous, deep panoramas will provide the best opportunity yet to discern between the leading theories about what's speeding up the universe's expansion.

Roman will explore this mystery using multiple methods, including spectroscopythe study of the color information in light. This technique will allow scientists to precisely measure how fast the universe expanded in different cosmic eras and trace how the universe has evolved.

"Our study forecasts the science Roman's spectroscopy survey will enable and shows how various adjustments could optimize its design," said Yun Wang, a senior research scientist at Caltech/IPAC in Pasadena, California, and the lead author of the study. As the Roman Science Support Center, IPAC will be responsible for the mission's spectroscopic science data processing, while the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore will be responsible for imaging science data processing, generating catalogs, and support for cosmology data processing pipelines. "While this survey is designed to explore cosmic acceleration, it will also offer clues about many other tantalizing mysteries. It will help us understand the first generation of galaxies, allow us to map dark matter, and even reveal information about structures that are much closer to home, right in our local group of galaxies."

The Roman Space Telescope, planned for launch by May 2027, will provide such an enormous view of the universe that it will help scientists study cosmic mysteries in an unprecedented way. Each image will contain precise measurements of so many celestial objects that it will enable statistical studies that aren't practical using telescopes with narrower views.

This video dissolves between six cubes to show the simulated distribution of galaxies at redshifts 9, 7, 5, 3, 2, and 1, with the corresponding cosmic ages shown. As the universe expands, the density of galaxies within each cube decreases, from more than half a million in the first cube to about 80 in the last. Each cube is about 100 million light-years across. Galaxies assembled along vast strands of gas separated by large voids, a foam-like structure echoed in the present-day universe on large cosmic scales. Credit: NASAs Goddard Space Flight Center/F. Reddy and Z. Zhai, Y. Wang (IPAC) and A. Benson (Carnegie Observatories)

In current plans, Roman's spectroscopy survey will cover nearly 2,000 square degrees, or about 5% of the sky, in just over seven months. The team's results showed that the survey should reveal precise distances for 10 million galaxies from when the universe was between about 3-6 billion years old, since light that reaches the telescope began its journey when the universe was much younger. These measurements will allow astronomers to map the web-like large-scale structure of the cosmos. The survey will also unveil the distances for 2 million galaxies from even earlier in the universe's history, when it was only between 2-3 billion years oldunexplored territory in large-scale cosmic structure.

Reading the rainbow

Nearly all the information we receive from space comes from light. Roman will use light to capture images, but it will also study light by breaking it down into individual colors. The detailed wavelength patterns, called spectra, reveal information about the object that emitted the light, including how fast it's moving away from us. Astronomers call this phenomenon "redshift" because when an object recedes, all of the light waves we receive from it are stretched out and shifted toward redder wavelengths.

This animation shows the sequence and layout of the Roman Space Telescope's High Latitude Spectroscopic Survey tiling pattern. Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center

In the 1920s, astronomers Georges Lemaitre and Edwin Hubble used redshifts to make the startling discovery that with very few exceptions, galaxies are racing away from us and each other at different speeds depending on their distance. By determining how quickly galaxies are receding from us, carried by the relentless expansion of space, astronomers can find out how far away they arethe more a galaxy's spectrum is redshifted, the farther away it is.

Roman's spectroscopy survey will create a 3D map of the universe by measuring accurate distances and positions of millions of galaxies. Learning how galaxy distribution varies with distance, and therefore time, will give us a window into how quickly the universe expanded in different cosmic eras.

This study will also connect galaxy distances with the echoes of sound waves from just after the Big Bang. These sound waves, called baryon acoustic oscillations (BAO), have grown with time due to the expansion of space and left their imprint on the cosmos by influencing galaxy distribution. For any modern galaxy, we are more likely to find another galaxy about 500 million light-years away than we are to find one slightly nearer or farther.

Looking farther out into the universe, to earlier cosmic times, means that this preferred physical distance between galaxiesthe vestige of BAO ripplesdecreases. This provides a measurement of the universe's expansion history. Galaxy redshifts also encode information about their motion due to the gravity of their neighbors, called redshift space distortions, which helps astronomers trace the growth history of large-scale structure. Learning about the way the cosmos has expanded and how structure has grown within it over time will allow scientists to explore the nature of cosmic acceleration and test Einstein's theory of gravity over the age of the universe.

These six cubes show the simulated distribution of galaxies at redshifts 9, 8, 5, 3, 2, and 1, with the corresponding cosmic ages shown. As the universe expands, the density of galaxies within each cube decreases, from more than half a million at top left to about 80 at lower right. Each cube is about 100 million light-years across. Galaxies assembled along vast strands of gas separated by large voids, a foam-like structure echoed in the present-day universe on large cosmic scales. Credit: NASAs Goddard Space Flight Center/F. Reddy and Z. Zhai, Y. Wang (IPAC) and A. Benson (Carnegie Observatories)

Dark energy versus modified gravity

As the universe expands, the gravity of the matter within it should slow that expansion down. Astronomers were surprised to learn that the expansion of the universe is speeding up because it means that something about our picture of the cosmos is either wrong or incomplete. The mystery could be explained by adding a new energy component to the universe, which scientists have dubbed dark energy, or it could indicate that Einstein's theory of gravitythe general theory of relativityneeds a modification.

Changing the equations that describe something as fundamental as gravity may seem extreme, but it's been done before. Isaac Newton's law of gravity couldn't explain some of the things astronomers observed, such as a small but mysterious motion in Mercury's orbit.

Astronomers ultimately realized that Einstein's general theory of relativity perfectly accounted for problems that had surfaced, like Mercury's orbital shift. Switching from Newton's description of gravity to Einstein's involved transforming modern physics by changing the way we view space and timeinterconnected, instead of separate and constant.

This graphic illustrates how cosmological redshift works and how it offers information about the universes evolution. The universe is expanding, and that expansion stretches light traveling through space. The more it has stretched, the greater the redshift and the greater the distance the light has traveled. As a result, we need telescopes with infrared detectors to see light from the first, most distant galaxies. Credit: NASA, ESA, Leah Hustak (STScI)

Cosmic acceleration could be a sign that Einstein's theory of gravity still isn't quite right. General relativity is extremely well tested on physical scales about the size of our solar system, but less so as we move to larger, cosmological scales. The team simulated Roman's performance and demonstrated that the mission's enormous, deep 3D images of the universe will provide one of the best opportunities yet to discern between the leading theories that attempt to explain cosmic acceleration.

"We can look forward to new physics in either casewhether we learn that cosmic acceleration is caused by dark energy or we find that we have to modify Einstein's theory of gravity," Wang said. "Roman will test both theories at the same time."

The Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope is managed at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, with participation by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and Caltech/IPAC in Southern California, the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, and a science team comprising scientists from various research institutions. The primary industrial partners are Ball Aerospace and Technologies Corporation in Boulder, Colorado; L3Harris Technologies in Melbourne, Florida; and Teledyne Scientific & Imaging in Thousand Oaks, California.

Explore further A new understanding of galaxy evolution with NASA's Roman Space Telescope

More information: Yun Wang et al, The High Latitude Spectroscopic Survey on the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, The Astrophysical Journal (2022). Journal information: Astrophysical Journal Yun Wang et al, The High Latitude Spectroscopic Survey on the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope,(2022). DOI: 10.3847/1538-4357/ac4973
Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain

Small bodies of water, i.e., natural ponds, kettle holes and pools, account for 30 to 50% of the world's standing water. Owing to their size, however, the importance of small water bodies was long underestimated. As a result, they are scarcely mentioned in regulations and legal provisions. It is now known, however, that because of their abundance, heterogeneity, exceptional biodiversity and biogeochemical potency, small water bodies play an important role in catchments, landscapes, and possibly even on a continental scale that is completely out of proportion to their small size. On the occasion of World Water Day on 22 March, experts from the Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries (IGB) take a look with us at these rather under-appreciated ecosystems. Five answers to five questions:

Mr. Mehner, your newly launched EU project PONDERFUL is all about small freshwater ecosystems. This involves you taking a close look at an area in northeast Germany. How beneficial are kettle holes and pools not only there, but elsewhere, too?

In the lake-rich landscape of northeast Germany, small bodies of water such as kettle holes, pools, puddles and ponds are often overlooked or perceived as having little value. Yet this is not the case. After all, they are key to aquatic biodiversity, for example as stepping stone habitats for almost 70% of the regional freshwater species in Europe. They create island-like connections between dispersed habitats, enabling animals to recolonize or repopulate habitats. In addition, these small water bodies play an important role in mitigating climate impacts and in climate adaptation. They provide a wide range of ecosystem services, including regulation of the carbon cycle, water supply, flood protection, groundwater recharge and local recreation. In our region, however, we have lost 70 to 80% of kettle holes and puddles due to desiccationpartly as a result of recent summer droughts. It is not yet clear what impact this will have on biodiversity and ecosystem services.

Ms. Wollrab, you are involved in modeling the spatial distribution of species in the landscape. How important is it to have a network of small water bodies? Will we lose species and populations if there is a dramatic decrease in the number of small freshwaters?

Small water bodies such as kettle holes provide habitat for many species in northeast Germany, significantly increasing biodiversity in the landscape. The number of small water bodies and their distance from each other have a major impact on species diversity. The fewer water bodies exist and the greater the distance between them, the less probable it is that species will reach these water bodies. Water body density has a particularly large impact on species that are passively distributed, such as plankton organisms, or species with a short dispersal range. A loss of small water bodies due to desiccation or other factors therefore always results in a loss of important habitat. Since we must assume that small water bodies will dry out more frequently in the future or fall dry permanently in the wake of global warming, this will also have a negative impact on the number and abundance of species. In fact, our model analyses suggest that there are critical thresholds of habitat availability, which depend on the dispersal range of individual species. However, further research is needed to determine specific thresholds. Small water bodies are not only habitats for aquatic organisms, but also an important source of water for terrestrial animals. It is therefore very important to protect this habitat.

Ms. Bizic, you have also conducted research into small water bodies in a northeast German agricultural landscape recently, using environmental RNA to investigate how the type of land use affects biotic communities in the water. What did you discover?

Our work, undertaken as part of the Bridging in Biodiversity Science (BIBS) project, involved using environmental DNA and RNA to obtain a holistic picture of biodiversity in the study area. Besides using deep sequencing of marker genes to follow the distribution of organismsfrom bacteria to mammalsin small water bodies and their environments, we also extracted the identity and gene expression patterns of active communities from the RNA data. Contrasting the DNA results from pond water with that of the sediment taught us that, in the past, it mattered whether a small water body was surrounded by forest, grassland or arable land, whereas today, after decades of intensive land use, biodiversity is more or less homogeneous. The RNA work showed us that this homogeneous community continues to react to input from its environment, such as field fertilization, at least for a while. So, although intensive agriculture has already changed the previous state of biodiversity in recent decades, communities continue to respond to land management. In order to prevent further degradation of biodiversity, therefore, it is essential that we understand the immediate effects of local agricultural practices on small water bodies. Environmental RNA (eRNA) provides a valuable set of tools for this task.

Mr. Wolter, in contrast to your colleagues, you have mainly been working on small urban water bodiesto be precise, Berlin's 400+ ponds, small lakes and ditches. What role do these systems play for the urban climate, local recreation and stormwater management? And what does this mean for future urban development?

Small urban water bodies are very diverse, ranging from well-maintained park ponds to virtually forgotten, fenced-in ponds. As such, some have a greater recreational use than others. Basically, water bodies always act as a magnet for walkers and people seeking recreation. Moreover, for many city dwellers, small urban water bodies are their first or even only encounter with nature. Inner-city small water bodies may not necessarily be hotspots of biodiversity, but they are very important places where residents can experience nature. And they have a positive effect on the urban climatein combination with riparian vegetation, which may or may not be lush, they produce evaporative cooling, which reduces the local temperature. Water retention in the landscape is another key function of small water bodies that could be improved in Berlin. In many places, rainwater is discharged via the sewage system, and is then no longer available for freshwater systems. This is why many small water bodies in Berlin dried up completely or almost completely in the dry years from 2018 to 2020. Urban planning must therefore increasingly promote the removal of sealed surfaces in the catchment area, not only of small water bodies, as well as allowing roof drainage etc. to seep into the ground locally.

Mr. Grossart, small water bodies are particularly affected by declining water levels due to sealing, drainage and drought. What happens when ponds intermittently run dry, and how resilient are they to weather extremes?

The United Nations predicts that 1.1 billion more people will be living in urbanized areas in ten years from now. This will be accompanied by a sealing of the landscape and severe anthropogenic interferences with the hydrology of water bodies. This is problematic because small bodies of water in urban areas are already drying out more frequently as a result of higher temperatures and longer periods of drought. As BUND's Small Waterbody Report 2020/21 shows, 55.3% of Berlin's water bodies have major deficiencies, for example because they are dry or very overgrown. Nearly 10% of small water bodies were no longer recognizable as such. These dramatic figures show that many small water bodies are no longer just drying up temporarily, but are disappearing completely. This is devastating for the biodiversity of these ecosystems, because population densities in urban habitats are generally often very low. Populations especially tied to these water bodies, e.g. amphibians, are much more endangered by local extinction events than populations in larger and better-connected water bodies. Thus, it is to be feared that species diversity will decline further. As water bodies dry out and species disappear from the urban landscape, ecosystem functions, such as cleaning water bodies, providing oxygen or remineralizing carbon, also change. More frequent weather extremes put these important functions at even greater risk. Polluted, nutrient-rich waters produce significantly more of the harmful climate gases methane and carbon dioxide. These negative consequences must therefore be increasingly counteracted by taking sustainable measures, e.g., through better water retention in the landscape.

Explore further High pond density benefits the dispersal of aquatic insects in urban areas
The overdeveloped spiral arm of the galaxy NGC 772, which was created by tidal interactions with an unruly neighbor, dominates this observation made by astronomers using the Gemini North telescope located near the summit of Maunakea in Hawaii. Credit: International Gemini Observatory / NOIRLab / NSF / AURA; Image processing: T.A. Rector (University of Alaska Anchorage), J. Miller (Gemini Observatory/NSF's NOIRLab), M. Zamani & D. de Martin

This impressive image shows the strangely lopsided spiral galaxy NGC 772, which lies over 100 million light-years from Earth in the constellation Aries. Captured by the Gemini North telescope in Hawai'i, one half of the international Gemini Observatory, a program of NSF's NOIRLab, the image shows NGC 772's overdeveloped spiral arm, which stretches across toward the left-hand edge of the frame. This extra large arm is due to one of NGC 772's unruly neighbors, the dwarf elliptical galaxy NGC 770. The tidal interactions between NGC 772 and its diminutive companion have distorted and stretched one of the spiral galaxy's arms, giving it the lopsided appearance seen in this image.

NGC 772 also lacks a bright central bar. Other spiral galaxies such as the Andromeda Galaxy or our own Milky Way exhibit prominent central barslarge, linear structures composed of gas, dust, and countless stars. Without a bar, NGC 772's spiral arms sweep out directly from the bright center of the galaxy.

The galaxy's unusual appearance has earned it the distinction of appearing in the "Atlas of Peculiar Galaxies," a careful curation by astronomer Halton Arp of some of the weird and wonderful galaxies populating the universe. The 338 galaxies in the atlas are a rogues' gallery of strange and unusual galaxy shapes chosen to provide astronomers with a catalog of odd galaxy structures. Entries in the "Atlas of Peculiar Galaxies" include galaxies boasting trailing tidal tails, rings, jets, detached segments, and a host of other structural idiosyncrasies. NGC 772 is included as Arp 78.

While NGC 772's peculiarities dominate this image, there is also a menagerie of galaxies lurking in the background. The bright smears and smudges littering this image are distant galaxiessome of the closer examples can be resolved into characteristic spiral shapes. Every direction on the sky that astronomers have pointed telescopes toward contains a rich carpet of galaxies, with an estimated 2 trillion galaxies in total in our observable universe.

Explore further Image: Hubble peers at peculiar pair of galaxies

Provided by NOIR Lab
While the students observed in the courses were 45.5% women and 54.5% men, only 20.3% of the classroom comments came from women. Credit: Princeton University

Students' identities can play a key role in how comfortable they feel and how often they speak up in the classroom, especially in STEM fields. For instance, women generally speak far less than men in undergraduate engineering classes, but this is not always the case, according to Princeton researchers. When classes are taught by women instructors, the gender gap practically disappears.

Another major factor in women's class participation is participation by other womenthe researchers found that women are much more likely to speak after another woman has spoken in class.

"That was one of the findings that I was most excited about, because it felt like something that could really be leveraged to change teaching practices," said study coauthor Nikita Dutta, who completed a Ph.D. in mechanical and aerospace engineering at Princeton in 2021 and is now a Director's Postdoctoral Fellow at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. "It's kind of like a waterfall effect once one woman starts to participate."

While much progress has been made in recent decades, women remain significantly underrepresented in engineering and other STEM fields. In 2018, women earned 22.2% of engineering bachelor's degrees in the United States. (Princeton Engineering's current undergraduate population is 41% women.) Previous work has shown that experiences with mentors, peer groups and classroom climates play critical roles in undergraduate women's success in engineering.

The study, published online March 1 in IEEE Transactions on Education, included observations of 1,387 student comments over 89 class periods in 10 different courses in Princeton's engineering school. Five of the courses were taught by women and five were taught by men, although only 30 of the observed class periods were taught by women. While the students observed in the courses were 45.5% women and 54.5% men, only 20.3% of the classroom comments came from women. (The study setup did not allow for students to self-identify their gender; the observers noted the perceived gender of each student as "man," "woman" or "non-binary.")

This gender gap widened slightly when the researchers considered only courses taught by men (17.1% of comments came from women in classes taught by men versus 20.3% overall), but almost disappeared with a woman instructor. In classes taught by women, comments from women students increased to 47.3%.

Investigating the timing of students' comments, the researchers found that after one woman participated in class, during the next minute the proportion of comments by women rose to 32.4%an effect that decayed over time but lasted for nine minutes after the initial comment.

Dutta conducted her dissertation research with Craig Arnold, the Susan Dod Brown Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering and director of the Princeton Institute for the Science and Technology of Materials. In fall 2018, she also served as an assistant in instruction for Arnold's course, "Structure and Properties of Materials."

During lectures, she noticed that women seemed to answer questions and offer comments less often than men; she started tracking students' participation informally, and found variability from one class session to the next. She became curious about what might be behind these fluctuations, and whether other engineering courses might reveal larger trends. At the semester's end, Dutta presented her findings to Arnold and the rest of his research group during their weekly meeting.

"My jaw dropped. I thought, 'This is remarkable; this is incredible.' She started talking about her plans  and ultimately it turned into a real scientific study," said Arnold, who coauthored the paper with Dutta.

Dutta and Arnold submitted a proposal to Princeton's Institutional Review Board, which oversees research on human subjects. They also consulted with pedagogy and educational assessment experts at Princeton's McGraw Center for Teaching and Learning, where Dutta had been trained as a graduate teaching fellow.

During the next two semesters, they enlisted other graduate students to assist with observations in lecture courses representing different class sizes and levels. Although the study was curtailed by the COVID-19 pandemic, they were able to gather sufficient data to draw some meaningful conclusions.

Besides recording student commenters' genders, observers labeled comments as "unprompted," "solicited" or "involuntary." The gender gaps in unprompted and solicited participation were similar to the overall gender gap. The number of involuntary comments was small, since only three of the 10 instructors called on students who had not raised a hand, but the observations suggest that instructors called on men and women equally.

Observers also classified comments as "concept questions," "clarifiers," "answers" or "general comments" unrelated to course content. Women participated more frequently after another woman's comment, regardless of comment type, which points to icebreaker questions as a strategy that instructors can employ to promote participation and refresh students' attention.

"I think the fact that the conversational comments still had the effect of increasing participation by women is a really empowering result, because it means that you can solicit less intimidating forms of participation," said Dutta. "For instance, in a materials class, you can ask students where they have observed these kinds of properties in real life. That is a technique that some professors are already using, but I think this shows how it can be helpful not just for encouraging more participation, but for encouraging more equitable participation."

The researchers also noted that involving more women as co-instructors, guest lecturers and teaching assistants could help close the participation gender gap by tapping into the effect seen in courses taught by women. It could be especially useful to draw on early-career researchers as instructors and role models, given the long timespan of changing gender representation among university faculty.

For women and students from other underrepresented groups in STEM fields, decades of research have shown the importance of "feeling like they're part of that community, that they can be part of the conversation and speak in a group setting, get clarity or answer a question with confidence," said Kelly Godfrey, assistant director of educational and program assessment at the McGraw Center, who advised on the research. "Being part of the community is the end goal, and this is one of the ways that we can clear that path."

"The challenges of inclusive teaching often seem so big: How are we going to fight systematic oppression and hundreds of years of patterns; how can we make a difference in that?" said Sarah Schwarz, senior associate director for graduate pedagogy at the McGraw Center. "I think there's often really compelling small touches that make a difference in creating classrooms that are more inclusive, and this is one of many powerful examples of that."

Dutta and Arnold said they hope educators at Princeton and other institutions will implement some of the strategies they suggest, as well as expand on this initial study by examining participation patterns in a broader range of students and courses, including the participation of students from other underrepresented groups.

"The results we found are just the beginningthere is much more learn," said Arnold. "I hope this paper gets people thinking about some of the small things you can do in the classroom that can make a big difference."

Explore further Class participation differences result in gender biases in physician evaluations

More information: Nikita S. Dutta et al, Illuminating the Role of Classmates in Reducing the Participation Gender Gap in Lecture-Based Engineering Classes, IEEE Transactions on Education (2022). Nikita S. Dutta et al, Illuminating the Role of Classmates in Reducing the Participation Gender Gap in Lecture-Based Engineering Classes,(2022). DOI: 10.1109/TE.2022.3151824
The color gamut was rotated counterclockwise around the average color without altering spatial composition or lightness. The impression of the color composition in the paintings was greatly altered, while the lightness, average color, and the relationship between colors remained unchanged. Around 70% of the participants preferred the original painting the most, even for paintings that they had never seen before.Top: Masayoshi Nakamura "Hana," late twentieth century, housed at the Toyohashi City Museum of Art and History; Bottom: Amadeo de Souza-Cardoso "Brut (300 TSF) 2 " in 1917, public domain. Credit: Toyohashi University of Technology

Professor Shigeki Nakauchi's research team at Toyohashi University of Technology worked with researchers from the University of Minho (Braga, Portugal) to examine preferences for color composition by Japanese and Portuguese people for Japanese and Occidental paintings through experiments using the original paintings and paintings with artificially altered color compositions. It was discovered that regardless of nationality, differences in Japanese and Occidental paintings, and differences in figurative and abstract paintings, many people preferred the original color composition even for paintings they had never seen. This trend can also be seen for the images composed of square pieces collected from different art paintings and composed as patchwork images. The universality in preference for color composition in paintings found in this study suggests that beauty as felt towards paintings may have a common biological basis, more than cultural background or educational experience.

Details

Color is one of the visual elements that has the most influence on personal preference. For example, it has a major influence on a person's decision-making process when selecting clothing or imagining a company's character from the company's logo. Product designers understand well the effect color has on consumer behavior and they utilize this effect as much as possible. There are even professional organizations that predict color trends.

The same is true for the importance of color with paintings. Artists attempt to express their personal esthetic experience unless there is a commercial reason to do otherwise. As a result, it can be said that the color composition of paintings simply reflects the artist's sensibilities and preferences for color. Ample research has been conducted on color preference, but the differences in preference among individuals is great and most of the research have really been conducted for single colors. For this reason, a scientific understanding on preferences for balance or harmony of many colors (color composition) as in paintings hasn't progressed.

To clarify preferences for color composition in paintings, this research altered only the colors in paintings, without altering spatial composition or lightness. The color gamut for each painting piece was rotated counterclockwise around the average color. In doing so, the relationship between colors found in the painting and the average saturation remained unchanged from the original, while the impression of the color composition in the paintings was greatly altered.

We prepared paintings by rotating the color gamut by 90, 180, and 270 degrees counterclockwise, and asked participants in the experiment to pick which color composition they preferred the most from among the four varieties of paintings, which also included the original painting (four-alternative forced choice). For the experiment, 40 paintings were prepared, of which 20 were Occidental and Japanese paintings that were photographed in Portugal and Japan (Toyohashi City Museum of Art and History) and the remaining 20 were taken from art galleries on the internet. 90 people from Japan and 45 people from Portugal participated in the experiment. Participants had not received any special education in art.

From the results of the experiment, we discovered that around 70% of participants, both Japanese and Portuguese, preferred the color composition of the original painting the most, even for paintings that they had never seen before. (However, when selected randomly, this dropped to 25% as chance level.) This trend was the same for abstract painting depicted without objects associated with a specific color, for example the sky or human faces.

We examined preferences for color composition of paintings where theoriginal painting was divided into pieces and scrambled around, as wellas for a patchwork image made from pieces of 20 different paintings, andcarried out the same experiment. We discovered that about 60% ofparticipants favored non-rotated color compositions the most. Credit: Toyohashi University of Technology.

We also divided each painting into pieces and scrambled those pieces around, as well as creating a patchwork image from pieces of 20 different paintings to make the content painted in the painting hard to distinguish, as shown in, and carried out the same experiment. We discovered that about 60% of participants favored the scrambled painting of the original painting or the color composition of the patchwork painting of original paintings the most.

These results indicate the following:

Painters and non-painters share to a certain degree a common standard for beauty and color appeal, regardless of differences in art education or cultural background based on the fact that the color composition selected based on participants' preference coincided as a result with what the painter had painted. As the original painting was preferred even when scrambled, there may be some regularities in the color composition that indicates the originality of the painting rather than the memory color offering clues, such as something being painted that evokes a particular image. As the original color composition was preferred even for the patchwork images, there may be a biological mechanism to sense beauty (allure) where common characteristics are present among paintings by completely different artists, and both painter and not painter alike sense this beauty whether they are aware or not.

Future Outlook

The research team believes that each person has a mechanism for sensing an allure and beauty for color composition and that this characteristic may be surprisingly common among people. What factors influence beauty? Why do humans have a mechanism to sense beauty in the first place? We hope to answer these questions about beauty, which is considered to be an extremely individual and subjective thing, by clarifying the mechanism behind our decision-making process for "liking" photos on social media, selecting clothing, and deciding on interior decoration for rooms.

The research was published in Scientific Reports.

Explore further Using math to study paintings to learn more about the evolution of art history

More information: Shigeki Nakauchi et al, Universality and superiority in preference for chromatic composition of art paintings, Scientific Reports (2022). Journal information: Scientific Reports Shigeki Nakauchi et al, Universality and superiority in preference for chromatic composition of art paintings,(2022). DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-08365-z
Die Wang, an assistant meteorologist at Brookhaven National Laboratory, is lead author of a paper looking back at 10 years of weather data over southeastern Texas to categorize conditions in a way that will help scientists tease out the effects of aerosols on storms. Credit: Brookhaven National Laboratory

A new study used artificial intelligence to analyze 10 years of weather data collected over southeastern Texas to identify three major categories of weather patterns and the continuum of conditions between them. The study, just published in the Journal of Geophysics Research: Atmospheres, will help scientists seeking to understand how aerosolstiny particles suspended in Earth's atmosphereaffect the severity of thunderstorms.

Do these tiny particlesemitted in auto exhaust, pollution from refineries and factories, and in natural sources such as sea spraymake thunderstorms worse? It's possible, said Michael Jensen, a meteorologist at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory and a contributing author on the paper.

"Aerosols are intricately connected with clouds; they're the particles around which water molecules condense to make clouds form and grow," Jensen explained.

As principal investigator for the TRacking Aerosol Convection interactions ExpeRiment (TRACER)a field campaign taking place in and around Houston, Texas, from October 2021 through September 2022Jensen is guiding the collection and analysis of data that may answer this question. TRACER uses instruments supplied by DOE's Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) user facility to gather measurements of aerosols, weather conditions, and a wide range of other variables.

"During TRACER, we are aiming to determine the influence of aerosols on storms. However, those influences are intertwined with those of the large-scale weather systems (think of high- or low-pressure systems) and local conditions," Jensen said.

To tease out the effects of aerosols, the scientists have to disentangle those influences.

Die Wang, an assistant meteorologist at Brookhaven Lab and lead author of the paper looking back at 10 years of data prior to TRACER, explained the approach for doing just that.

"In this study, we used a machine learning approach to determine the dominant summertime weather condition states in the Houston region," she explained. "We will use this information in our TRACER analysis and modeling studies by comparing storm characteristics that occur during similar weather states but varying aerosol conditions."

"That will help us to minimize the differences that are due to the large-scale weather conditions, to help isolate the effects of the aerosols," she said.

The project is the first step toward fulfilling the goals supported by DOE Early Career funding awarded to Wang in 2021.

Bringing students on board

The study also provided an opportunity for several students involved in virtual internships at Brookhaven Lab to contribute to the research. Four co-authors were participants in DOE's Science Undergraduate Laboratory Internship (SULI) program, and one was interning as part of Brookhaven's High School Research Program (HSRP).

Each intern investigated the variability of different cloud and precipitation properties among the weather categories using datasets from radar, satellite, and surface meteorology measurement networks.

These maps show the frequency of storms (from 0-20%) over southeastern Texas calculated using 10 years of satellite data during high-pressure (left) and low-pressure (right) conditions. The high-pressure regime is favorable for sea-breeze induced storms to develop over the region and these storms may be more impacted by aerosols. Credit: Brookhaven National Laboratory

"This work was well suited to the virtual internship as it was largely driven by computational data analysis and visualization," Jensen said. "The interns gained valuable experience in computer programming, real-world scientific data analysis, and the complexities of Earth's atmospheric system."

Dominic Taylor, a SULI intern from Pennsylvania State University, wrote about his experience for an ARM blog:

"At first, I faced a lot of challengeswith my computer being able to handle the size and number of data files I was using.Die, Mike, and my fellow interns were always there when I needed help," he said.

"Given my passion for meteorology, I was psyched to have this position in the first place, but writing code and spending probably way too long formatting plots didn't feel like work because I found the topic so fascinating," he added.

In the same blog post, Amanda Rakotoarivony, an HSRP intern from Longwood High School, said, "this internship allowed me to truly connect the topics I've learned in school to the real-world research that's being done.[and] showed me how research and collaboration is interdisciplinary at the core."

Details of the data

The southeastern Texas summer weather is largely driven by sea- and bay-breeze circulations from the nearby Gulf of Mexico and Galveston Bay. These circulations, in conjunction with those from larger-scale weather systems, affect the flow of moisture and aerosol particles into the Houston region and impact the development of thunderstorms and their associated rainfall. Understanding how these flows affect clouds and storms is important to improving models used for weather forecasts and climate predictions. Categorizing patterns can help scientists assess the effects of other influences, including aerosols.

To characterize the weather patterns, the scientists used a form of artificial intelligence to analyze 10 years of data that combines climate model results with meteorological observations.

"The combined data produces a complete, long-term description of three-dimensional atmospheric properties including pressure, temperature, humidity, and winds," said Wang.

The scientists used a machine-learning program known as "Self-Organizing Map" to sort these data into three dominant categories, or regimes, of weather patterns with a continuum of transitional states between them. Overlaying additional satellite, radar, and surface-based observations on these maps allowed the scientists to investigate the characteristics of cloud and precipitation properties in these different regimes.

"The weather regimes we identified pull together complex information about the dominant large-scale weather patterns, including factors important for the formation and development of storms. By looking at how the storm cloud and precipitation properties vary under different aerosol conditions but similar weather regimes, we are able to better isolate the effects of the aerosols," Wang said.

The team will use high-resolution weather modeling to incorporate additional local-scale meteorology measurementsfor example, the sea-breeze circulationand detailed information about the number, sizes, and composition of aerosol particles.

"This approach should allow us to determine exactly how aerosols are affecting the clouds and stormsand even tease out the differing effects of industrial and natural sources of aerosols," Wang said.

Explore further Does pollution make thunderstorms more severe?

More information: Die Wang et al, Linking Synoptic Patterns to Cloud Properties and Local Circulations Over Southeastern Texas, Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres (2022). Journal information: Journal of Geophysical Research - Atmospheres Die Wang et al, Linking Synoptic Patterns to Cloud Properties and Local Circulations Over Southeastern Texas,(2022). DOI: 10.1029/2021JD035920
ALBANY  A Mechanicville man was sentenced on Monday to 30 years in prison for aggravated sexual abuse and transportation of minors to engage in sexual activity.

As part of his previously entered guilty plea, Gary Ryan admitted that in 2003 and 2004, he took Victim 1, then 5 and 6 years old, to Florida, Massachusetts and Nevada. On those trips, Ryan had anal sexual intercourse, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorneys Office.

In 2007, Ryan took Victim 2, then 14 years old, to Florida and Massachusetts and showed this person pornography and rubbed Victim 2s penis.

Between 1998 and 1999, Ryan took Victim 3, then 14 or 15 years old, to Massachusetts. On that trip, while Victim 3 was asleep, Ryan rubbed and shaved the victim's genitals. Ryan instructed another teenager to record a video of the conduct, authorities said.

U.S. District Judge Mae A. DAgostino told Ryan that he is the definition of a sexual predator. She also imposed a lifetime term of supervised release, which will begin after Ryan is released from prison. Ryan will also be required to register as a sex offender.

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SHUSHAN  Washington County Fire Coordinator Glenn Bristol said the Saturday afternoon fire on Steele Road in Shushan was still under investigation on Monday.

While the cause has not yet been determined, Bristol said he does not believe the fire is suspicious.

Bristol said firefighters responded to a call at 11:53 a.m. to find a single-family home on fire. Fire officials were on the scene conducting an investigation until 7 p.m.

The fire displaced a family of four, including a 3-year-old and a 4-year-old.

The Northeastern Chapter of the American Red Cross provided aide to the family after the fire.

According to a Red Cross news release, volunteers provided health services and financial assistance for shelter, food and clothing. One of the victims is reportedly eligible to receive veterans services as well.

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Warren County Health Services reported on Monday that there is currently only one county resident hospitalized  the lowest reported amount since July 2021.

There have been 37 new COVID cases reported in the county over the last three days.

There were 13 on Monday, 11 on Sunday and 13 on Saturday.

Twenty of the total 37 cases stemmed from at-home test results.

There have been 61 cases over the last five days, according to county data.

There is currently no county resident critically ill from COVID, according to Warren County Health Services.

The seven-day rolling positivity rate in Warren County is 2.1%.

Glens Falls Hospital has 11 COVID patients in-house, with one of those patients in the ICU.

At-home COVID-19 test kits are still available at the Warren County Municipal Center, town halls throughout the county, and at Glens Falls City Hall, free to the public.

Washington County

Washington County last updated its COVID data on Friday.

As of then, there were 41 active COVID cases, with three hospitalizations in the county.

There was one new reported case of COVID out of 103 administered tests as of Monday morning, according to state data.

The seven-day rolling positivity rate for the county is 2.9%.

Capital Region/statewide

There are 63 COVID patients throughout Capital Region hospitals, one more than Sundays report.

The rate of patients admitted to Capital Region hospitals is currently on a slow decline, according to recent reports.

There were 50 new reported cases of COVID out of 1,838 administered tests in the Capital Region as of Monday morning, according to state data.

The seven-day rolling positivity rate for the region is 2.7%.

Statewide, that rate is 1.9%.

Statewide, there were 1,099 new cases of COVID out of 55,561 administered tests as of Monday morning, according to state data.

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U.S. Senate begins hearings for Biden's Supreme Court nominee

Xinhua) 08:09, March 22, 2022

WASHINGTON, March 21 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee began on Monday the first day of a series of hearings for the confirmation of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court.

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin, in opening statements, highlighted Jackson's qualifications, as well as the historic nature of her nomination by U.S. President Joe Biden.

"President Biden nominated you because he knew your qualifications are outstanding," the Illinois Democrat said. "Your professional record and life experience tell us what kind of lawyer, what kind of judge, and what kind of person you really are."

Jackson, who currently sits on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, would be the first African American woman to sit on the Supreme Court if confirmed. She is 51.

"In its more than 230 years, the Supreme Court has had 115 Justices," Durbin continued. "Not a single Justice has been a Black woman. You, Judge Jackson, can be the first."

Senator Chuck Grassley, the top Republican on the Judiciary Committee, said in his remarks that he'll be scrutinizing Jackson's legal philosophy.

"I'll be looking to see whether Judge Jackson is committed to the Constitution as originally understood," the Iowa Republican stressed. "Some of us believe that judges are supposed to interpret the laws of what's understood when written, not make new laws or simply fill in the vacuum."

Biden announced in late February he would nominate Jackson to succeed liberal Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer, who is about to retire this summer. It was one of his major campaign promises to fill a potential Supreme Court vacancy with an African American woman.

"As Judge Jackson begins her Supreme Court confirmation hearings this week, I look forward to the Senate and country seeing how incredibly qualified she is for the job," the U.S. president tweeted on Monday. "She's a brilliant legal mind with the utmost character and integrity. I know she'll make an exceptional Justice."

Committee members will begin questioning the nominee on Tuesday and the hearings will take place through Thursday.

Born in D.C. but raised in Miami, Jackson received her law degree from Harvard University and graduated cum laude in 1996. Earlier in her legal career, she worked as an assistant federal public defender in D.C. and served as vice chair of the U.S. Sentencing Commission for four years.

"I have been a judge for nearly a decade now, and I take that responsibility and my duty to be independent very seriously," Jackson told senators on Monday. "I decide cases from a neutral posture. I evaluate the facts, and I interpret and apply the law to the facts of the case before me, without fear or favor, consistent with my judicial oath."

It requires a simple majority of votes from the 100-seat Senate to confirm Jackson to be the next Supreme Court justice.

The Senate is evenly split between the two parties. Democrats can approve the nomination without Republican support, with Vice President Kamala Harris casting a tie-breaking vote.

This year, the Supreme Court will rule on cases involving a series of major issues, including abortion, affirmative action, and gun control.

Court watchers have argued Jackson is expected to vote very similarly to Breyer and her ascension won't change the Supreme Court's ideological balance, in which conservatives have a 6-3 majority over liberals.

The Supreme Court is the final appellate court of the U.S. judicial system, with the power to review and overturn lower court decisions, and is also generally the final interpreter of federal law, including the country's constitution.

The justices have life tenure and can serve until they die, resign, retire, or are impeached and removed from office.

(Web editor: Xia Peiyao, Liang Jun)
A bouncer has been charged with murder after allegedly stabbing a Marine from Illinois who served in the war on terror and was celebrating St. Patricks Day in downtown Boston over the weekend.

Daniel Martinez, 23, who was from the Chicago area, was visiting friends. He was stabbed just before 7 p.m. Saturday on Union Street and was rushed to Massachusetts General Hospital, police said. He died about 3 a.m. Sunday.

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This is hard. This is a heartbreaking case for everybody  its a heartbreaking case for this city, Suffolk District Attorney Kevin Hayden said Monday.

Alvaro Larrama, a 39-year-old East Boston father of four, pleaded not guilty to the murder of Martinez. His arraignment in Boston Municipal Court Monday was held just hours after he turned himself in to police.

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Prosecutors said ample surveillance video from the area shows Martinez and a friend visited the Sons of Boston pub on Union Street, where Larrama worked as a bouncer. Martinez spent time inside the bar without incident, left and apparently got back in line to return to the bar.

While standing in line, Martinez and Larrama appeared to get into a confrontation, according to video obtained by police. Martinez then began walking away, and Larrama chased after him, the prosecutor said. The bouncer allegedly attacked Martinez and stabbed him, the prosecutor added.

Larrama went inside the bar after the stabbing, washing his hands and turning his shirt inside out, the prosecutor said. The bouncer then left the pub through the back door.

Police responded to a call for a person stabbed, and bars in the area were shut down for the remainder of the night.

The Boston Police Departments fugitive unit made immediate inroads into the case Saturday, according to court testimony, after speaking with many of the defendants co-workers and witnesses from the scene.

Larrama served time for larceny convictions from 2001, as well as a drug-related crime before that.

Martinez was a Marine who finished his active duty last year as a sergeant. His awards included the Marine Corps Good Conduct Medal, National Defense Service Medal and Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal.

Family members of Martinez appeared visibly distraught in court and declined to comment after the arraignment.

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Our hearts go out to them and to all who knew Mr. Martinez, who served with him, Hayden said.

This is not a representation of our city, Boston, and who we are, Hayden added. I think we can come together in support and love so that people both who live here and who come to visit here know what a truly great city it is.

Larrama will be held without bail and is set to appear in court April 28 for a probable cause hearing.
ATLANTIC CITY  A city police officer acquitted of use-of-force charges in a federal civil rights case in February has since returned to work and is on administrative duty, the city Police Department confirmed Tuesday.

Sterling Wheaten was suspended in 2018 following his indictment.

He returned to the force after a demand to end his suspension by his attorney, Louis Barbone, after his acquittal. Wheaten has been back on the force for nearly a month, Barbone said.

Wheaten, who has been a city police officer since 2007, is also entitled to back pay and compensation for legal fees, Barbone said.

Its unclear whether the police veteran could resume patrol work soon. Barbone said that decision would have to be made by the department.

Sgt. Paul Aristizabal, the departments public information officer, said the department had no other comment about Wheatens employment status.

New Jersey State Policemens Benevolent Association President Patrick Colligan did not respond to a request for comment Tuesday.

Wheaten was tried in February, accused of violating the Fourth Amendment rights of David Connor Castellani when he allowed a police dog to maul the then 20-year-old Linwood man outside Tropicana Atlantic City in 2013.

Wheaten also was charged with falsifying the incident report to justify his actions, alleging the officers feared Castellani had a weapon. No weapon was ever found.

On the night in 2013, Castellani left the scene in an ambulance.

He suffered injuries that resulted in an extended hospital stay and rehabilitation. During the trial, Castellani testified that he suffered severe lacerations to his chest, head and neck, injuries that have left him in pain after nearly nine years.

Surveillance video of the incident showed shows Castellani screaming at the officers before they approach him and tackle him to the ground.

In the video, a struggle ensues, in which one officer, Kevin Law, calls for a K-9 unit as other officers work to handcuff Castellani and another strikes his legs with a baton.

Castellani, 29, who is a lawyer practicing under his fathers firm in Northfield, did not respond to a request for comment Tuesday.

He previously received $3 million as a settlement from a civil lawsuit against the city for the attack.

Contact Eric Conklin: 609-272-7261 econklin@pressofac.com Twitter @ACPressConklin

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HAMILTON TOWNSHIP  An effort to refurbish the Lake Lenape Dam is getting a $4.6 million lift from federal funds, Atlantic County officials said Tuesday.

The funds are a part of $1.5 trillion government spending bill President Joe Biden signed into law last week. The law funds the federal government through September, the White House said.

Of the funds, $178 million is being allocated for New Jersey community projects, including those for transportation, housing and education, Atlantic County spokesperson Linda Gilmore said.

The dam project includes renovations to its powerhouse and reconstruction of the spillway, along with improvements to its embankments.

Local officials applied for the money earlier this year. The project is expected to cost $6 million, Atlantic County Supervising Engineer of Bridges Doug DiMeo previously said.

Construction is scheduled to begin next spring and be completed in two years, officials said.

The announcement that federal funding will be used to complete these projects is great news for Atlantic County and Hamilton Township, said U.S. Rep. Jeff Van Drew, R-2nd, who got a firsthand look at the dams decaying structure during a previous visit. I look forward to seeing the completion of the Lake Lenape Dam and the vast improvements this funding will provide to Atlantic County.

County Executive Dennis Levinson lauded Van Drew on Tuesday for helping secure the funds, saying they are key for the countys various improvement projects.

The improvements will stabilize the dam and reduce the risk of flooding for approximately 100 properties, Levinson said in a statement.

Township and county officials have noted the potential flood risk if the dams current structure isnt improved. But Mayor Charles Cain said Tuesday the project also will help the townships efforts to revive its historic area and business community.

This is the result of every level of government working together to ensure essential funding for our community, Cain said in a statement. We are overjoyed with the ability to reconstruct the dam, and truly appreciate Congressman Van Drews efforts in obtaining these funds.

Last month, the public was given the chance to comment on the project during two hearings.

Van Drew inspects Lake Lenape dam with local officials HAMILTON TOWNSHIP  U.S. Rep. Jeff Van Drew met with local and county officials Friday for a

The county and township are working with the state Division of Dam Safety, the state Department of Environmental Protection, the state Historic Preservation Office, the state Pinelands Commission and others to complete the project, Gilmore previously said.

Officials also have mulled ideas for the neighboring Wheaton complex, which once used the dam while serving as a cotton mill, which closed in 1940.

The dam was acquired by the township in 1978, and Atlantic County several years later became a co-owner to share the financial burden with the township.

Contact Eric Conklin: 609-272-7261 econklin@pressofac.com Twitter @ACPressConklin

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CAPE MAY COURT HOUSE  Superior Court Judge Bernard DeLury on Friday sentenced former Cape May City Councilman Chris Bezaire to 45 days in jail on charges of stalking and contempt of court.

He has been ordered to report to start his time on Friday, according to Bezaires attorney, John Tumelty of the Marmora section of Upper Township. With credit for the 13 days he already spent in county jail after his arrest last June, he could face just over a month in jail.

He also received three years of probation.

Tumelty said he is still pushing for house arrest for his client instead of reporting to the Cape May County Jail.

I think Chris absolutely transformed his entire life, Tumelty said. Hes focused on his work, his children. Hes done a complete 360.

Allegations against Bezaire arose during his campaign for City Council in 2020. He was elected and took office in January 2021, and the Cape May County Prosecutors Office and Middle Township Police launched an investigation in May. He was arrested in June of that year. Charges included cyber-harassment, stalking and contempt of court.

In a plea agreement, Bezaire pleaded guilty in September to charges of stalking and contempt of court. Facing growing pressure from Cape May residents and condemnation from other members of council, Bezaire officially resigned from City Council in late October.

The two women he was accused of stalking and harassing were not identified in court documents, but have identified themselves through social media. Attempts to reach them for comment were not successful on Monday.

The administrators of the Facebook page Impeach Chris Bezaire argued after the plea deal that he got off with a slap on the wrist. After his resignation became public, the page administrators accused Bezaire of casting himself as the victim in his letter of resignation.

That page does not appear to have been updated since the sentencing.

The last several months have taken an emotional, mental and physical toll on my family, friends, and people I love, especially my children, Bezaire wrote in his letter of resignation. I have told people close to me I would continue in my position unless it directly affects my children.

Bezaire has a real estate business in town and is a member of a prominent family that has lived in Cape May for generations.

Contact Bill Barlow: 609-272-7290 bbarlow@pressofac.com Twitter @jerseynews_bill

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ATLANTIC CITY  This June, the resort will join a worldwide event called Le Diner en Blanc, which promoters call a celebration of public spaces, food and community.

Started in 1988 in Paris, its website calls it a "secret posh picnic (that) has been celebrated in 120 cities in 40 countries around the world."

Le Diner en Blanc Paris celebrated its 30th year in 2018 with more than 17,000 participants, according to the organization's website.

"My dream has become a reality," Mayor Marty Small Sr. said at a news conference Monday announcing the city's inclusion for the first time. "We often say were not just about casinos."

"Everyone brings tables and chairs and it pops up," said co-organizer Kayli Moran, of Philadelphia.

They also bring their own food and drink, and meet in groups of 50 people around town to be led on foot by volunteers to the secret dinner location.

The city's world-class restaurants give people a wide variety of food to take to Le Diner en Blanc, Small said.

It's held rain or shine, according to Le Diner en Blanc International's website, which sets out some pretty strict rules about the size of the tables allowed, and how participants must dress.

"All guests must dress elegantly in head-to-toe white," according to the FAQ page on the website. "This means no ivory, no off-white, and no beige. ... Originality is always encouraged, as long as it stays stylish and tasteful."

And if it rains, guests must bring a white or transparent raincoat, poncho and/or umbrella, according to the rules.

A few things are unknown so far, including the exact date  organizers will only say it will be in June  and the cost to participants.

The exact date will be announced closer to June, said spokesperson Kate Marlys.

It will be the first Le Diner en Blanc event ever held in New Jersey, Marlys said.

Participants pay an average of $55 per person, but the exact fee structure for the Atlantic City event hasn't been decided yet, said co-organizer Natanya DiBona, also of Philadelphia.

"Your city has a great history and we will be playing on that," DiBona said at the Monday media event.

The waiting list opened Monday on the website and the first 500 couples who sign up get an automatic phase one invitation, the organizers said.

Marlys said there is no fee for joining the waiting list, people only pay when they are ready to confirm their participation.

Videos of previous events show people pulling wheeled coolers and specially purchased small, light tables and chairs slung over their arms.

In 2012, Le Diner en Blanc International was formed to encourage these events in cities around the world.

"It's an experience about appreciating public space, good food and good friends," Moran said.

Moran and DiBona have worked with the international organization for 10 years, they said, running events in Philadelphia. It's not their full-time jobs, they said, but something they do because they love it.

In Atlantic City, there aren't many places that can hold 1,000 or more people outside, but the group isn't telling where the location will be.

Organizers said the ticket price pays for entertainers, some decorations, security, portable toilets and permits.

The international organization is a for-profit company organized as an LLC, the organizers said, but costs are kept low to allow more people to participate.

Small said he's been pressuring Showboat Hotel Atlantic City owner Bart Blatstein "to do more, do more, do more," and Blatstein helped arrange for the Philadelphia Diner en Blanc event to move here this year.

A year ago the organizers held the pop-up event for 3,000 people in Rittenhouse Square, Blatstein said, and he broached the idea of coming to Atlantic City then.

"The international (organization) approved the event here, so we are here today," Blatstein said.

REPORTER: Michelle Brunetti Post 609-841-2895 mpost@pressofac.com

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LeClaire Community Library is beginning a partnership with the Buffalo Bill Museum to share information about our areas local history. The museum, located on the LeClaire Levee, is filled with exhibits focused on life along the Mississippi River. The museum will be lending the library a case to hold rotating displays of historical artifacts, photos, and documents on different aspects of LeClaire history, including items on native Americans, early settlers, riverboat pilots, and William Cody, for whom the museum is named.

As a special event, Iowa author James Kenyon will speak at LeClaire Library at 6:30 p.m. Monday, April 18. His book Echoes in the Hallways contains history and recollections of 102 closed Iowa high schools, including one in LeClaire. The library will display items related to LeClaire High School, which was known as Albert Gross School. The last high school graduation was in 1960, and the building closed in 1966. The site is presently used as a rec center by the LeClaire Parks and Recreation Department.

Those with stories to tell about LeClaire High School or other schools in the area are welcome to come and share their memories on April 18. Doors will open at 6 p.m. We will have copies of all the yearbooks from 1939 to 1960 so you can come and look up your relatives. You are encouraged to call Library Director Melita Tunnicliff at 563-289-6002 before April 18 if you would like to do a short interview about your school days with a local teen.

Our second special event in April will be a talk by Janet Weaver, Ph.D., on pearl button fishing in old LeClaire. Harvesting mussel shells was once a huge industry in eastern Iowa. Many have forgotten that LeClaire at one time had four button factories. Blanks, or clam shells with holes cut from them to make buttons, can still be found at the rivers edge.

Dr. Weaver has made an extensive study of this fascinating and now long-gone industry. She will be speaking at LeClaire Library on Wednesday, April 27 at 6:30 p.m. The Buffalo Bill Museum will provide clamming items for display, and we will have shells and buttons that you can interact with.

The mission of the LeClaire Library is to enhance the intellectual, social, and cultural strength of our community. Learning about our communitys local stories can be fun and interesting, and knowing our history helps make a community strong.

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On the first day of QC Restaurant Week, customers have already stopped by Meli's Pancake House to grab some food and a picture of their receipt. Coming off St. Patrick's Day and the holiday weekend, owner Melissa Figueroa hasn't had much time for a break.

She and her husband, Onis Figueroa, have taken the uptick in business in stride, and with a bit of relief.

"That's one thing I was really nervous for, being my first year open," Melissa Figueroa said. "It was hard for me to see the potential, but now that I see people coming in and business going up, I'm like, OK, this is going to work."

Visit Quad Cities is showcasing local businesses like Meli's Pancake House through March 27, publicizing specials and giving customers the opportunity to win gift cards for submitting receipts or selfies with food from participating restaurants.

Opened in December 2020, this is Meli's Pancake House's second year participating in QC Restaurant Week. Located at 1320 5th Ave., Moline, Meli's is open 7 a.m.-2 p.m. seven days a week.

The restaurant will have a special each day this week. Tuesday's (March 22) is stuffed French toast, two eggs and two meats for $9.99.

Onis Figueroa's favorite foods to make as head cook of the restaurant  the avocado omelette and avocado Benedict  are also some of his favorite to eat. They also rank among the most popular menu items, he said, along with the meat lover skillet and a variety of crepes.

Both Onis Figueroa and Melissa Figueroa have worked in the Quad-Cities restaurant industry for a long time, which helped them craft their menu, full of breakfast and lunch treats.

While Melissa Figueroa was apprehensive about opening a food establishment during a peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, she said her husband was ready to jump in. It's worked out well, with the food and service bringing in plenty of regular customers from all over the area, Onis Figueroa said.

"It feels good," Onis Figueroa said. "We're making people happy."

Meli's Pancake House is truly a family business, with the couple's younger son working in the kitchen with Onis Figueroa and daughter working up front with Melissa Figueroa. Their older son also worked in the restaurant until he graduated from high school.

Their daughter is going to study business next year, Melissa Figueroa said, and is looking forward to owning a business of her own someday. Melissa hopes the pancake house she opened will stay with the family when she's ready to pass it along.

"We told them to take care of it because one day it could be [theirs]," Melissa Figueroa said.

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Authorities have accused a Davenport man of fatally stabbing and shooting a 16-year-old boy Friday on Iroquois Drive.

Malachi Isaiah Vanderpool, 19, faces charges of first-degree murder and felon in possession of a firearm after the death of Tylan Sanders, of Davenport.

Gunfire was reported in the 900 block of Iroquois Drive at 6:19 a.m. Friday. Davenport Police responded and found Tylan Sanders, of Davenport, with fatal gunshot wounds.

Vanderpool was booked into the jail at 11:14 p.m. Monday. He remained in custody Tuesday.

Authorities contend in the court records that Vanderpool went looking for Sanders and stabbed and shot him.

The attack was captured on video, court records state, and police recovered shell casings there.

Underlying the felon in possession charge were two previous felony convictions, according to court records. One was for criminal gang participation in 2017, and control of a firearm by a felon in 2020.

Vanderpool made his first appearance by video Tuesday morning before Judge Catherine Cartee. His bond was set at $1 million cash.

His next court appearance is April 1.

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Bettendorf City Administrator Decker Ploehn said the two cities would share the cost and the work, taking turns for five-year increments, beginning with Bettendorf.

Costs outside of routine maintenance, such as lighting replacement or concrete repairs, will be split 50/50, he said.

The next major phase of the I-74 corridor improvements is the removal of the old bridges. The Iowa DOT is expected to let contractors for bridge demolition by summer. The method of demolition, including whether explosives are used, will be a decision that is made by the selected contractor.
Russias war in Ukraine has taught the worlds autocrats some useful lessons:

Invasions may be harder than they look.

Its unwise to go to war with an army that hasnt had much practice against serious opponents.

The United States and its allies may appear divided, but they can still pull together in a crisis.

And when ordinary people decide to defend their homes, they can put up a surprisingly good fight.

Those lessons could have practical impact half a world away from Ukraine in the standoff between China and Taiwan.

Regaining Taiwan has been a major goal of Chinas ruling Communist Party since it took power in 1949. Chinas president, Xi Jinping, regularly reconfirms that he intends to return Taiwan to the motherland  by peaceful means if possible, by unpeaceful means if not.

So its reasonable to assume Xi and his aides have been paying close attention to the problems their quasi-ally Vladimir Putin has encountered in his brutal campaign to restore Russias control over its smaller neighbor, Ukraine.

In some ways, Taiwan looks like an easier target than Ukraine. It is smaller  24 million people, not 44 million. Its military is one-tenth the size of Chinas, and it hasnt built the kind of territorial defense force Ukraine is using to great effect right now. Meanwhile, Chinas navy and marine corps (yes, thats its name) have spent decades working on the ability to mount amphibious landings against an island like Taiwan.

But Taiwan has advantages Ukraine didnt have.

The Taiwan Strait is more than 100 miles wide, which would make an amphibious invasion daunting.

Taiwan has a security commitment from the United States  not as strong as the treaty that pledges the United States to defend NATO allies, but more than Ukraine had. (President Joe Biden made a point of mentioning it in his conversation with Xi on Friday.)

Finally, the United States has a more direct economic interest in Taiwan than in Ukraine; Taipei is a major trading partner, the source of more than half of the worlds high-end microchips.

What weve seen in Ukraine raises serious questions for China about the risks of military activity against Taiwan, Evan Medeiros of Georgetown University, a former National Security Council official, told me last week.

Chinas theory has been that if we have to use force, it will be quick and successful and that economically the West needs China more than it needs Taiwan. All those assumptions are now open to question.

But there have been important lessons for Taiwan too.

The biggest surprise in Ukraine beyond the poor performance of Russias army has been the success of Ukraines Territorial Defense Forces, its army of reservists and unevenly trained civilians.

Thats the real lesson of Ukraine for Taiwan: You need civilians who know how to use a rifle, said Bonnie Glaser, a China expert at the German Marshall Fund. Taiwan could easily do something like that, but they havent.

U.S. defense planners have long been urging Taiwan to adopt a strategy they call asymmetric defense  recognizing Chinas vast advantages in manpower and equipment, and aiming to raise the cost of an invasion. The goal, retired Adm. James Stavridis wrote recently, should be to make the island a porcupine  a spiny and indigestible entity that could deter China from using force.

But over much of the last decade, Taiwan moved in the opposite direction: It cut the size of its regular army and reduced the training of its reserves. It invested in high-end weapons beloved by military brass, like F-16s and Abrams tanks, instead of more mundane tools that might deter a shipborne invader: anti-aircraft weapons, anti-ship missiles and advanced mines.

Taiwans president, Tsai Ing-wen, has embraced the U.S. argument, at least rhetorically.

The recent situation in Ukraine proves that, in addition to international support and assistance, it boils down to the unity of our people to safeguard our country, she said recently.

But progress has been slow. Tsai has promised to increase defense spending to 3% of gross domestic project from the current 2.1% (the U.S. spends about 3.5%). But even after Taiwans legislature approved more defense spending, it will take more than five years to get there.

So U.S. officials have privately been pressing another lesson from Ukraine: The United States and other countries can help Taiwan defend itself, but only if the Taiwanese show that they are ready and willing to fight.

People love a fighter, noted Elbridge Colby, a former top Defense official in the Trump administration. If Ukraine had folded, the international support for them would not be happening.

The longer Ukraine shows that a determined population can make an invasion costly, it is giving small countries like Taiwan a model of how to defend themselves  and with luck, deter the next invasion before it begins.

If so, the terrible toll of Ukraines war might yield at least one positive side effect: Its just possible that this conflict may have reduced the chances of a conflict in Asia.

Doyle McManus is a columnist for the Los Angeles Times. Readers may send him email at doyle.mcmanus@latimes.com. 2022 Los Angeles Times. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

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Registered nurse Kristy Brown, left, Daiana Torres and her daughter, Vanessa Lopez, 20 months, meet along the Fox River on March 15, 2022, in Elgin. (Stacey Wescott / Chicago Tribune)

When Daiana Torres, 26, saw that her playful 19-month-old daughter was not moving much, she sensed something was wrong. It had been two days since Torres had last seen her toddler, Vanessa Lopez, be energetic by doing things like climbing on tables and chairs.

Her baby had a fever and within hours, Torres, who is Latina, found herself sitting in an emergency room waiting on a prognosis.

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Its hard for a mom taking a kid to the ER not knowing what theyre going to do, Torres said.

Seeking medical attention is a decision Torres would not have ordinarily made. She prefers to avoid doctors and hospitals, based on negative experiences. But not knowing whether her daughter had a virus or was simply teething scared her. It was one of the moments she felt like parenting, especially as a first-time mom, was difficult to navigate.

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When Torres started to feel alone, she made a phone call to someone who had been by her side since her early stages of pregnancy.

That person was Kristy Brown, a registered nurse who works for a nonprofit organization called Nurse-Family Partnership.

Daiana Torres, along with her daughter, Vanessa Lopez, 20 months, walk to meet Kristy Brown, a registered nurse with Nurse-Family Partnership, along the Fox River on March 15, 2022, in Elgin. (Stacey Wescott / Chicago Tribune)

The organization pairs expecting mothers with a nurse who would be a resource from pregnancy all the way through the childs second birthday.

Brown stayed on the phone with Torres for hours providing comfort and advice. It turned out Vanessa had an infection. Before sending the mother and daughter home, the doctor suggested Torres give her daughter Motrin twice a day and continue to monitor her fever.

Sometimes doctors dont go into deep explanation about whats going on, but Kristy took the time to explain to me what to do and what to look out for, Torres said. I feel like Kristy has been a great help and new moms should be able to have a nurse like I do.

Jordan Wildermuth, the senior government affairs manager for Nurse-Family Partnership, said such organizations are needed to support moms and families during a vulnerable time in their lives.

Nurse-Family Partnership serves 40 states, according to its website. The organization launched in Illinois in 2000.

We really need to invest in programs like this one that would move the needle by helping pregnant women get the prenatal care they need, providing parenting support, postnatal care, and providing ongoing screening support during the critical stages of the babys development and prior to delivery, Wildermuth said.

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Once a nurse is paired with an expecting mother, the two create a schedule that works for them to perform wellness checks. Some women prefer to have a weekly visit while others prefer once a month.

Kristy Brown interacts with Vanessa Lopez, 20 months, on March 15, 2022, in Elgin. (Stacey Wescott / Chicago Tribune)

The organization says consistent check-ins help prevent maternal morbidity and mortality, particularly for women of color.

Every year in the United States, an average of 700 women die during pregnancy or in the year after, according to a 2020 report from the Centers for Disease Control or Prevention. The report also states that Black women are three times more likely to die from a pregnancy-related condition than white women.

The number of maternal deaths rose nationally during the pandemic from 754 in 2019 to 861 in 2020, according to the CDCs National Center for Health Statistics.

And in Illinois, an average of 75 women died while pregnant or within one year of pregnancy each year between 2008 and 2017, according to an April 2021 report from the Illinois Department of Public Health.

In Illinois, the Nurse-Family Partnership, which is specifically for first-time moms, serves 11 out of the 102 counties, according to Wildermuth. In those 11 counties, about 500 families are being supported by the organization.

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We are really not even scratching the surface with the number of families that could benefit from the Nurse-Family Partnership services, Wildermuth said.

There are approximately 24,000 eligible families who can benefit from the Nurse-Family Partnership, according to Wildermuth.

And we base that number off Medicaid eligible births in Illinois, Wildermuth said. A first-time pregnancy can be a scary time not really knowing what to expect. So with families and parents that are facing economic inequity and other barriers, its especially important to make sure they have the support that they need.

When Torres learned she was pregnant in December 2019, her mother suggested she apply for WIC, a food assistance program for women, infants and children.

We talked to Kristy by accident because we were looking for the WIC number but we got where she works at instead, Torres said. I decided to stay with her because she gave more information than an OB would give.

Brown has been a registered nurse for 27 years and worked with the Nurse-Family Partnership organization for 16 years.

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Brown had experience working with children in clinics and in an urban hospital pediatric unit.

She decided to pursue a bachelors degree in nursing and, shortly after obtaining it, Brown saw that Nurse-Family Partnership was being implemented by the Kane County Health Department.

Kristy Brown, right, interacts with Daiana Torres and her daughter, Vanessa Lopez, 20 months. (Stacey Wescott / Chicago Tribune)

The idea that Im offering services where I grew up is what made me say yeah, this is where I want to work, Brown said.

When Brown met Torres, she was excited that the expecting mom was open to learning more about Nurse-Family-Partnership even though it wasnt Torres intention to seek those services.

The two formed a quick bond, but it was when Torres was facing trials while seeking prenatal care that their relationship grew stronger.

Within the first month of learning she was pregnant, Torres knew which obstetrician she wanted services from, but had to seek another doctor because that doctor did not deliver in her area.

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Torres was told to seek another obstetrician, but that was not a simple task. She met with four doctors in a two-month period before finding an obstetrician.

One doctor judged her for her weight, and another refused to see her because she did not confirm her pregnancy at that particular clinic. Torres was willing to seek different doctors until she felt like she found the right one for her. But doing so was a tedious process that she admits brought her to tears.

She was being bounced around and that was very stressful for her, Brown said. But that allowed us to build our relationship so she could learn how to better advocate for herself so she can receive the quality care she deserved.

Once she settled with a consistent doctor, Torres spoke with Brown on the phone and on FaceTime at least once a week for a wellness check. Usually, wellness checks would take place in-person but due to COVID-19, their check-ins had to be virtual.

Nonetheless, Torres grew more comfortable with Brown, who would listen to any concerns and offer a shoulder to cry on when overwhelmed.

In July 2020, Torres was full-term and was feeling ready to give birth to her daughter.

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She was prepared for the labor experience but there were some curveballs that were out of her control, such as COVID, Brown said.

On the morning of July 23, Torres woke up at 3 a.m. in labor. She said everything was seamless until she got to the hospital.

When the soon-to-be mom arrived, she was given a COVID test and to her surprise, Torres tested positive.

When I was told I had COVID, I broke down in tears, Torres said. Because I had COVID, only the doctor and the nurse were allowed into the delivery room.

When Vanessa was born, the happy moment came to a halt. Torres started hemorrhaging and her newborn stopped breathing.

As more of the medical staff, mostly unfamiliar faces, entered the room, Torres found comfort in Brown who talked to her on FaceTime.

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I was proud of how strong she was through all of those obstacles, Brown said. (Daiana) was prepared for the hospital experience but she also had to grapple with unexpected emotional elements.

Torres and Vanessa were able to leave the hospital two days after delivery. But the new mom had to take extra precautions until a COVID test came back negative.

Vanessas father, Miguel, and extended family members all tested negative so Torres watched others have a physical connection with her newborn daughter that she was not yet able to have.

It would be a week and a half before Id be able to give my daughter a kiss, Torres said.

The bond between Brown and Torres continued to grow.

Kristy Brown, left, and Daiana Torres, along with her daughter, Vanessa Lopez, 20 months, meet along the Fox River in Elgin. (Stacey Wescott / Chicago Tribune)

In the beginning, she was quite shy, but now we talk all day nonstop with nice, open discussions, Brown said.

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Its the kind of closeness she aims to maintain with the other 19 new and expecting moms she works with.

I tell all the moms I am honored to be part of their journey, Brown said. I love the fact that they can say for two and a half years we are going to have a partnership.

Even though the nurses are no longer obligated to do check-ins after two years, Brown said she does not completely cut ties.

If a family I used to work with is in the same neighborhood Im doing visits in, Ill stop by, Brown said. One day, I walked a child that I visited to school and he was a 7-year-old in first grade.

In four months, Torres daughter, Vanessa, will be turning two.

Lets say my child is 5 years old and I need help with something, I know Kristy would be there, Torres said.

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Watching a woman gain confidence as she transitions into motherhood is what Brown said keeps her working with Nurse-Family Partnership.

This program and the moms I work with will always have a special place in my heart, Brown said. I hope when I visit them, they know how much they mean to me.

tatturner@chicagotribune.com
The demand for direct care workers, or DCWs, will increase substantially in coming years as the population of older adults and people with disabilities in Iowa increases. Direct care workers go by different names often determined by where they work and the populations they support or serve. Regardless of their title, they provide most of the hands-on care in settings that range from in-home care, assisted living, nursing homes, and hospitals to residential care facilities, supported living, adult day services, and hospices.

Our state has struggled mightily to maintain an adequate direct care workforce. This is a challenge that we share with every state in the country, but an especially vexing problem in Iowa due to our slow population growth and the increasing number of people needing direct care services further compounded by the pandemic. In fact, 59.2% of Iowas nursing homes report they are short-staffed according to a February AARP Nursing Home COVID-19 Dashboard.

Attracting and retaining direct care workers to meet Iowas present and future needs is impossible with the wages currently paid. Direct care worker's median hourly wage is below $15 an hour, with 15% living below the poverty guidelines according to PHI National, formerly known as the Paraprofessional Healthcare Institute. Twenty-eight percent work more than one job to make ends meet.

Caring for and supporting other human beings is a wonderful calling but should not require people to take a vow of poverty to do so. The American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), federal legislation passed in 2021, brought large sums of one-time funding into Iowa. A portion of the funds are being used to provide bonuses for direct support professionals, or DSPs, who serve individuals with disabilities in some settings. While temporary bonuses help direct service professionals and their employers, it isnt a solution and falls short of what is needed. What is needed is a more equitable distribution of wage enhancements across settings and populations served to shore up the direct care workforce.

Iowa lawmakers should seize this golden opportunity (pun intended) to use ARPA funds to jump-start the following and commit to their future sustainability:

 Increase Medicaid reimbursement rates to all health, long-term care, and home and community-based providers. The increased rates should be accompanied with requirements that employers spend the reimbursement increases on improving wages and benefits for the direct care workforce.

 Exempt all direct care workers who have worked for a Medicare/Medicaid provider for at least one year and are making at least $15 an hour from paying Iowa income tax. This would incentivize employers who are not paying at least $15 an hour to increase their wages. In addition to the income tax exemption, provide those same direct care workers a tax credit or incentive for each quarter that they remain working in the direct care field. The incentive must be high enough to lift direct care workers out of poverty, as specified in the United Ways Asset-Limited, Income-Constrained, Employed report, with updated data due out in 2023, and eventually eliminate reliance on state help for food, housing, health insurance, and childcare. Those providing care and supportive services through Money Follows the Person (MFP) and the Consumer Directed Attendant Care (CDAC) programs should also receive the exemption and tax incentives.

Generally, higher demand for employees drives wages up, but that is not so for some direct care workers. This is because payment for health and long-term care providers that employ direct care workers is mainly determined by states through their Medicaid programs. As the largest payer for services, Medicaid sets the industry standard for direct care wages. Inadequate reimbursement rates under Medicaid prevent many employers from offering competitive wages.

Investing significantly in care infrastructurein which higher wages for care workers is a key plankwould transform Iowas direct care workforce. It would attract more workers to the field and improve retention. And to fellow Iowa taxpayers: Do you want your tax dollars spent on the front-end, investing in good-paying jobs and good care, or do you want to continue to invest in the back-end costs of high worker turnover, diminished care quality and tax-funded programs like childcare subsidies, state health insurance, and food benefits so these and other essential workers can afford to work? This is the year for Iowa lawmakers to act.

Maribel Slinde chairs Iowa CareGivers, a West Des Moines-based non-profit that advocates for direct care workers.

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PIERRE | Gov. Kristi Noem signed a bill Monday she has promoted as a rejection of so-called critical race theory, even though the legislation is limited in scope.

The law bans the state's public universities from using training and orientation material that compels people to feel discomfort based on their race. The bill passed the Senate earlier this month.

No student or teacher should have to endorse Critical Race Theory in order to attend, graduate from, or teach at our public universities, Noem's release said. College should remain a place where freedom of thought and expression are encouraged, not stifled by political agendas.

Noem has repeatedly criticized critical race theory, an academic framework that centers on the idea that racism is systemic in the nations institutions. The initiative signed Monday does not prohibit professors in higher education from teaching such concepts in academic instruction.

The bills actual text makes no mention of critical race theory. It lays out seven divisive concepts and bans universities from making students or faculty members adhere to them or promote them in required trainings.

It was one of a dozen education bills signed by Noem on Monday. She has inked 192 bills total into law and vetoed one this session.

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A Winner man was sentenced Tuesday to more than 10 years in federal prison following his conviction on child pornography charges.

U.S. District Court Chief Judge Roberto A. Lange sentenced Clayton Spotted Calf, 27, to 121 months in prison and five years of supervised release. Spotted Calf was also ordered to pay $54,000 in restitution and $100 to the Federal Crime Victims Fund following his guilty plea to receiving child pornography.

A federal grand jury indicted Spotted Calf on March 9, 2021, and he later pleaded guilty to the charges in November.

According to court records, between December 2020 and March 2021, Spotted Calf searched and downloaded child pornography from the internet. He saved multiple images and videos of child pornography to his Google account and to two cell phones.

Federal prosecutors said law enforcement began investigating Spotted Calf in January 2021, based on a cyber tip received from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, which indicated Spotted Calf was storing child pornography in his Google account. In February 2021, Spotted Calf was contacted by law enforcement agents with the South Dakota Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force.

Spotted Calf admitted to intentionally searching for child pornography and storing it in his Google account and on his cell phones, which were seized. Prosecutors said a forensic examination of Spotted Calfs Google account and his devices revealed thousands of images and videos of child pornography.

Spotted Calf forfeited ownership of the cell phones and will also be required to register as a sex offender pursuant to the Sex Offender and Registration and Notification Act.

The case was investigated by the South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, and the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.

Following his sentencing, Spotted Calf was immediately turned over to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.

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Following a recent trip to Poland and Germany, U.S. Sen. Steve Daines is urging the Biden administration to do whats necessary to transfer Polish MiG fighter jets to Ukraine.

Daines, who traveled over the weekend with 10 senators, met with Germany's parliament and the deputy foreign minister of Germany, as well as representatives from Ukraine. Daines said that more lethal weapons were needed. Citing the missiles the United States has already supplied Ukraine to fight the invading Russian Army, Daines, a Republican, said getting the Polish fighter jets to Ukraine wasnt an escalation. He called the Biden administration timid for not delivering the MiG 29 fighters it originally indicated it was willing to do.

Remember, we have provided the Javelins, the Stingers, a long list of lethal aid already to the Ukrainians that allowed them to destroy Russian tanks. And, the Ukrainians have been very successful in doing that, Daines said. And so I'm not quite sure what the argument is with the MiG 29 being different from the other lethal aid we have provided. This is about peace through strength.

The United States had sought MiG 29 fighters from Poland and other NATO countries to transfer to Ukraine because Ukrainian pilots are familiar with the Russian-built jets. The arrangement fell apart when Poland announced that it wouldnt transfer the MiGs directly to Ukraine, but would deliver the jets to a U.S. Air Force base in Germany. The United States said transfer of the jets from a U.S. Air Force base to Ukraine fighter pilots was too direct of a confrontation between the United States and Russia.

Daines said German officials who met with the senators likened Russias invasion of Ukraine to the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States.

In Germany, I heard from several, as well as other Europeans, who said that Feb. 24, when Vladimir Putin launched his invasion into Ukraine, was their 9/11, Daines said. By the way, I do not think it was a coincidence that Vladimir Putin waited until the Beijing Olympics were over on Feb. 20. It seems as if the Chinese sent a save-the-date card to Putin, to make sure that they knew they should not start the invasion prior to the end of the Beijing Olympics. I don't think it's a coincidence it happened four days right after the Beijing Olympics had their closing ceremonies.

There is a very big difference in the expected NATO response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the 9/11 attacks on the United States. Because the United States is a NATO member, the organization invoked Article 5, meaning that the members recognized the attack on the United States as an attack on all NATO members. They joined the United States in war, something NATO members havent done for Ukraine, which isnt a member.

Daines also said the Russian invasion proved that Germany made a mistake in transitioning away from coal and nuclear energy and toward natural gas-fired power plants fueled by Russian natural gas.

"What's happening with energy, I think, is a wake-up call for Germany, a wake-up call for the United States, a wake-up call for the EU." Daines said. "We must reverse this anti-fossil fuel energy course," Daines said. "And we need to be thinking about renewable sources of energy as additive to our energy portfolio, not replacing our energy portfolio."

Germany is bringing coal-fired power plants out of mothball in case the energy is needed. It continues its planned exit from nuclear power. It plans to expedite construction of two liquid natural gas terminals to reduce its dependence on Russian natural gas delivered by pipeline. The Associated Press reported Tuesday that Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Germany isn't ready to fully boycott Russian oil and gas, but would diversify its energy supply enough over time to do without Russian fuels.

It would be incorrect to describe Germany's energy "wake-up call" as a pivot back to fossil fuels. Scholz, addressing the Bundestag on Feb. 27, said the security threat posed by Russia's invasion of Ukraine meant Germany must accelerate its pivot away from fossil fuels.

"After all, the events of recent days and weeks have shown us that responsible, forward-looking energy policy is not just crucial for our economy and our climate. It is also crucial for our security," Scholz said in prepared remarks published by the German federal government. "This means that the faster we make progress with the development of renewable energies, the better. And we are on the right track. We are an industrialized country aiming to become carbon-neutral by 2045."

The trip to Poland and Germany was led by Iowa Republican Joni Ernst. In the days ahead of the trip, Ernest lobbied 41 senators to put their names to a letter calling on President Joe Biden to facilitate the transfer of MiG 29 fighters to Ukraine. Six of the senators on the trip, including Daines, signed onto the letter.

The other members of the traveling delegation were Susan Collins, R-Maine; John Cornyn, R-Texas; Kirsten Gillibrand, D-New York; Jerry Moran, R-Kansas; Angus King I-Maine; Shelley Moore Capito, R-West Virginia; Jacky Rosen, D-Nevada; and Roger Marshall, R-Kansas.

Concerning the $13.6 billion aid package to Ukraine passed by Congress earlier this month, Daines and Marshall were the only senators on the trip to vote against it. The aid for Ukraine was tucked into a $1.5 trillion omnibus bill to fund the federal government through September. Daines opposed the omnibus and voted no on the package after joining a few Republican lawmakers in attempting the put the Ukraine aid to stand-alone vote.

Democrats presented the priorities of the Ukraine representatives differently. Gillibrand said the representatives asked for four things, the first being increased sanctions, particularly on people closest to Russian President Vladimir Putin. The second priority was an increase in the number of weapons as well as the lethality of the weapons. A third request was that Putin and his military leaders be declared war criminals. The fourth request was that the Senate talk about what it will do for Ukraine, not what it won't do.

Republican Senator Collins said the United States needed to allow Ukraine refuges temporary protective status in the United States if refugees had family already here.

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A Hamilton man was arrested Friday following a high-speed chase in a stolen pickup truck that reached speeds of 100 mph.

Andrew David Larson, 47, appeared Monday in Ravalli County Justice Court on several felony and misdemeanor charges.

According to the charging affidavit, the Ravalli County 911 Center received a report at 5:30 p.m. from witnesses who observed a man steal a vehicle from Quality Motors on Hamiltons First Street.

Shortly thereafter, a Montana Highway Patrol trooper spotted the stolen pickup truck near Fairgrounds Road and Stonegate Drive. A Hamilton officer also responded and recognized the vehicle and driver.

After Larson refused to stop, a pursuit ensued onto the Eastside Highway where speeds reached 100 mph before turning east on Hamilton Heights Road.

A short distance later, Larson executed a dangerous U-turn that traveled onto the hills on either side of Hamilton Heights Road. Larson turned north again on the Eastside Highway before turning west on Black Lane where speeds hit 80 mph.

When Larson turned onto the Old Corvallis Road, he sideswiped a large garbage dumpster before continuing southbound through an active construction zone about one mile north of the Ravalli County Fairgrounds.

Road construction workers were present in the construction zone. Larson had to leave the lane of travel in an effort to avoid an excavator in the construction zone and traveled off the road into the parking lot of an auto repair shop.

With the vehicle stopped, Larson initially refused to exit the pickup.

Larson took off his jacket while inside the truck. The affidavit said one officer noticed a clear plastic baggie hanging partially out of one of the coats pockets. Another officer reported that she observed white powder on Larsons nostrils.

Larsons speech was slurred and he was making incoherent, non-relevant statements, the affidavit said. When he was placed in an officers car, it appeared Larson immediately fell asleep.

The affidavit said Larson was physically resistive to officers at the detention center, while being loaded into a patrol vehicle and at the hospital. That included high-volume yelling and profanities. Several people were needed to restrain him during the blood draw.

A check of Larsons criminal history found one DUI conviction in Minnesota and three in Washington State. The affidavit said Larson has DUI arrests in multiple other states for which records are being sought.

Larson was charged with felony DUI, two felony counts of criminal endangerment, felony theft and misdemeanor charges of obstructing a peace officer and disorderly conduct.

Ravalli County Justice Jennifer Ray set bond at $200,000.

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With the arrival of spring, firefighters across the Bitterroot National Forest are gearing up for their annual prescribed burning operations to reduce hazardous fuels, restore wildlife habitat, and better protect communities from future wildfires.

Pending favorable conditions, underburning operations could begin as early as tomorrow, Wednesday, March 23, on the Darby/Sula Ranger District south of Lake Como.

Underburning, a type of prescribed fire treatment, ignites vegetation under the forest canopy or in open grassy meadows and focuses on the consumption of surface fuels. Frequent, low-intensity fire is essential in improving habitat conditions by regenerating fire-adapted vegetation and encouraging the growth of new forage and food sprouts for wildlife.

This is the time of year when we have the opportunity to be proactive and meet our forest-wide goals of reducing hazardous fuels in key areas near communities, said David Tingley, Bitterroot National Forest Fuels Fire Management Officer. Over the coming weeks, we will be burning on days that maximize safety and minimize smoke impacts to restore healthy forest conditions.

Spring prescribed fire activities normally take place from March to May and burning is highly weather and fuels dependent. A mosaic pattern of burned and unburned areas will remain after treatments.

All total, fire managers plan to burn approximately 3,774 acres this spring. Smoke may be visible at times from West Fork Highway, East Fork Road, or U.S. Highway 93. Treatment areas include:

Darby/Sula Ranger District  2,292 acres are planned:

 Waddell Units, south of Lake Como

 Como/Horse Lick, south of Lost Horse and north of Lake Como

 Trapper Bunkhouse, southwest of Darby between Little Tin Cup and McCoy Creeks

 Cameron Blue, along East Fork Road near Guide Creek

 Teepee Face and Schultz Saddle, east of Sula and north of Springer Memorial

 Tolan Ecoburn, east of Sula between Reimel and Tolan Creeks

West Fork Ranger District  815 acres are planned:

 Lower West Fork Units, south of Trapper Creek and north of Lloyd Creek

 School Point Ecoburn Units, west of Boulder Creek and east of Halford Creek

Stevensville Ranger District 667 acres are planned:

 Upper Larry Bass Units, within the Bass Creek Recreation Area northwest of Stevensville

 Three Saddle Units, Sapphire Mountains east of Stevensville

Prescribed burning operations will only be conducted if conditions are favorable. Favorable conditions include correct parameters for temperature, wind, fuel moisture and ventilation for smoke. When prescription criteria are met, firefighters implement, monitor and patrol each burn to ensure it meets forest health and public safety goals.

All prescribed burns will be implemented in compliance with Montana air quality standards and coordinated with the Montana Department of Environmental Quality to reduce the impacts of smoke to neighbors, cooperators and surrounding communities. Smoke may settle in the valley bottoms and drainages overnight, but it is expected to dissipate within a few days.

For public safety, recreationists are asked to be aware of fire crews and vehicles in these areas. The public is also asked to avoid traveling in prescribed burn units while crews are present, as well as trails and roads directly adjacent to the units. Please take caution as roads and trails used as control lines for the burn could be temporarily impacted by low intensity fire and smoke.

For more information about specific burns or to be placed on a pre-burning notification list, please contact your local ranger district. For burn updates, maps, and photos of project areas, visit https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/8024/ or the Discover Bitterroot National Forest Facebook page at www.facebook.com/DiscoverBitterrootNF.

The USDA Forest Service recently released a 10-year Wildfire Crisis Strategy that works with partners to protect communities and improve the resilience of Americas forests.

The plan includes a dramatic increase in fuels and forest health treatments by up to four times current treatment levels in the West.

The Bitterroot National Forest and the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) Hamilton field office were also recently awarded the USDAs Joint Chiefs Landscape Restoration Partnership Award. The funding will support Fire Adapted Bitterroot, a three-year, 10,000 acre project, which seeks to address forest health concerns and reduce wildfire threats to communities and landowners in Ravalli County.

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A Stevensville woman who was allegedly driving on the wrong side of the road without headlights was arrested last week after nearly hitting a sheriffs vehicle head-on.

Rhiannon Marie Bentz, 40, appeared in Ravalli County Justice Court on felony counts of criminal endangerment and methamphetamine possession. She also faces misdemeanor counts of driving under the influence, possession of drug paraphernalia, and unlawful possession of an open alcoholic beverage container.

According to the charging affidavit, a sheriffs office corporal was patrolling northbound on U.S. Highway 93 near the intersection of Pony Palace Way north of Hamilton on March 12 when he was met by a vehicle flashing its high beams to warn oncoming vehicles.

The officer then spotted a passenger car driving directly at him in the southbound lane without headlights. To avoid a head-on collision, he had to swerve completely out of his lane of travel.

After pulling Bentz vehicle over, the affidavit said the officer spotted several open White Claw alcoholic beverages. Bentz told the officer she had not had much to drink and would be under the limit.

After searching for it, Bentz was unable to provide her basic paperwork.

The officer spotted a prescription pill bottle in the vehicle and asked if she had used anything other than alcohol that evening. The affidavit said the inside of the pill bottle had residue that tested positive for methamphetamine.

Bentz was unable to successfully complete the field sobriety test. A preliminary breath sample yielded a .207 breath alcohol content. In Montana, a driver is considered impaired at .08.

After obtaining a search warrant, the affidavit said the officer found a second container with residue that tested positive for methamphetamine, drug paraphernalia and five open containers of White Claw alcoholic beverages.

Justice Jennifer Ray set bail at $10,000.

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Amid declining COVID numbers, mitigation measures have relaxed throughout the country over the last few weeks, except for masking recommendations for air travel. The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) announced one more month of mandatory masking in transportation hubs based on recommendations from the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention.

In response, Representative Matt Rosendale joined 16 other Republican members of Congress in suing the CDC over the masking mandate in airports and on commercial flights, citing government overreach in the suit filed last week.

On March 10, the TSA announced the extended mask mandate, which was set to end March 18, 2022, will now end on April 18, 2022 due to the CDC recommendation. The extra month gives the CDC time to develop an updated framework for masking based on community levels of COVID-19, risk of new variants and the latest science.

It has been more than two years since the virus that causes COVID-19 was first detected in the United States. During that period, Americans have been subject to an increasing amount of government overreach, the Congress members said in the suit.

With minimal impacts to hospital systems and low case loads, the majority of Montanas counties are free to go maskless, except for a pocket of counties in the northeast corner of the state.

According to the CDC, Valley, Roosevelt, McCone, Richland, Dawson and Wibaux counties should continue masking indoors. The recommendations are based on the number of new COVID cases per 100,000 people, new COVID admissions per 100,000 and the percent of inpatient beds occupied by COVID patients.

Statewide, there are 44 people hospitalized due to COVID-19, the lowest since early July 2021. In the last six weeks, hospitalizations have decreased 88%.

A tidal wave of postponed care is starting to hit hospitals as 100 of the states 220 ICU beds are filled with non-COVID patients. Twelve are filled with COVID inpatients.

There were 409 new COVID cases added over the last week, bringing active cases to 494 on Monday. COVID cases in the state are the lowest since July 2021 and have decreased about 97% in the last seven weeks.

During the week ending March 11, 2022, 94 COVID cases in children were reported, according to the most recent state data. Thats a 78% decrease in COVID cases among children compared to the previous week. Two COVID-19 related hospitalizations of children were reported during the same week.

The Department of Health and Human Services has been monitoring sublineages of the omicron variant and has detected 16 cases of BA.2 in Montana. The first case was detected on Jan. 30, 2022. The subvariant is responsible for surging COVID cases in Europe.

Yellowstone County continues to lead the state in active COVID cases with 95 active cases on Monday. Missoula, Gallatin and Lewis and Clark counties follow with 77, 48 and 34 active cases respectively.

Two more Yellowstone County deaths were identified through review of death certificates filed with the Clerk and Recorder, according to a press release from RiverStone Health.

The deaths included a woman in her 80s who died on March 9 at her home. She was not vaccinated. The other was a woman in her 50s who died at her home on March 4. She was not vaccinated.

A fully-vaccinated man in his 80s died on March 14 at a Billings hospital. Yellowstone Countys COVID-19 death toll now stands at 548 people since the pandemic began.

Over the week ending March 19, Billings hospitals averaged nine COVID inpatients per day, compared to an average of 19 COVID inpatients the previous week. There was an average of three patients per day in the intensive care unit and two on ventilators over the last week.

Yellowstone County is seeing a low level of COVID-19 spread now," read the RiverStone press release. "The virus is still present in our community and previous lulls in this pandemic have been followed by surges in cases and hospitalization."

In the last week, 13 more Montanans have died due to COVID-related illness, bringing the states death toll to 3,236 since the pandemic began.

Unvaccinated adults have 41 times the risk of dying from COVID-19 compared to fully-vaccinated adults with booster doses, according to December data from the CDC. Unvaccinated adults are more than three times more likely to become infected with COVID, compared to fully vaccinated adults with a booster, according to DPHHS.

Statewide, 55% of the eligible population are fully vaccinated against COVID-19.

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The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday denied the Montana Legislature's bid to reverse a ruling by the state Supreme Court in last year's subpoena showdown between the two branches of state government.

The nation's high court denied the request without comment to indicate the court's thinking. Last year, Republican state lawmakers had argued the state Supreme Court should have recused itself from ruling on a case that could have determined the fate of legislators' subpoenas for their court records. Gov. Greg Gianforte, who had remained on the sidelines in earlier proceedings, had submitted a brief in support of the Legislature.

But Randy Cox, attorney for the Montana Supreme Court administrator who was challenging the Legislature's authority to subpoena judicial records, had argued in court filings that the Legislature had negated its own arguments by withdrawing their subpoenas before the case was resolved.

Cox said in an emailed statement Monday the U.S. Supreme Court decision served as an affirmation to lower court rulings that lawmakers used improper methods to obtain judicial branch records.

The denial puts a period on the end of the legal conflict that began last year, as lawmakers raised concerns about internal polling of judges on pending legislation. Members of the judicial branch, including the state Supreme Court, contended that judges need to confer on pending bills so they can testify on how that legislation would effect the functions of the court. Democrats accused the GOP of attempting to undermine the one branch of government that party doesn't have firmly under its control. Republicans alleged the polls were proof of judges making decisions about laws that may be later challenged in their court, and sharpened their allegations up after learning McLaughlin had deleted the email polls.

Before the state Supreme Court, McLaughlin challenged the Legislature's authority to subpoena her records. During those proceedings, lawmakers, represented by the Montana Attorney General's Office, filed a motion requesting the state Supreme Court to recuse itself, arguing the justices should not rule in a case that would determine the validity of subpoenas for their own records and communications. The Supreme Court denied that request, with Justice Laurie McKinnon writing that lawmakers were attempting to "manufacture a conflict" to throw them off the case.

The Montana Supreme Court ultimately ruled in McLaughlin's favor, finding the Legislature did not have a legitimate legislative purpose in subpoenaing the justices' records. Justice Jim Rice had also challenged lawmakers' subpoena for his records in District Court and won.

In an emailed statement on Monday, Sen. Greg Hertz, R-Polson, said he was disappointed but not surprised by the U.S. Supreme Court decision, given the narrow number of cases the high court agrees to hear.

Lawmakers in recent weeks have begun reactivating a special committee that's been dormant, at least publicly, for nearly a year. The Special Select Committee on Judicial Accountability and Transparency is scheduled to meet April 13 with two panels to discuss records and retention policies, as well as a study bill that passed late in the 2021 session. Republican legislative leaders formed the committee during the 2021 session as the subpoena conflict was ramping up, and allocated $285,500 for funding the committee's work. It has not met since May 5, 2021.

Hertz, who chairs the special committee, said the U.S. Supreme Court decision leaves it up to lawmakers to "fix" the issues surrounding records retention policies and internal polling of judges on bills moving through the Legislature.

"We hope the judiciary will be forthcoming going forward and willing to work with us on developing adequate policies and procedures, starting with our next select committee meeting on April 13th," Hertz said.

In a statement Monday, McLaughlin nodded to the need for cooperation with lawmakers to develop better records retention policies, but said she was vindicated by the U.S. Supreme Court's decision to turn down the Legislature's case.

While existing public record procedures need some improvement and clarification, all government officials are obligated to safeguard the massive amounts of private information residing on the computer systems of state government," McLaughlin said. "The courts have now established that I did exactly what the law required me to do.

Republican lawmakers are still in possession of over 5,000 of McLaughlin's emails, obtained from the state Department of Administration early in the dispute, which administers state email systems. Cox said Monday he now expects the Legislature to comply with an earlier state Supreme Court ruling to return those records.

A spokesperson for Republican legislators said lawmakers have been in touch with the Attorney General's Office about "the appropriate next steps regarding compliance with the court's order."

Kyler Nerison, spokesperson for Attorney General Austin Knudsen, did not respond by press time to an email asking about the Attorney General's guidance to lawmakers on returning the emails to McLaughlin, but did issue a statement criticizing the state Supreme Court rulings that shut down the legislative subpoenas. Nerison also pointed to a Harvard Law Review study that found only 1% of cases were granted review in 2019.

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Starbucks Workers United  the group seeking to unionize Starbucks workers nationwide  is throwing a Unity Fest in Richmond at The National on April 24, with special guest Bernie Sanders.

The 80-year old senator from Vermont and former presidential candidate has been vocal about his support for the Starbucks workers union on Twitter.

Congratulations to the workers at Starbucks for your union organizing success, Sanders tweeted on Sunday. A union means not only better wages and working conditions, it means having some control over your job and not just being a cog in the machine. It means being more human.

There are currently seven Starbucks stores in the Richmond area that have filed for union elections, including the stores at: 1017 N. Arthur Ashe Blvd., 3555 W. Cary St., 2559 Huguenot Road, 15605 WC Commons Way, 11136 Midlothian Turnpike, 6980 Forest Hill Ave., 1601 Willow Lawn Dr.

Our purpose is to bring awareness of these stores in Richmond that are unionizing right now, said Virginia Diamond, president of the Northern Virginia Labor Federation who is working with Workers United.

Sanders and his team reached out personally to the Unity Fest organizers, Diamond said, and expressed interest in attending and speaking at the event.

Five stores in Richmond will get their votes [for unionizing] counted on April 19. This will be a post-celebration, Diamond said.

Besides Sanders, there will be Richmond bands performing throughout the day, many consisting of Starbucks employees.

Dillon Dix, 23, an employee at the Westchester Commons store who signed the petition, is expecting a large turnout at Richmonds Unity Fest with workers coming from across the country.

This is the first real public event for the Starbucks Workers Union, Dix said. Were hearing from people all over eager to support this movement.

In February, Richmond stores began filing petitions with the National Labor Relations Board seeking union representation after Starbucks workers at a Buffalo, N.Y., store voted to unionize. That was the first time workers have voted to unionize at a store operated by the 50-year-old coffee retailer, the worlds largest coffee chain with about 9,000 company-owned stores in the U.S.

We really love the type of work and the culture in our stores. Thats a driving factor for seeking a union in our stores, Dix said. I think a company like Starbucks that prides itself in its image of being good to its workers could be more accountable to its workers.

Theres been a wave of union-organizing going on throughout the country. This really is an uprising of this generation of workers who really see unions as the kind of pathway to having a better economic future, Diamond said in February. It started with Starbucks, which you know they all love, they love the company and they love working there but they really feel that they should be able to have a voice and have a seat at the table.

The Starbucks workers in Richmond created the posters for the event, which feature Bernie Sanders rocking out with a guitar and a rendering of the Bernie Sanders mural by Richmond artist Mickael Broth at 3300 W. Broad St.

Sanders last visited Richmond on Feb. 27, 2020.

Unity Fest will be held at The National, 708 E. Broad St., on April 24 from noon to 8 p.m.
In the federal court equivalent of a public smackdown, a judge on Monday greenlighted a lawsuit alleging longtime Melrose Park Mayor Ron Serpico directed a campaign of state-sanctioned bullying against a family that culminated with a racist and profanity-laced tirade before a village meeting.

Even by contemporary standards, such as they are, that outburst was an extraordinary display of profanity and aggression, U.S. District Judge Steven Seeger wrote about Serpicos remarks in January 2021. It suggests a deep level of personal animus. And it shows a willingness to abuse ones position as a public servant. It was not the finest hour in the annals of public service.

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Seegers 25-page ruling denying the villages motion to dismiss most counts of the suit filed by Melrose Park resident Michael Cozzi and his elderly parents, Vincent and Angeline, means the bulk of the allegations have cleared a first hurdle toward a trial. Vincent Cozzi died last month due to complications from COVID-19, court filings show.

The judge did dismiss one of the counts alleging a violation of due process rights.

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Melrose Park Mayor Ron Serpico during the dedication at Vietnam Veterans Memorial Park in 2016. (Alex V. Hernandez/for Pioneer Press)

Both Serpico and the village have denied the allegations in the suit. In a statement to the Tribune on Tuesday, the mayor said the village was pleased the judge dismissed the due process claim, saying Cozzi was in fact given ample and repeated opportunity to correct violations and have his tickets dismissed, opportunities which he chose to squander.

In reciting the plaintiffs allegations, the judge acknowledges that discovery is only beginning in the lawsuit, and we are confident that once this case moves forward, it will become clear that the Village of Melrose Park was completely justified in the issuance of the citations, the emailed statement read.

The mayor did not address the other allegations in the suit, or the comments by the judge about his recorded tirade.

The suit alleged the harassment campaign started in 2020 with a barrage of municipal tickets ostensibly over lawn furniture and political signs in the Cozzis yard. It quickly escalated into frivolous parking citations and verbal threats  including one incident where Serpico himself drove past the home and allegedly told Michael Cozzi, Youre lucky I dont get out of this car and beat your (expletive), according to the suit.

In all, the Cozzis were slapped with more than 60 tickets totaling about $30,000, and when they didnt pay up, the village slapped a lien on their home, according to the suit.

If the reader is thinking that things have, at this point, gone completely off the rails, buckle up, because the ride is not yet over, Seeger wrote in his opinion, which conveyed equal parts shock and snark over Serpicos alleged behavior.

In January 2021, as the village continued to issue thousands of dollars in fines to the family, Michael Cozzi went to a village meeting to express his concerns. Before the meeting began, he surreptitiously recorded a testy exchange with the mayor with an audio recorder.

To put it mildly, Mayor Serpico responded poorly, Seeger wrote. He lost his cool. He lost his temper. And if he has any ability to express himself without using expletives, he lost that too.

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On the recording, Seeger said, Serpico used the F-word over and over, as a noun, a verb, and an adjective, hurled a racist epithet for Blacks at Cozzi, who is white, and told him, Do me a (expletive) favor and sit down and shut the (expletive) up.

Serpico also employed the particularly colorful Chicago phrase jagoff, Seeger said.

When Cozzi asked the mayor, What did I do to you? the innocent question sent Mayor Serpico into the next stratosphere, Seeger wrote.

What he lacked in elegance  and in range of vocabulary  he made up for in directness, Seeger said. He told him where to go, and then some, Seeger said.

But, Seeger said, the Cozzis went to the federal courthouse instead.

Serpico later publicly apologized for his comments, saying Cozzi had repeatedly harassed him and the village board of trustees and that my frustration got the better of me.

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In addition to Serpico himself, the Cozzis lawsuit also names the village, and Seegers ruling leaves the door open to possible constitutional violations, known in federal litigation as a Monell claim.

Seeger said those allegations can go forward because Serpico had final decision-making power with the village and allegedly was personally involved in some of the incidents, which overall paint a picture of state-sanctioned bullying at the hands of the mayor.

Some of the original inspectors who issued the tickets told the Cozzis that it was at the direction of the mayor, according to the suit. Seeger also pointed to Serpicos alleged snide comments about the condition of the Cozzis home at the village meeting as an indication that he was personally involved in the dispute.

If this case were a Monell crime scene, the mayor left his fingerprints, footprints and DNA all over the place, Seeger said.

Seeger also noted that just days after the village was served with the lawsuit, the tickets, which had been issued virtually daily for months, suddenly stopped coming.

At a hearing last year, the judge said he intended to get to the bottom of it.

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You know, if the case goes forward, the Village of Melrose Park and whoevers running the town should be prepared to give a rather detailed explanation to me about why those tickets were issued. Okay? Seeger told the villages attorneys in April 2021, according to a transcript.

jmeisner@chicagotribune.com
The Richmond City Circuit Court has granted the city permission to hold a second referendum for the proposed One Casino and Resort this November.

After a narrow majority of voters rejected the $565 million project last fall, the same proposal will be on ballots again this year, according to an order signed by Judge Reilly Marchant.

Mayor Levar Stoney and the Richmond City Council called for another referendum earlier this year, citing the tightly contested result and the loss of approximately $30 million in projected annual tax revenue from the development.

This special economic development opportunity in South Richmond gives the city an additional way to address equity and community wealth gaps, Stoney said through a news release Monday night. As the city continues to work on diversity, equity, and inclusion, the casino project can assist with leveling the playing field for many Richmonders who continue to struggle during these uncertain and unprecedented times.

The order comes as state Sen. Joe Morrissey, D-Richmond, and officials in the nearby city of Petersburg are angling for a casino referendum there.

A Virginia Senate committee last month rejected legislation to let Petersburg hold a casino referendum, but a provision in the Senates proposed state budget would temporarily block Richmond from holding a second referendum to allow time for a Petersburg casino study.

The General Assembly finished its regular annual session earlier this month, but has yet to reach an agreement on the states next budget.

Morrissey said Monday evening that a moratorium would overrule the judges order if the provision is included in the states adopted budget.

The budget is a law, he said. That law supersedes any city ordinance or court order.

Stoney said he is optimistic after the court ruling, but added that he and others know that this is not the end.

We will continue to advocate with the General Assembly to preserve our right to pursue this game-changing opportunity, he said.

The City Council voted in January to hold another casino referendum. Katherine Jordan, of the 2nd District, voted against the resolution, saying that she has misgivings about casino gambling.

Stoney and several council members have proposed a 2-cent reduction to the citys real estate tax if city voters approve the project this fall. Councilwoman Stephanie Lynch says she is opposed to the tax cut and has proposed a resolution earmarking one-third of all tax revenue from the project for public schools.
Richmonds real estate tax rate is likely to remain level next year, but a rate increase could be necessary in three to six years due to rising debt costs for new schools, the city jail and other capital projects.

While administration officials say economic development projects or budget cuts could negate the need for more tax-generated revenue, a financial consultant for the city said Monday that they should spend more on debt service annually in order to sustainably manage the citys debt.

If you look at and think about how significantly the revenues have grown this year, those numbers are all achievable. But we still have to be careful, said David Rose, an adviser with the Richmond-based financial advising firm Davenport and Co. We want to be as transparent as possible  if were going to keep our strong credit ratings, were going to have to make sure that we always have enough revenues to take care of the debt service.

The additional revenue would be meant to pay for recent capital expenditures and upcoming projects that are part of Mayor Levar Stoneys proposed $1.27 billion five-year capital improvement program. The capital spending plan includes cost estimates for a new George Wythe High School, vehicle fleet upgrades, a national slave history museum in Shockoe Bottom, and multiple road, utility and transit infrastructure projects.

The city has allocated $86.5 million in this years budget to pay for long-term debt service. Stoneys $836 million general fund budget proposal includes $1.2 million more for the line item.

Davenports fiscal analysis shows that the city will need to generate an additional $3 million in tax revenue by the 2025 fiscal year to adequately cover its debt balance while adhering to several debt policies that Rose said credit rating agencies check when evaluating the citys creditworthiness.

The projected expenditures would continue to rise to $14 million in subsequent years before beginning to taper down in 2030. The city-commissioned debt analysis calculates that a 4.5-cent increase could generate enough to cover those rising costs.

Those notes alarmed 8th District Councilwoman Reva Trammell, who said some of her constituents are already struggling with higher real estate taxes due to rising property values.

When people hear this, theyre going to go crazy in our city. Theyre paying way too much now, Trammell said, before noting that the neighboring counties of Chesterfield and Henrico are considering real estate tax rate decreases.

Lincoln Saunders, the citys chief administrative officer, stressed that Davenport is not recommending any tax increases and that the tax revenue information and other illustrations simply show anticipated cost increases.

What I think this graph demonstrates is the need for economic development, he said. What is clear here is that we need to grow revenues.

Following an earlier presentation of the Davenport report to a council committee last week, Councilwoman Stephanie Lynch said it reinforced her opposition to a proposal from the mayor and other council members to lower the real estate tax rate by 2 cents if a casino resort project passes a potential referendum this fall. Richmond voters last year narrowly rejected the project.

Administration officials, however, said any revenue lost from the tax cut would be offset up by new tax revenues from the development.

The revenue projections are conservative and do not include additional economic development growth, including the casino project, said Petula Burks, a spokesperson for the mayors administration, of the Davenport report.

Real estate revenue is only one element of the citys portfolio. Economic development activity generates several other sources that are vital to the operations of the city.

The Richmond City Council will continue budget development review in a work session on Monday at 1 p.m.
A Chicago drug trafficker who made repeated trips to Richmond to distribute heroin and fentanyl was sentenced Monday to 5  years in federal prison in a case developed by Chesterfield County police, who found nearly 2 kilos of pure fentanyl in his car. Nearly a kilo more of the drug and $43,000 in cash were discovered during a search of his stash house in Richmond.

U.S. District Court Judge John A. Gibney noted that Otis Goodman 39, was a major distributor of a dangerous drug and that his connections allowed him to provide large quantities of fentanyl by appointment. But the judge indicated he couldnt overlook the horrific childhood Goodman endured, which included sexual abuse and being left to essentially fend for himself and his younger siblings at an early age, due to a drug addicted mother and a father who never cared.

His personal history is just tragic, Gibney said in remarks from the bench. Its one of the worst Ive seen.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen Anthony argued Goodman deserved at least 84 months behind bars because the defendant engaged in ongoing dangerous activity and the fentanyl seized amounted to 40,000 potential doses that could have gone out into the community.

But federal public defender Laura Koenig noted that Goodman didnt sell drugs to purchase flashy cars or clothes, but to support himself, his siblings, his mother and his three children, two of whom were not biologically his but he raised as his own. Koenig also pointed to the testimony of a clinical psychologist who said Goodman was traumatized during childhood and suffers from a form of post-traumatic stress disorder.

Taking both sides into account, Gibney granted a downward departure in punishment and sentenced Goodman to 66 months in prison, which is below the low end of federal sentencing guidelines calculated for Goodman of between 78 and 97 months. While incarcerated, he must undergo intensive drug and psychological treatment if he qualifies, and must adhere to 10 years of supervised probation upon his release.

The case developed in July 2020 when a confidential source for Chesterfield police was interviewed by U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agents and Chesterfield detectives. The source identified Goodman as a drug trafficker who was running heroin and fentanyl from Chicago to Richmond.

Investigators corroborated the information through a separate investigation that showed Goodman was frequently traveling from Chicago to Richmond, where he stopped at an apartment on Bainbridge Street to store and package his drugs, according to federal prosecutors.

The source provided additional information that Goodman would be in possession of heroin on July 31, 2020, in Richmond. On that date, Chesterfield detectives and DEA agents observed Goodman drive to the Bainbridge Street apartment with a book bag and then travel to a McDonalds restaurant, where he was scheduled to meet the confidential source.

Officers stopped Goodmans 2017 Lexus and during a search found him in possession of nearly 2 kilos of fentanyl packaged in two vacuum-sealed bags. During a subsequent search of the Bainbridge Street apartment, investigators recovered an additional 830 grams of fentanyl, $43,000 in cash, a kilogram press, packaging materials, cutting agents and a money counter, federal prosecutors said.

Two kilos, or kilograms, is the equivalent of about 4.4 pounds.

Goodman admitted the drugs, cash and other items police seized belonged to him, wrote Anthony, the federal prosecutor, in a sentencing memorandum. Goodman also admitted that he made multiple trips to Richmond to sell drugs and that he would normally bring half a kilogram with him from Chicago, Anthony wrote.

The defendant perpetrated a multi-state drug trafficking operation wherein he would repeatedly travel hundreds of miles from Chicago to Richmond ... to put some of the deadliest drugs into the stream of commerce, Anthony wrote. The defendant knowingly offered fentanyl to his customers, meaning he knowingly sold a substance wherein less than a tenth of a gram can kill a person.

In using the Richmond apartment of an acquaintance to store and package drugs, it is clear that [Goodman] had an operation in place in this area for selling his drugs on a regular basis, Anthony wrote.

When adding together the nearly 2 kilos of fentanyl found in Goodmans car, the 830 grams recovered from the apartment and the $43,000 seized in cash  which equates to the sale of about 1 kilo of fentanyl  Goodman was or had been in possession of nearly 40,000 doses of the drug at 0.1 gram per dose  each of which is equally deadly to people in the community, Anthony wrote.

Koenig, Goodmans attorney, sought a downward variance from the federal sentencing guidelines, in large part because of her clients extensive history of complex personal trauma while growing up on the west side of Chicago.

Koenig wrote in a sentencing memorandum that Goodman was born and raised until he was about 10 years old in the violence-ravaged neighborhood of North Lawndale. His mother was addicted to crack cocaine and rarely present, and his father rarely paid him any attention.

Goodman endured a profoundly traumatic childhood that caused him to suffer for decades from the ill effects of complex post-traumatic stress disorder, Koenig wrote.

As a young child with no resources or even a true awareness of his circumstances, Mr. Goodman learned to become self-reliant and to avoid asking for help when he needed it, the attorney wrote. Without a proper support system or any vocational training, Mr. Goodman fell into the drug trade to make money to care for himself, his siblings, his mother, and [his] three kids  two of which are not biologically his but he has raised as his own.
The former director of financial aid at Reynolds Community College has pleaded guilty in Richmond federal court to wire fraud in connection with a scheme she orchestrated to defraud Virginia and the U.S. Department of Education of $379,602 in federal and state student loan and grant funds over eight years.

In accordance with a plea agreement, Kiesha Lashawn Pope, 47, entered a guilty plea to one count of wire fraud that was part of a five-count indictment issued in February that charged her with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, three counts of wire fraud and one count of aggravated identify theft.

U.S. District Judge David J. Novak accepted Popes plea and scheduled sentencing for July 19. The remaining four counts will be dismissed at the conclusion of Popes sentencing hearing.

Pope, who was hired by Reynolds in 2006, used her access to Reynolds financial aid systems to inflate the financial aid eligibility for several co-conspirators  her son, her former fiance, her goddaughter and a cousin  who were not eligible for aid at the college, according to the governments statement of facts.

Pope had kickback agreements in place with the co-conspirators to receive roughly half of the illegally obtained funds as compensation, which she used for personal expenses that included car repairs, retail shopping, a vacation on Disney Cruise Line and expenses for her minor-aged daughter, the government said.

The plea agreement Pope signed requires her to make restitution in the amount of $230,850, which includes $150,628 to the U.S. Department of Education, $62,240 to Virginia and $17,982 to Reynolds Community College.

Pope suddenly resigned from her position at Reynolds on Oct. 5, 2017, about two days after she was confronted by a supervisor about the student aid fraud involving her goddaughter.

Eight months later, on June 18, 2018, she was hired by Virginia Union University as the schools director of undergraduate and graduate school financial aid services and scholarship programs. A VUU spokesperson said after Februarys indictment that Pope is no longer employed by the university, but didnt say when she left.

With Popes manipulation of the Reynolds system, the four co-conspirators collectively received $246,450 in federal financial aid and $133,152 in state financial aid from about 2011 through 2018, to unlawfully enrich themselves, according to the indictment.

Pope agreed to procure student financial aid for the parties to ensure their continued eligibility for aid at Reynolds, even when Pope knew that such co-conspirators were not eligible for student aid. Further, Pope knew and concealed the fact that the parties had failed to earn satisfactory academic performance to receive such aid, even when such individuals were not attending classes at Reynolds, the government said in its statement of facts.

For example, Pope obtained financial aid for her ex-fiance from about 2010 through 2015 while he was incarcerated in the Sussex County Jail and not attending the college. Pope and her ex-fiance agreed that the illegally obtained funds would be given to Pope to help cover the costs of raising the fiances under-age children while he was in prison, the government said.

Pope also falsified supporting documentation for the financial aid that she procured for the co-conspirators. In one case, Pope forged medical documents from Virginia Commonwealth University Health System, along with financial aid documents, that indicated her goddaughter had failed to meet academic eligibility due to a breast cancer diagnosis, knowing that was false, the government said.
Richmond police responded to at least six shootings  two of them fatal  within a 48-hour period this week.

On Tuesday, authorities identified two men killed by gunfire.

Officers responded to the first shooting Sunday at 12:04 a.m. in the 1500 block of Gunn Street. An adult male was injured as part of an aggravated assault that was believed to be domestic in nature.

That evening, at 7:43 p.m. in the 1400 block of Jennie Scher Road in the East End, a man was found with a graze wound. He was treated at a local hospital for non-life-threatening injuries.

Shortly after 8 p.m. that night, police responded to a shooting call downtown in the 1000 block of East Main Street near the Virginia State Capitol. Officers found a man with life-threatening injuries.

On Monday, officers were summoned just before noon to the 1900 block of Richmond Highway in South Side. At the scene, they discovered a man in the parking lot of On Time Towing. Police said hed been struck by gunfire and was unresponsive. He was pronounced dead on the scene.

Police identified him as Jarrod Murray, 28, of Richmond and are still investigating the nature and circumstances of his death.

On Monday, shortly before 10 p.m., officers responded to a report of a shooting in the 4100 block of Hull Street in South Richmond.

At the scene, they found a man in a parked vehicle with an apparent gunshot wound. The man, identified as Jayce Folkner, 29, of Henrico County, was pronounced dead at the scene. Police later declared the incident a homicide.

Then at 10:55 p.m. on Monday, Richmond police were called to the parking lot of the 301 Express store in the 2000 block of Maury Street, also in South Side. They found a man in a vehicle with an apparent gunshot wound. It did not appear the shooting occurred at that location, police said.

No arrests have been announced.
With a federal panel down to 87 potential new names for nine military installations that currently honor Confederates, Rep. Don McEachin, D-4th, is renewing his call for rechristening Fort Lee for a trailblazing African American logistics officer.

Over the past year, McEachin and Rep. James Clyburn of South Carolina have urged retired Navy Adm. Michelle Howard, chair of the Naming Commission at the U.S. Department of Defense, to rename Fort Lee in honor of Lt. Gen. Arthur J. Gregg, a 35-year Army veteran who broke barriers.

McEachin notes that when Gregg retired in 1981 as the Armys deputy chief of staff for logistics, he was the highest-ranking minority general, and the second-highest ranking Black servicemember to date.

McEachin said in a statement that Gregg rose from private to three-star general and that he represents the very best of the American Armed Forces.

Virginias Fort Lee, Fort A.P. Hill and Fort Pickett are three of the nine U.S. military installations named for Confederates that are to receive new names.

African Americans from Virginia honored for their service to the Union and other Virginia-born Medal of Honor recipients are among the 87 names that the federal commission has culled from 34,000 submissions. The federal panel is to make its final recommendations by Oct. 1, with the secretary of defense to implement new names in 2024.

Gregg was born in South Carolina, but lived in Newport News during his high school years before he enlisted in the Army at 17. Following his military career he served in a number of business posts, including as vice president and general manager of Cox Cable.

McEachin said renaming Fort Lee as Fort Gregg would be an incredible acknowledgment, not only of Lt. General Greggs contributions, but of the innumerable sacrifices men and women of color have made for generations in service to our nation.

Gen. Colin Powell, another of the 87 names on the list, subsequently became the first Black chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the first Black secretary of state. Retired Gen. Lloyd Austin, who serves in the Biden administration, is the nations first Black secretary of defense.
Gov. Glenn Youngkin on Tuesday hailed a move by a state board to formally remove a set of rules that required employers to treat COVID-19 as a work place hazard and institute mitigation measures like requiring masks and ensuring social distancing.

The Virginia Department of Labor and Industrys Worker Safety Board voted Monday to remove what Youngkin said were unnecessary restrictions put in place under then-Gov. Ralph Northams administration. As expected, the board determined that COVID no longer poses a grave threat to Virginians in the workplace.

Businesses asked us for updated workplace guidance to reflect our current COVID-19 situation in Virginia, Youngkin said in a statement. We are pleased with the boards move and this vote signals that a return to normalcy in Virginia is not a partisan issue.

Were going to continue providing greater certainty and decision making power to businesses and workers in the Commonwealth as we move beyond the pandemic. With the removal of these regulations, it is undeniable that Virginia is open for business.

Virginia Democrats pushed back on the notion that the state is only now open for business, noting that Business Facilities Magazine last week honored Virginia for having the best overall business climate in 2021. Under Democrat Northam, CNBC ranked Virginia as best state for business in 2019 and in 2021. The network did not release rankings in 2020 amid COVID.

In anticipation of the state boards move, last week Youngkins administration rolled out new COVID guidance for employers to replace the stricter rules. The direction gives the private sector flexibility on how to mitigate spread of the virus in the workplace. The administration also signaled it would take action against employers who fire workers for not wearing a mask.

Were on a path back to normalcy, Youngkin said last week in a brief interview on the new guidance. Were not quite there yet  but we really have transitioned from the government being able to tell you everything to do, to basically saying, theres a lot of choice here for people to make about themselves and about their companies.

The five-page document advises employers to facilitate vaccinations and boosters; encourage ill workers to stay home; require infected workers to stay home; provide masks as appropriate; encourage good sanitary habits; maintain working ventilation; educate workers on workplace COVID policies in a language they understand; and report and record employee infections and deaths.

Coronavirus infections in Virginia are at their lowest in eight months, but health experts remain concerned about surging case counts in Western Europe. There were 928 average cases statewide Friday, according to the Virginia Department of Health, the lowest tally since late July.

House Speaker Todd Gilbert, R-Shenandoah, called the boards move a win for Virginia businesses of all sizes.

Not only were the Northam rules onerous, they were inflexible, Gilbert said. Rather than change as our understanding of the pandemic changed, the rules remained fixed.

On another COVID matter, Virginia State University announced Tuesday that with lower positivity rates, the school will no longer require masks in outdoor spaces on campus.

VSU said it will continue to require mask-wearing in class and inside all buildings and residence halls on campus.
Bomb-making materials, a partial improvised explosive device, smoke bombs and firework mortars were seized from a Tuckahoe home last week, according to a search warrant filed in Henrico Circuit Court.

Local, state and federal authorities responded to the home in the 7200 block of Durwood Crescent, near The Village shopping center off Patterson Avenue, after Henrico police discovered what they believed to be potentially hazardous materials around 12:30 p.m. Thursday.

About 25 homes immediately surrounding the site were evacuated through Friday evening. Others in the area were told to shelter in place, and several streets in and around the neighborhood were closed until explosive ordnance personnel stabilized and cleared the residence, police said.

The home that police searched is owned by Michael O. Hardy, 52, according to county property records. Police arrested Hardy on Thursday on charges of strangulation and assault stemming from an alleged domestic incident that sparked the investigation.

Sydney Crowe, 21, who is in a relationship with Hardy and shares his home, was arrested on Wednesday outside the home on outstanding warrants for possession of drugs and contempt of court.

Crowe told police that Hardy supplies her with drugs and pays for lavish trips, according to an affidavit attached to the search warrant. She told police theyd find drugs and guns in the house.

The documents reveal what else police encountered:

A large locked safe was in the downstairs laundry room behind a fridge built into the wall, an affidavit attached to the warrant read. Wires were coming through the wall going towards the safe. Numerous firearms were in the common areas of the house in plain view. Illegal narcotics were also in plain view throughout the house.

Upstairs, officers also found more firearms  these were described as rifle-style  along with body armor and other military clothing, the affidavit said.

Later, it continued: A metal door which leads into one the upstairs bedrooms was locked from the rest of the house. Officers were able to make entry into the room and EOD officer P. Smith observed bomb making materials and metal cylinders with wires coming out of them. A black powder was on the floor near the entrance with several grenade bodies. A five-gallon bucket was positioned towards the entrance of the room with wires leading to the bucket.

The affidavit also noted that police had come into contact with Hardy before Thursday.

In previous reports, Michael Hardy had made numerous statements about being in the military and have multiple firearms including assault rifles in the residence, the court documents said.

Records show there have been 47 calls for service to the Durwood Crescent home over the past five years including calls for disorderly conduct, domestic disputes, noise complaints, missing persons, sexual assault, suspicious situations, disabled vehicles or insecure property, among others.

Of those calls, 20 police reports were made. Police did not make those reports available Monday.

Hardys connection, if any, to the military could not be confirmed Monday.
EMORY  After the discovery of a racial slur and swastika scribbled on the bathroom wall of an Emory & Henry College academic building last week, the school held a rally Monday to send a message that hate speech is not welcome in their community.

Attendees were encouraged to wear black clothing to the rally called Solidarity Against Hate. Students, faculty and community members came together to share speeches and personal stories in front of the Van Dyke building.

John Wells, the president of Emory & Henry, began the rally condemning the hate crime that he previously called callous and disgusting in an email to students.

Even if we send students out into the world who are able to do everything that brings them the praise of those around them because of their professional ability, and yet we send bigots out of this institution, we have failed, Wells said.

Dylan Johnson, the southwestern Virginia schools director of campus recreation, shared personal experiences of racial injustice and hate crimes he worked against while he attended E&H as a student before also calling for anti-hate on campus.

The reality is that Emory & Henry is situated and positioned in a part of our world where images, words, thoughts that are very similar to what was found carved into that bathroom stall are still very prevalent, he said. I believe Emory & Henry has an amazing opportunity to be a bright, shining light to the surrounding community.

Johnson called for anti-hate even for community members who do not necessarily believe in those values themselves.

We need to support those who are not in this space right now, Johnson said. We need to support those who dont believe this, who dont feel this way. We need to surround them with the love of this community, so that we can create change.

Student Government President Clare Carter condemned the hateful language and said all forms of hate speech must be recognized and called out.

Hate is fueled by people who believe that their position in society is comfortable and should remain comfortable, Carter said. On behalf of the Emory & Henry Student Government, I condemn hateful language that is displayed on our campus. We must confront it  and putting our own comfort under a microscope is a way to do that.

Discussions of how to move forward are still happening on campus.

Emily Bishop, an Emory & Henry graduate who was recently hired as a program specialist for the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI), said, What I hope to come from this rally is to bring people together and to show others we do not condone hate on this campus. There is no place for it.

Bishop echoed Johnsons sentiment.

Everyone does want justice, but we also know that we cannot fight hate with hate, she said.

Wells said, to move forward will require us to become a community that is always vigilant and is always on the lookout for these kinds of cowardly acts.

The majority of attendees at the rally were Emory & Henry college students.

Logan Greear, a junior at Emory & Henry College, said it was nice to see the response from those who attended the rally.

I think there is still a lot that still needs to be done in terms of systemic issues because these sort of Band-Aid events only go so far, but that doesnt mean theyre not important, he said.

Sophomore Amari Jones said it is difficult to not know who the person was who allegedly left the messages of hate in the restroom.

Im really happy so many people showed up. Im hoping anyone who didnt make it can see that EHC is a safe space and that we can gain back the relatively safe campus weve had, but it scares me not knowing who did this particular hate crime, she said. I could walk by them on the way to class or work with them on a project. Knowing that there are people who were bold enough to scribble that on the wall are here on campus is scary. Its a cowardly act, but they still felt the need to do it. And they got away with it.

This rally was planned as a meeting of faculty and students in a group called the Campus Hate/Bias Response Team. The team is holding another information meeting via Zoom on Wednesday, March 23, at 1:30 p.m.

The school is also hosting virtual sharing rooms for any students wishing to privately talk with someone from the college following the rally, and a private app is available to submit tips about who may have committed the crime.
A deceased bald eagle is seen at the Illinois Raptor Center in Decatur March 18, 2022. A recent study found that nearly 50% of eagles have high levels of lead, and experts blame lead hunting ammo. The eagles eat the lead-contaminated deer organs that hunters leave behind and become sick. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune)

The bald eagle was struggling for breath when it arrived at the Illinois Raptor Center in Decatur. Seizures shook the birds iconic snow-white head. Its dark wings rose and stiffened at awkward angles.

Aw, man, program director Jacques Nuzzo said to himself. This is lead.

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He rushed to the eagles aid and stayed late into the night, dispensing difficult-to-obtain medication, as well as fluid for hydration and kind words for comfort. But the seizures continued, racking the birds body every five or 10 minutes.

By noon the next day, the patient was dead.

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Such suffering is largely preventable, experts say, with studies showing a strong link between widespread lead poisoning in eagles and the use of lead ammunition by deer hunters. The ammunition fragments and disperses in a deers body, and eagles ingest it when they feast on gut piles, the internal organs that hunters remove and leave behind.

Other forms of ammunition are available  including copper and tungsten options  but information hasnt been readily available to hunters, and uptake has been slow.

It gets more frustrating every time I see one (of these cases). Its really awful, said Nuzzo, who treated the lead-poisoned eagle March 8, just two days after another eagle with lead poisoning died on its way to the same raptor center.

This is a problem that has been going on for over 80 years, and its a little mind-blowing that nothing has really, majorly, been done about it, Nuzzo said.

The Illinois Raptor Center, a 25-acre wildlife rehabilitation and education facility, has admitted 38 bald eagles since 2018, Nuzzo said. Of those, 19 had unhealthy lead levels and eight died from lead poisoning.

The lead poisoning issue got additional attention in February when the journal Science published a study of more than 1,200 eagles in 38 states that were tested for lead from 2010 to 2018. Almost half the eagles in the study had chronic lead poisoning.

The study found that cases of recent lead poisoning rise in winter, when eagles are most likely to be feeding on contaminated deer carcasses and gut piles.

Other studies show similar correlations and older research  conducted with portable X-ray devices up to 20 years ago  found that hunters discarded carcasses often contained lead fragments, according to study co-author Vincent Slabe, a wildlife research biologist at the nonprofit Conservation Science Global in Bozeman, Montana.

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In addition, wildlife rehabilitation centers with X-ray machines have been able to show that when eagles have high lead levels, they often also have lead fragments in their digestive systems.

When you start piecing all of that together, there are very strong correlations suggesting that this is the pathway whereby eagles are lead-poisoned, Slabe said.

The U.S. banned the use of lead ammunition in waterfowl hunting in 1991, due in part to concerns that the birds were experiencing lead poisoning, and California banned all lead hunting ammunition in 2019. A lead hunting ammunition ban was introduced in the Illinois Senate in 2019 but didnt gain traction.

The Congressional Sportsmens Foundation, which has opposed lead ammunition bans, could not be reached for comment.

Some eagle advocates lean toward a ban, with Nuzzo saying that at this point its probably the best bet.

But Slabe disagreed, saying that bans can easily backfire, putting hunters  who tend to be pro-conservation and sympathetic to eagles  on the defensive.

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Im pro-hunter. Im pro-conservation. Im also pro-eagle, Slabe said.

He said information about the effect of lead on eagles hasnt been widely available, and he cited an Arizona study that found that after a comprehensive public relations and education program, more than 80% of hunters took steps to protect California condors from lead poisoning. The hunters either switched to non-lead ammunition or put their gut piles in trash bags and removed them from wildlife areas.

Slabe said that when a deer is shot, lead bullets fragment and disperse in the animals body, leaving dozens  or even hundreds  of pieces of toxic metal, some of them only a little larger than the head of a pin.

If an eagle eats the contaminated meat, lead can cause problems with breathing, circulation, reproduction or respiration. Some eagles with lead poisoning lose their ability to fly. Eagles can also suffer brain damage or get food stuck in the crop  a storage area in the esophagus  and starve to death.

The lead poisoning problem is serious enough to suppress population growth for the estimated 340,000 eagles living in the United States, Slabes study found.

The bald eagle population, which currently increases by 10% a year, would increase by about 14% without lead poisoning, the study found. Similarly, the golden eagle population would grow at a rate of about 1% a year, up from zero growth today.

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A hunter and fisherman, Nuzzo had already eliminated lead from most of his outdoor equipment when he treated the lead-poisoned eagle earlier this month, but that experience has inspired him to go further.

Now, he said, hes working on removing the last remnants of the toxic metal from his fishing gear.

It has to start with us, Nuzzo said. It would be a lot easier if you made the choice, rather than the government telling you what to do.

nschoenberg@chicagotribune.com
Virginia Marine Police arrested a woman Monday after they said she led officers on a chase through two cities before she struck two marked state police cars on Mercury Boulevard in Hampton.

The woman, 32-year-old Susan Freeman of Hampton, was charged with driving under the influence of drugs, felony eluding, assault, and driving on a suspended license, according to a news release from the Virginia Marine Resources Commission, which oversees the Marine Police.

The commission said a Marine Police officer saw a 2001 Dodge minivan driving west in the eastbound lanes  at a high rate of speed  at about 7:15 a.m. on Jefferson Avenue in Newport News. But when the officer tried to pull the van over, the driver refused to pull over and instead made an illegal U-turn on Jefferson before going north on Interstate 664.

The minivan fled into Hampton and onto Interstate 64 before getting off at the Mercury Boulevard exit. But once Freeman got onto Mercury, police said, she quickly made another U-turn and tried to get back onto the interstate.

Virginia State Police troopers blocked the minivan from getting back onto the freeway before police said the vehicle hit two marked VSP cars, lost control, and crashed.

Freeman was immediately arrested and treated at Riverside Regional Medical Center for non-life threatening injuries. No police officers were injured.

Formed in 1875 as the Oyster Navy, the Virginia Marine Police enforces state and federal commercial and recreational fishery laws and regulations. But Col. Matthew Rogers, of the Virginia Marine Police, said his officers are fully empowered under state law to make arrests or traffic stops if a crime or violation occurs in their presence.
Harrison House, the building that contains Virginia Commonwealth Universitys department of African American Studies, has been renamed for an enslaved man from Richmond.

The universitys board of visitors on Monday unanimously approved a motion to rename the building Gabriels House, the latest move by VCU to ensure building names reflect current sentiments of the university community.

The new name recognizes Gabriel Prosser, an enslaved man born in 1776 who planned an uprising that became known as Gabriels Rebellion.

Last year, VCU decommemorated Harrison House, noting the name had no connection to the African American Studies department.

A three-story white brick structure at 816 W. Franklin St., Harrison House was named for Fort Harrison, a line of Confederate defenses in eastern Henrico during the Civil War. Fort Harrison was named after Lieutenant William Harrison, a Confederate engineer.

The department of African American Studies gathered name suggestions from student and employee groups throughout the past year, and Gabriels House emerged as a favorite.

When word of Prossers planned rebellion leaked, Prosser and 25 followers were hanged in 1800. In 2007, then-Gov. Tim Kaine pardoned Prosser, and last year, his name was engraved on the Emancipation and Freedom Monument on Browns Island.

In recent years, VCU and several other colleges in Virginia have rid themselves of building names and iconography honoring people with ties to the Confederacy or segregation.

VCU changed the name of a building named for Lewis Ginter, who was a major in the Confederate army. It removed the words Dooley Hospital from a threshold that still exists where a hospital for James Dooley once stood. Dooley was also a Confederate soldier. It changed other names and other pieces of iconography referencing the Confederacy.

Keith Parker, a member of the board of visitors, said Monday the renaming of Gabriels House will help give students a better connection to campus and the names of VCUs buildings. He often wondered why Harrison House got its name, because it seemingly had no connection to the department or VCU.

VCU aims to foster a commemorative landscape that reflects the universitys core values of achievement, according to the resolution the board passed.

Ben Dendy, head of the board, said he was glad the new name honors a person instead of a vague, nondescript name. In September, VCU also renamed the Fine Arts Building for Murry DePillars, a former dean of the School of Arts.

This is another important step in that regard, Dendy said. It always bothers me when they take names off places and give them a generic name.
I was initially somewhat apprehensive with the recent announcement in the Times concerning the forthcoming changes to the Editorial/Opinion page, especially considering the preponderance of guest editorials lately from decidedly liberal papers such as the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and the Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star.

However, when I actually saw an editorial piece included from the (gasp) Wall Street Journal, my faith in humanity  and the Times  was (somewhat) restored.

However, now that youve taken steps to somewhat balance the political/social equation, how about casting your editorial net a little further and rid your readers of the three writers who infest the paper much more than is necessary and palatable.

George Bush had his Axis of Evil  the Times has its own Axis of Drivel. Of course, Im referring to Dan Casey, Betsy Biesenbach and Leonard Pitts.

Caseys pathological hatred of anything/anybody remotely related to Republicans has become repetitious and tiring. When Trump was in office, we read nothing but contempt concerning the president.

Now that a Democrat is in office Caseys bile and scorn has mysteriously been redirected to the state level where we have a Republican governor and house; apparently the nation is now in safe hands with Uncle Joe in charge and Dan can safely switch his acute political insight to straighten us all out on state matters.

In addition, Caseys juvenile 1960s obsession with making sure everyone has access to marijuana is unseemly and potentially dangerous and has no place in what I assume is purported to be a family newspaper.

Biesenbachs recent lecture on how all those white male Neanderthals should behave in todays woke society was particularly galling and simply a particularly insipid regurgitation of the hectoring weve received from far more talented authors/researchers. Id advise her to stick to her saccharine Cornershot blurbs which (thankfully) usually appear at the bottom of a page.

The continued presence of Leonard Pitts as a regular columnist in the Times should be  and is  simply a disgrace. He is, without a doubt, the most virulent racist writer being published today. In one of his most recent columns titled Is America Racist? Look at the Evidence, his conclusion is (obviously) Of course, its a racist country. Obviously, and by every meaningful measure. Pitts recently even focused on racism in the Ukrainian crisis. However, on a vacation trip to Canada he was relieved to find that, in his brief stay, Canadians were not racist at all!

In my opinion, if Pitts were to move there (which wouldnt be a bad thing), he would quickly discover racists and racism on every corner since if you believe a certain thing is true youll find evidence to back you up  much like the newcomer in town who asks his neighbor, hey, what are people like here? and receives the response, what were the people like where you were before?; well, they were really pretty unfriendly; well, youll find theyre pretty unfriendly here, too.

Editors note: Roanoke Times metro columnist Dan Caseys thrice-weekly column does not appear in the Roanoke Times opinion pages. Betsy Biesenbach has occasionally contributed commentary to these pages, but is not a regular opinion columnist.

Crowley is a retired college administrator living in Roanoke.
Since the invasion of Ukraine began, over 400 international companies have announced their withdrawal from Russia, either on their own will or due to pressure at home, but dozens of big names have ignored public pressure and are conducting business as usual in a country now nearly fully isolated from the international community.

As the conflict in Ukraine drags on, international companies still doing business in Russia are coming under increasing pressure to leave. Just days before withdrawing from Russia, #BoycottMcDonalds and #BoycottCocaCola was trending on Twitter

In a speech to the U.S. Congress last week Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy urged politicians to play their part in getting companies to stop financing the Russian military machine.

Not everyone is listening.



Since February, a research team at Yale University has been tracking all the companies leaving Russia. Theyve also compiled a hall of shame list of the companies still operating in Russia.

According to the research, a total of 34 companies are defying demands to exit Russia or at least scale back operations.

Yale University professor Jeffrey Sonnenfeld who leads the research team said that companies still operating in Russia have strong reputational incentive to withdraw.

Companies that fail to withdraw face a wave of U.S. public resentment far greater than what they face on climate change, voting rights, gun safety, immigration reform, or border security, Sonnenfeld wrote in an article for Fortune.

Companies that have chosen to maintain operations in Russia say they provide essential services, such as food or medicine, which are unaffected by sanctions. Its a vague determination, at best. Several international hotel chains, cosmetics outfits, restaurants and tech companies are defending their stay in Russia, claiming to be essential service providers.

Essential or not, their stay in Russia hasnt necessarily been welcomed by investors in an age of ESG, environmental, social and good governance investing. Ever since Yale started posting its hall of shame list, Many of these companies have seen their stocks drop by as much as 30% since Yale began publishing its hall of shame list.

Last week, hotel chain Marriott International decided to pause the opening of upcoming hotels and further investment in Russia. However, they havent closed their properties or removed their brands. Since the start of the invasion, Marriott shares have shed 14.48%.

Just like Marriot, tobacco major Philp Morris, one of the largest foreign-owned companies by revenue in Russia, has suspended its planned investments in the Russian Federation, but kept operations active. Since the start of the invasion, the stock has tumbled 13.6%, in part because it didnt suspend completely, but mostly given risks from the cigarette sellers exposure to Russia and Ukraine.

In 2021, those two countries accounted for about 12% of total cigarette and heated tobacco unit shipment volume, and around 8% of total net revenue.

Another international major with large exposure in Russia is Citigroup, whose stock has tumbled nearly 13% since late February. Just last week, the bank said it would pull back from Russia, announcing that its exposure in the country amounts to nearly $10 billion through loans, government debt and other assets.

One of the biggest holdouts on the hall of shame list is the Koch Brothers, the second-largest private company in the United States.

Koch Industries is shamefully continuing to do business in Putins Russia and putting their profits ahead of defending democracy, Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer and Senator Ron Wyden said in a joint statement. As the democracies of the world make huge sacrifices to punish Russia for Putins illegal and vicious invasion of Ukraine, Koch Industries continues to profit off of Putins regime.

In its defense, Koch, which boasts three subsidiaries operating in Russia plus its industrial products provider, Koch Engineered Solutions, suggested it was staying put because it did not want to walk away from its employees.
Email Thomas Elias at tdelias@aol.com. His book, "The Burzynski Breakthrough, The Most Promising Cancer Treatment and the Governments Campaign to Squelch It" is now available in a soft cover fourth edition. For more Elias columns, visit www.californiafocus.net
" " A man who said he wants to join the fight against the Russian army in Ukraine crosses into Ukraine at the Medyka border crossing March 9, 2022 in Medyka, Poland. Sean Gallup/Getty Images

After Russian forces invaded Ukraine in February, the Ukrainian government sought assistance from NATO and the rest of the world. But in addition to anti-aircraft and anti-tank missiles and other armaments that the U.S. and its NATO allies provided, the Ukrainians asked for something else  volunteers.

"Anyone who wants to join the defense of Ukraine, Europe and the world can come and fight side by side with the Ukrainians against the Russian war criminals," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy implored in a Feb. 27 statement. Zelenskyy went on to explain that a 2016 Ukrainian law gave foreigners the right to enlist in the nation's Territorial Defense Forces. "There is no greater contribution which you can make for the sake of peace," he said.

Ukrainian foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba also tweeted Feb. 27, for foreigners to fight for Ukraine: "Together we defeated Hitler, and we will defeat Putin, too."

Ukraine even set up a recruiting website, Fightforua.org that gives a seven-step set of instructions for Americans and other foreigners who want to sign up for combat against the Russians. Official applicants need to contact a Ukrainian embassy in their country and show up for an interview, provide documents to show they have past military or law enforcement experience, and gather their own military gear such as helmets and body armor, before making the trip to join the new International Legion of Defense of Ukraine.

In the first week after Zelenskyy's call for help, 20,000 volunteers took Ukraine up on that offer, according to a tweet from the Kyiv Independent news outlet. In addition, others  many without any military experience  simply traveled to Ukraine on their own, as this Washington Post article details.

U.S. Veteran Matthew Parker told VOA News he wanted to go because he served with a Ukrainian American soldier in Iraq during his 22 years in the army. "He became an American citizen, joined the Army and he told me about his home," Parker told VOA in early March. "I'd like to think that by going to Ukraine, maybe I protect his mother or his little sister or his home. Maybe in some small way, I say thank you to him for serving by doing something like this."

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History of Foreign Fighters

Idealistic Americans going overseas to join in another nation's fight against a brutal enemy might sound like a Hollywood fantasy, but there's actually a long history of brave souls doing it. Before the U.S. entered World War I, Arthur Guy Empey crossed the Atlantic and enlisted in the British army to fight in trench warfare against the Germans, and wrote a bestselling book about his experiences. During the Spanish Civil War in the 1930s, 2,800 American volunteers joined the Abraham Lincoln Brigade to fight for the leftist Republican regime against the fascist-backed Nationalist forces.

Foreign fighters actually "are surprisingly common, appearing in more than a quarter of civil wars in the last 200 years," explains David Malet. He's an associate professor in the Department of Justice, Law & Criminology at American University, and author of the 2013 book "Foreign Fighters: Transnational Identity in Civil Conflicts."

Generally, "they're recruited by the weaker side and so most of them are not mercenaries," Malet says. "They're recruited with a message of defending a common community with local fighters that faces existential threat. In this case, a lot of volunteers believe they're defending the future of the democratic West against an aggressive Russia or preventing WWIII."

In recent years, American fighters have shown up in various trouble spots, according to Alex Hollings. He's a U.S. Marine Corps veteran who these days is editor of Sandboxx, which covers military news and provides mail and travel services for service members and their families.

"I've known a couple of guys who have gone to foreign countries to fight for foreign causes, not necessarily for national governments, or sometimes for regional governments or organizations," Hollings says. "I've known U.S. Marine veterans who volunteered to go fight with the Peshmerga against ISIS in Iraq and Syria and elsewhere."

Hollings also knows military veterans from other NATO countries who went to Syria to fight the Russian-backed regime of Bashar al-Assad.

" " Two members of the Ukraine security forces walk by anti-tank barriers placed to protect historic landmarks in expectation of a Russian assault on the strategic Black Sea port city of Odesa, Ukraine. Scott Peterson/Getty Images

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Fighting in Ukraine Is as Gritty As It Gets

Hollings, who wrote this article on what foreign fighters need to know about going to Ukraine, doesn't want to romanticize the idea of fighting in wars. But he notes that war is something that some people have an exceptional talent for.

"They develop a skill set, and they know they can make a difference," he says. "And then when things happen, they sort of feel an obligation to go and do so, because they know that the pool of people with this skill set, and this unique capability emotionally and mentally, isn't always that big."

For somebody who wants to fight for a righteous cause, Ukraine's underdog struggle against the Russians might be as compelling as it gets.

Though they're joining a foreign army, Hollings says that American fighters probably will be assigned to units with other English speakers  "Australians, Canadians, Brits"  with whom they can readily fit in.

"One of the first things that would happen when you arrive in Ukraine is that you'd be evaluated for the skillsets that you bring, like prior experience and training," Hollings says. "They're going to put you in a unit where they think your skillset could benefit. So chances are very good that you'd end up with other with other people that you could communicate with very well that have similar tactics to those that you used in the past. So that way, you can use that to the best of your ability."

These foreign fighters are going into battle without a lot of the advantages that U.S. forces typically have, such as extensive air support, advanced communications and other cutting-edge technology that normally gives them an advantage on the battlefield. Instead they'll be compelled to fight in under-equipped, low-tech guerilla insurgency of the sort that they've gone up against in the War on Terror.

"It's a very different type of combat," Hollings says. "That's not to say that U.S. infantry officers and enlisted [personnel] wouldn't do excellently in Ukraine, but it's just very different than what they're accustomed to."

Even so, Hollings explains, they've got a reverse-engineered knowledge base that could help.

"The same tactics effectively that U.S. servicemembers have been training to counter are now extremely effective tactics to leverage against the Russians, " Hollings says. "In a weird way, U.S. service members, especially those who've deployed to combat zones over the past 20 years, kind of got a crash course in this type of warfare. And they're probably more what I would call subject matter experts to a certain extent and how to leverage, you know, fewer resources against a larger opponent."

That's particularly true of U.S. special operations veterans. The Army's Green Berets, for example, are experienced at going into countries and training Indigenous forces to engage in irregular warfare. "All special operations units are trained on how to fight in austere environments with very little support, " Hollings says. "And that's what Ukraine's looking at."

While U.S. government is advising Americans not to go to Ukraine, it's unlikely that volunteers who do it anyway will face any legal consequences back home, according to Malet.

"The Neutrality Act is rarely enforced, and it would not be here because Ukraine is a friendly country, " Malet says. However, Americans could lose their citizenship if they accept a commission as an officer or noncommissioned officer in the Ukrainian military, or if they state an intention to renounce their U.S. citizenship. Additionally, Malet says that an American fighting in a foreign conflict could get into legal trouble by providing support to some group that the U.S. has designated as a foreign terrorist organization  though none appear to be on the Ukrainian side.

The Putin regime has sought to deter foreign fighters from joining the Ukrainian side, warning that if captured, they won't be treated as lawful combatants entitled to the protections normally afforded to prisoners of war, according to the Jerusalem Post.

Russian forces also staged a rocket attack against a military base in western Ukraine that Hollings says was a training facility for foreign fighters. That all suggests that the Russians view Ukraine's foreign legion as a force to be reckoned with. The Russians reportedly are trying to recruit their own foreign fighters from Syria, though so far, there haven't been an indications in media coverage that they're having success.

" " Ukrainian servicemen evacuate an elderly woman on a stretcher from the city of Irpin. Russian forces continue to attack civilians and civilian areas across Ukraine. ARIS MESSINIS/AFP via Getty Images

Now That's Interesting The French Foreign Legion is a mercenary unit in the French army that was formed in 1831. It's open to male recruits ages 17 to 40 of any nationality, and they join anonymously. The force, which includes cavalry, infantry, engineering, airborne and, and education and training units, includes 9,000 soldiers from 140 nations who are commanded by French officers and deployed across five continents.
HARTSVILLE, S.C.  The Duke Energy Foundation has provided Coker University a $25,000 grant to support the launch of Cokers new nursing program, providing funds to support scholarships to Cokers first group of nursing students this fall.

In October, the South Carolina Board of Nursing approved Coker Universitys plans to offer a bachelors of science in nursing degree as the first part of its innovative approach to nursing education.

Through the new Coker program, students will experience a hybrid learning environment, providing them the opportunity to complete pre-work at home on their schedules to prepare for hands-on, job-applicable learning during class meeting times. The Coker BSN program includes:

Online content available to help students master important content, meaning they can move quickly through information that is not new or repeat difficult content as many times as needed

A nursing sequence beginning in the third semester of study

Available options for working students that limit required time on campus

South Carolina is currently on track to be fourth in the nation in terms of nursing shortages. Duke Energy is proud to partner with Coker University to do what it can to address the critical issue in the Pee Dee and across South Carolina. Cokers new nursing program will help fill the shortage, graduating students who excel in providing the care South Carolinians need and deserve, said Mindy Taylor, Duke Energys district manager for government and community relations.

With more regional students seeking undergraduate programs such as nursing and with many local employers looking to strengthen the pipeline of available healthcare workers in the region, Coker has committed to ensuring that its new BSN is an affordable investment for aspiring nurses.

Currently, 95% of all Coker undergraduates receive some form of financial aid, with scholarship aid awarded to Coker students averaging nearly $17,500 per student. Last year, Coker granted more than $10 million in student scholarships to its students.

Coker is grateful for the support the Duke Energy Foundation is providing for our nursing program and for the generosity it has shown to Coker for many years, noted Coker University President Natalie J. Harder. Coker University is building a state-of-the-art nursing program designed to meet South Carolinas healthcare needs, both for today and tomorrow and we are committed to addressing this important need in the Pee Dee. We look forward to welcoming the regions next generation of outstanding nursing students to Hartsville in the fall.

Cokers nursing program is one of the first programs nationwide to be specifically geared to meet the revised standards of baccalaureate nursing education released by the American Association of Colleges of Nursing. For more information about Cokers nursing program, please visit: https://www.coker.edu/programs-degrees/nursing/.

Gifts like these make it possible for Coker University to provide outstanding educational opportunities, said Jessica Cloud, Coker vice president for institutional advancement. Anyone interested in supporting our nursing program, scholarships, or any other program at Coker can contact the Office of Institutional Advancement for support in making their gift.
DARLINGTON, S.C.  The Darlington Raceway Throwback Parade will return as part of the Official Throwback Weekend of NASCAR May 7. The traditional Darlington Raceway Throwback Parade, formerly the Southern 500 Parade, will be held for the first time since 2019.

As our community rallies around the Official Throwback Weekend of NASCAR, it is wonderful to welcome back one of our favorite community events, the Darlington Raceway Throwback Parade, said Kerry Tharp, Darlington Raceway President. The Throwback Parade showcases all the pageantry, tradition, and excitement of NASCAR coming to the Pee Dee region of South Carolina. We look forward to seeing all the smiling faces of families and friends in the community cheering on the NASCAR Hall of Famers, NASCAR Legends, and other local dignitaries from the parade to the racetrack.

The Darlington Raceway Throwback Parade will take its traditional 2.3-mile route from downtown Darlington and proceed down Harry Byrd Highway to the historic infield at the track Too Tough To Tame. The parade will conclude in the NASCAR Xfinity Series garage. The Darlington Raceway Throwback Parade is scheduled to begin around 6 p.m. and should finish by 7:30 p.m.

The Throwback Parade will include traditional floats, a marching band, classic vehicles, retired race cars, NASCAR celebrities and more to promote the following days NASCAR Cup Series race. Like NASCAR races at Darlington Raceway, the Throwback Parade is a time-honored tradition to rally the community together in advance of the tracks spring NASCAR Cup Series race.

Additional details on the Darlington Raceway Throwback Parade will be available in the future on darlingtonraceway.com.

Darlington Raceway will host the Official Throwback Weekend of NASCAR on May 6-8, featuring all three national series with the Dead On Tools 200 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race on Friday, May 6 at 7:30 p.m., Mahindra ROXOR 200 NASCAR Xfinity Series race on Saturday, May 7 at 1:30 p.m. and NASCAR Cup Series on Mothers Day, Sunday, May 8 at 3:30 p.m.

The Tradition Continues at Darlington Raceway with the Labor Day Race Weekend on Sept. 3-4, featuring the Sport Clips Haircuts VFW Help A Hero 200 Xfinity Series race on Saturday, Sept. 3 at 3 p.m. and start of the Cup Series Playoffs in the 73rd running of the crown jewel Southern 500 over Labor Day weekend Sunday, Sept. 4 at 6 p.m.
Seguin, TX (78155)

Today

Thunderstorms likely this morning. Then a chance of scattered thunderstorms this afternoon. A few storms may be severe. High near 85F. Winds S at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 60%..

Tonight

Partly cloudy. Low 64F. Winds ENE at 5 to 10 mph.
Seguin, TX (78155)

Today

Thunderstorms likely this morning. Then a chance of scattered thunderstorms this afternoon. A few storms may be severe. High near 85F. Winds S at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 60%..

Tonight

Partly cloudy. Low 64F. Winds ENE at 5 to 10 mph.
The planned debut of Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoots pick for the next 11th Ward alderman Tuesday was canceled after the city suddenly backed off its timeline for filling that seat.

A 2 p.m. City Council committee meeting had been set for unveiling Lightfoots selection to replace Patrick Daley Thompson, the former alderman who was convicted of felony tax fraud last month and ordered to vacate his position. That was to precede the Wednesday City Council meeting that the city had said would include the swearing-in of the appointee.

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But Monday evening, the mayors office released a statement signaling the original deadline will be scuttled: Mayor Lightfoot is committed to finding a qualified candidate to become the next alderman of the 11th Ward. And so, a bit more time is needed to ensure that the residents of the 11th Ward have the best representation possible.

The mayors office, which has stressed an open and transparent approach to filling the vacancy, did not respond to questions on why there was a delay so late in the process.

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Thompson resigned a day after his Feb. 14 verdict, as required by state law, meaning the 11th Ward has gone more than a month without representation in City Council. Lightfoot was then given 60 days  until April 15  to get his replacement through the council.

Then-Ald. Patrick Daley Thompson, 11th, arrives for his trial on Feb. 10 on charges alleging he lied on federal tax returns about a line of credit he received from a Bridgeport bank that later collapsed. Thompson's conviction opened a seat on the City Council. (Jose M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune)

That new alderman would serve until the 2023 election. Political wisdom has it that an incumbent alderman enjoys an advantage over challengers, so if the mayors selection decides to run for a full term, that person could have a leg up in the 2023 race.

One week ago, the city released a list of all 27 applicants to be the next 11th Ward alderman along with their resumes. Contenders had until March 11 to apply and must have lived in the ward for at least one year before their appointment. A four-person panel led by Ald. Michelle Harris, rules committee chair, oversaw the sorting through of recommendations for Lightfoot.

The pool consisted of a few candidates with ties to the Daley family, several who hailed from the Asian American community and some with a first responder background.

The influx of Asian American applicants comes as leaders from that community have called on Lightfoot to appoint an alderman of Asian descent to replace Thompson, pointing to the lack of current representation in City Council as well as changing demographics of that ward.

Bridgeport, long an Irish American enclave, has recently seen those of Asian descent surpass whites to make up the largest share of residents, according to the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning. That follows a trend of 2020 U.S. census figures showing Asian Americans as the fastest-growing racial group in Chicago.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot's pick for City Council had been scheduled to be unveiled at a committee meeting Tuesday. She's shown in City Council chambers in February. (Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune)

Another factor in play is the ongoing decennial redistricting process of the citys 50 wards, which all but ensures the 11th Ward will be redrawn to include Chinatown and become the citys first majority Asian ward, as both the councils Black and Latino caucuses have for months been on the record supporting the idea.

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Lightfoot has not committed to appointing an Asian American alderman; instead, she vowed to find the most qualified candidate to represent the ward. Her position was echoed by Black Caucus Chair Ald. Jason Ervin, 28th, while his counterpart in the Latino Caucus, Ald. Gilbert Villegas, 36th, released a statement last month calling on Lightfoot to select a nominee of Asian descent.

It also remains to be seen whether the Daley family will continue to exert its influence over the alderman selection process for the 11th Ward, where Cook County Commissioner John Daley serves as the Democratic Party committeeman. Daley is the brother of former Mayor Richard M. Daley; Thompson is their nephew.

ayin@chicagotribune.com
 "Punishment without Trial: Why Plea Bargaining is a Bad Deal" | Main | Right on Crime highlights "Second Look for conservative justice and cost-savings" 

March 21, 2022

Recalling the text of the applicable law which helps account for Judge Jackson's sentencing rulings

I was able to listen to some of the opening statements of Senate Judiciary Committee members during today's installment of the hearings concerning the nomination of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to be an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court. Unsurprisingly, various GOP Senators extolled the importance of judges following the law and being committed to the rule of law:

Senator Grassley: "We depend on judges to interpret the laws as we write them."

Senator Cornyn: "Part of that judgment requires a judge to go where the law commands."

Senator Cruz: "Will you follow the law?"

Senator Cotton: "I am looking for a Justice who will make decisions based on the law."

Senator Kennedy: "Sometimes Justices have to uphold the rule of law when it is not popular."

These various statement led me to reflect on my recent post about Judge Jackson's sentencings of persons involved with child pornography, and I realized that Judge Jacksons critics have not asserted that Judge Jackson failed to follow the sentencing laws set out by Congress. Through 18 USC  3553(a), Congress has instructed judges in to impose a sentence "sufficient, but not greater than necessary, to comply with the purposes" of sentencing, and also demands that district judges consider "the need to avoid unwarranted sentence disparities among defendants with similar records who have been found guilty of similar conduct." Since the Booker ruling made the guidelines advisory, guideline ranges are still to be considered, but only as one of multiple statutory factors in service to a "sentencing judges overarching duty under 3553(a) to 'impose a sentence sufficient, but not greater than necessary' to comply with the sentencing purposes set forth in 3553(a)(2)." Pepper v. US, 562 U.S. 476, 491 (2011).

Senator Hawley reiterated during his opening statement what seems to be his chief concern with Judge Jackson's sentencing efforts: What concerns me, and I've been very candid about this, is that in every case, in each of these seven, Judge Jackson handed down a lenient sentence that was below what the federal guidelines recommended and below what prosecutors recommended and so I think theres a lot to talk about there. Critically, applicable federal sentencing law does not call upon a judge to follow "what the federal guidelines recommended" or "what prosecutors recommended." Indeed, a sentencing judge who adhered only to guideline or prosecutorial recommendations would arguably violate a judge's obligation of independence and the express text of the law Congress enacted to guide judges at sentencing.

Of course, "what the federal guidelines recommended" is one of many 3553(a) factors to be considered by sentencing judges and "what prosecutors recommended," though not part of the text of federal sentencing law, can still provide judges with insights concerning the proper application of all the 3553(a) factors. But, to repeat, those recommendations are not the applicable law: Judge Jackson when on the district court was duty bound, to use Senator Cotton's words, to "make decisions based on the law" which means she had "to 'impose a sentence sufficient, but not greater than necessary' to comply with the sentencing purposes set forth in 3553(a)(2)." Pepper, 562 U.S. at 491. To parrot Senators Cornyn's and Kennedy's words, Judge Jackson was required at sentencing "to go where the law commands" and to "uphold the rule of law [even] when it is not popular." Based on insights from her time on the US Sentencing Commission and her considerable judicial service, Judge Jackson surely understood the importance of all the 3553(a) factors in reaching a sentencing outcome, and nobody has suggested otherwise.

Some prior related coverage:

March 21, 2022 at 08:22 PM | Permalink

Comments

The text of governing law shows that her sentencing was legal, yes. But one has the right to aim higher than merely within the law for a SCOTUS Justice. When all the remarked-upon sentencings are in the same direction, namely in favor of the criminal, that raises a question of bias. Senators are well advised to ask about that.

But probably best to cut to the chase: This nomination in some ways reminds me of the Kavanaugh nomination when Kennedy retired. Kavanaugh was going to be on the list for almost any R President just as Jackson was going to be on the list for almost any D President. Kavanaugh is slightly to the right of the Justice he replaced and Jackson is going to be slightly to the left of the one she's replacing. Biden was a sure bet to nominate someone in the mold of Sotomayor and he did. Not big news there.

The difference between Kavanaugh and Jackson is that Trump did not ab initio exclude anyone, while Biden excluded roughly 95% of the possible nominees. If Trump had said, "In looking for a replacement for the retiring Justice, I am going to exclude right now all black men, all white men, all Hispancis, all Asian Americans, and everyone with a heritage from the Subcontinent," would the press have gone all mushy about how Trump would be making an "historic appointment"? Somehow I doubt it. The greater likelihood is the the NYT headline would read, "Trump to exclude most potential candidates solely on account or race and sex; legal experts are astonished."

On the other hand, it's not fair to judge Jackson simply because she was nominated as the result of a race-huckstering political payoff. She should be judged on her own merits. I would have preferred another Thomas or Alito, but elections have consequences so we'e going to get another Sotomayor. That's life. I'm hoping that the future Justice Jackson will be able to refrain from telling us about how the woe-begotten defendant is really a victim rather than a victimizer. I wouldn't bet the rent, but perhaps I'll be pleasantly surprised.

Posted by: Bill Otis | Mar 21, 2022 10:08:48 PM

When Reagan promised to nominate a woman to the Supreme Court, he excluded 50% of humanity ab initio.

When George H. W. Bush nominated Clarence Thomas, he made no such promise out loud, but when the only Black justice in history retired, you surely do not think it a total coincidence that at that exact moment, Bush managed to nominate the second, unless he were looking to do just that.

Posted by: Marc Shepherd | Mar 22, 2022 6:13:44 AM

Marc Shepherd --

First, excluding 50% is only about half as bad as excluding almost everyone. And while O'Connor was pretty much up to the job, no one mistook her then or now for Benjamin Cardozo or Felix Frankfurter.

Second, if Judge Jackson turns out to have half the discipline, courage, rigor and fidelity to the Constitution that Clarence Thomas has, I will eat every word I've said against her (which won't be much of a meal since I have concentrated my fire on the method of selection, not on her).

Third, just saying, "But Johnny does it too!" has never struck me as a forceful criticism. The fact of the matter is that selecting judges by racial and gender identity rather than legal acumen, modesty, fair mindedness, etc. is a bad idea no matter who does it.

Posted by: Bill Otis | Mar 22, 2022 8:03:00 AM

I absolutely agree there is a principled argument for choosing the most qualified person, full stop. And yet, both Reagan and Biden found it electorally useful to declare up front that a large percentage of the candidate pool was excluded a priori because they did not fit the desired demographic.

(To correct my own post, Reagan preemptively disqualified a lot more than 50% of the candidate pool. Although women are ~50% of humanity, they were not, especially in 1980, anywhere near 50% of the plausible conservative Republican Supreme Court picks.)

G. H. W. Bush did not make any such announcement, since Thurgood Marshall's impending retirement was not discussed in the 1988 campaign to any significant extent. Still, whatever you might think of how Clarence Thomas turned out, no one is under any illusion as to why he was chosen at the time. No white man of either party with his resume would have sniffed the nomination.

Posted by: Marc Shepherd | Mar 22, 2022 9:48:37 AM

Mr. Otis' praise of Thomas' fidelity to the Constitution made me gasp. He has long lived up to his reputation as the cruelest Judge, see his (and Scalia's) dissent in Hudson v. McMillian, 503 U.S. 1 (1992) (nothing cruel about a prisoner being beaten up while guards watch with glee) .Thomas never recovered from being publicly accused of sexual perversion and harassment by Anita Hill, a distinguished black former employee. Has he sought vengeace against black folks ever since? Consider that he has opposed most policies that seek to combat discrimination or help minorities. As stated in an article in the Atlantic, "he disfavors integration and even seems to resist desegregation. A former black activist and onetime follower of Malcolm X, he champions a criminal-justice system suffused with racism, and has rejected claims of cruel and unusual punishment made by prisoners. Thomass most uncomfortable contradiction, though, rests on an abstraction. He is the Supreme Courts foremost originalistthat is, he purports to interpret the Constitution as the Founders understood it in 1789. Yet how can a black man make such a commitment when the Founders wrote slavery into the Constitutions very text?" The list of Thomas' reactionary opinions that would take us back to the 1930's if not earlier are too numerous to list.

Posted by: anon12 | Mar 22, 2022 9:54:57 AM

@anon12: While I disagree with a lot of Justice Thomas's jurisprudence, I don't feel it is payback for how he was treated in the Anita Hill hearings. He was nominated because (among other reasons) he was already very reliably conservative.

Nor do I think his jurisprudence is vested in cruelty. He has been a consistent vote in the Apprendi line of cases that were generally seen as pro-defendant. He is just very literal about the law and the Constitution, and he thinks it doesn't evolve. He also does not believe in adhering to precedent *at all*. If a precedent is wrong, he believes it should be overruled, no matter how many people have relied on it.

The comment about slavery is nonsense, because the right to keep slaves was amended out of the Constitution. His fidelity to the text does not mean adherence to provisions that have since been amended.

Posted by: Marc Shepherd | Mar 22, 2022 12:12:18 PM

anon12 --

You say of Justice Thomas, "As stated in an article in the Atlantic, 'he disfavors integration and even seems to resist desegregation.'"

Congratulations, Mr. anon12, for the most idiotic comment today on the Internet. The black man who "disfavors integration" is married to a white woman.

Posted by: Bill Otis | Mar 22, 2022 2:35:58 PM

Judge KBJ cant even say what a woman is. The I am not a biologist response is just plain dumb. What a joke.

Posted by: Federalist | Mar 23, 2022 10:15:30 AM

I agree with Federalist but would go farther. Judge Jackson of course knows full well what a woman is (namely, a person with xx genes; males have xy). She denies knowing because she's aware that the next question is going to be about biological males competing (and predictably dominating) women's sports. Like so many extreme liberals, she has no problem with this domination, because having no problem is what Woke Wisdom demands. She can't cross Woke Wisdom because it's ingrained in her base political support. Ergo, it's actually better for her to make the preposterous claim that she doesn't know what a woman is.

Only in a very, very unserious country does this count as a qualification for the Supreme Court.

P.S. The person who nominated her has absolutely no problem knowing who a woman is, as he repeatedly promised to nominate one (as opposed to a man) for that seat.

Posted by: Bill Otis | Mar 23, 2022 5:08:28 PM

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SIOUX CITY -- To recognize the continuing conflict in Ukraine, which has caused the deaths of at least 900 civilians, the Catholic Diocese of Sioux City is participating in a worldwide call to prayer at the end of the week.

On Friday, at 11 a.m., Sioux City Bishop Walker Nickless will offer what Pope Francis called a "prayer for peace" and a "consecration and entrustment of Russia and of Ukraine to the Immaculate Heart of Mary."

Nickless is set to conduct the ceremony at the Cathedral of the Epiphany in Sioux City which is considered the mother church of the diocese. A press release from the Diocese of Sioux City notes that those living outside of town can contact their local parish for consecration prayers in their area.

"Join me as I pray to consecrate Russia and Ukraine to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, as requested by the Holy Father," Nickless said in the release.

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SIOUX CITY -- Country artist Jordan Fletcher will be coming to Hard Rock Hotel & Casino's Anthem on May 13.

Born in Jacksonville, Florida, the now Nashville-based Fletcher has toured the country with Muscadine Bloodline and Kip Moore. His debut album, "Somewhere Off Alberta," is set to be released soon.

Tickets for Fletcher's concert will go on sale on Friday. They may be purchased at the hotel's Rock Shop or at hardrockcasinosiouxcity.com.

All Anthem events are for audiences, 21 and older.

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SIOUX CITY -- The Lawton-Bronson Community School District is seeking a judgment against a computer maker it says is responsible for a fire that damaged several rooms in a school building.

The school district claims a faulty computer charging station, laptop computer or other computer components, all made by Hewlett-Packard Company, led to the Sept. 25, 2018, fire at the district's junior-senior high school in Lawton.

The fire caused more than $75,000 in damage to the building, according to the lawsuit, initially filed in Woodbury County District Court and removed to U.S. District Court in Sioux City on Wednesday by Hewlett-Packard.

The fire started just before 5 p.m. after students had left for the day. The fire was traced to a business classroom, where a rack of laptop computers caught fire.

In its lawsuit, the school district said the computer charging cart had a capacity to charge 24 computers, and was charging 17 at the time of the fire. The fire was caused by a malfunction in the charging cart, one of the laptops or another computer component, the district said, and would not have occurred if Hewlett-Packard's products were not defective.

No one was injured in the fire, and classes were canceled for four days while the district cleaned up after the fire.

The district said Hewlett-Packard is liable for all damages to the school building and should pay the repair costs.

Hewlett-Packard has yet to file a response to the lawsuit.

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SIOUX CITY -- Police Chief Rex Mueller expressed dire concerns Monday over growing amounts of fentanyl flowing into Sioux City, warning the illicit drug threatens the lives of more citizens.

"Right now, were seeing it pouring over in alarming rates, which scares me," Mueller told the Sioux City Rotary Club. "Were going to see those effects in the days and months ahead. Were going to see more in our community dead because of fentanyl overdoses. Its guaranteed."

Law enforcement officials say fentanyl, a synthetic opioid originally developed to help cancer patients, is being smuggled across the Mexican border.

Mueller said sellers often lace fentanyl with marijuana, methamphetamine or other drugs. Because it's nearly 100 times more potent than morphine, fentanyl is considered highly potent and addictive, leading to abuse.

A trace amount the size of a grain of salt is potent enough to kill, Mueller said.

A new government report warns the U.S. must change its response to the fentanyl epidemic or lives will be lost. From June 2020 to May 2021, fentanyl and synthetic opioids accounted for roughly two-thirds of the more than 100,000 deaths in the U.S. from drug overdoses, according to the federal Commission on Combating Synthetic Opioid Trafficking, a bipartisan group of lawmakers, experts and officials from federal departments and agencies. The fatalities were mostly among Americans ages 18 to 45.

During a Q-&-A session at Monday's meeting, Mueller was asked about fentanyl's impact locally by Rotarian Linda Kalin, executive director of the Sioux City-based Iowa Poison Control Center.

Mueller said EMS personnel and even his officers are administering Narcan, an opioid treatment, at "alarming rates."

"If you were to ask me whats a huge public health crisis, Id say fentanyl overdoses concern me far more than COVID does because we can have an impact on fentanyl by enforcement areas," he told the Rotarians.

Mueller also highlighted the police department's recently released crime statistics for last year.

"Everything pretty much looks steady or on the decline," the police chief said of the crime numbers.

Overall, violent crime in Sioux City increased by 4% in 2021, compared to the previous year, while total crime decreased by 3%, according to the department's preliminary data.

Total property crime decreased by 4%, according to the data.

Mueller credited increased efforts by residents and businesses to help reduce property crime rates.

"This is a safe city," he told the Rotarians. "There are no areas where the police will not go."

Sioux City's official crime statistics will be finalized later in the year.

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DES MOINES -- The Iowa Supreme Court on Friday suspended a Sioux City lawyer's license for three years for repeatedly failing to respond to his client.

The court said that Brien O'Brien will have no possibility for reinstatement during the three-year suspension.

The suspension stems from a 2019 child custody case in which O'Brien agreed to represent the father and accepted a $2,750 retainer. After filing an answer in the case on the client's behalf, he never again spoke with his client or responded to messages. The client eventually had to hire another lawyer to represent him.

O'Brien has a history of disciplinary actions in Iowa and Nebraska.

The Nebraska Supreme Court disbarred him in 2002 for violating trust account rules and lying to disciplinary authorities during their investigation. The Iowa Supreme Court reciprocated that action by suspending O'Brien's license for three years.

After a 2004 conviction for failing to file Iowa income tax returns, O'Brien's license was suspended another six months. His license was temporarily suspended in 2021 for failing to respond in another disciplinary matter.

The supreme court publicly reprimanded O'Brien in 2017 for rules violations, and he has been privately reprimanded at least seven times, including for neglect and client communication failures.

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SIOUX CITY -- A Sioux City man has been sentenced to more than seven years in federal prison for selling methamphetamine.

Daniel Dickey, 34, pleaded guilty in October in U.S. District Court in Sioux City to one count of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine. He was sentenced on March 15 to 93 months on prison.

According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, Dickey and other conspired from December 2020 through April to sell more than 30 pounds of meth in the Sioux City area. Dickey was recruited to help receive multiple shipments of liquid meth for a Texas-based distribution conspiracy, which included importation of liquid meth plus vehicle transport of the drug from Mexico to Texas, then Iowa and South Dakota.

Law enforcement officers conducted several controlled drug buys with Dickey in March and April 2021 in Sioux City, resulting in seizure of more than 1 pound of meth, liquid ready for chemical conversion into meth and about $40,000 in drug proceeds. Dickey also admitted to wiring money from drug sales to sources in Texas and Mexico.

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During his first months in office, Gov. J.B. Pritzker promised to overhaul Illinois broken child welfare system following a report that criticized policies for keeping families together after abuse and neglect allegations came to light.

This agency and the children under its care were neglected for years, Pritzker said, referring to the states Department of Children and Family Services. That changes right now. There is nothing more important to me as governor than protecting our states most vulnerable people, especially our children.

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But despite pouring at least an additional $100 million into DCFS each year  and proposing an increase of $250 million this year  the agency remains understaffed and is still failing to get troubled youths into the right places quickly, advocates say.

The agencys troubles have been laid bare in juvenile court, where a judge ordered DCFS Director Marc Smith to be held in contempt of court seven times this year for failing to find appropriate placements for children.

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Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, right, and Illinois Department of Children and Family Services Director Marc Smith take questions from reporters during a news conference at the Illinois Capitol in Springfield on May 15, 2019. (Ted Schurter/The State Journal-Register)

DCFS is in the worst shape its been in 30 years, said Cook County Public Guardian Charles Golbert, whose office legally represents more than 7,000 children involved in the child welfare system. At some point, everybody involved in child welfare  judges, providers, lawyers  has to say, Enough is enough. Drastic times call for drastic measures.

While Pritzker is sure to be confronted with the issue by his opponents as he faces reelection, many of the problems plaguing DCFS have compounded over decades, leaving the agency to have to manage crisis after crisis.

Provisions in Pritzkers $1.81 billion proposed budget give some players in the child welfare community hope, including the more than $99 million devoted to community-based providers, are a step in the right direction to right the ship, said state Sen. Julie Morrison, a Deerfield Democrat.

Cook County Public Guardian Charles Golbert stands with plaintiffs after announcing a class-action lawsuit against Illinois Department of Children and Family Services on Dec. 13, 2018. The federal lawsuit was filed for allegedly locking youth in psychiatric hospitals. (Zbigniew Bzdak / Chicago Tribune)

Others see the governors proposed spending increase as just another example of pouring funds into an agency that nonetheless continues to underperform.

Every year, you come back and ask for more money, state Rep. Rita Mayfield, a Waukegan Democrat, said during a DCFS hearing before the House Human Services Appropriations Committee earlier this month. You tell us the same stories, that youre going to hire more case managers, youre going to address these issues, and nothing happens.

Your budget is one of the largest budgets in the state of Illinois, Mayfield added  DCFS proposed budget is the 11th largest among 55 state agencies. And were just not getting our moneys worth.

GOP lawmakers have echoed similar concerns.

I dont care how much money you throw at it, said Rep. Steve Reick, a Woodstock Republican. There are just way too many problems with DCFS that make me think that it is an agency that cant be fixed.

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Decades of turmoil

For more than three decades, DCFS has operated under federal court oversight due to a lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois calling for reform in the child welfare system.

Making slow but steady progress during the 1990s, the department then entered an era of massive turnover and controversy, with 14 different agency leaders from 2003 to 2019.

Turmoil at the top added to the chaos, with Republican Gov. George Ryan and his successor, Democratic Gov. Rod Blagojevich, both governing under the cloud of federal investigations that eventually led to convictions and prison time.

Democrat Pat Quinn took over following Blagojevichs impeachment as a sort of accidental governor, and during his time in office, managing unfunded liability and pensions was eating up everything, said Kent Redfield, an emeritus professor of political science at the University of Illinois at Springfield.

How do we focus on modernizing the focus on state government when the sky is falling? Redfield asked. All this time, (Quinn) was focusing on pensions and getting the budget in shape.

The Tribunes Harsh Treatment investigation in 2014 found thousands of children had run away from or been assaulted or sexually abused at taxpayer-funded residential treatment centers.

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Republican Bruce Rauner was elected governor in 2014 and went to war with the Democratic-controlled General Assembly, which left the state without a budget for more than two years.

DCFS could use federal funds to cover its in-house services, but the agency relied heavily on third-party providers for treatment, placements and mental health services. Without a state budget, those community-based service providers didnt have active contracts with the state, leading many of them to close their doors.

This created a huge shortage of providers that persists today, said Morrison, who chairs the Senate Health Committee, which reviews legislation involving DCFS.

Then-DCFS Director George Sheldon speaks at a news conference with Gov. Bruce Rauner on March 21, 2016. (Zbigniew Bzdak / Chicago Tribune)

It was during that time that one of Rauners appointed DCFS directors, George Sheldon, set out to reform the system by moving children out of residential treatment centers and instead prioritizing specialized foster care, an idea most advocates support, said Golbert, the Cook County public guardian. But success would require a robust system of community-based services, Golbert said  something that didnt exist when Sheldon dissolved contracts with residential centers, and still doesnt exist today.

A lot of the problems were seeing today really go back to that horrible decision to get rid of 500 beds before we had beds to replace them, Golbert said. DCFS already had a shortage of beds, and then it got 500 beds worse.

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Whether facing investigations or being inundated with state debt, Pritzkers predecessors spent minimal time being proactive about DCFS, Redfield said. The department lacked the bandwidth to consider long-term improvements when facing the question of how to survive the day, Redfield said.

In the best of states, with the best fiscal situation, with continuity and a really heavy priority on making government work, (DCFS) is a really tough agency to do a good job with, Redfield said. Drop that into what Illinois has looked like since the 1990s, and its really tough.

How dysfunctional DCFS has become

Since January, Smith, the agencys director, has been held in contempt of court seven times, all for violating court orders to find children appropriate placements in a timely manner. For a judge to take such an action is something seldom seen, said Golbert, whose office brought the cases to court.

In the more than 30 years that Ive been practicing in Juvenile Court, I cannot recall a single prior instance where a judge held the DCFS director in contempt, Golbert said in a statement. And now its happened [seven] times in [10] weeks. Thats how dysfunctional DCFS has become.

The dates of the contempt orders and the subjects in the seven cases were:

Jan. 6: A 9-year-old girl kept locked in a psychiatric hospital since June.

Jan. 6: A 13-year-old boy kept in a temporary shelter in Mount Vernon, a southern Illinois town about 280 miles from Chicago, prior to which DCFS placed him in a utility room in an office.

Jan. 13: A 17-year-old boy kept locked in a psychiatric hospital since Sept. 10.

Feb. 17: A 16-year-old girl kept locked in a psychiatric hospital two months after she was ready to be discharged, then shuffled around placements 25 times since Nov. 18, including hospitals, emergency temporary shelters and temporary foster homes.

March 3: An 11-year-old girl who has been ready for discharge from a locked psychiatric hospital since April 30.

March 3: A 15-year-old girl kept locked in a psychiatric hospital since Dec. 6.

March 17: A 16-year-old boy kept in a temporary shelter for more than a year, waiting for residential treatment.

What kind of message does that send to a child about their worth, their value, their importance? Golbert asked in a Tribune interview. Sometimes, with all the statistics and dollars and figures thrown around, what gets lost is that these are our children, and we need to be taking much better care of them.

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Smith declined a request to be interviewed for this article. In response to specific questions, DCFS issued a statement that read in part: We are working aggressively addressing the decadeslong challenge of a lack of community resources and facilities for children with complex behavioral health needs, which has been exacerbated by an increased demand in social services in recent years.

DCFS Director Marc Smith listens during a presentation on the findings of a six-week review that looked at the agency's intact family services on May 13, 2019. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune)

Speaking before the Senate Human Services Appropriations Committee Thursday, Smith said he was inappropriately held in contempt because caseworkers and private partners have been aggressively looking for placements for these children for months.

Children being kept in psychiatric hospitals beyond what was medically necessary was part of the impetus for the consent decree. By the end of the 1990s, instances of this did still happen, but they were pretty unusual, Golbert said.

Now, its widespread and common again, Golbert said, noting there were 356 children under DCFS care kept beyond medical necessity in the 2021 fiscal year. The department is on track for another very sad record this year, Golbert said.

Since being held in contempt of court  which carries the penalty of a $1,000 fine per day, per case, if the child is not placed  Smith and DCFS have placed five of the children appropriately, Golbert told the Tribune. The 15-year-old girl and 16-year-old boy are still awaiting placements.

On March 3, Smith told the House Appropriations Committee that his department has been working aggressively to place all those children. Children who receive treatment from a psychiatric hospital are often the hardest to find placements for, given the very special type of needs of those children, Smith said.

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They are not falling through the cracks, Smith said. What is happening is that we have to work very closely to develop very specific services for those children, while were also working with the other children that we are also placing.

Pritzkers proposed budget

Since Pritzker took office, the state has allocated funding for about 300 additional positions at DCFS. The governors proposed budget includes funding for 360 additional positions.

Look, judgments need to be made by investigators and those who are front-line at DCFS, Pritzker said at an unrelated event in Bloomington March 9. And that means youve got to hire good people, more people. Theyve got to have fewer cases per caseworker.

The entrance to an Illinois Department of Children and Family Services office is seen on March 22, 2019. (Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune)

The Illinois Legislative Latino Caucus is pushing for the agencys hiring efforts to prioritize Spanish-speaking caseworkers. Just under 10% of DCFS workers are Latino, the agency said, while Latinos make up 17.5% of the states population.

Not only does a shortage of workers mean a more intensive caseload, but it also means caseworkers are reluctant to request a second worker to join them on a house visit, something they have a right to, said Anne Irving, regional director of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees and liaison to DCFS. The union is very supportive of the push for increased staffing.

But with industries across the board struggling to attract and hire workers, especially in health care and social services, recruitment presents its own set of challenges.

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The days of filling DCFS job openings with any warm body are long gone, said Jess McDonald, who served as director of DCFS between 1994 and 2003. Hiring workers without adequate training and preparation results in critical mistakes made in the field and increased turnover, McDonald said.

Intensive training is critical, McDonald said. It takes about six months of intensive training  some academic and preparation work and on-the-job training  plus another six months of close supervision in the field with a training supervisor.

The governors office responded to questions with a statement saying DCFS has been rebuilding trust with providers and investing in hiring as the agency works to overcome a pandemic-driven child welfare staffing crisis.

The administration also said a recent technology overhaul has drastically reduced a backlog for people calling the DCFS hotline, with less than 1% of calls requiring callbacks, down from about 50% of calls in 2019, the statement said.

The governors proposed budget appropriates $4.8 million for simulation lab training. Currently, DCFS case investigator training includes a week of orientation, four weeks in the classroom and a week in the Child Protection Training Academy, a simulation lab at UIS, said Betsy Goulet, a clinical assistant professor at the university who developed the simulation lab.

The program was originally intended to be a six-week cohort training, similar to that of a police academy, but when the program started in 2016, Goulet said DCFS didnt feel it could support financially the entire six weeks.

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During the simulation lab training, workers go through two different cases, including house visits and testimony before a judge. The actors give real-time feedback in character, allowing people to make mistakes in a safe place, not out in the field, Goulet said. More time in this training would allow workers to go through the scenarios multiple times and correct their mistakes, Goulet said.

Illinois Department of Children and Family Services' child's bedroom in its "environmentally hazardous simulation apartment" on Feb. 14, 2020, in Chicago. DCFS uses this room to instruct its workers on what to look for when investigating abuse, potentially dangerous environments for children, as well as discussion points for workers and parents. (Stacey Wescott / Chicago Tribune)

Working for DCFS is not good for on-the-job training, said Goulet, a former investigator for the agency. Thats part of my goal is that we graduate students who are way better equipped than I ever was to do this job.

The budget also includes $99.1 million toward community-based providers, so those agencies can pay their workers closer to what DCFS pays its investigators.

Theres going to be very close to full parity with what a state worker at DCFS earns, said state Sen. Sara Feigenholtz, a Chicago Democrat. They see that the most successful cases with children are when caseworkers stick with one child and their family.

To figure out where, exactly, those funds should be dispersed, many child welfare advocates are calling for a comprehensive study of the department to determine the proportions of what types of placements the agency needs and what rates the state department needs to pay private agencies for them to be able to hire the staff they need.

Such a study would keep the agency accountable to appropriately spend taxpayer dollars, referring to a similar study published in 2020 for the Illinois Department of Human Services Division of Developmental Disabilities.

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DCFS has not commissioned the study despite the urging of advocates.

There is still much to be done to improve child welfare in the state, advocates agree. But this years budget gives people hope for stabilization on the horizon.

This is a very unstable, problematic situation that were in right now, said Redfield, the U. of I. politics expert. But there are certainly reasons to be optimistic, that were in a position where we start talking about not How do we survive the day? but How do we make tomorrow better?

cspaulding@chicagotribune.com
SIOUX CITY  Briar Cliff University President Rachelle Keck has been selected as the 14th president of Grand View University.

Keck will be the first female leader of the Des Moines-based college since its inception in 1896.

One of four finalists for the post, Keck was announced as the private four-year school's selection at a news conference Tuesday afternoon.

Keck has been president of Briar Cliff since July 2018. Before her appointment, she served as the private Sioux City school's executive president and university counsel.

It has been my honor and privilege to serve Briar Cliff University as president, Keck said in a statement. While I am excited for the future at Grand View University and moving closer to family, Briar Cliff is where my presidential career began and will always hold a deep place in my heart.

Keck will remain at Briar Cliff through June. An interim president is set to be appointed by July 1, as the university's Board of Trustees conducts a nationwide search for Keck's successor. The board intends to appoint the next president by summer 2023.

Former Briar Cliff board chair Steve Freeman has been assisting with the school's presidential transition plan and will remain in an advisory capacity until the trustees appoint an interim president.

Keck has an opportunity to once again be located close to her loved ones and return to the area her career first began, said Mark Ward, chair of the Briar Cliff Board of Trustees. On behalf of the board and Briar Cliff University community, we want to thank Dr. Keck for her years of service, visionary leadership, and the impact she has made during her tenure. We wish her the very best.

Keck and her husband, Jim, have four children, three of whom live in the Des Moines metro area.

An Iowa native, Keck will succeed Grand View President Kent Henning, who will retire at the end of June after 22 years with the school.

"Grand View University shines as a visionary leader in the field, dedicated to the holistic education of graduates prepared to lead and serve in our diverse and changing world, Keck said. "Our entrepreneurial mindset, our critical location in the largest and fastest-growing city in the state, our connection to business and government, as well as the notable acumen and dedication of our faculty, staff, alumni and board have and will continue to be vital elements of Grand View Universitys ongoing success."

A first-generation college student, Keck graduated from Wartburg College in Waverly with a bachelor of arts degree in psychology. She earned her juris doctorate from the University of Iowa and her doctor of philosophy degree in education from Drake University in Des Moines.

Keck began her career as a prosecutor before establishing her own law firm. She also served on the Wartburg College Board of Regents, where she developed a passion for higher education that led her to philanthropy roles at the University of Iowa Foundation as its director of planned giving, and later at Indian Hills Community College as its executive director for Philanthropy and Alumni Relations before joining Briar Cliff in 2017.

At Briar Cliff, Keck has led the expansion of academic programs and developed a comprehensive campus master plan. She also led several key fundraising initiatives centered around academics, athletics and campus beautification. In addition, the use of technology both in and out of the classroom has expanded, the endowment has grown, enrollment has increased and grant dollars applied for and awarded have increased during her tenure.

Rachelle is a proven leader with a collaborative, entrepreneurial and transparent leadership style that will serve Grand View well, said Chris Littlefield, chair of Grand View University's Board of Trustees. The board was impressed with her demonstrated ability to effectuate constructive institutional change while improving student success, enhancing communication and shared governance, cultivating strong relationships, advocating for higher education and fundraising for institutional needs."

Dr. Keck is a dynamic leader whose vision and values mirror Grand Views and will help us build on our rich tradition of accessible and inclusive higher education,'' added trustee Chris Murray, who chaired the presidential search committee.

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SOUTH SIOUX CITY -- The Norm Waitt Sr. YMCA on Tuesday announced plans to expand the South Sioux City complex.

At an estimated cost of around $4 million, the project includes an indoor play area and three to four new classrooms for childcare and school-age programming, the YMCA said in a press release.

Phase 1 -- renovating space in the current facility to accommodate the new programming -- is already underway. Subsequent phases will include an 11,000-square-foot expansion to the east of the current facility, which sits along the shore of the Missouri River.

The later phases are expected to begin after the majority of the fundraising has been completed, according to the press release. The capital campaign is underway, along with an operational campaign to raise an additional $2 million to $3 million.

An opening date is slated for January 2024.

The new classroom spaces will enable the YMCA to add an additional 82 spots in their early childcare programming, according to the press release. Evening care will be included in the expansion to accommodate parents who work second-shifts.

"The new addition will meet the needs of the (community's) growing population especially in children under age 18. This expansion will provide full-time and part-time care for children ages 6 weeks through 12 years old along with nontraditional times to include opportunities for care through the evening and early mornings," the YMCA press release said.

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U.S. Sen. Mike Braun, R-Ind., would welcome the U.S. Supreme Court rescinding its 1967 ruling that legalized interracial marriage nationwide in favor of allowing each of the 50 states to decide such issues on its own.

Speaking Tuesday on a conference call with Indiana reporters, the Hoosier senator unambiguously declared his belief that many of the high court's key civil rights decisions of the past 70 years were wrongly decided and an improper usurpation of states' rights.

Braun initially limited his claim to the national right to abortion established by the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision he hopes the current, more conservative, Supreme Court will overturn in coming months when it rules in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization.

But, when asked by The Times, Braun admitted there are many Supreme Court decisions he believes improperly established federal rights that would be better handled on a state-by-state basis, including Loving v. Virginia that legalized interracial marriage, and Griswold v. Connecticut (1965) establishing a right to privacy concerning contraceptive use.

"You can list a whole host of issues," Braun said. "When it comes down to whatever they are, I'm going to say they're not going to all make you happy within a given state. But we're better off having states manifest their points of view, rather than homogenizing it across the country as Roe v. Wade did."

Specifically concerning interracial marriage, Braun rejected the reasoning of a unanimous Supreme Court that the freedom to marry is a fundamental constitutional right and states depriving Americans of it on an arbitrary basis, such as race, is unconstitutional.

He acknowledged leaving such a question to states is likely to lead to situations where a marriage may be recognized in one state and not in another, but he shrugged it off as "the beauty of the system."

"This should be something where the expression of individual states are able to weigh-in on these issues through their own legislation, through their own court systems. Quit trying to put the federal government in charge," Braun said.

To that end, Braun pointed to the widespread adoption of state laws legalizing individual use of medicinal and recreational marijuana, notwithstanding the fact cannabis remains an illegal controlled substance under federal law.

"That's part of the way that we navigate through issues that are generally going to be divisive, that are generally very vitriolic, and you solve that by not trying to nationalize it," Braun said. "One side of the aisle, out here, wants to do more of that all the time, and I think we've gone far enough there into a variety of issues.

"I think if you're not wanting the Supreme Court to weigh in on issues like that, you're not going to be able to have your cake and eat it, too. I think that's hypocritical."

Braun later walked back his comments by claiming he misunderstood the question, despite the question being asked multiple times in different ways to ensure Braun meant and understood what he said concerning interracial marriage.

"Let me be clear on that issue  there is no question the Constitution prohibits discrimination of any kind based on race, that is not something that is even up for debate, and I condemn racism in any form, at all levels and by any states, entities or individuals," Braun said.

As for the judicial vacancy on the high court, Braun said he hasn't yet decided whether he will vote to confirm Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson and make her the first black woman to serve alongside the eight other Supreme Court justices.

Braun said he wants to see what Jackson says under questioning this week by the Senate Judiciary Committee and then he plans to carefully review her past rulings to see if they conform to his expectations for federal judges.

"She seems well-qualified. But whenever I vote for a Supreme Court justice it's going to be, basically, how are you going to interpret the law," Braun said. "If your record shows that you're going to be kind of an activist there, I don't think that's good, and I don't think the Founders intended it that way."

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Two years after issuing an executive order creating a committee to address the opioid crisis in Illinois, Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Monday announced the formation of a statewide Overdose Action Plan to tackle a problem that only got worse during the pandemic.

There are so many people who end up in a struggle with the disease that is addiction  self-medicating, trauma, simultaneous mental health challenges, a pain prescription gone wrong, Pritzker said. But no matter what brings someone here, their life is worth saving.

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In 2020, nearly 3,000 Illinois residents died of an opioid overdose, up 32.7% from 2019 and the deadliest overdose year on record in Illinois, Pritzker said during an event at the Westside Community Triage and Wellness Center in West Garfield Park.

The latest plan will be a partnership to provide mental health and recovery services to Chicago neighborhoods and other areas most affected by opioid deaths.

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In 2020, the West Side neighborhoods of Austin, Humboldt Park and North Lawndale reported the highest number of opioid overdose deaths ever. Citywide, opioid-related deaths were up 52% from 2019, according to city data.

Members of Chicagos West Side Heroin and Opioid Task Force attended Pritzkers news conference Monday and spoke in support of the initiative.

Live4Lali Chief Programs Officer Laura Fry shows some of the items offered to drug users at the new Live4Lali van, a harm reduction organization that provides clean needles, naloxone for overdoses and other clean items for drug users, March 4, 2020, in North Chicago. (Erin Hooley / Chicago Tribune)

The states response to the opioid crisis has cost taxpayers billions of dollars, but treatment and recovery services have long been underfunded, said state Rep. La Shawn Ford, a Chicago Democrat.

Thats sad, and thats why we see so many people die, Ford said. Thats why this plan is important because now, were going to be able to use the plan to help with prevention, treatment and recovery.

Overseeing and implementing the plan in the newly created position of chief behavioral health officer will be David T. Jones, now director of the division of substance use prevention and recovery for the Illinois Department of Human Services. His responsibilities will include coordinating resources for mental health and substance use disorders across state agencies.

The governor, who is seeking reelection this year, on Friday named Dana Weiner the director of a childrens behavioral health initiative aimed at streamlining state social service efforts to children on families.

The Overdose action Plan takes a holistic look at how social determinants, such as hunger, poverty, homelessness and unemployment, disparately impact the health of marginalized communities, Jones said, which can increase overdose rates.

Jones vowed to work with State Homelessness Chief Christine Haley and other partners such as the Office of Medicaid Innovation at the University of Illinois at Chicago, he said.

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There are many committed behavioral health providers currently delivering evidence-based and evidence-informed prevention, intervention, treatment and recovery support, Jones said. Our work will include both building upon the good work currently occurring and scaling up coordination across departments or agencies to facilitate greater treatment effectiveness, fiscal efficiencies and health outcomes.

cspaulding@chicagotribune.com
U.S. Sen. Mike Braun, R-Ind., would welcome the U.S. Supreme Court rescinding its 1967 ruling that legalized interracial marriage nationwide in favor of allowing each of the 50 states to decide such issues on its own.

Speaking Tuesday on a conference call with Indiana reporters, the Hoosier senator unambiguously declared his belief that many of the high court's key civil rights decisions of the past 70 years were wrongly decided and an improper usurpation of states' rights.

Braun initially limited his claim to the national right to abortion established by the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision he hopes the current, more conservative, Supreme Court will overturn in coming months when it rules in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization.

But, when asked by The Times, Braun admitted there are many Supreme Court decisions he believes improperly established federal rights that would be better handled on a state-by-state basis, including Loving v. Virginia that legalized interracial marriage, and Griswold v. Connecticut (1965) establishing a right to privacy concerning contraceptive use.

"You can list a whole host of issues," Braun said. "When it comes down to whatever they are, I'm going to say they're not going to all make you happy within a given state. But we're better off having states manifest their points of view, rather than homogenizing it across the country as Roe v. Wade did."

Specifically concerning interracial marriage, Braun rejected the reasoning of a unanimous Supreme Court that the freedom to marry is a fundamental constitutional right and states depriving Americans of it on an arbitrary basis, such as race, is unconstitutional.

He acknowledged leaving such a question to states is likely to lead to situations where a marriage may be recognized in one state and not in another, but he shrugged it off as "the beauty of the system."

"This should be something where the expression of individual states are able to weigh-in on these issues through their own legislation, through their own court systems. Quit trying to put the federal government in charge," Braun said.

To that end, Braun pointed to the widespread adoption of state laws legalizing individual use of medicinal and recreational marijuana, notwithstanding the fact cannabis remains an illegal controlled substance under federal law.

"That's part of the way that we navigate through issues that are generally going to be divisive, that are generally very vitriolic, and you solve that by not trying to nationalize it," Braun said. "One side of the aisle, out here, wants to do more of that all the time, and I think we've gone far enough there into a variety of issues.

"I think if you're not wanting the Supreme Court to weigh in on issues like that, you're not going to be able to have your cake and eat it, too. I think that's hypocritical."

Braun later walked back his comments by claiming he misunderstood the question, despite the question being asked multiple times in different ways to ensure Braun meant and understood what he said concerning interracial marriage.

"Let me be clear on that issue  there is no question the Constitution prohibits discrimination of any kind based on race, that is not something that is even up for debate, and I condemn racism in any form, at all levels and by any states, entities or individuals," Braun said.

As for the judicial vacancy on the high court, Braun said he hasn't yet decided whether he will vote to confirm Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson and make her the first black woman to serve alongside the eight other Supreme Court justices.

Braun said he wants to see what Jackson says under questioning this week by the Senate Judiciary Committee and then he plans to carefully review her past rulings to see if they conform to his expectations for federal judges.

"She seems well-qualified. But whenever I vote for a Supreme Court justice it's going to be, basically, how are you going to interpret the law," Braun said. "If your record shows that you're going to be kind of an activist there, I don't think that's good, and I don't think the Founders intended it that way."

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An agent who previously represented both Depp and Heard said in response to her breakup with Elon Musk, "You told me a thousand times you were just filling space." Get that news and more here.
A former maintenance worker at a Sarpy County apartment complex was released from custody Monday after being sentenced for sexually assaulting three women who lived or worked at the complex.

Sarpy County District Judge George Thompson sentenced Hector Guardado-Alfaro, 44, to the maximum of one year on each of three counts of third-degree sexual assault, a misdemeanor. Guardado-Alfaro had pleaded no contest to the charges, which were amended from two counts of first-degree sexual assault, a felony, and disturbing the peace, a misdemeanor.

Because Guardado-Alfaro was in jail for more than two years while awaiting trial, he was awarded credit for the time he already had served and was released after sentencing.

Under state sentencing guidelines, sentences generally are cut in half. Guardado-Alfaro also was ordered to register as a sex offender.

Guardado-Alfaro is a former maintenance worker at an apartment complex near 168th Street and Nebraska 370. Investigators for the Sarpy County Sheriff's Office determined that he used his position there to assault the women in three separate incidents in January 2020.

Two of the women were residents, and a third was a co-worker at the apartment complex, investigators said.

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Nebraska's hospital and medical associations have sent a letter to state senators encouraging them to devote a share of the state's federal pandemic funding to bolstering the health care workforce.

Leaders of the Nebraska Hospital Association and the Nebraska Medical Association, which represents many of the state's doctors, also raised concerns in a letter dated Thursday that the Legislature's proposal does not reserve contingency funds for future public health response needs.

The associations are not alone in lobbying for a share of the state's allotment under the American Rescue Plan Act. The ARPA funding bill will be on Wednesday's legislative agenda. The committee proposal would use $1.03 billion of the $1.04 billion that Nebraska will get from ARPA.

Jeremy Nordquist, the hospital association's president, said the groups' members are concerned about the lack of investment in initiatives that would immediately strengthen the state's health care workforce, particularly in rural Nebraska. That workforce has suffered losses during the pandemic.

A study by the Nebraska Center for Nursing indicated the state will face a shortage of 5,435 nurses by the year 2025. That number actually is expected to be higher given the losses of nurses due to the pandemic. As of last week, some 7,247 open nursing positions in Nebraska were posted on Indeed.com.

According to a University of Nebraska Medical Center health care workforce study, every Nebraska county but Douglas and Lancaster has been designated a shortage area for at least one type of physician primary care specialty. Nearly a fifth of physicians in the state are approaching retirement age.

The associations urged the Legislature to appropriate funds for three initiatives to jump-start the health care workforce:

* $5 million for nursing scholarships.

* $5 million for rural health professional student loan repayment.

* Ongoing operational funding for the Rural Health Complex at the University of Nebraska at Kearney.

Nordquist said the associations' leaders also are concerned about a lack of contingency funding for future public health emergencies, such as another wave of COVID-19.

Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts, he said, had included $20 million each for the current fiscal year and the next fiscal year in his ARPA spending proposal to cover hospital capacity needs, including traveling nurses. The committee's proposal does not include such funds.

Nordquist noted that the state's hospitals are only six weeks removed from having a limit on elective procedures due to high numbers of COVID patients.

The state has until 2026 to spend the ARPA funds. The Legislature could set aside contingency funds and "have that there as a backstop."

"We don't know what the future holds," he said.

World-Herald reporter Martha Stoddard contributed to this report.

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COLUMBUS  Felipe Vazquez, the teenager who fired the shot that killed Lincoln Police Officer Mario Herrera in August 2020, will go to prison for first-degree murder.

A jury in Platte County District Court, where this month's trial was moved, returned the verdict just before 8:30 p.m. Monday.

Twelve hours earlier, in closing arguments, the jury of five men and seven women heard Herrera's voice, captured on an audio recorder in the investigator's pocket, the moment he was wounded.

First came a smash, the sound of glass breaking from a bedroom window.

A shot followed. Boom. Then, immediately, Herrera's pained screams.

His family and Lincoln police officers in plain clothes had filled the courtroom Monday morning, at least one wiping away tears at the dramatic audio that showed how quickly everything went tragically wrong.

Many were back in the Columbus courtroom Monday night, awaiting the jury's response to the question of premeditated first-degree murder or manslaughter, as attorneys for Vazquez had suggested throughout the two-week trial.

Vazquez showed no emotion as the seven guilty verdicts were read, including assault, escape and firearm charges that could net a sentence of life plus 194 years at a hearing scheduled for May 25.

Following the verdicts, Herrera's family watched as deputies put handcuffs on Vazquez and led him out of the courtroom. Herrera's widow, Carrie Herrera, tearfully hugged Lancaster County Attorney Pat Condon and other supporters, including current and former LPD officers.

Family members declined comment outside the courtroom and attorneys offered no statements.

The verdicts followed 19 months after officers first went to Vazquez's father's house at 3255 Vine St., looking to serve a warrant.

In the seconds leading up to the audio clip played Monday, Condon said Mario Herrera and two other officers were behind a tree in the yard talking. A captain said he didn't think Vazquez  the teen who locked himself in a bedroom when they came to arrest him  had a gun inside.

"What does he do? He does what he's been trained to do," Condon said of Herrera, who stepped out from behind the tree when he heard the crashing noise of Vazquez's escape attempt. "He's also drawing Mr. Vazquez's fire."

He said in the 20 to 25 minutes holed up in the house, Vazquez had time to think this whole thing out, showing premeditation necessary for first-degree murder.

"He's not trying to scare the officers. He's trying to kill the officers that are trying to stop him from leaving," Condon said.

Vazquez's first shot was the one that tore through Herrera's liver. Then there was a pause and a second boom from the stolen .45-caliber handgun.

In closing arguments, defense attorney Nancy Peterson said Vazquez didn't intend to shoot Herrera or anyone.

"All he wanted to do was to get away," she said.

She said if he had planned to have a shootout with police, why would he leave an extra magazine for the gun behind? And why didn't he shoot at an officer blocking off Vine Street a block away?

In an interview with a Lancaster County Sheriff's deputy later that day, after Vazquez was chased out of a house nearby and found hiding on a porch, he denied he'd had a gun or fired it.

"I just got out the window. I heard gunshots and I kept running. I don't know, bro," the then-17-year-old said.

But last week on the stand, Vazquez said he remembered firing the gun twice  police found three .45 casings. He said the plan was to aim at the tree to cause officers to take cover, allowing him and his friend, Orion Ross, to get away.

On Monday, Peterson asked the jury to find Vazquez guilty of manslaughter for Herrera's killing.

Peterson also asked jurors to find Vazquez not guilty of attempted assault on Officer Cole Jennings, who ended up with bruising on his legs.

Prosecutors believe Vazquez shot at Jennings' feet, causing debris to hit him, before Jennings returned fire, shooting four times but missing Vazquez as he ran away.

Peterson argued against that claim and against trusting testimony from two convicted felons who stood to benefit by, one, saying Vazquez had previously said he would shoot police if they came to arrest him and, by another, saying he'd said "it was me or the officer."

"Your verdict doesn't rest on maybes and possiblys and could've-beens," she said.

Condon countered that Vazquez wasn't shooting in the air or at a van or a tree.

"Felipe Vazquez was shooting at the officer who was going to stop him," he said. "That was his intention. To not get caught and to shoot ... whichever police officer he needed to."

The jury in Platte County, where the case was moved because of pretrial publicity, entered deliberations at 11:49 a.m.

Reach the writer at 402-473-7237 or lpilger@journalstar.com. On Twitter @LJSpilger

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Tornado season could start earlier than normal in the U.S. this year, according to a severe weather outlook from AccuWeather.

The weather forecasting company predicts there could be anywhere from 120-170 tornadoes in March and 200-275 in April. Those are well above the long-term averages of 80 and 155.

Paul Pastelok, AccuWeather senior meteorologist, said tornado activity in recent years has been pushing farther east from the traditional "Tornado Alley," which encompasses a swath of the southern Plains to the northern Plains that includes central Texas, much of Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska and South Dakota, and small parts of Colorado, New Mexico and Iowa, and he expects that trend to continue.

AccuWeather predicts the highest risk of severe weather from March to May will stretch from eastern parts of South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas and Oklahoma all the way into the northeast. Omaha is on the western end of the area with the highest risk, while Lincoln is just outside of it, in an area of more moderate risk.

There was already a tornado outbreak in Iowa the first weekend of March that destroyed dozens of homes and left seven people dead.

Pastelok said at this point it appears unlikely the Lincoln area will see significant severe weather in March.

"March right now is not likely very active for Lincoln," he said.

But Pastelok said he thinks there's going to be "a lot more activity" in April.

That would be a big change from last year, when there were no tornadoes in the entire state in April, after only one in March.

While Pastelok predicts fewer tornadoes in May compared with the average, he said those storms may be more concentrated in the Midwest.

Over the past 30 years, Nebraska has seen the bulk of its tornadoes in May and June, averaging about 30 total in those two months, more than in the other 10 months combined.

One thing that could work to hinder severe weather is the drought that's gripping much of the western half of the U.S., including Nebraska, because dry conditions tend to hinder the development of storms.

Al Dutcher, Nebraskas associate state climatologist, said he thinks odds favor a stormy spring across the region, something that has been lacking the past two years.

He said he'll be watching the next month and a half to see if stormy weather continues in the southern U.S. If it does, he believes Nebraska will have a better shot at a wetter spring.

The drought itself is a severe weather condition that bears watching this spring. As of Thursday, nearly all of Nebraska was in drought conditions, with nearly half the state, including southern Lancaster County, in severe drought or worse.

Though the rain and snow that fell Thursday night into Friday brought needed moisture, including 0.68 inches officially in Lincoln, much more is needed to improve the dry conditions.

That's not looking likely, however. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, in its spring forecast released Thursday, predicts drought conditions will stay the same or worsen across the western half of the U.S., including in virtually all of Nebraska.

The drought conditions and warmer-than-normal conditions will increase the risk of wildfires across much of the West and the Central Plains, including Nebraska.

"This year, in addition to severe thunderstorms and tornadoes, we need to prepare for hazards that could occur because of drought conditions affecting the state," said Erv Portis, assistant director of the Nebraska Emergency Management Agency.

Portis called the threat of wildfires a "top concern" this spring.

The Omaha World-Herald contributed to this report. Reach the writer at 402-473-2647 or molberding@journalstar.com. On Twitter @LincolnBizBuzz.

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As a Republican candidate for governor, Aurora Mayor Richard Irvin has repeatedly attacked Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker for a criminal justice package Irvin says he will seek to repeal because it encourages violent crime and played a role in the deaths of law enforcement officers.

Theyre not crime bills. What they are is I hate the police bills. They are defund the police bills, Irvin said Thursday on the conservative Newsmax network. These bills that give more credibility to criminals than they do to the victims that these criminals victimize. They give more credibility to criminals than the police that do their job arresting them every single day. And the first thing that I do as governor is work hard to repeal these.

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But on the day Pritzker signed the packages initial and overarching piece into law on Feb. 22 of last year, Irvin sent one of the bills Democratic sponsors a letter commending state Sen. Elgie Sims Jr. of Chicago on his leadership in its passage, lauding the measures goals and saying he thought his police department had already met or exceeded the new laws requirements.

He also suggested to Sims some minor changes to make the new law better.

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Aurora Mayor Richard Irvin delivers the State of the City address at the Paramount Theater in Aurora on March 15, 2022. (Mike Mantucca / The Beacon-News)

It has been my experience that having well-trained officers working hand in hand with community members is the only way to create a safe community and I strongly support the bills goal to help move other departments in that direction as well, Irvin wrote to Sims.

Irvins letter threatens to undermine the key positioning he has taken in his bid for the GOP nomination in June and the right to take on Pritzker in the Nov. 8 general election. It also represents the latest dichotomy in positions taken by Irvin as Aurora mayor versus Irvin the Republican candidate for governor.

As mayor, Irvin hailed Pritzkers leadership on COVID-19 mitigation efforts and pushed for uniform endorsement of them across municipal lines while he also backed masking requirements for local businesses. But as a candidate for governor, Irvin said he opposes coronavirus mandates and supports more local control of pandemic restrictions.

Sign up for The Spin to get the top stories in politics delivered to your inbox weekday afternoons.

Since he announced his campaign earlier this year, Irvin has pushed a tough-on-crime posture that promotes his five years as an assistant prosecutor in Cook and Kane counties while ignoring his 15 years as a criminal defense attorney. It is a position pushed by his biggest financial benefactor, Ken Griffin. Griffin, Illinois wealthiest resident and the founder and CEO of Citadel investments, has pumped $20 million into Irvins campaign.

The anti-crime messaging is also part of a GOP playbook, used locally and nationally, to attempt to portray Democrats as soft on crime amid violent outbreaks of gun violence, smash-and-grab retail thefts and carjackings.

In Illinois, the sweeping criminal justice bill has become a focal point. Hailed by criminal justice reformers but criticized by many in law enforcement, last years bill called for abolishing cash bail in 2023, requires police officers statewide to wear body cameras by 2025, eliminates requirements for signing sworn affidavits when filing complaints against officers and creates a new process to decertify abusive police.

Irvins campaign dismissed the candidates praise for the measure as word parsing.

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Being polite to a state senator when asking for revisions to a law that affects police in ones city is far from being laudatory or indicating overall support for this piece of legislation, which Mayor Irvin does not support, said Irvin spokeswoman Eleni Demertzis.

She said the letter does not change the fact that J.B. Pritzker signed a bill into law that ties the hands of police and lets violent criminals back into our communities.

In a brief interview with the Tribune in February, more than two weeks after announcing his candidacy for governor, Irvin lashed out at the reforms even though most parts of the package, such as the cashless bail provision for nonviolent offenders, have yet to take effect.

Its not even about (the law) going into effect. Its about the fact that the criminals know whats coming. They know that when they get arrested, theyre not going to have to post bond. That empowers criminals to want to commit more crime, Irvin said in the Feb. 3 interview.

He went even further, saying eight police officers have been killed in the line of duty since that bill has been signed, adding, of course signing that bill affects crime in this state.

In seeking reelection last year as Auroras first Black mayor, Irvin said in a candidate questionnaire that he supported Black Lives Matter strongly and passionately. But in his campaign announcement, on TV commercials and in the Newsmax interview, Irvin has repeatedly said, all lives matter  a phrase associated with conservatives supporting police and attacking the Black Lives Matter movement that grew out of incidents of police violence.

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In the Newsmax interview, Irvin said it was important to be backing your men and women in blue, showing that you got the backs of those men and women that wear the badge and come out of their home every single day and put their lives on the line to keep us safe.

Irvins campaign comments about the criminal justice package are in sharp contrast to those in his letter to Sims where he stated, I commend you for your leadership in connection with the passage of the measure.

Sims could not be reached for comment.

Despite his opposition as a candidate for governor, Irvin made no mention in his letter to Sims of the cashless bail provision that has become one of his major campaign taking points.

Instead, Irvin said after reviewing the measure, I am proud to note that our police department already meets, and I believe exceeds, a number of the new requirements dealing with law enforcement.

He specifically cited our overall training program (including new recruits), our policies regarding use of force and equipping our officers with body cameras, which we committed to doing back in June as a compliment to our dashcam program.

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Irvins campaign said his letter did not address the candidates concerns about such provisions as cashless bail because he wanted to deal with sections of the new law that would go into effect sooner and needed to be addressed more quickly. The campaign said suggesting changes to the law was not an indication of support.

Irvin proposed four amendments to the bill, even though at the time the measure had been approved by the General Assembly and was only awaiting Pritzkers signature to become law. The campaign said the changes were suggested after the bill passed because lawmakers were already talking about a follow-up cleanup bill.

Among the changes proposed in Irvins letter was a technical one in how anonymous complaints against police could be made. Thats a provision opposed by police unions but one Irvin in his letter said he supported because it will encourage individuals to come forward who may not otherwise do so.

Other provisions Irvin sought dealt with allowing police officers to review their body camera footage to prepare a police report, clarifying standards for police use of force and wearing body cameras and retooling language involving resisting or obstructing a police officer. A subsequent bill signed into law clarified the obstruction issue.

Irvin concluded his letter to Sims by writing, thank you for your leadership and work that went into this bill and appreciation for considering his proposed changes.

Please do not hesitate to reach out if we can be of assistance, Irvin wrote.

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DES MOINES -- In addition to voting for a president, Iowans in two years could be voting to clarify the line of succession for their states chief executive.

State lawmakers have given the first stage of approval to a proposed state constitutional amendment that would clarify what happens when Iowas governor must be replaced.

That proposal passed the Iowa Senate on Tuesday; it previously passed the Iowa House.

Because it would amend the Iowa Constitution, the line of succession proposal now must be passed again by the Iowa Legislature in either 2023 or 2024. It then must be approved by a public vote; it could go on the ballot as early as 2024.

The proposed constitutional amendment says if the governor of Iowa dies, resigns or is removed from office, the lieutenant governor becomes the governor.

Under the proposal, the lieutenant governor position would become vacant, clearing the way for the new governor to appoint a new lieutenant governor.

The push to clarify Iowas line of succession came in the wake of the 2017 transition from former Gov. Terry Branstad to his lieutenant governor at the time, current Gov. Kim Reynolds.

At that time, Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller provided a formal opinion that the Iowa Constitution does not clearly state that the lieutenant governor position becomes vacant in such a transition. So his opinion was that Reynolds occupied both the governors and lieutenant governors position simultaneously.

While Republicans disagreed with the attorney generals opinion, they did not challenge it. Instead, Reynolds appointed Adam Gregg as her acting lieutenant governor. He was paid a salary and performed most of the duties of a lieutenant governor, but was not officially in the line of succession. If Reynolds had been forced to leave the office for any reason, Gregg would not have become governor.

In 2018, Reynolds and Gregg were elected governor and lieutenant governor for a four-year term.

The proposal from the Republican-led Iowa Legislature, House Joint Resolution 2005, passed the Senate with strong bipartisan support, 46-3. It previously passed the House on a largely party-line vote, 63-34.

The main objection raised by some Democrats has been that they believe the proposal should include a requirement that any newly appointed lieutenant governor face confirmation in the Iowa Senate, since that individual would not have appeared on the ballot.

The proposed line of succession amendment also was approved by the Iowa Legislature in 2018, but a clerical error in the Iowa Secretary of States Office nullified the bill and forced legislators to restart the process. They waited until this year to do so.

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Who said a fancy French breakfast needs to be complicated? These 4-ingredient chocolate crepes from @sunnysrecipes come together in minutes. Fill with tart raspberries or fruit of your choice.
One of the books at the center of the newest wave of book censorship in America public schools and libraries is Gender Queer, a memoir by the nonbinary cartoonist Maia Kobabe. My daughter loved Gender Queer in 2019, when it was published, and it made me a little bit nervous. Though the book is primarily about Kobabes journey toward self-acceptance and understanding, it also includes brief scenes of sexual activity, and I struggled, as I often do, to balance my general belief that no book should be off-limits with the specific context of my 14-year-old reading something that seemed a little adult. As Gender Queer has been challenged in schools and libraries across the country in recent months, Ive thought a lot about that response, so I finally decided to call the author up. I talked to Kobabe about what it feels like to have to defend not only your work but your identity, about who book banners are really attacking, and about how a parent should respond when their kid is reading about stuff that makes them uncomfortable. This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.

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Slate: Why did you write Gender Queer, and who did you write it for?

Maia Kobabe: The writing of Gender Queer is very interwoven with my own process of coming out. I was trying to come out to my parents and my extended family, and I was having a lot of conversations with people where they would say, We love you. We support you, but we dont understand what youre talking about when you bring up gender, when you talk about non-binary pronouns.

A family that as you note in the book was generally very accepting.

Yes. I have a very loving and supportive family. So there was no fear for me around coming out. I never worried that it would threaten my safety, my relationships to my family. But I was being met with a lot of confusion. So it got to the point where I was like, I am not getting my point across in conversations. We get sidetracked, or we run out of time, or what have you. And I was like, I have to sit down and write about this. Really, the main audience I had in mind was my parents. Can I explain to them what I mean, and where Im coming from?

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Did you have a sense at some point in the publishing journey that the book was going to land with teenagers, that teenagers were an audience that you should be thinking about with a book like this?

Not really, honestly. It was always planned to come out from the older-reader imprint of my publisher, aimed for either adults or high teens, like 16-plus. And at no point did my editor or anyone at the publisher suggest that I censor any of the material or tone anything down.

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The book isnt particularly explicit, as it turns out.

No, it isnt.

Does that just reflect the kind of art you wanted to make? What do you think caused you to not make it more explicit?

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I mean, I put in everything that I thought was relevant to the story of gender, and there are mentions of masturbation, and period blood, and a very brief encounter with a sex toy. But theyre only lightly touched on because whats important is how they helped me think about my gender identity and thats what I was really trying to focus on. So I was like, Im going to include these as much as needed to explain how they shifted my of journey of self-discovery in regards to gender.

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How did you hear that your book was being challenged in school libraries?

The first challenge I heard of was through the American Library Associations Banned Book Field Report, which I saw in September of 2021. And I read about a small case where it had been challenged in, I believe, a public library in Huntington Beach, California. Very shortly after that field guide was published, I heard about the challenges in Fairfax County, Virginia, followed by Loudoun County, Virginia, and then a little avalanche of further challenges within the following weeks, starting in like late September through October and then early November. Theyre in Rhode Island, Florida, Texas, Iowa, Pennsylvania, Alaska, Washington State, and probably more. At that point, it became hard to keep up with how many challenges were happening.

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How do people know to challenge your book?

The parent who started the challenge in Fairfax had seen a news article about a challenge in Texas. And that is what inspired her to go look in the library to see if my book was there. And it was, partly because my book won two prestigious awards in 2020, a Stonewall Honor Award and an Alex Award. And because of that, many librarians purchased it because they tend to purchase the books that win the awards. I also think my book is uniquely vulnerable to these challenges, because it is a graphic novel. So people can flip it open and very quickly see one or two images that might make them uncomfortable and share those on social media. And they dont have to actually read the whole book to find the parts theyre not going to like.

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And were these challenges exclusively in high schools?

To my knowledge, the majority of the challenges are happening in high schools and in public library systems.

I live right down the road from Fairfax County and Loudoun County. There are a lot of fights going on with the school boards of both those places right now, not only having to do with trans and queer issues, but having to do with critical race theory, and masksall this stuff seems to be bubbling in a stew. So what has it been like to see this thing that you made, which is personal to you, become embroiled in this much larger culture war?

So many of the people who have started challenges against my book say in their opening statements, I havent read the book, but 

In many ways, it almost doesnt feel like its about my book at all. So many of the people who have started challenges against my book say in their opening statements, I havent read the book, but  My book has the words gender and queer in the title. So if you are keyword searching in a library catalog for books that you maybe are not going to agree with, it will come up at the top of the list. I really think that my book has just been pulled in as a talking point into this culture war conversation, as you said, and in many ways it doesnt feel personal to me at all. It just feels like my book was positioned in a place to get caught in this whirlwind.

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But the book is a memoir about your identity. It doesnt feel like a personal attack on things that are important to you?

It does, but more in the sense that  Let me see how to phrase this. One of the things that Im learning is that a book being challenged or banned does not hurt the book and does not hurt the author. The book is selling better than ever. The book has had so much media attention. Im talking to you. I was published in the Washington Post. Ive been on NPR multiple times. In a strange way, this is raising my profile as an author.

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What Im learning is that a book challenge is like a community attacking itself. The people who are hurt in a challenge are the marginalized readers in the community where the challenge takes place. That is readers who are younger, readers who do not have the financial means to buy books if theyre not available for free in the library. That is queer teens who might not feel comfortable bringing a book with such an obvious title into their home, if they have more conservative parents who would only feel safe reading the book secretly in the library without even checking it out. So yes, it upsets me because what Im seeing is resources being taken away from queer marginalized youth, which does hurt. That does hurt me.

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I think some authors view it as a mark of honor to have something they wrote be challenged. Do you feel that way at all, that theres value in writing something that some people view as dangerous?

I mean, I do think that if a book is challenged, it probably means that its saying something honest and vulnerable and true. And I would also say to take a look at the other main topics that are being hit by challenges right now, which are books on the history of racism in America, books on civil rights, books on abortion and sex ed and sexual health. All of these topics are so important and in many ways, these are the topics that teenagers most need to read about. But I shy away from a phrase like badge of honor, because the book challenges dont say a good thing about our society.

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One thread in Gender Queer is about your own experience reading books as a teenager that helped you understand the world and helped you understand yourself a little bit better. Was there a book that you read as a kid that you realize now was just way beyond you, but was nonetheless totally valuable?

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Are you familiar with the literary magazine the Sun?

Sure.

My parents subscribed to the Sun. I loved the section Readers Write, in which people would write in around a topic. When I look back, Im like this was one of my major first experiences of memoir. Many of the writers who wrote in were writing from prison and some of them were touching on experiences of failed marriages, or sexual assault or abuse, or just difficult life challenges. I definitely think some of the topics that I read in there were pretty heavy and maybe more meant for adults. But as a teen, I was just fascinated by these stories of life experiences outside of my own. And I feel like it gave me a lot of compassion and empathy for people who had harder lives than the sheltered middle-class liberal-girl white childhood that Id had.

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All right. So heres a slightly awkward, as-a-parent-of-teens type question. Please bear with me as I make my way through it.

Go for it.

Ive always had this philosophy as a parent, based on the books that I read as a child, which did skew very heavily toward the inappropriate. The philosophy is, there really there is no such thing as an inappropriate book for a teen. Even when kids read books that are way beyond their comprehension or that include adult material, theyll be fine. Nevertheless, now I have teenagers, and whenever I look at the stuff that my kids are actually reading or consuming, I still get the heebie-jeebies about, like, My sweet babys reading about a strap-on! I think thats a really common reaction that parents have. So what is a more healthy way for me to think about my kids reading stuff that nonetheless makes me feel weird?

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Yeah. Well, Im glad that youre sitting with that question and that youre engaging with it, because as you said, I think a lot of parents gut reaction is, like, Oh, no. I must protect them. Theyre growing adults and you want them to be prepared for the world and engaged with the world and curious and thoughtful about the world. And in many ways, I think encountering a difficult subject in literature is just about the safest place that you can engage with it. I think its less shocking sometimes than film because you arent seeing moving images of human actors acting something out. And its of course safer and less immediate than experiencing that first-hand in their own lives.

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Youre going through a lot of weird stuff as a teen. And some of the things that you think about are going to be pretty gross and embarrassing and yeah, maybe not fit for the eyes of your parents.

But I also think that as a parent, if theres something youre not sure about, reading the whole thing yourself first is of course a good start. So you want to read my whole book before you decide, Is my teen ready for this or not?

Thats funny. In some ways I have the exact opposite response. Maybe I should just keep my nose out of whatever theyre doing.

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Well, I guess theres room for both, because I also think teenagers deserve privacy. Youre going through a lot of weird stuff as a teen and youre trying to explore things and figure things out. And some of the things that you think about are going to be pretty gross and embarrassing and yeah, maybe not fit for the eyes of your parents.

I will say parents have a right to have a certain amount of say in what their own children read and experience. But you cant make that decision for everyone elses children as well. Thats whats happening with these book challenges: a parent taking that protective urge outside of their own home and trying to push it everywhere.
As the New York Times reported Tuesday, Lauren Hough, author of the acclaimed essay collection Leaving Isnt the Hardest Thing, was un-nominated for a Lambda Literary Prize for coming to the defense of a writer friend on Twitter. After being told a month ago that her book was a nominee for best lesbian memoir, Hough was recently informed that Lambda Literary, an organization that, according to its website, nurtures and advocates for LGBTQ writers, had withdrawn her book from the finalist list for the prize.

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The reason? Online drama. Houghs friend, writer Sandra Newman, was embroiled in a social media pile-on when she tweeted an announcement about her forthcoming novel, The Men, briefly describing it as a dystopian yarn set in a world in which everyone with a Y chromosome suddenly, mysteriously disappears. This scenario prompted complaints that the novel was transphobic, although very few of the complainants appear to have read the book. (Heres a brief Twitter thread about The Men by Slate contributor Isaac Butler, who has read it.) Houghwho wrote in her Substack that Newman had supported and counseled her as she sought to publish Leaving Isnt the Hardest Thing, her first bookmaintains that she took to Twitter to tell Newmans critics to read the book before condemning it. Lambda Literary says that unspecified tweets from Hough exhibited what we believed to be a troubling hostility toward transgender critics and trans-allies. The exact content of these tweets is unclear as, according to the New York Times, some of them may have been deleted.

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Sign up for the Slate Culture Newsletter The best of movies, TV, books, music, and more, delivered to your inbox. We encountered an issue signing you up. Please try again. Please enable javascript to use form. Email address: Send me updates about Slate special offers. By signing up, you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms Sign Up Thanks for signing up! You can manage your newsletter subscriptions at any time.

Its upsetting that people persist in condemning the content of books they havent read, and even more concerning that an organization would blackball a worthy book from prize consideration because its author has been deemed guilty by association. Yet coverage of this affair has prompted ominous yet vague comments that reporters are not conveying the whole story. Sure enough, this is not Houghs first time at the Twitter-beef rodeo. Last year, in tweets since deleted, she denounced assholes who, when mulling over whether to give her book a four- or five-star review, opted for four stars. To my complete lack of surprise, the site where these slightly-less-than-glowing reviews appearedin a sense, the wellspring of Houghs contentious relationship with online criticswas Goodreads.

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A word of advice to all authors: Stay away from Goodreads. Ostensibly, Goodreads, owned by Amazon, is a place where authors can interact with their readers, but from its earliest days, those interactions have proven fraught and inflammatory. Its almost never a good idea for authors to respond to any reviews of their books, but when the reviewers consider themselves to be small fry just trying to share their thoughts with their online friends, the result can be even more volatile than a testy letter to the Times. Houghs complaints about Goodreads reviews came across as a high-profile author bullying a handful of ordinary readers in a public forum, and the dispute escalated from there, making Hough the main character in one sector of Twitter for the better part of a weeka prelude to this larger dust-up, and one that was totally avoidable. In grand Goodreads tradition, people whod never read Houghs book but objected to her treatment of the reviewers began to leave one-star reviews on the Goodreads page for Leaving Isnt the Hardest Thing, dragging down the (otherwise well-received) books average rating to three stars.

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This might seem trivial, but getting into ill-considered disputes with Goodreads reviewers can result in big troublein part because authors always seem to misjudge the gulf between how they view themselves (plucky, underdog artist) and how Goodreads users view them (powerful author come to bigfoot them). And so authors battling Goodreads users can go right over the edge. In 2014, author Kathleen Hale became so obsessed with a person whod panned her book on Goodreads that she hunted down the reviewers address, went to her house and knocked on her door. Other authors have resorted to doxxing reviewers who displeased them or telephoning their employers to suggest that they be fired.

Last year, the British educator Kate Clanchy took umbrage with some Goodreads reviews of her memoir, Some Kids I Taught and What They Taught Me. These reviews complained that language Clanchy used to describe some of her former students was outdated and racist. Clanchy falsely complained that the Goodreads reviews used all made up quotations from her book. Debate raged in the U.K. press about exactly how offensive Clanchys book was (many of her former students rose to her defense), but she apologized, agreed to revise the book, and then finally parted ways with her publisher, apparently over an inability to incorporate the input of multiple sensitivity readers into the revision. Before Clanchy got into it with Goodreads reviewers, she had an Orwell Prizewinning memoir of her lifes work on the U.K. bestseller lists. Now shes writing about being canceled on Unherd.

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Goodreads reviewers seem to never forget or forgive the authors who challenge them. (Check out the Goodreads reviews for the book Hale wrote five years after her expedition to confront her reviewer, Kathleen Hale Is a Crazy Stalker.) But besides earning their undying enmity, authors who get into it with Goodreads reviewers tend to turn into the worst versions of themselves, reshaped in the reviewers combative, defensive mold, trailing outrage and deleted tweets saying god-knows-what in their wake. I dont know what Houghs online life was like before her own contretemps with Goodreads, but its gone nowhere good since.

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The drama and defensiveness that now seem the dominant mode on literary Twitter was, in fact, born on Goodreads. After all, Goodreads itself doesnt offer many avenues for either side to vent its spleen, while Twitter provides an outrage-friendly platform to let it all hang out. Whatever it was that Hough posted in defense of her friend, Lambda Literary felt she was using her platform to harmfully engage with readers and critics. Writers, heed my warning: Resist the urge to harmfully engage with readers and critics! Even though your books are your babies and you cant bear to stand by while theyre maligned by know-nothings and philistines, keep your protestations to your own inner circle. And stay off of Goodreads. That way lies disaster.
1776 Returns, a nine-page document federal prosecutors have obtained as part of its case against former Proud Boys head Enrique Tarrio, may give us a window into the groups plans to storm government buildings on Jan. 6, 2021. Though it does not specifically mention the Capitol, the document reportedly offers a five-point plan ahead of Jan. 6 for group members to appear unsuspecting and to not look tactical while occupying government buildings, and to chant We the People and No Trump, No America to blend in with protesters. According to the New York Times, it included a section that was apparently intended to instruct the public how to act.

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One person very interested in the documents contents is Colin Clarke, a former professor at Carnegie Mellon and an expert in counterextremism who is now a senior fellow at the Soufan Center. Over the phone, he told me 1776 Returns offers one of the clearest records yet of what happened before the Capitol riotand what really occurred on the ground that day. We spoke about what this document teaches us, how it compares to what he sees regularly when monitoring far-right communications, and what this means for pending trials. Our conversation has been edited and condensed.

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Aymann Ismail: What is new in this document? What does it show?

Colin Clarke: It shows a lot of forethought, that its deliberate, that this wasnt just, as a lot of people claimed, something spontaneous that just happened. For some of the Capitol stormers, I think they were swept up in the moment. But for many people, especially the leaders of groups like the Proud Boys, this was premeditated. This was a very deliberate decision to go there and to cause real upheaval. That was the point, to dredge up some instability. If all things worked well, they would be able to turn the election. Because it failed, I hear a lot of people dismissing it, but the intentions were real. These people legitimately wanted to overthrow the government and overturn the election. We cant forget that that was the overarching objective here, by any means necessary, frankly, even if that meant killing lawmakers.

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The document reportedly instructs Proud Boys members to blend in with the crowd and not look tactical. Is it common for groups like these to use protests to shield their activities?

They use that actual phrase. Its smart. Its surreptitious. Just like with any ambush or assault, you dont want to necessarily announce your intentions. Now, certainly some people there were trying to intimidate the Capitol police and wanted to be a show of force, in some respects. But for others, especially the ones that arent making the most noise chirping on social media, they had a very deliberate plan for what they wanted to do. That includes being quiet about it up until youre ready to spring your ambush.

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Does this look like other planning materials youve seen for the Proud Boys and other far-right groups? Are documents like this common?

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This is different because its not propaganda. This wasnt something people were bragging about or trying to flex. This was actual instructions that certain people likely took quite seriously and were planning to act on, and did act on. This is something that should not be dismissed. I think its separate from a lot of the stuff that groups like the Proud Boys do. A lot of it is attention-grabbing and trying to simultaneously appeal to their own core group of members while also owning the libs. A lot of it is performance art or virtue signaling, where they do something and call attention to it to use it for propaganda value.

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This is different. This is strategic. This was something far more insidious, in my opinion.

You used the word smart. Is it particularly sophisticated or advanced, from what you can tell?

I dont know if Id say particularly sophisticated. Its pretty straightforward: Go and infiltrate these buildings with various supporters and hope that it causes change, hope that you catch the opposition off guard in a vulnerable moment and that you could actually move forward achieving some of the things that you sought to achieve here.

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How significant is it that its coming to light?

Its significant for people like us that have been tracking this fiasco from the beginning, because it shows deliberate intent. Thats one of the big things, when youre talking about in court, what was the planning that went into this? Was this premeditated? And this points to more evidence that, absolutely, it was premeditated, that this was all part and parcel. Now, I dont mean to suggest that everybody was on the same page. I think multiple groups in this broader network had their own plan, but there was a clear intent on the part of the Proud Boys, on the part of their supporters, to do something more than just protest. The plan was action-oriented, and its spelled out in this document.

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Ultimately, its another log on the fire in terms of evidence pointing in the direction that this was a really big deal. You still have Republicans that want to deny the severity or downplay it, but this is obviously a pivotal moment, I think, in our countrys history. It shows, unfortunately, just how fragile the state of our democracy still is that you have these very illiberal elements in American society that think nothing of trying to overturn a free and fair election. We cant just soft-pedal that and make this out to be a bunch of freedom-loving patriots who got caught up at the wrong place at the wrong time. Thats not what this is. This was a planned coup. It was an insurrection. Its not surprising to me that documents like this were circulating and are now surfacing. Im sure theres others that we dont know about. Im positive of that.

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The plan didnt appear to show plans to enter the Capitol. What does that tell us?

The document was titled 1776 Returns. These people are calling each other patriots. It just feeds into, I think, the overall spirit of what these people were trying to do. The document contained a detailed plan to surveil and storm government buildings around the Capitol on Jan. 6. Thats a big deal.

What should law enforcement have done if theyd seen this plan in advance? Should every document or plan like this be taken seriously?

I often am very skeptical of things like this. So, if this is deemed authentic, which it seems to be if the Times is reporting on it, this is in line with a lot of the other things we know about that day. I think theres some weight to it. I dont think random documents would necessarily make their way into a story like this. But it dovetails with showing that these leaders had a plan, the leaders of a lot of these groups had movements, and that the plan was quite, quite robust. This wasnt something in its infancy. There was a lot of thought and strategy that was devoted to what would happen on Jan. 6.

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Is the indictment of Enrique Tarrio, and also Stewart Rhodes of the Oath Keepers militia, a big deal in security circles?

They are because theyre a deterrent, were this to happen again in the future. I think part of the reason we saw such a big turnout on Jan. 6 was weve lived with the double standard for so long that a bunch of white people know that protesting in favor of President Trump would be beyond the reach of the law. The indictments show that thats not the case. I still think theres something of a double standard, but at least this isnt complete impunity for the people involved.

Have you seen chatter about these trials on right-wing message boards and the deep web? Will it have any effect?

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Its been all Ukraine. From the things that Im looking at, thats pretty much what were monitoring right now, is right-wing reaction to the Ukraine conflict. A lot of this stuff has been back-burnered for now.

How important do you think convictions are? Will they change that?

Well, it could very well be used as some kind of an attempt to squeeze the defendants to get more information about what the contours of the broader conspiracy looked like. I dont know what form that takes, if its cutting a deal, shaving off years, etc. But I think that theres clear leverage when youre prosecuting somebody. One of the complaints that Ive heard previously was that the governments only going after low-hanging fruit, going after easy marks. By going after leaders like Rhodes, like Tarrio, theyre showing that no, its not true, that there is going to be accountability for the leadership, that these people arent beyond reproach.
Of all the grasping-at-straws attacks we watched Republican senators level against Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson in her first two days of hearings for confirmation to the Supreme Court, their complaints that Jackson is the product of dark money groups on the left were perhaps the most grasping. These grievances are more than a little hard to take coming from the Senate GOP, whose own ruthless dark-money judicial politics have been a driving force behind the courts present legitimacy crisis.

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On the right, private groupsled by the unabashedly partisan Federalist Societyhave tightly controlled judicial nominations since at least the second Bush administration. Bush-era documents produced during Justice Brett Kavanaughs confirmation hearings, for example, revealed that the Federalist Society ran a secret judicial umbrella group, which included not only other anonymously funded outside groups like the Heritage Foundation, but also lawyers inside the Bush White House responsible for the presidents judicial selections.

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Fueled by dark money, the Federalist Societys influence rose to new heights during the last administration, as President Donald Trump pledged that his judges would all [be] picked by the group. White House counsel Don McGahn acknowledged insourcing the Federalist Society for judicial nominations, and the groups thenexecutive vice president, Leonard Leo, took leaves of absence to work for the White House on the Neil Gorsuch and Kavanaugh confirmations. At the end of the day, more than 85 percent of Trumps nominees to the powerful circuit courts of appeals, and all three of his Supreme Court picks, were Federalist Society members.

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It would be unfair to paint all of Trumps appointees with a broad brush. A number of them have proved to be fair-minded and impartial jurists. But it is beyond dispute that the Federalist Societys insourced judicial selection operation screened for candidates whothrough careers as movement lawyers, political appointees, or otherwisehad demonstrated their commitment to the conservative legal movements ideological orthodoxies. In other words, no more Souters.

Down the hall from the Federalist Societys Washington office sits the Judicial Crisis Network, another group with close ties to Leo. JCNactually just one of several fictitious names for a secretive 501(c)(4) social welfare group legally known as the Concord Fundruns political attack ads during judicial confirmations. The group routinely accepts individual anonymous donations topping $15 million, despite employing a staff of just two individuals who work a combined 30 hours per week, according to its latest tax filings. JCN and its tax-exempt, charitable sister group, the vaguely named 85 Fund, also serve as useful identity-laundering middlemen for other dark-money entities, funneling tens of millions per year to groups like Turning Point USA, the Trump-aligned group with ties to the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection.

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This year, JCN reemerged as the tip of the spear for the attack on President Joe Bidens nominee, which began before she was even named. The themewhich senators parroted at Tuesdays and Wednesdays hearingsis that Biden is in the thrall of left-wing dark money, and that his selection is huge payback for these secret donors, jeopardizing judicial independence. But beyond the self-evident hypocrisy, these charges are flawed by false equivalencies and misrepresentations.

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It is certainly true that in the realm of electoral politics, Democratic-aligned groups have successfully adopted the dark-money tactics ushered in by Citizens United. And in recent years, some liberal dark-money groupssuch as the rights new boogeyman, Demand Justicehave emerged in the judicial sphere (often to the dismay of Democrats themselves). But there simply is no left-wing equivalent to the well-documented web of commonly funded right-wing judicial influence organizations.

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If JCN and Senate Republicans were genuine in their concern about dark-money influence over our courts, there are real steps they could take to solve the problem. This should not be a partisan issue. Dark money reform has been a priority for congressional Democrats since Citizens United, and Republicans own polling tells them theres a large, very large, chunk of conservatives who are supportive of these types of efforts. No less a conservative than Justice Antonin Scalia wrote: Requiring people to stand up in public for their political acts fosters civic courage, without which democracy is doomed. But there has been no Republican support for any of the reform measures Democrats have offered, and Republicans have shown no interest in proposing solutions of their own. Instead, conservatives have turned to the federal courts to further entrench dark-money protectionsa strategy that has already proved devastatingly successful.

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Last term, after the libertarian dark-money group Americans for Prosperity spent more than a million dollars on a full scale campaign to confirm Justice Amy Coney Barrett, it won a little-noticed but hugely consequential victory at the Supreme Court. Americans for Prosperity Foundation v. Bonta was backed by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and more than 50 anonymously funded amici curiae, or friends of the court, who urged the justices to create new constitutional protections for dark-money spending. The majority did so over the dissent of all three progressive justices, holding that the First Amendment restricts states from requiring dark-money nonprofits to disclose their donors to state regulators, even confidentially. (Barrett joined the majority, ignoring calls for her recusal based on the conflict of interest created by AFPs seven-figure confirmation campaign on her behalf.) Notably, Chief Justice John Roberts majority opinion made no attempt to ground this novel constitutional right in textualism or originalism, the twin doctrinal pillars of the conservative legal movement purportedly designed to constrain judicial activism.

As Senate Republicans spend this week carrying the water of right-wing dark-money groups by decrying left-wing dark money, theyre counting on Americans not to keep track of these pesky details.
The largest war in Europe since World War II has become a slugfest. Russia is pulverizing Ukrainian cities with missiles and artillery; Ukraine is slamming Russian tanks and supply lines with drones and small arms. Tens of thousands are likely dead on both sides. But that doesnt mean the fight is grinding to a halt. To the contrary, the rubble and bloodshed are likely to thicken in the coming days and weeks.

For here is the gruesome fact: The commanders and combatants on each side have reason to believe that, if they hold out a little bit longer, the other side will collapseand thus they can gain a few more concessions, and tout something resembling a victory, when they both tumble, exhausted, to negotiate the terms of peace.

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Each side probably does have a breaking point. The Ukrainians figure that the Russian forcesmany of them marooned and thinly stretchedwill eventually run out of food, ammunition, and other supplies, without which they can no longer fight. Meanwhile, the Russians figure that the Ukrainian resistance will eventually run out of steam, cities will fold, and the besieged government in Kyiv will surrender.

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This phase of the war is basically a race to see which side crumbles first. Ukrainian generals guess that the Russian troops could run out of supplies by the end of this week. A pending new round of arms deliveries for Ukraineincluding the $800 million worth of new weapons announced last week by U.S. President Joe Bidenshould refresh the resistance for some time.

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Yet the massive outflow of refugees, the savage killings of civilians, the endless bombing and shelling, and the prospect of more troops moving from Russias eastern regions toward the war zone must be taking their toll on Ukrainian citizens too.

No one knows how many peoplecivilian and militaryhave been killed so far. On Monday, the Moscow newspaper Komsomolskaya Pravda quoted the Russian ministry of defense as saying that 9,861 Russian servicemen had been killed and 16,153 wounded in the three weeks that this war has been slogging on. By comparison, Russia lost 15,000 troops in its decade-long war in Afghanistan.

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However, the newspaper swiftly issued a statement that this was false information loaded on the news site by a hackeran explanation that only raised more questions. (For instance, if there really was a hacker, was the information they inserted real, or disinformation designed to demoralize Russian readers?) The Ukrainian government claims 15,000 Russians have been killed already. U.S. intelligence puts the number around 7,000. Nobody really knows.

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Still, whatever the precise numbers, an abundance of verified dataphotos, iPhone footage, satellite imagery, and so forthreveals, all too clearly, that the level of death and destruction on both sides has been staggeringly high.

Its unclear how long this can go on. Yet its still less clear who can stop it. There is no overriding entity that can step in, knock heads together, enforce a cease-fire, then impose or moderate a political settlement. The United Nations was created to do this sort of thing, but even if it had sufficiently large peacekeeping forces (which it doesnt), Russia is one of the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council, so it couldnt be a neutral party.

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Nor are there any countries with sufficient power and leverage to fill this role in the same way that, say, President Jimmy Carter corralled the leaders of Egypt and Israel into peace talks at Camp David in 1978. Maybe if President Biden and Chinas Xi Jinping jointly imposed a deal on Russias Vladimir Putin and Ukraines Volodymyr Zelensky, something would come of itbut first, Biden and Xi would have to get on the same page, and that seems a long way from happening.

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Meanwhile, neither side is ready to surrender. Zelensky has said he is open to direct talks with Putin. Earlier this week, Putin outlined a four-point peace plan, but it wasnt serious. It called for Ukraine to give up plans to join NATO, acknowledge Russian ownership of Crimea, demilitarize, and denazify. Zelensky has already offered to drop his dream of joining NATO (a significant concession); Crimea might be an issue for realistic negotiation; but Putins two other demands are nonstarters. Demilitarizing would mean removing all Western-supplied weapons, which might have been an interesting item to discuss before Putins invasion, but its a nonstarter now. And since Putin claims that Kyiv is run by Nazis, denazification would mean the removal of Zelensky and his government from powerand that isnt happening either.

Maybe this war will come to a sudden halt if Russias troops run out of gas or the Ukrainian resistance loses its will. For now, both sides seem to be settling in for a long and violent grind.
If, through biotechnology, we could drastically enhance ourselvessuch that our ability to absorb and manipulate information was unlimited, we experienced no disquiet, and we did not agewould we? Should we? For advocates of radical enhancement, or transhumanism, answering yes is a no-brainer. Accordingly, they press for the development of technologies that, by manipulating genes and the brain, would create beings fundamentally superior to us.

Transhumanism is far from a household term, but, whether or not they use the word publicly, its adherents are in places of power, especially in Silicon Valley. Elon Musk, the worlds richest person, is devoted to boosting cognition and co-founded the company Neuralink toward that end. Having raised more than $200 million in new funding in 2021, in January, Neuralink proclaimed its readiness to start human trials of brain-implantable computer chips for therapeutic purposes, to help those with spinal-cord injuries walk again. But Musks ultimate target in exploring brain-computer connections is superhuman, or radically enhanced, cognitiona top transhumanist priority. Those with radically heightened cognitive ability would be so advanced that they wouldnt even really be human anymore but, instead, posthuman.

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In transhumanist fantasy, posthumans could, philosopher Nick Bostrom assures us, read, with perfect recollection and understanding, every book in the Library of Congress. Similarly, according to futurist and transhumanist Ray Kurzweilwho has worked at Google since 2012they would rapidly absorb the entire contents of the World Wide Web. Pleasure would be pervasive and boundless: Posthumans will sprinkle it in [their] tea. On the flip side, suffering wouldnt exist, as posthumans would have Godlike control of their moods and emotions. Of course, posthuman bliss would not be supreme absent immortality. This last facet, the quest to conquer aging, already garners substantial backing from Silicon Valley. In 2013, Larry Page, Googles co-founderand CEO of its parent company, Alphabet, until December 2019announced the launch of Calico Labs, whose mission is to understand aging and subvert it. A growing list of startups and investors, dedicated to the reprogramming of human biology with the defeat of aging in view, has entered the mix. This list now includes Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, who, in January, contributed to the $3 billion that launched Altos Labs.

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Today, transhumanisms name recognition has spread beyond Silicon Valley and academia. In 2019, an opinion piece in the Washington Post stated that the transhumanism movement is making progress. And a 2020 essay in the Wall Street Journal suggested that, by making our biological fragility more obvious than ever, COVID-19 may be just the kind of crisis needed to turbocharge efforts to achieve transhumanists goal of immortality.

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Youre probably already familiar with certain enhancementslike athletes using steroids to gain a competitive advantage, or individuals using ADHD drugs like Ritalin and Adderall off label in search of a cognitive boost. But a chasm separates such enhancements from transhumanism, whose devotees would have us engineer a species-level upgrade of humanity into posthumanity. And key to all of transhumanisms planned advancements, mental and physical, is a specific understanding of information and its causal dominance in relation to features that advocates prize. This focus on information is also transhumanisms fatal flaw.

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Arguably, transhumanisms closest antecedent is Anglo-American eugenics, inaugurated by Francis Galton, who coined the term eugenics in 1883. Among the many substantive parallels between transhumanism and Anglo-American eugenics are an insistence that science set humanitys guiding aspirations and that human intelligence and moral attitudes (such as altruism and self-control) require major, biological augmentation. The term transhumanism was first used by a British eugenicist, Julian Huxley (also the brother of Aldous Huxley, author of Brave New World). Transhumanism as we know it, however, is a marriage of sorts between substantive commitments shared with Anglo-American eugenics and the notion that living things and machines are basically alikethe latter stemming from developments in computing and information theory during and after World War II.

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Here, the key idea is that animate entities and machines are, in essence, information, their operations fundamentally the same. From this perspective, brains are computational devices, genetic causality works through programs, and the informational patterns constituting us are, in principle, translatable to the digital realm. This informational lens is the crux of transhumanismits scientific convictions and confidence in prospects for humanitys technological self-transcendence into posthumanity.

Some of transhumanisms greatest promises rest on the assumption that genes, as information, drive and dominate peoples standing in relation to complex phenotypic traits, such as intelligence, self-control, kindness, and empathy: in other words, that they code for these features. Thus construedtranshumanists assure usthese traits are manipulable. The roots of these ideas go back more than 50 years. For instance, in The Logic of Life (1970), Francois Jacob announced that, with the accumulation of knowledge, man has become the first product of evolution capable of controlling evolution. Jacobs expectation of boosts to complex mental features, once we pinpoint the genetic factors involvedin other words, attain due familiarity with the informational mechanisms playing key roles in their causationis palpable in transhumanism. Today, however, the perspective represented by Jacob is increasingly rejected by scientists, philosophers of science, and historians.

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That genes influence human features is not in question. Where transhumanists err is in the disproportionate role assigned to genes in creating their favored traits. In contrast to clear-cut physical features, such as eye color, the relationship of genetic information to characteristics such as intelligence and kindness is nuanced and indirect. Today, developmental systems theory supersedes the dominant, unidirectional causality previously lodged with genes. From this vantage point, development spans a range of levels and a wealth of factors, biological and nonbiological, that interact in complex ways. Crucially, as philosopher of science Susan Oyama observes, none of these factorsgenes includedis privileged a priori as the bearer of fundamental form or as the origin of ultimate causal control; rather, everything [the] organism does and is rises out of this interactive complex, even as it affects that very complex.

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Transhumanists understanding of the brain is similarly flawed. Their presumption that particular mental capacities are tethered to specific areas of the brainand could, therefore, be targeted for manipulationis increasingly outdated. Indeed, a monumental shift in the focus of neuroscientific research, from discrete areas with dedicated functions to complex functional networks, is well underway. As is now well documented, mental tasks such as attention, memory, and creativity engage numerous areas of the brain; individual regions are pluripotent, meaning that they have multiple roles; and various areas function as hubs. To give but one example, as neuroscientist Luiz Pessoa observes, the amygdala, long deemed a strictly emotional areatied to the processing of fear-related information in particularis increasingly recognized as playing important roles in cognitive, emotional, and social processes.

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Transhumanists outdated conceptualization of the brain also drives their claim that elevating quantities of individual hormones and neurotransmitters makes us better thinkers and more moral. Though trivial for them in its own right, transhumanists see off-label usage of psychostimulants by those seeking cognitive boosts as practical proof of concept for more dramatic cognitive enhancement. Yet substantial research on task performance when subjects are given psychostimulants reveals cognitive trade-offs between memory and attention, and attention and flexibility. This research also documents what are called baseline-dependent effects on tasks including memory and creativity: While the performance of those with lower baselines has been shown to improve, that of subjects with higher baselines deteriorates.

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For transhumanists, devoted as they are to capacities maximization, this finding for those with higher baselines should be concerning. Devastatingly for them, the likely explanation of this deterioration is a built-in feature of the brain: the operation of a U-shaped curve, whereby elevating quantities of dopamine, which psychostimulants do, eventually overtaxes subjects systems, worsening performance. This curve operates, as well, for oxytocin and serotonin, which transhumanists tout as moral enhancers. More generally, their understandings of oxytocin and serotonin are greatly oversimplified; for example, scientists increasingly view oxytocin not as fostering prosociality per se, but as increasing the salience of social cuesprosocial and antisocial alike.

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The scientific failures of transhumanism, in relation to genes and the brain, are striking and interconnected. For transhumanists failed proofs of concept in both arenas have a single source: their conviction that across the boardwhether ones domain of inquiry is computing, genes, or the brainunits of information comprise whats real. Thus, when transhumanists speak of cognitive enhancement, they define cognition in terms of facility in the absorption and deployment of informationthe capacity for which is presumed to operate, and thus be improvable, in a self-contained, or modular, way. It is this very notion that the above findings for psychostimulants belie. Similarly, transhumanists conviction of genes dominance and manipulability in relation to intelligence, kindness, and the like stems from their position that genes transmit the compartmentalized information that is these traits governing cause.

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Far from embodying a timeless truth, the view that computers and living things are fundamentally alikebeing, in essence, entities that transmit and process informationis a historical and cultural product of World War II and its aftermath. Transhumanists supposedly cutting-edge view of genes reflects early molecular biology, which was quickly appropriated and applied to living things concepts derived from computing, information theory, cryptology, and cybernetics. Biology was coronated an information sciencea designation spurring conviction that, through informational manipulation, human biology could be upgraded. Molecular biologists embrace of the informational picture as literally correct was fostered by their reliance on metaphorssuch as program, magnetic tape, code, and deciphermentwhose metaphorical nature was stripped away. Transhumanists treat this increasingly outdated vantage point as patently correct. The same applies to their notion that information will be fully translatable, for their purposes, across the living-nonliving divide, which is traceable, historically, to a view expressed by Norbert Wiener, founder of cybernetics, in 1950: The fact that we cannot telegraph the pattern of a man from one place to another represents a technical challenge, not any impossibility of the idea. Channeling this perspective, transhumanists embrace projects such as whole brain emulation, which, as described by Peter Eckersley and Anders Sandberg, would involve taking an individual humans brain, scanning its entire neural  structure into a computer, and running an algorithm to emulate that brains behavior.

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For those committed to human flourishing, absorbing that transhumanism is a scientific nonstarter would be a major boon. But a singular focus on information is not limited to this arena. It increasingly pervades our day-to-day existences, in terms of how we proceed in our professional and social lives, as well as when others decide what counts about us (or even who we are), often without our awareness. Prospects for societal improvement depend, in part, on our becoming more conscious of this informational frame, especially where it is a mismatch with the nonlinear and richly contextual nature of what matters most to us as human beings.

Future Tense is a partnership of Slate, New America, and Arizona State University that examines emerging technologies, public policy, and society.
An additional 365 million euros will flow into Slovakia's healthcare sector. Slovak parliament will discuss an amendment that will allow the government to exclude companies with Russian co-owners from tenders.

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Good evening. The Tuesday, March 22 edition of Today in Slovakia is ready with the main news of the day in less than five minutes.

Gov't has not fulfilled a third of its anti-corruption pledges

The Eduard Heger cabinet (Source: TASR)

The Lets Stop Corruption Foundation has evaluated the first two years of rule by the coalition created after the 2020 general election.

Not even one third of the anti-corruption pledges made by the government have been fulfilled halfway through its tenure, the NGO said. Key reforms should have been during the first two years of tenure.

The biggest plus of the incumbent government is that the police launched investigations into corruption-related cases linked to prominent figures.

The coalition is divided when it comes to other promises, particularly the adoption of the new court map or the amendment to the criticised Article 363 of the Criminal Code, which has been used by the general prosecutor and his office several times to cancel criminal charges against prominent figures.

Foreigners' Police open again to all foreigners

Foreigners' Police in Bratislava (Source: TASR)

After several weeks, when the operation of the Foreigners' Police department was limited to dealing with refugees from Ukraine, the police is starting to deal with other agenda again.

As of Wednesday, March 23, 2022, the Foreigners Police opened all its branches for temporary residence applications for the purpose of employment and applicants for the issuing of a residence permit for people - drivers of international truck or bus transport.

The police points out that in any case, it is necessary to use the online booking system on the website of the Interior Ministry.

The Foreigners Police will continue to work on expanding the number of life circumstances that can be handled at the site's workplaces with regard to the development of the migration crisis due to the war in Ukraine, the police stated.

War in Ukraine

Approximately 360 refugees from Ukraine have found employment in Slovakia so far , mostly in western Slovakia, reported Labour Minister Milan Krajniak. If a refugee applies for temporary protection and he or she is able to find a job, a further work permit is not necessary.

, mostly in western Slovakia, reported Labour Minister Milan Krajniak. If a refugee applies for temporary protection and he or she is able to find a job, a further work permit is not necessary. The Slovak Bar Association (SAK) has set up a special list in which Ukrainian lawyers interested in professional employee positions at law firms in Slovakia have the opportunity to register . The Slovak Advocacy Act stipulates that a law firm can employ professional and other staff apart from trainees.

. The Slovak Advocacy Act stipulates that a law firm can employ professional and other staff apart from trainees. The Slovak parliament will discuss an amendment that will allow the government to exclude companies with Russian co-owners from tenders, in a fast-track procedure. The government should decide after the amendment is passed on which fields it would concern.

in a fast-track procedure. The government should decide after the amendment is passed on which fields it would concern. 3,400 pupils from Ukraine have been enrolled in Slovak schools, most in the Bratislava Region, the Education Ministry announced.

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Bratislava has a new museum. The latest addition to the citys cultural scene celebrates Martin Luther and the Reformation. The Museum of Luthers Reformation can be found on Palarikova Street

Feature story for today

The moment she woke up, she immediately heard noises that sounded like air bombs or planes. I was just lying in my bed, listening to the sounds coming from outside. I didnt at first understand what was happening, the student recalls. It was only after her parents turned on the TV and she checked social media that they realised what Russia had done.

They lived in a high-rise building outside the city centre, on the left bank of the Dnieper River, which divides Kyiv. To save their lives, they quickly grabbed their documents and several pieces of clothing and headed outside the capital.

The student who refused to wait for a bomb to kill her Read more

In other news

8,937 people were newly diagnosed as Covid positive out of 18,522 PCR tests performed on Monday. The number of people in hospitals is 2,419. 28 more deaths were reported on Monday. The vaccination rate is at 51.26 percent, 2,819,190 people having received the first dose of the vaccine. More stats on Covid-19 in Slovakia here.

out of 18,522 PCR tests performed on Monday. The number of people in hospitals is 2,419. 28 more deaths were reported on Monday. The vaccination rate is at 51.26 percent, 2,819,190 people having received the first dose of the vaccine. More stats on Covid-19 in Slovakia here. The forged promissory notes case is over after a sentence of 13 years in prison for Stefan Agh was passed . The Dennik N daily reported that Agh did not appeal against the verdict and neither did the prosecutor of the Special Prosecutors Office Jan Santa appeal.

. The Dennik N daily reported that Agh did not appeal against the verdict and neither did the prosecutor of the Special Prosecutors Office Jan Santa appeal. The main hearing in the sexual abuse case regarding the Chachaland children's camp has been adjourned to May 31, the reason being the absence of the main defendant Roman Pauliny.

The number of foreigners working in Slovakia soared in February this year. In the

second month, 69,300 foreigners worked in Slovakia , a monthly increase by 904 and year-over-year increase by 2,000, according to data of the Central Office of Labour, Social Affairs and Family. Ukrainians are still the biggest group. Their number soared by 375 last month to 19,700.

In the second month, , a monthly increase by 904 and year-over-year increase by 2,000, according to data of the Central Office of Labour, Social Affairs and Family. Ukrainians are still the biggest group. Their number soared by 375 last month to 19,700. 365 million more will be allocated to health care , announced Finance Minister Igor Matovic and Health Minister Vladimir Lengvarsky: 100 million will go via payments for insurees of the state, 120 million via the increase of basic capital of the state insurer Vseobecna Zdravotna Poistovna. The state also promises a higher collection of the insurance fee, 145 million.

, announced Finance Minister Igor Matovic and Health Minister Vladimir Lengvarsky: 100 million will go via payments for insurees of the state, 120 million via the increase of basic capital of the state insurer Vseobecna Zdravotna Poistovna. The state also promises a higher collection of the insurance fee, 145 million. Last year, the European Investment Bank Group more than doubled its investments in the Slovak Republic , provided us with 469 million and ranked among the largest investors in the country.

, provided us with 469 million and ranked among the largest investors in the country. There are currently more than 300,000 capital companies registered in Slovakia, but a tenth of them do not pursue any business activities. According to data provided by Dun & Bradstreet, 31,062 entities report zero activity, thereof 30,268 were limited liability companies and 794 joint-stock companies. On the whole, it is a drop of 206 in annual terms.

Do not miss on Spectator.sk today

Volkswagen suspends production for two days Read more

Business service sector shows how innovative Slovakia can be (industry analysis) Read more

Slovakia faces dry conditions already in spring Read more

If you have suggestions on how this news overview can be improved, you can reach us at editorial@spectator.sk.
https://sputniknews.com/20220322/biden-calls-russias-hypersonic-missiles-consequential-says-theyre-almost-impossible-to-stop-1094088902.html

Biden Calls Russias Hypersonic Missiles Consequential, Says Theyre Almost Impossible to Stop

Biden Calls Russias Hypersonic Missiles Consequential, Says Theyre Almost Impossible to Stop

Russia became the first country in the world to achieve modern hypersonic capability after putting the Kinzhal (Dagger) nuclear-capable air-to-ground missile... 22.03.2022, Sputnik International

2022-03-22T13:30+0000

2022-03-22T13:30+0000

2022-03-22T13:38+0000

joe biden

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US President Joe Biden has acknowledged the capabilities of Russian hypersonic missiles and commented on their use in Ukraine.The presidents comments followed a pair of Kinzhal missile strikes Friday and Saturday targeting weapons and fuel depots in western and south-central Ukraine. The first strike targeted a fortified underground missile and ammo depot in Delyatin, Ivano-Frankivsk region. The facility was built in the Soviet period and designed to withstand a nuclear blast. The second strike destroyed a fuel and lubricant base in Konstantinovka, Nikolaev region which the Russian military said served as the main supply base used by Ukrainian ground forces in southern Ukraine.First introduced into service in December 2017 and carried on board MiG-31K jets or Tu-22 and Tu-160 bombers, the Kinzhal has a range of over 2,000 km and a top speed of up to Mach 12 (14,700 km per hour). It is also said to have the capability to manoeuvre in flight, making it next to impossible to intercept using any currently existing air defences.The Russian military has reported on the destruction of over 90 percent of Ukraines air defence capabilities in the course of its ongoing military operation in the country. The United States and its allies have sought to shore up Kievs air defences using S-300s and other Soviet-era systems. On Saturday, Reuters reported that Washington and Ankara discussed the unlikely possibility of Turkey handing over its recently acquired S-400 systems to Ukraine.Let's stay in touch no matter what! Follow our Telegram channel to get all the latest news: https://t.me/sputniknewsus

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About a dozen people gathered Tuesday outside the Will County courthouse protesting and demanding the release of Norberto Navarro, who is an eyewitness to a 2017 car crash. (Rafael Guerrero / Daily Southtown)

A jury was selected Tuesday in Will County with opening arguments planned for Wednesday morning in the trial of an Orland Park man charged with reckless homicide in a 2017 car crash that killed a pregnant woman and her three young sons in Beecher.

Judge Daniel Rippy said the trial could be finished later this week or early next week.

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Woulfe, 27, is charged with reckless homicide in the July 24, 2017, crash at Corning Road and Yates Avenue. Woulfe, who is free on bond while awaiting trial, was traveling east when he sped through a stop sign and slammed into a car carrying Lindsey Schmidt and her sons, prosecutors said. Schmidt was pregnant at the time.

Schmidt and her 19-month old son, Kaleb, were pronounced dead at the scene. Four-year-old Weston died at Comers Children Hospital in Chicago the following evening and 6-year-old Owen died two days later, also at Comers.

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A Will County grand jury indicted Woulfe on 16 counts in September 2017. Rippy upheld the indictment in a 2019 ruling.

Rippy listed about two dozen witnesses for the trial, including Norberto Navarro, who witnessed the accident in 2017, but about two years was found guilty of a federal drug charge. He has served his time for the charge but has been in a Will County jail for about two months.

Daily Southtown Twice-weekly News updates from the south suburbs delivered every Monday and Wednesday >

Earlier this month, an attorney for Navarro argued for his release on recognizance and to seek a visa so Immigration and Customs Enforcement authorities do not deport Navarro.

The court allowed the visa but set a $1 million bond, which he cannot afford to pay.

Just more than a dozen people gathered outside the courthouse Tuesday morning protesting and demanding the release of Navarro. They chanted in English and Spanish si se puede and free Norberto for passersby and people inside the courthouse to hear.

We continue to push for Will County to do the right thing and not cooperate with ICE and release him, said Rebecca Guterman, one of Navarros attorneys.

They want to deport my son, Navarros mother, Aida Navarro, said in Spanish.

Sarah Southey, a legal coordinator for the Centro De Trabajadores Unidos group behind the rally, said they expect some announcement Tuesday or Wednesday, pending Navarros testimony.

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https://sputniknews.com/20220322/biden-cant-do-much-to-help-europe-with-unrealistic-push-away-from-russian-energy-supplies-report-1094091598.html

Biden Cant Do Much to Help Europe With Unrealistic Push Away From Russian Energy Supplies: Report

Biden Cant Do Much to Help Europe With Unrealistic Push Away From Russian Energy Supplies: Report

The European Union announced earlier this month that it would seek to cut dependence on Russian gas supplies by two-thirds in response to the Russian military... 22.03.2022, Sputnik International

2022-03-22T15:09+0000

2022-03-22T15:09+0000

2022-03-22T16:51+0000

energy

european union

russia

united states

biden administration

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The Biden administration does not have the authority to force US energy producers to trade with European customers, and the EUs ambitious push to slash imports from Russia is not considered realistic, people who are said to be familiar with the situation have told Politico.Late last year, as spot prices for natural gas were soaring, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that US deliveries of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to Europe had dropped, in spite of months of US concerns about the price crunch being suffered by the region. Russia, Putin said, had increased its gas sales to Europe by 15 percent, and enjoys a competitive advantage against LNG in both pricing and carbon footprint.Russia delivered some 155 billion cubic meters of gas to Europe in 2021, with these supplies accounting for more than 45 percent of total European imports of the fuel. The regions reliance on Russian supplies has grown by over 25 percent over the past decade, notwithstanding a US-led effort to sabotage this trade using sanctions and diplomatic pressure to get European countries to buy more US-sourced LNG.Energy analysts cited by Politico said the two-thirds cut in Russian supplies recently proposed by Brussels isnt realistic, with a 50 to 60 percent reduction possible if a wartime effort were undertaken, with those efforts expected to affect the global LNG market with price shocks. An unnamed EU energy official said the blocs requests would be "tough to meet". Another source called EU requests to date "vague", and suggested the EU remain wary of importing polluting US gas derived from fracking.Of America's LNG capacity, 80 percent is already slated for Europe, S&P Global analyst Ross Wyeno said. No additional capacity is expected to be made available until at least 2024.The crisis in Ukraine has prompted Americas European allies to pledge that they would dramatically reduce purchases of Russian energy, and Washington has instituted a total ban on oil and gas supplies from Russia earlier this month. Were moving forward with this ban understanding that many of our European partners and allies may not be in a position to join us, President Biden said in a speech announcing the ban. The United States has not imported any Russian gas since 2019, and Russian oil accounted for only about one percent of total US consumption in 2021. The absence of Russian supplies has nevertheless had an apparent psychological impact on US energy prices, with gasoline hitting an all-time record of $4.33 per gallon on 11 March before dropping to $4.27 as of Friday.Biden is expected to bring up energy during his visit to Brussels on Thursday for a meeting of the European Council and to attend an emergency NATO summit.Russian officials and energy companies have announced readiness to continue supplying energy to Europe and other clients in accordance with existing contracts and said Moscow is prepared to reach new agreements. Supplies have continued to flow west, including through Ukraine, notwithstanding the ongoing Russian military operation in that country.Last month, Russia agreed a new 30-year 10 billion cubic meters (bcm) of gas per year contract to supply gas to China using a new pipeline. The infrastructure expected to be built within two to three years. Russia already sells natural gas to China using both the Power of Siberia pipeline and LNG deliveries. The Peoples Republic purchased 16.5 billion bcm of Russian gas in 2021.

https://sputniknews.com/20220316/cmon-man-biden-begs-oil-companies-to-lower-gasoline-prices-after-wholesale-price-dips-1093938518.html

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https://sputniknews.com/20220322/biden-wont-pressure-brussels-to-reject-russian-energy-during-upcoming-euro-trip-white-house-says-1094095033.html

US Will Consult With Allies 'Contingency' of Nuclear Weapons Use, National Security Adviser Says

US Will Consult With Allies 'Contingency' of Nuclear Weapons Use, National Security Adviser Says

The president will travel to Europe on Wednesday for meetings of the European Council and NATO on Thursday. From there, he is expected to head to Poland on... 22.03.2022, Sputnik International

2022-03-22T18:02+0000

2022-03-22T18:02+0000

2022-03-22T19:18+0000

joe biden

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The White House will discuss the potential use of nuclear weapons with allies and partners in the context of the crisis in Ukraine, National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan has said.Putin ordered Russia's nuclear forces to be placed on heightened alert late last month, citing "aggressive statements" by British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss about possible NATO involvement in the Ukraine crisis. On 1 March, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov called on the US to remove its nuclear weapons from Europe and dismantle associated infrastructure.Commenting on Biden's upcoming Europe trip, Sullivan said the president won't be seeking to pressure Washington's allies to immediately ban Russian energy supplies, but that he does plan to announce a "joint response" aimed at reducing Europe's dependence on Moscow.The US and its allies will also "have the opportunity to coordinate on the next phase of military assistance to Ukraine," and will be imposing "further sanctions on Russia, and tightening the existing sanctions to crack down on evasion and ensure robust enforcement," he added.Commenting on Biden's announcement earlier this month on the near total ban on Russian energy imports into the US, Sullivan said the president has made clear that he was "not going to pressure" allies to follow suit. "From his perspective, what we have achieved with our European partners in terms of financial sanctions, export controls and other measures to hit the Russian economy hard have had unprecedented impact on a large economy on a scale we have never seen before."Russia launched a military operation in Ukraine on 24 February which Putin said was aimed at "demilitarising" the country and ridding it of the outsized influence of neo-Nazi elements in the government and armed forces. The operation was started after a request for assistance from the Donbass republics, which faced weeks of escalated shelling, sabotage and sniper attacks by the Ukrainian military before being formally recognized as independent states by Russia on 21 February. In March, the Russian Ministry of Defence began presenting evidence of suspected Ukrainian plans to launch a full-scale offensive in the Donbass, and reporting on the presence of a network of Pentagon-funded biological laboratories in the country which US officials and media first denied but later confirmed existed.

https://sputniknews.com/20220316/putin-pro-nazi-regime-in-kiev-could-get-nuclear-weapons-in-foreseeable-future-to-target-russia-1093929815.html

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Tim Pendlebury, left, an Australian working as a tour guide based in Poland, helped Alex Becker, formerly of Carpentersville, Becker's wife, Larysa Lushchenko, and their dog, Odetta, after they fled Ukraine and arrived in Poland with nothing but their two backpacks. (Alex Becker)

Carpentersville native Alex Becker, his wife Larysa Yushchenko, and their dog, Odetta, are among the millions of people who have fled war-torn Ukraine.

That they have safely resettled in Poland is due to legwork done by Beckers family in the United States, the power of the internet and the kindness of an expat Australian living in the region.

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Tim (Pendlebury) is amazing, Becker said. My moms family put me in contact with him. Hes been housing and driving around refugees since the conflict began.

Former Carpentersville resident Alex Becker, carrying his dog, Odetta, walks by a building that was bombed in Kyiv, Ukraine, the city where he and his wife had been living until they were forced to flee to Poland following the Russian invasion earlier this month. (Alex Becker)

Pendlebury, who hails from Queensland, is a travel and tour director based in Gilowice, Poland, where he lives with his family. He works throughout Central and Eastern Europe, the Balkans and Italy.

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Beckers mother, Karen DeBias, of Carpentersville, explained how Pendlebury came to the rescue.

I posted my sons plight on my Facebook page, which is how my cousin Candy (DiDominick, of Seattle) saw it, DeBias said.

DiDominick took one of Pendleburys tours in 2018.

He mentioned to his group at the time that if they ever needed any help in Europe, they could contact him. So Candy did, DeBias said.

Pendlebury reached out to DeBias, and then Becker. He directed the couple to the Polish-Ukrainian border at Korczowa, where he met them March 7 after he made a four-drive there.

The border crossing was a nightmare, Becker said. Thousands of people were waiting for hours outside in the cold to first cross the Ukrainian checkpoint, then the Polish checkpoint. I had to carry my dog sometimes because I was afraid she was going to get trampled. "

Pendlebury said the process took about 15 hours. Finally, about 2:30 a.m. March 8, he met the couple and brought them to his home.

Tim waited for us the whole time, Becker said. He let us stay in a spare room until we could find an apartment, which was not so easy. Im eternally grateful for his hospitality.

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Another family member put Becker in contact with an organization helping refugees based in Katowice, a city of about 300,000.

I told them I wasnt looking for free stuff, just help getting an apartment. They found a landlord that was willing to rent a small apartment here to me as long as I paid for six months up front, Becker said. Life here is going OK. Were starting to settle in, but I really miss Kyiv and want to go back soon.

Becker, 36, teaches world history and geography to students in grades 6-11 at the American International School and University in Kyiv.

Classes have moved online. Many students have quit, so Im not sure how much longer the school can stay solvent, he said.

Beckers wife, who is Ukrainian, is a private tutor who teaches English to Chinese children. She continues to work virtually too.

Becker, a 2004 graduate of Dundee-Crown High School in Carpentersville, has a bachelors degree in history and social sciences education from Illinois State University. Finding it difficult to land work in the Chicago area, he taught English abroad, first in South Korea, then in China.

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In Shanghai, I met Larysa, who also was teaching English there, Becker said. We decided it was easier for me to move to Ukraine than it would be for her to move to the States, so we settled in Kyiv in the summer of 2019, married that October and bought an apartment there last year.

Alex Becker, formerly of Carpentersville, and his wife, Larysa Lushchenko, were working as teachers in Kyiv, Ukraine, when they were forced to flee to Poland following the Russian invasion in early March. (Alex Becker)

While residents saw the Russian military buildup for months, most Ukrainians laughed when I talked about the possibility of a full-scale invasion, Becker said.

The reality of the war hit very close to home with an explosion early Feb. 25.

The sky turned red, and I smelled smoke, Becker said. From news reports, I gathered that Ukrainian air defense had shot down a Russian jet. Parts of it landed in my neighborhood, heavily damaging an apartment complex a few blocks away from mine.

Becker said he panicked March 6 as Russians started to encircle Kyiv.

I didnt want to not have the option to leave if we had to, so we packed everything essential into two backpacks and headed for the packed train station, he said.

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The train ride to Lviv took 12 hours. With the city essentially full, Becker reached out to family and friends and eventually made contact and arrangements with Pendlebury.

I didnt think something like this could happen in this century, he said. What Putin is doing in Ukraine is barbaric.  Im going to miss everything about my old life.

Mike Danahey is a freelance reporter for The Courier-News.
China, like-minded countries concerned about human rights violations against indigenous people

Xinhua) 08:10, March 22, 2022

GENEVA, March 21 (Xinhua) -- China and a group of countries on Monday called on the UN Human Rights Council to continue to attend to serious human rights violations against indigenous people and take necessary actions accordingly.

Delivering a joint statement on behalf of the group of countries at the ongoing 49th session of the Human Rights Council, Jiang Duan, minister of the Chinese mission to the UN in Geneva, said they are deeply concerned about serious violations of human rights of indigenous people by some countries.

"In the past centuries, countries in question have oppressed and exploited indigenous people, violating their human rights and fundamental freedoms, looting their land and resources, killing with brutality their population and eliminating their culture," he said, adding that some indigenous children, who were sent to "residential schools" for the purpose of assimilation, were abused and many died unnatural deaths -- the truth of which has been covered up to this day.

Jiang pointed out that countries in question have not yet taken effective measures to protect the rights of the indigenous people, and discriminatory legislations and policies remain in force.

"Indigenous people in those countries are subject to systemic discrimination and inequality, and have been marginalized at the bottom of the society. Their disadvantaged position further deteriorated under the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic," he added.

The Chinese diplomat urged those countries in question to immediately act to correct their wrongs, investigate human rights violations against indigenous people, hold those responsible accountable, redress the victims, and completely eliminate discrimination.

"We call upon the Human Rights Council to continue to attend to serious human rights violations against indigenous people by countries in question and take necessary actions accordingly," he concluded.

(Web editor: Xia Peiyao, Liang Jun)
Two weeks after 14 luxury vehicles were stolen from an Evanston car dealership in what has been called a brazen break and entry burglary, police said Monday three cars have been recovered  as the investigation into the theft continues. March 21

According to Evanston police, on March 7, thieves broke a window to gain entry into The Auto Barn Collection luxury used car dealership, at 1910 Greenwood Street In Evanston, at around 2 a.m. They then broke into an office safe where keys for the luxury vehicles were kept. Authorities said the crime was captured on security video, which shows six people wearing hooded shirts and masks breaking into the dealership through a front window, ripping an alarm off a wall then calmly driving off in the vehicles.

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Sam Mustafa, co-owner of the dealership, said the criminals returned three times that early morning to get all 14 of the vehicles: a blue 2019 Audi A7, a black 2016 Audi A7, a black 2017 Mercedes AMG, two black 2015 Mercedes S550s, a black 2020 BMW X3, a white 2018 Maserati Levante, a white 2019 Audi Q8, a white 2018 Dodge Durango, a red 2018 Porsche Cayman, a black 2017 Mercedes S550, a gray 2017 Porsche Panamera, a white 2017 Jeep Grand Cherokee and a white 2013 Bentley GTC.

Mustafa previously said the combined value of the vehicles is around $932,000. He said the most expensive car was the Bentley, which he said was worth $102,000.

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Police said Monday the black 2016 Audi A7 was recovered in Chicago a few days ago. On March 10, the 2018 Dodge Durango was found crashed and abandoned in the 900 block of Wilson Street in Calumet City, and the red Porsche Cayman was recovered parked and undamaged in the 1200 block of East 85th Street in Chicago.

The high-performance Dodge products are very desirable vehicles right now in the Chicagoland area to be used in different areas of street crime, said Evanston police Commander Ryan Glew. Its because theyre fast and the thieves have figured out a way to get around the anti-theft devices, as compared to

There have not been any arrests, police said, in connection with the theft or recovery of the vehicles.

Mustafa said he is glad that some of the vehicles have been recovered and he is hopeful that more of the vehicles will be found.

Whether its a good sign or not that one was found, I dont really know, he said. One of them is no good. Its crashed up and no good to me. ... Its not easy to get cars these days.

Brian L. Cox is a freelancer.
On March 21, 2022 local time, State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi met the press together in Islamabad.

Wang Yi said that it is a pleasure to attend the 48th session of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation at the invitation of Foreign Minister Qureshi. It is also my first bilateral visit to Pakistan since the COVID-19 outbreak. Foreign Minister Qureshi and I held extensive and in-depth talks in a friendly and cohesive atmosphere, which consolidated our traditional friendship, enhanced strategic coordination, and promoted practical cooperation. We both agree that facing the profoundly evolving international circumstances and turbulence and challenges in the world, China and Pakistan need to strengthen strategic communication, work together to build a closer China-Pakistan community with a shared future in the new era, inject stability into regional peace and prosperity, and contribute positive energy to world development and progress.

Wang Yi put forward four suggestions on the development of China-Pakistan relations.

First, we need to firmly support each other. No matter how the international circumstances and the situation in both countries change, China will stick to its friendly policy toward Pakistan, firmly support the Pakistani people in pursuing a development path that fits their national conditions, and support Pakistan in defending its sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity. China hopes that all political parties in Pakistan will strengthen cooperation and unity to ensure development and stability in the country.

Second, we need to accelerate common development and revitalization. China and Pakistan should enhance the integration of development strategies, build the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor with high quality, and stay committed to advancing key cooperation projects and expand cooperation in green development, digitalization, poverty reduction, health and other fields. China will support Pakistan in developing industries, strengthening commerce and revitalizing agriculture so as to achieve a more balanced, independent and sustainable development.

Third, we need to deepen counter-terrorism cooperation. China supports Pakistan in severely punishing the perpetrators of the Dasu terrorist attack, appreciates its efforts to strengthen the security of Chinese personnel and projects in Pakistan, and will, as always, help Pakistan improve its law enforcement and security capacities.

Fourth, we need to maintain closer multilateral coordination. The two countries should strengthen coordination on international and regional issues such as Afghanistan and Ukraine, jointly practice true multilateralism, earnestly safeguard the basic norms governing international relations, oppose power politics, bullying and unilateral sanctions, and make the international order fairer and more equitable.
As one of the most popular TV dramas this month, The Oath of Love  a romance starring idols Yang Zi and Xiao Zhan  has seized widespread attention online since it started its run on Hunan Satellite and the streaming site Tencent Video on March 15.

Adapted from the novel of the same name by Bolin Shijiang, the series follows Lin Zhixiao (Yang), a third-year college student majoring in music, as she stumbles upon Gu Wei (Xiao), a promising young gastroenterologist. After experiencing a string of coincidences, Lin discovers Gu is the attending physician for her father, who has been diagnosed with stomach cancer. In the torturous days spent helping her father fight the disease, Lin develops romantic feelings for the young doctor, who reciprocates in kind.

In the beginning, the protagonist plans to enjoy a joyful reunion with her friend at a bar, but the gathering is soon upended by her father, a demanding high-school teacher.

According to the producers, the series examines the confusion and stress felt by most young people in modern society, as well as raise public awareness about a pattern of parenting.

Interweaving romantic scenarios with a reflection of typical Chinese parents  most of the time criticized as overly tough, strict and disciplinarian, the drama aims to resonate with young audiences as depicting their pressures and yearnings in the story.

Currently, the drama has obtained 8.3 points out of 10 on the fan-driven Asian content-specialized review site MyDramaList. It is also available overseas.
Stone rubbings, also known as ink-imprints or ink-squeezers, is one of the major inventions from ancient China. Using paper and ink, the engraved surfaces can be copied as sharper images to depict history.

When a stone rubbing piece is made, a piece of moistened paper will be used first to cover the surface, then a stiff brush is used to press the paper tightly, bringing the inscription to light. When the paper is almost dry, an inked pad will be used to tap or squeeze the surface, leaving the inked inscription on the paper. Finally, when the paper is peeled off, a clear impression of the engraved texts or pictures will emerge. This traditional technique is described as "a camera reviving history" in China.

Chen Xu, 68, of Taiyuan, Shanxi province, who first learned about stone rubbings in 1995, has spent most of his time on it since then, delving into it for more than 20 years. The stone rubbing works contain loads of information about history, culture, art, and life in ancient China, Chen said, they are not only the copied images of cultural relics, but also the carrier of history, precious memories from China's past.

Chen is also exploring the possibility of merging this ancient technique with modern life. Except for some traditional objects for rubbings, such as oracle-bone inscriptions and tombstone inscriptions, things from daily life can also be ink-imprinted. Thus the stone rubbing technique can also be used to reflect modern life, like urban and rural construction, poverty alleviation.

"Based on real vegetables, fish and shrimp, my work 'Full vegetable basket' shows the achievements in poverty alleviation in rural areas of China. I want to record this encouraging historical stage, where people in rural China have enough vegetables and fish to eat," Chen said.

Chen believes that stone rubbings can play an important role in spreading Chinese culture. He said that nowadays, we need to bring forth some new ideas for inheriting this ancient technique, turning it into a storyteller of Chinese culture.

"Now as a teacher of the 'stone rubbing technique' curriculum at Shanxi University of Finance and Economics, I hope that through my own efforts, more and more people can join us to pass on this ancient technique," said Chen.
China should develop a new pattern for rural industries that is based on local characteristics, integrates the rural and urban areas and encourages countryside entrepreneurship to promote rural vitalization.

That was the message delivered by political adviser Wang Hong during the recent session of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference.

This year's No 1 Central Document outlined the key tasks to comprehensively advance rural vitalization, with rural industry high on the agenda as the basis for solving rural affairs.

However, according to Wang, vitalizing rural industry doesn't mean replicating urban industrialization or transferring low-end industries from cities to villages.

"We should build a special system and development pattern for rural industries based on the distinctive functions of urban and rural areas," she said.

Wang proposed expanding existing rural industries and establishing new onessuch as rural tourism and deep processing of agricultural produceto take advantage of the rural areas' rich natural resources, comfortable environments and special cultures.

The rich water resources in Lixin county, Anhui province, have produced a tradition of breeding hairy crabs. Also known as a rice-planting area, the county is developing the combined cultivation of crabs and rice as an environmentally friendly breeding method.

High-quality hairy crabs are bred in 36 of the county's 49 lakes, which are also planted with rice to provide natural food for the crustaceans, according to the local government.

The crabs also eat worms in the rice paddies, along with water plants which provide them with natural nutrition and ensure a good taste and abundant meat. In turn, the crabs help the rice grow better and healthier by dealing with insects and weeds without the need for fertilizers or pesticides.

Late last year, Dou Yunhua, owner of a family farm in Lixin who acted as a pioneer of the combined cultivation method in 2018, told China Central Television that she sells her entire organic rice crop in Shanghai for high prices, while the hairy crabs she breeds are popular with consumers nationwide.

She noted that her income per hectare is now six times higher than when she used traditional planting methods.

The local agriculture bureau said the Lixin government plans to expand the 1,000-hectare combined cultivation area to 3,333 hectares by the end of the year and introduce a number of companies to promote deep processing.

"We hope to aid villagers through the advantages of this green cultivation method," Chen Hua, the bureau's director, said.

Given that industrial elements such as land, talent and capital usually flow from the rural to the urban areas, Wang suggested boosting the mutual flow to vitalize high-quality industries and stabilize sectors that were established to aid poverty-alleviation efforts.

"China should guide farmers to produce good, marketable products that meet the needs of urban residents. Large enterprises and new technology should be introduced to expand the scale of rural industries," she said.

Last month, Wu Hongyao, a senior official with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, said China will develop three major rural industries this year: agricultural processing; local tourism; and e-commerce.

"Industrial parks should drive agricultural processing at the county level, and major-production areas should establish clusters to advance special local industries," Wu said.

Wang said that as rural entrepreneurship has developed via the support of the improved infrastructure, more preferential policies should be provided to facilitate startups.

"Rural entrepreneurs will have priority to use public spaces to hold related events," she noted.

According to a report on China's central and local budgets that was approved at the fifth session of the 13th National People's Congress earlier this month, the central government will allocate 165 billion yuan ($26 billion) to a follow-up fund for rural vitalization this year, a rise of 8.47 billion yuan year-on-year.

More funding will be provided for areas that face major challenges in consolidating the results of poverty alleviation. The fund will be used to support areas that have been lifted out of poverty by developing industries with distinctive local features, the report said.




Rescue work continued on Tuesday after a passenger plane with 132 people aboard crashed in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region Monday afternoon.

Over 2,000 people have been sent to the site as part of the rescue efforts.

Since the site of the crash is located in a mountain forest, the search for the black box relies on both drones and rescue staff.

Zhu Xiaodong, a rescuer with a drone rescue center in Guangzhou, capital of south China's Guangdong Province and also the destination of the plane, said at the site that it is difficult to carry out rescue work as there are only a few paths leading to the site.

At around 7:30 a.m. on Tuesday, light rain fell over the rescue site. The local meteorological department forecast that more rain would hit the area from Tuesday to Thursday, which might adversely affect the search efforts.

The China Eastern Airlines Boeing 737 aircraft, which departed from Kunming and was bound for Guangzhou, crashed into a mountainous area near Molang Village in Tengxian County in the city of Wuzhou at 2:38 p.m. Monday, causing a mountain fire.
Some personal belongings of the passengers on a China Eastern Airlines flight that crashed in South China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region on Monday were discovered by a search and rescue team.

Flight MU5735 left Kunming, capital of Yunnan province, at 1:11 pm and was scheduled to arrive in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, at 3:05 pm. Air traffic controllers lost track of the plane over Wuzhou, Guangxi. The flight was carrying 123 passengers and nine crew members.

According to video footage released by CCTV around noon on Tuesday, the search and rescue team found wallets, identification cards and bank cards at the crash site in a forest near Tengxian county's Molang village.

No information about the passengers and crew members was available by 1 pm.

Much of the debris from the aircraft is in small pieces, said Li Chenbin, who heard a loud bang caused by the crash echoing across the mountains covered by forest around 2:20 pm on Monday.

"I heard a loud bang while working on the mobile communication network nearby," said Li, a technician with China Mobile's Guangxi branch. "I then rushed to the site with my colleagues and saw the aircraft debris, much of which was in small pieces. It was scattered all over the mountains. The biggest piece I saw is part of a wing with China Eastern's logo."

Without a stable electricity supply, search and rescue teams have been using emergency lights and head lights to work overnight, said Li, who stayed near the site to maintain the mobile communication network that is critical for search and rescue efforts.

As the crash site is surrounded by mountains on three sides with only a narrow road that leads to it, it's been difficult to carry out the search and rescue work. Local villagers have been using motorbikes to carrying supplies, including tents, food and water, to the crash site.

The Civil Aviation Administration of China and the Ministry of Emergency Management have sent task forces to the site to help with the rescue efforts. In addition, Vice-Premier Liu He and State Councilor Wang Yong have instructed relevant officials to guide the rescue efforts, the aftermath and the investigation into the cause of the crash.




 Flash

A Moscow court ruled on Monday to ban Facebook and Instagram in Russia, labeling the parent company of the two social networks Meta Platforms Inc. "extremist."

The Prosecutor General's Office of Russia said that the lawsuit was aimed at protecting Russians from "a violation of their rights," according to local media.

Meta has violated its own rules by allowing posts with violent speeches towards the Russian military and has ignored more than 4,500 requests to remove fake information on Russia's special military operation and calls for unauthorized rallies, the prosecutors said.

The court ruling will come into effect immediately but will not affect WhatsApp messenger.

Meta is also banned from doing business in Russia as the Prosecutor General's Office and Russia's Federal Security Service accused the U.S. giant of acting against Russia and its armed forces.
 Flash

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Monday that it is too early to talk about a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, as there is no breakthrough yet in the peace talks.

"To be able to discuss a possible meeting between the two presidents, you must first do your homework. That is, you need to conduct and agree on the results of the negotiations," Peskov told a daily briefing.

"So far, no significant progress has been made (in the negotiation process) ... The presidents simply have no agreements to approve yet," he said.

Ukrainian and Russian delegations held three rounds of negotiations in person in Belarus starting from Feb. 28 to seek a possible settlement of the current conflict. The two sides started their fourth round of negotiations via video link on March 14.

On Wednesday, Ukrainian Presidential Advisor Mykhailo Podolyak said Zelensky may hold talks with Putin in the coming days.
WHO launch new child mental health program in COVID-19 recovery

Xinhua) 08:13, March 22, 2022

COPENHAGEN/ATHENS, March 21 (Xinhua) -- A new program launched by the World Health Organization's (WHO) Regional Office for Europe in cooperation with the Greek government on Monday will place the support for and promotion of the quality of mental health care for children and adolescents in all the region's 53 countries "at the heart of the COVID-19 recovery," the office said in a press release.

The launch ceremony in Copenhagen coincided with the inauguration of the WHO Athens Quality of Care Office in Greece's capital.

The program is the result of an ongoing partnership and collaboration between WHO Europe and the government of Greece across the health system spectrum, including the areas of quality of care and patient safety.

"Mental health and well-being is a fundamental human right that should be at the heart of our health systems and key to recovery from the COVID-19 emergency. The pandemic has affected everyone in society, but the most vulnerable, including children and young people, have suffered the most," the WHO's Regional Director for Europe, Dr. Hans Kluge, said. The program will "help to mitigate and reduce the long-term damage this pandemic has done to mental health."

In 2015 there were over 4,000 suicides among the 10 to 19-year-olds in the region, he noted.

Ensuring that children and adolescents have access to quality mental health services is a moral imperative and investment in the future, as around 50 percent of all mental health problems in adulthood have their onset during or before adolescence, he explained.

According to Kluge, the new program will also provide support to the millions affected by the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

"It is clear that, whether it is because of an unprecedented pandemic or a sudden humanitarian crisis, meeting people's mental health needs -- especially those of children and young people -- must be at the heart of any functioning health system," Kluge said.

The program will support the development of national strategies, frameworks and the sharing of lessons learned across the European region with concrete steps and solutions," he said.

"We all fought for more than two years with an unknown enemy and we are not done yet. We have to think about what it will be like to coexist with COVID in the long run," Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said at the launch ceremony. Mitsotakis himself has just made full recovery from COVID-19.

(Web editor: Xia Peiyao, Liang Jun)
You are here: World

 Flash

Four terrorists and two soldiers were killed in a clash between security forces and terrorists in Pakistan's northwest Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, Pakistan army said Monday night.

The army's media wing Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said in a statement that the terrorists fired on the security forces on Monday in Bajaur district of the province.

"Troops initiated a prompt response and effectively engaged the terrorists' location," resulting in the killing of the four terrorists and two soldiers during an intense exchange of fire, the statement said.

The terrorists' firing killed three civilians, it added.

Weapons and ammunition were also recovered from the terrorists, the ISPR said, adding that the killed terrorists had remained actively involved in terror attacks against security forces.
 Flash

Giant panda twins "You You" and "Jiu Jiu" born in Madrid Zoo Aquarium made their first public appearance here on Monday.

Queen Sofia of Spain, accompanied by Chinese Ambassador Wu Haitao, Mayor of Madrid Jose Luis Almeida, and Madrid's Regional President Isabel Diaz Ayuso, visited the Zoo Aquarium. The event coincided with the opening ceremony of the zoo's 50th anniversary celebrations.

The twins, born to Hua Zuiba, a female panda and her partner Bing Xing last September, are now about six months old and set to be the zoo's main attraction.

In his speech, Ambassador Wu highlighted the good relationship between China and Spain, saying that pandas "represent the friendship and cultural exchanges between China and Spain" and that the cubs' names "symbolize best wishes for friendship."

He said that 2023 will "mark the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Spain," and that this anniversary would be "a good opportunity to jointly take the strategic partnership to a new level."

Luis Almeida said that "thanks to zoos and conservation centers around the world, the threat level for pandas has been reduced in recent years."

Diaz Ayuso highlighted the role the zoo plays "in the conservation of endangered species, which is essential to promoting biodiversity and animal protection."
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NASA prepares Artemis I rocket for final major test

Xinhua) 08:13, March 22, 2022

LOS ANGELES, March 21 (Xinhua) -- NASA engineers and technicians are preparing the Artemis I rocket for its final major test following its arrival at the launch pad for the first time, according to the agency.

The Artemis I Moon rocket - NASA's Space Launch System (SLS) with the Orion spacecraft atop it - has arrived at the launch pad for the first time on Friday, after a nearly 11-hour journey from the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

In the coming days, engineers and technicians will prepare the Artemis I rocket for its final major test - the wet dress rehearsal. The approximately two-day test will demonstrate the team's ability to load cryogenic propellants into the rocket, conduct a launch countdown, and practice safely removing propellants at the launch pad, according to NASA.

After the rehearsal, NASA will review data from the test before setting a specific target launch date for the Artemis I launch.

With Artemis, NASA plans to land the first woman and the first person of color on the Moon and establish long-term exploration in preparation for missions to Mars.

(Web editor: Xia Peiyao, Liang Jun)
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RAMALLAH, March 21 (Xinhua) -- The Palestinian Central Elections Committee on Monday condemned Israel for arresting candidates racing for the Palestinian local council elections in the West Bank.

The committee said in a statement that the arrest is blatant interference in Palestinian internal affairs, calling for the immediate release of the detained candidates.

On Monday, the Israeli army arrested Islam al-Taweel, who heads a list running for the mayor of the West Bank city of al-Bireh, bringing the number of detained nominees to three during the past few days.

There was no comment from the Israeli army on the arrest.

The first phase of the Palestinian municipal elections took place in 376 localities in the West Bank on Dec. 11, 2021. The second phase of the municipal elections will be held on March 26, according to the elections commission. 
BEIRUT, March 22 (Xinhua) -- Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati on Tuesday urged the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) to intervene in Israel's violations of the country's airspace.

The prime minister's remarks came during his meeting at the Grand Serail with Aroldo Lazaro Saenz, head of UNIFIL, a day after the peacekeeping mission marked the 44th anniversary of its establishment, the Council of Ministers said in a statement.

Mikati reaffirmed Lebanon's commitment to implementing the UN Security Council Resolution 1701, while recognizing that the sustained cooperation between UNIFIL forces and Lebanon's army in the southern region has secured border stability.

He also thanked UNIFIL "for its efforts to support Lebanese citizens on their land and to promote sustainable development in the south."

The UNIFIL was launched in 1978 to confirm Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon. After the 2006 war between Hezbollah and Israel, its mandate expanded to monitor the cessation of hostilities and to accompany the deployment of Lebanese armed forces throughout southern Lebanon as Israel withdraws its troops. 
A visitor walks past an armored vehicle during his visit to the seventh edition of the Doha International Maritime Defence Exhibition & Conference (DIMDEX 2022) at the Qatar National Convention Centre in Doha, Qatar, March 21, 2022. Over 200 companies participated in the DIMDEX 2022. (Photo by Nikku/Xinhua)

Photo taken on March 21, 2022 shows a view of the seventh edition of the Doha International Maritime Defence Exhibition & Conference (DIMDEX 2022) at the Qatar National Convention Centre in Doha, Qatar. Over 200 companies participated in the DIMDEX 2022. (Photo by Nikku/Xinhua)
AMMAN, March 22 (Xinhua) -- The World Bank Group said Tuesday it approved 350 million U.S. dollars in additional funding for Jordan's COVID-19 Emergency Response Project to support poor and vulnerable households and workers amid the pandemic.

The funding will help the government launch reforms to advance an economic empowerment program, which aims to integrate poorer sections of the country's population into the labor market, the Jordanian Planning Ministry said in a statement.

It indicated that the additional support will partially finance the extension of a government program to provide wage subsidies to 110,000 formal workers in firms most affected by the pandemic, which prevents workers from losing income while keeping firms solvent and operational, according to the statement.

The project will also continue to strengthen Jordan's overall social protection system to support the government efforts towards achieving effective COVID-19 response and resilient recovery. 
by Xinhua writer Gao Wencheng

TEHRAN, March 22 (Xinhua) -- The United States has been "particularly belligerent" throughout its history due to its fixation on hegemony, an Iranian professor has said.

The country should answer the following questions at the International Court of Justice: "Why does Washington wantonly invade other countries and kill innocent people in other countries? How can such a country pressure other countries on the pretext of human rights?" said Hamed Vafaei, director of the Asia Research Center at the University of Tehran.

While blasting other countries' human rights and their international roles, the United States itself has waged numerous wars around the world that have undermined security and stability in those related areas, the latest example being the war in Afghanistan, Vafaei said.

"The United States has inflicted a highly negative influence on Afghanistan's past, present and future," and has to answer the following three major questions regarding its role in Afghanistan:

Firstly, the volume of opium production and trade in Afghanistan increased significantly, instead of decreasing, during U.S. military presence there, while related sectors such as local airports, borders management and even the army were mainly controlled by the U.S. forces.

So, the professor said, the first question the United States should answer is: Why did the drug trade in Afghanistan continue to climb rather than decline during its occupation?

Secondly, while stationed in Afghanistan, the U.S. military killed a large number of innocent civilians and even employed drones to mistakenly attack weddings and other gatherings. Yet, the White House has always kept underplaying the tragedies.

So, Vafaei said, the second question America needs to answer is: How can it get away with killing so many innocent people?

Furthermore, "the irresponsible and hasty withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan has led to the deterioration of regional security and Afghanistan's neighboring countries have been turned into victims," he said.

So, he argued, the third question Washington needs to answer is: How can it accuse other countries of threatening regional peace and international security?

Vafaei said that the belligerent United States, driven by its motive to maintain its hegemony, has become "one of the greatest threats to world peace."

The slogan "America First" has fully demonstrated the perception of the U.S. government, he said, noting that once the interests of other countries conflict with those of the United States, the United States will not hesitate to protect its own interests at the cost of others', which has been proved by what the United States has done in Iraq, Afghanistan and other places around the world.

Vafaei said such a unilateralist approach, with which the United States is obsessed, has reminded more countries of the significance of multilateralism.

"Hopefully, real multilateralism will become a reality in the near future," he added. 
LANZHOU, March 22 (Xinhua) -- Liujiaxia reservoir, a major reservoir on the upper reaches of the Yellow River, boosted its water outflow from 430 cubic meters to 800 cubic meters per second starting from Monday to assist spring farming in the river basin.

Each spring, the reservoir provides up to 1.2 billion cubic meters of water for agricultural production downstream, mainly in Gansu Province and the Ningxia Hui and Inner Mongolia autonomous regions, irrigating an area of more than 16 million mu (about 1 million hectares) of farmland.

On Monday, the water level in the reservoir stood close to its designed capacity of 1,735 meters above sea level, fully prepared for replenishing water for agricultural irrigation and ecological protection in the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River.

The Yellow River originates from the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and runs through the Loess Plateau. The Yellow River basin is deemed "the cradle of Chinese civilization."

China has adopted ecological protection and high-quality development of the Yellow River basin as a major national strategy. The river is expected to play a crucial role in striking a balance between environmental protection and economic growth. 
by Xinhua writers Zhang Yisheng, Xu Chao and Liu Yifang

BEIJING, March 22 (Xinhua) -- In the face of profound challenges rarely seen in a century, the international community is struggling to maintain development while tackling deficits in peace and governance.

Guided by "Xiconomics," the economic philosophy of Chinese President Xi Jinping, China is committed to following a development path with distinct Chinese characteristics and pursuing win-win cooperation worldwide. Featuring common prosperity, joint contribution with other nations and a shared future, Xi's vision of development and governance will help bolster global confidence and rally support to address threats and challenges.

COMMON PROSPERITY

Poverty eradication is one of the greatest global challenges facing the development of the world. It also tests the resolve and capability of China, a country with a population of more than 1.4 billion.

Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, has pointed out that eliminating poverty, improving people's livelihood and achieving common prosperity are essential requirements of socialism.

A moderately prosperous society in all respects "is a society to be enjoyed by each and every one of us; on the march toward common prosperity, no one must be left behind," Xi said when he and other members of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee met reporters in 2017.

By the end of 2020, China had lifted out of poverty all rural residents living below the current poverty line and met the poverty eradication target set out in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development 10 years ahead of schedule -- unprecedented progress in the history of human development.

Koh King Kee, president of Center for New Inclusive Asia, a non-government Malaysian think tank, said poverty reduction is the only way to achieve common prosperity, and China has laid the foundation for it.

Promoting social equity and justice and gradually realizing common prosperity for all are essential parts of Xi's economic thought, said the expert.

Ronnie Lins, director of the China-Brazil Center for Research and Business, said China's actions to create more significant economic and social benefits are mainly reflected in its sincere political will to act in the interests of the poorest.

China's experience in poverty reduction has become a valuable asset in global poverty reduction cooperation.

Richard A. Black, a representative of the Schiller Institute at the United Nations in New York, said China's achievement in poverty alleviation is a "quiet model and powerful inspiration" to the people in Africa, Latin America and much of Asia.

There are currently ongoing catastrophes of mass deaths by war, starvation and economic strangulation by Western sanctions, Black said, adding that "China has proven -- by its actions, not by its words -- an alternative pathway" in terms of poverty reduction.

"We must take a people-centered approach and make global development more equitable, effective and inclusive so that no country will be left behind," President Xi stressed at the 16th G20 Leaders' Summit via video link in 2021.

Xi, at the CPC and World Political Parties Summit via video link last year, also called for particular attention and care for underdeveloped countries and regions and impoverished people.

"Only when countries develop together can there be true development, and only when countries prosper together can there be true prosperity," said Xi, while addressing via video link the opening ceremony of the Second UN Global Sustainable Transport Conference.

Xi has outlined an ambitious blueprint to promote common development, fairness and inclusiveness. In countries and regions eager to lift themselves out of poverty, China-championed economic cooperation has turned forgotten places into hopeful fields.

China has promoted a project to connect 10,000 African villages to a satellite TV network, helping locals access the world outside. China has built railways, highways, airports and ports to help Asian countries accelerate their development. Chinese e-commerce enterprises have been taking root in Latin America and other regions, promoting local digital transformation and joining hands with partners for a shared future.

JOINT CONTRIBUTION, SHARED BENEFITS

"Economic globalization is the trend of the times. Though countercurrents are sure to exist in a river, none could stop it from flowing to the sea," Xi said at the 2022 World Economic Forum (WEF) virtual session.

Xi has repeatedly expressed his firm determination to promote common development and build an open world economy in the face of rising unilateralism. "Development is the right of all countries, rather than an exclusive privilege of the few," Xi said at the CPC and World Political Parties Summit in 2021.

China has been committed to helping other developing countries grow their economy, improve livelihoods, and enhance their independent and sustainable development capacity.

The people-centered approach reflects the fundamental difference between socialism with Chinese characteristics and profit-oriented Western capitalism. Today, the vision put forward by the Chinese leader has been translated into the vivid practice of joint efforts and shared benefits.

Sommad Pholsena, vice president of the National Assembly of Laos, said while China was not the first country to express a willingness to build a railway in Laos, it was the only one to turn it into reality. By the end of 2021, the entire China-Laos Railway was put into operation, a dream come true for railway-craving Laos.

Since the launch of the Belt and Road Initiative, China has made solid progress in building the Jakarta-Bandung High-Speed Railway, the Hungary-Serbia Railway, the Mombasa-Nairobi Railway and the Gwadar Port. It has gradually improved trade and investment liberalization and facilitation to boost the global economy and trade.

"Only with openness, inclusiveness and connectivity can countries reinforce each other's efforts and achieve win-win results," Xi said at the opening ceremony of the Second UN Global Sustainable Transport Conference in 2021, highlighting the essence of openness and win-win cooperation.

With a population of more than 1.4 billion and a middle-income group of over 400 million, China imports about 2.5 trillion U.S. dollars of goods and services every year. Thousands of market entities worldwide rely heavily on the Chinese market, and China's opening-up has attracted global attention.

As the world's first import-themed national fair, the China International Import Expo has been held for four consecutive sessions, fortifying China's commitment to opening-up and sharing opportunities with the rest of the world.

China has shared its growth dividend with the world by opening up its market, said Yana Leksyutina, a St. Petersburg State University professor.

SHARED FUTURE

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has dealt a heavy blow to the global economy. China has stood with other countries to fight COVID-19 and promote economic recovery, demonstrating a sense of responsibility as a major country and a commitment to building a community with a shared future for humankind.

"Facts have shown once again that amidst the raging torrents of a global crisis, countries are not riding separately in some 190 small boats, but are rather all in a giant ship on which our shared destiny hinges," Xi said at the 2022 WEF virtual session, calling for stronger solidarity.

"We must put people and their lives first," Xi said at the Global Health Summit in 2021, adding that "we must stick together and promote solidarity and cooperation," and "we must uphold fairness and equity to close the immunization gap."

With a strong sense of responsibility for the Chinese people and the international community, China quickly brought the epidemic at home under control to revive its economy and restore production. China was the first country to pledge to make its COVID-19 vaccines a global public good and launch a large-scale global humanitarian campaign. With a reliable supply of goods and efficient cross-border logistics networks, China has built a lifeline in the global fight against COVID-19 and protecting supply chains.

"China has always stuck together with the world through thick and thin," said Cambodian government chief spokesman Phay Siphan.

To achieve a balanced, coordinated and inclusive growth worldwide, Xi proposed the Global Development Initiative at the general debate of the 76th session of the UN General Assembly.

"No country can alone face such universal problems as COVID-19 and economic stagnation. All this just confirms Xi's vision for global governance," said former Egyptian Prime Minister Essam Sharaf.

President Xi's economic thinking has opened up a new horizon for strengthening global governance and promoting world development, said Sharaf. Enditem

(Xinhua correspondents Chen Weihua and Zhao Yan in Rio de Janeiro, Mao Pengfei and Wu Changwei in Phnom Penh, Zhu Wei in Kuala Lumpur, Zhang Jianhua in Vientiane, Wu Danni in Cairo, Huang He in Moscow, Pan Geping in Brussels also contributed to the story.)
ALGIERS, March 22 (Xinhua) -- Algerian and Chinese companies on Tuesday signed an agreement to establish a joint venture for an integrated phosphates project with an investment budget of 7 billion U.S. dollars, Algeria's energy giant Sonatrach said in a statement.

Under the new deal, the Algerian group Asmidal, a subsidiary of Sonatrach, and mining firm Manal agreed with the Chinese companies Wuhuan Engineering and Tian'An Chemical to launch a joint venture Algerian Chinese Fertilizers Company, with 56 percent of the shares owned by the Algerian party and the remaining 44 percent by the two Chinese firms.

This is the first integrated mining and fertilizers production project in Algeria, with a target of an annual production capacity of 5.4 million tons of fertilizers.

The project will exploit the phosphate deposit in the Bled El Hadba and Djebel Onk mine in the easternmost province of Tebessa, transform the product into fertilizer, and establish facilities in the port of the eastern province of Annaba to facilitate export.

The project is expected to generate some 12,000 jobs during the construction phase, and 6,000 direct jobs and 24,000 indirect jobs once the project starts production. 
COLOMBO, March 22 (Xinhua) -- Sri Lanka will seek the services of an international law firm to assist debt restructuring, which will be done with the aid of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), said a spokesman here on Tuesday.

The discussions with the IMF on debt restructuring will commence soon, said co-cabinet spokesman Ramesh Pathirana at a press conference.

Sri Lanka has in recent months been facing a foreign exchange shortage with its rupee now touching a record low following relaxed controls over exchange rates.

Pathirana said that the Sri Lankan government has taken a policy decision to work with the IMF as a way out of the ongoing crisis.

To assist with dealing with the IMF, the government appointed two committees, which recommended the government to hire a company to assist its engagement with the IMF, he said.

The company will be hired on a long-term basis and several senior officials from the Sri Lankan government have been entrusted with selecting the international law firm, he added. 
South Africa: Exxaro makes good on multibillion rand SA Investment Conference commitment

Coal mining giant, Exxaro, has invested at least R17 billion of the R20 billion the company committed to invest during the 2019 South Africa Investment Conference.

This was revealed by the companys Executive Head of Projects and Technology, Johan Meyer, at the mining giants Lephalale based operations in Limpopo.

The company utilised the funds on eight mega projects, which created some 6 712 jobs  nearly 60% of which were sourced from communities where the companys mines are based.

The 6 712 were the people on site. There were 70 000 people that we estimated worked in, [for example] galvanising the steel, manufacturing specific pieces of equipment [for] these projects. Just imagine 70 000 peoplenot our own workforce. Its a workforce that can build the country, thats building those skills, Meyer said.

The eight mega investment projects that Exxaro undertook are:

A R5.3 billion investment into the Grootegeluk Mine Complex expansion;

An extension of life project for the Matla Mine, worth R3.5 billion, is still ongoing;

The Belfast new mine development worth R3.3 billion;

The life of mine extension project of Mafube mine, in a joint venture worth at least R1.9 billion;

The Grootegeluk Rapid Load Out Station project, to the tune of at least R1.3 billion;

A R600 million investment in the Grootegeluk 'Discard In Pit' Project Backfill;

The Leeuwpan LifeX Project, and

A R340 million investment into the Exxaro Coal Centeral Seam 4, which has extended the life of the mine by at least 15 years.

A ninth project, which would have built the 630MW Thabametsi Power Station, was cancelled after the projects environmental approval was officially overturned by the high court.

Meyer explained that the company envisions that the investment made will have an impact on communities for decades to come.

The R17 billion is not a point solution. Its about the journey of that project that we design, execute and give it a legacy [for the next] 15 years, potentially 20 years, for the community to benefit from.

Its not about the [money] that we have successfully spent on time and on schedule; its the creation of empowering better lives in the context of the life of the mine that was extended by 15 years.

It is 15 years that people can [earn a living] on that project. The Leeuwpan Life Project is the same. That specific project of R500 million also extended that life of mine by 12 years. Just think about it. Thats 12 years earning a salary and spending that in the community. That adds significant value for the community, he said.

Meyer encouraged other leading companies to make their commitment during this years investment conference, due to be held on Thursday this week.

Leadership needs to dream about the future of South Africa, together with government and the President [Cyril Ramaphosa]. Dream more, do more and live more. Thats what we need in this country.

I think theres so much to do in South Africa to build the economy and to power better lives. So from Exxaros point of view, are we done? No, I think weve just started, he said.  SAnews.gov.za

This story has been published on: 2022-03-22. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
Too early to label Omicron infections as "big flu:" leading Chinese expert

Xinhua) 08:18, March 22, 2022

BEIJING, March 21 (Xinhua) -- It is too early to label Omicron variant infections as "big flu," a leading Chinese epidemiologist told Xinhua in the latest interview.

For individuals, the risk of severe symptoms caused by Omicron may decrease, but the virus spreads quickly, said Liang Wannian, head of the COVID-19 response expert panel under China's National Health Commission (NHC).

"If there is a large absolute number of people infected, the number of severe cases and deaths in the population as a whole will be high, which can still inflict great harm," he noted.

Liang stressed that the essence of China's dynamic zero-COVID approach is a swift response and targeted response measures.

"Once an outbreak is detected, we have a range of ways to nip it in the bud," he said. "The key lies in ensuring its early detection and disposal."

Liang warned against any slackness, hesitation, or the mentality of taking chances in the anti-COVID fight, saying that the virus can spread exponentially if it had not been detected in a timely manner or intervened immediately.

The dynamic zero-COVID approach, the Chinese public health policy that has been implemented to fight the coronavirus over the past two years, has proved to be effective in striking a good balance between epidemic prevention and control, economic, and social development, according to Liang.

The goal of this approach is to bring the epidemic under control in the shortest possible time with a minimum cost to society.

"If we do not pursue dynamic elimination of each sporadic outbreak, it will eventually evolve into a large-scale resurgence," he noted.

China has experienced a resurgence of COVID-19 since March with some provinces seeing a rapidly rising number of infections.

From March 1 to 18, more than 29,000 local infections were reported in 28 provincial-level regions across the Chinese mainland. More than 95 percent of COVID-19 patients in the latest outbreak have been mild or asymptomatic cases, NHC data showed.

The Chinese mainland on Sunday reported 1,947 locally transmitted COVID-19 cases and 2,384 new local asymptomatic cases.

"The latest resurgence in China does not mean that the country's COVID-19 response policy and measures are ineffective," Liang said.

The infections increased exponentially in many countries and regions in a short period of time since the Omicron variants rage across the world. "However, China has witnessed a slower increase in the number of infections, which is precisely because we have taken a series of effective intervention measures to curb the virus," he added.

(Web editor: Xia Peiyao, Liang Jun)
ISLAMABAD, March 22 (Xinhua) -- Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan here on Tuesday called for the unity of the Islamic world to deal with problems faced by Muslims across the globe and bring peace in the world.

Khan made the remarks during his keynote speech at the 48th session of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), which kicked off here on Tuesday.

According to the Foreign Ministry of Pakistan, global and regional landscapes, sustainable development and climate change are among the topics that will be discussed at the two-day session under the theme of "Building Partnerships for Unity, Justice and Development."

Talking about the Afghanistan issue, Khan said that the country has suffered a years-long conflict, adding that helping Afghanistan and removing sanctions on it is important for avoiding a humanitarian crisis and fighting terrorism.

Speaking at the session, Secretary-General of the OIC Hissein Brahim Taha called for concerted efforts by all member states of the OIC to counter challenges being faced by the Muslim community across the world.

Talking about Afghanistan, he said that efforts should be made to bring stability to the country, adding that Muslim countries should continue providing financial support to Afghanistan. 
TOKYO, March 22 (Xinhua) -- Japan's Industry Minister Koichi Hagiuda on Tuesday urged people living in Tokyo and eight other prefectures to lower the amount of electricity they consume due to a powerful earthquake that struck last week knocking out some thermal power plants.

Hagiuda's request comes amid an unseasonably cold weather front which saw parts of Tokyo hit by snow and sleet on Tuesday as the mercury plunged to below 2 degrees Celsius in some parts.

Following major utility Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc. (TEPCO) intimating there could be shortages in power supply in the regions it services, as some of its thermal power plants remain offline in the wake of Wednesday's quake, which rocked Japan's northeast, the government had previously issued a warning over a lack of electricity supply.

"The government may ask for greater cooperation in the future to reduce consumption, depending on how the situation evolves," Hagiuda told a press briefing on the matter.

According to TEPCO, also the owner and operator of the crisis-hit Daiichi nuclear power plant in Fukushima Prefecture, it had by 7:00 a.m. local time received reserves of power from other distributors, including those serving other areas of Japan.

Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), along with TEPCO, are requesting homes and businesses to conserve energy by keeping heating to a maximum of 20 degrees Celsius and by turning off lights that aren't needed.

Along with Tokyo, Hagiuda has asked for the prefectures of Ibaraki, Tochigi, Gunma, Saitama, Chiba, Kanagawa, Yamanashi and Shizuoka to follow suit and take measures to conserve power.

The industry ministry said the nation has not faced such a severe power supply crunch since the wake of the 2011 earthquake-triggered nuclear disaster at the plant in Fukushima.

At that time, such was the severity of the situation that rolling blackouts were issued. 
STOCKHOLM, March 22 (Xinhua) -- Two teachers were killed in a violent attack at a high school in the southern Swedish city of Malmo on Monday. This has been the third school attack in the country since last summer.

The suspect, an 18-year-old student at the school, was arrested at the scene ten minutes after the first emergency call was made. The two critically injured teachers, both women in their 50s, were rushed to hospital where they were later pronounced dead.

The Malmo latinskola (Latin School) in the heart of Sweden's third largest city has around 1,000 students. As the attack occurred late on Monday, only around 50 people were present in the building. Many of them were students rehearsing a musical, local media reported. They fled and found shelter. None of them were injured.

"I was at the school when it happened, and even though I didn't see what was happening it's tough because I knew all those involved. It feels as if I will never be able to go back to school and walk its corridors," one of the students told Swedish Television.

Due to the ongoing investigation, the police have only released scant details.

"We have seized weapons, but it is difficult to say which have been used before the forensic investigation is completed. However, no firearms were used," Malmo Police Chief Petra Stenkula told journalists on Tuesday.

She revealed that the suspect surrendered without incident and that he had no criminal record.

The motive behind the attack is still unknown, but the police are cooperating with the Swedish Security Service to investigate whether it was a hate crime.

No further official information is expected to emerge before the suspect is charged. Local media reported that the 18-year-old was armed with an axe and a knife.

This was the third school attack in Sweden since August last year, all of which took place within 90 kilometers of Malmo.

Monday's attack occurred only days after a higher court upheld the sentence of a 16-year-old boy, who had previously been found guilty of a similar attack in the town of Eslov in August 2021.

During the investigations of the Eslov attack, police discovered a death list with the names of several other students and evidence that it was a hate crime. The boy also filmed the attack and streamed the video live.

Nobody was killed in Eslov, but a teacher was injured. The boy, who was 15 at the time, was in December sentenced to 30 months in juvenile detention for attempted murder and related charges. Had he been 21 at the time of the attack, he could have been sentenced to life imprisonment.

The boy appealed, but last week a higher court confirmed his sentence.

Following another non-fatal school attack in Kristianstad 90 kilometers northeast of Malmo two months ago, the police found evidence that the 16-year-old suspect had been in contact with the boy behind the attack in Eslov.

Police investigating Monday's attack will look into whether the suspect was influenced by, or somehow connected to, these other perpetrators.

Concerns regarding security in Swedish schools have emerged following an attack in 2015, when a young man armed with a sword and a knife killed three people in Trollhattan in western Sweden before he was shot to death by police officers.

In 2016 and 2017, two students in Swedish schools were stabbed to death by fellow students following arguments.

Many Swedish schools have since participated in workshops where staff are trained on how to react to such attacks. 


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NEWS PROVIDED BY

Evangelical Outreach

March 22, 2022



WASHINGTON, Penn., March 22, 2022 /Christian Newswire/ -- The following is submitted by Dan Corner of Evangelical Outreach:

The beast system is very open about their 'Great Reset' and how they will reshape the world to their own design under the guise of health and safety for all. Intrinsically linked to the Great Reset and beast system, is the personal digital identity. That digital identity will be needed as a package deal for various functions, as Dakota Gruener stated:

"If you can't prove who you are, you have LIMITED access to health care, to education - to other social programs.Your ability to move across borders, to vote, to enroll in school - TO ACCESS A BANK ACCOUNT is limited or non-existent."

Vaccines and the personal digital identity are going to merge together. The skin patch microneedle vaccine (like a band-aid with tiny little spikes) leaves behind a scannable, but invisible-to-the-naked eye Quantum Dot Tattoo (QDT), that will store all your personal data, including proof of vaccination compliance. It will also be your digital ID in your own skin. That Digital Identity can only be obtained by receiving their gene-altering mRNA injection and which causes AIDS. Moreover, the QDT with the microneedle patch is also related to the new way of doing vaccines, as Bill Gates mentioned. By connecting the foregoing dots, the goals of the global powers become more clear and revealing, but the next piece of the puzzle gives us even more insight into their plan as the Trust Stamp is introduced:

"Trust Stamp is a vaccination based digital identity program funded by Bill Gates and implemented by Mastercard and GAVI, that will soon link your biometric digital identity to your vaccination records. The program said to 'evolve as you evolve' is part of the Global War on Cash and has the potential dual use for the purposes of surveillance and 'predictive policing' based on your vaccination history. Those who may not wish to be vaccinated may be locked out of the system based on their trust score."

Mastercard's association with vaccines implies our very dependence on "buying or selling" is linked to their injections, wrongly labeled "vaccines." To be more precise, concerning those who wisely decline from participating in their system, ID2020 Alliance was crystal clear in declaring the following consequence for refusal:

"As more and more transactions become digital in nature and are built around a single global identification standard, supported by Microsoft, the question of who will govern this evolving global community and economy becomes relevant. Especially since NONPARTICIPANTS IN THIS SYSTEM WOULD BE UNABLE TO BUY OR SELL GOODS OR SERVICES."

All of the above details map out the exact biblical prohibitions for all who do not receive the infamous mark of the beast (Rev. 13:16,17), while all who do tragically receive it "...will be tormented with burning sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment rises for ever and ever. There is no rest day or night for those who worship the beast and his image, or for anyone who receives the mark of his name. This calls for patient endurance on the part of the SAINTS who obey God's commandments and remain faithful to Jesus." (Rev 14:9-12)



That ultimate warning is most relevant for our day and it extends over to the saints, thereby proving that there can be NO ETERNAL SECURITY. IF Christians take the mark of the beast, they too will go to the lake of fire.



Bill Gates said in this particular interview, "we need a new way of doing vaccines," after which he mentioned making "VACCINES JUST A LITTLE PATCH you put on your arm," as he tapped the UNDERSIDE OF HIS WRIST. NOTE: when the New Testament was written, as seen in various Scriptures including Rev. 13:16,17, the location now referred to as the 'wrist' was also considered the "hand." Furthermore, Gates' "patch" vaccine that can be applied to the wrist can NOT be the RFID chip, which is old technology and very dissimilar to the Quantum Dot Tattoo.



The QDT co-delivered with the patch vaccine will serve as an on-the-person vaccination record. That same MARK will also be the needed DIGITAL IDENTITY mentioned for various things, including "buying or selling."



In summary, everything that has happened thus far from the Covid 19 SCAMdemic of 2020 to this "Russia Ukraine War" - and everything still yet to occur - are all part of the same agenda for the Great Reset, with the culmination and focal point being the mark of the beast on the physical body needed to "buy or sell," as mentioned in God's word (Rev. 13:16,17) as well as in ID2020 Alliance. The Bible is once again shown to be precisely and astonishingly accurate.



This life is a TEST; and in order to pass this specific test, you will need the type of endurance, faithfulness to the Lord Jesus and courage expressed in Rev. 13:10; 14:12 and 12:11. Remember, to "DIE IS GAIN" for the righteous overcomer (Phil. 1:21; Rev. 21:1-7; etc.), but certainly not for the unrighteous (Rev. 20:10; Mt. 25:46; Jude 7; etc.). TURN FROM YOUR SINS and place a SUBMISSIVE and ENDURING FAITH IN THE LORD JESUS for your personal salvation (Acts 20:21; 2 Pet. 3:9; 1 Cor. 6:9-11; Rev. 21:8; Eph. 5:5-7).



Come to the weekly Internet Church to get much more related information. Here is the March 2022 Internet Church and a printable pdf of this important article.
You know that feeling when youre riding a fancy brand-new rollercoaster and youre literally being smashed and banged around from side to side and never know what to expect next? Well, as cheesy as it sounds, I can think of no better analogy to describe my college experience  a rollercoast
White House short of key funding as U.S. braces for another COVID-19 surge: NBC

Xinhua) 08:19, March 22, 2022

WASHINGTON, March 21 (Xinhua) -- The White House is short of key funding for pandemic response as another COVID-19 surge is coming to the United States, NBC News has reported.

The U.S. administration "is bracing for a new wave of U.S. COVID infections in the coming weeks, without key funding or essential tools in its arsenal," said the report published Sunday.

Noting that much of the administration's return-to-normal COVID-19 plan is based on the assumption that billions of U.S. dollars would be distributed for COVID-19 treatments, vaccines and testing, the report said that the money "appears to be in jeopardy."

"Congress dropped 15.6 billion dollars in COVID response money from the massive government funding package signed this week," it noted.

"The federal government has already begun to cut back on purchases of COVID treatments, curtailing shipments of monoclonal antibodies to the states by 30 percent next week, and said a program to provide treatments and testing to the uninsured would run out next month," the report said.

It added that the White House does not have enough money to purchase more booster doses for each American.

The United States has so far reported more than 79 million COVID-19 infections and over 971,000 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University data.

Earlier this month, U.S. President Joe Biden called on Americans to return to the office and "fill our great downtowns again" in his State of the Union Address.

(Web editor: Xia Peiyao, Liang Jun)
Most Americans say U.S. headed in wrong direction: CNN

Xinhua) 08:19, March 22, 2022

WASHINGTON, March 21 (Xinhua) -- Most Americans believe that the United States is headed in the wrong direction, CNN reported, quoting a recent poll conducted by Monmouth University.

According to the report published last week, pollsters asked Americans to describe the United States in just a single word, and 1 out of every 10 respondents used "divided" and related words like "polarized," "conflicted" and "fractured."

Three-quarters of respondents used negative words to describe the state of the United States, and a whopping 73 percent said the country is on the wrong track, said the report.

(Web editor: Xia Peiyao, Liang Jun)
Coronado, CA (92118)

Today

Some clouds in the morning will give way to mainly sunny skies for the afternoon. High around 70F. Winds NW at 10 to 15 mph..

Tonight

Mostly clear skies. Low 54F. Winds NW at 5 to 10 mph.
Coronado, CA (92118)

Today

Some clouds in the morning will give way to mainly sunny skies for the afternoon. High around 70F. Winds NW at 10 to 15 mph..

Tonight

Mostly clear skies. Low 54F. Winds NW at 5 to 10 mph.
Dear Readers: Every year I step away from my column briefly to work on other creative projects.

Ill be back next week. Todays Best of topic from 10 years ago concerns workplace sexual harassment.

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Dear Amy: I have been working off and on as a freelance consultant for a nonprofit organization.

I work from a home office and take occasional meetings with employees of the nonprofit. I also meet with clients.

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Recently the organization hired a new director; I was working as a consultant on a project for the organization at the time.

Soon after his hiring, the new director asked to have lunch with me.

The new director and I went to a nearby restaurant to talk about possible future projects, etc.

At the end of the luncheon, as we were saying goodbye on the curb outside the restaurant, I reached my hand out to shake his.

Suddenly, he pulled me toward him and kissed me full on the lips.

I was so shocked that I said a weak goodbye and left him standing there.

I completed my assignment feeling awkward and wondering if I wanted to work with him in the future. This is not a decision I can make lightly as there are very few job opportunities in my area of expertise, and now I dont know what to do.

Amy, I would appreciate your perspective on this situation. I wonder if he has a problem that should be reported to the board of trustees.

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I also wonder if I am making too much of this.

Am I?

 Kissed Consultant

Dear Kissed: Addressing the question of whether you are making too much of this: Do your other colleagues and clients kiss you on the lips after a business meeting? Does this director kiss male colleagues and consultants on the lips after a meeting?

I assume the answer to both questions is no.

People who are subjected to unwanted sexual contact often wonder if they are overreacting. They are often also encouraged to doubt their own instincts.

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There is a very common-sense boundary around business meetings, and its not really that challenging or confusing to stay within the boundary. Physical contact after a business meeting should be confined to a handshake.

Yes, I believe you should write a letter to the board of trustees regarding this new employee.

Explain in very simple language what happened, i.e., At the end of our business lunch, when I extended my hand to shake his, Mr. Smith pulled me toward him and kissed me on the lips. I was shocked at the time, and upon reflection continue to be concerned about his conduct. In my experience consulting for this organization, I have always conducted myself professionally and until now have always been treated with professionalism, and respect.

If the board handles this well, expect to revive your business relationship and work with the organization in the future.  December 2012

Dear Amy: Your answer to Kissed Consultant was way off the mark. This consultant was kissed by a new director of the nonprofit she was consulting for, and you want her to notify the board of directors?

What if he misread her signals, or what if he is from another culture and didnt know any better?

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 Appalled

Dear Appalled: This man should already know better than to pull a business associate close and kiss her full on the lips after their first meeting.

One way to educate him would be for the board of directors to let him know what is and is not acceptable professional conduct.  December 2012

Dear Amy: I know you took flak for your response to the Kissed Consultant, who said that a male director of the nonprofit she was consulting for kissed her on the lips after a business lunch. You suggested she should notify the board of directors about this mans actions.

I thought your comments were right on. When this happened to me, I reported it to my boss (it was his boss who was the kisser).

He talked to his boss, who apologized.

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 Happened to Me

Dear Happened: Unless this sort of thing has happened to you, I dont know if people can understand what a violation this is from a business associate who, incidentally, is also a complete stranger.

No matter what the intention might have been, this is not an affectionate or friendly act, but one that seems aggressive. It is highly inappropriate.  December 2021

Got a question for Amy? Enter it here and well send it to her.

Sign up here to receive the Ask Amy newsletter to get advice e-mailed to your inbox every morning, and for a limited time  get the book "Ask Amy: Essential Wisdom from Americas Favorite Advice Columnist" for $5.

2021 Amy Dickinson.
Avon police placed these signs around town to alert the public about mail theft. Crews have been stealing checks from mail drop boxes in Avon and other towns. (Avon Police Department)

Thieves using line attached to rodent glue traps have snagged checks from U.S. mail collection boxes in several Connecticut towns, a lucrative catch used to drain victims bank accounts.

Avon police posted signs at drop boxes earlier this month warning people to avoid mailing cash and checks and to mail items inside the post office rather than using outdoor boxes.

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Mailbox fishing has been reported throughout the nation. Crews using rodent traps and other sticky devices attached to lines haul in envelopes, then pluck the checks and discard the rest. Using ink-removing chemicals, they wash the checks, altering names and amounts, authorities say.

West Hartford Capt. Eric Rocheleau said police have received several complaints from residents who reported stolen and altered checks. Detectives were investigating one case in which thieves used custom-made tools to remove mail from a postal drop box, Rocheleau said.

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This undated evidence photo provided by federal authorities shows mail filling the Charlotte, N.C., apartment of Erik Magana. Magana was sentenced to prison on Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2020, for mail theft and identity theft after authorities say he stole mail from at least 1,300 victims' mailboxes and then fraudulently deposited checks. (United States Postal Inspection Service via AP) (AP)

A longtime Farmington Valley resident who wished to remain anonymous said Monday that his elderly parents bank account was nearly wiped out recently after thieves stole two checks from a drive-up collection box off Route 44 in Avon. The crooks altered the amount on one check from $110 to $8,000 and cashed it, the man said.

The criminals then Photoshopped the checks and created blank checks with the same account number and victims name  so it essentially looked exactly like a blank check that you would have in your checkbook, the man said.

Then they started writing checks, and they forged my signature that was based on the signature of the two checks that they stole, he said.

The man said he learned Monday that the money was insured and will be replaced.

The U.S. Postal Inspection Service is investigating the thefts, agency spokeswoman Emily Spera said.

Every day, the U.S. Postal Service safely and efficiently delivers millions of checks, money orders, credit cards, and merchandise, Spera said. Unfortunately, such items are also attractive to thieves. Thats why Postal Inspectors across the country are at work to protect our customers mail.

Breaking News As it happens Get the latest updates on Coronavirus and other breaking news events happening across Connecticut >

Avon police are working with federal authorities investigating a steady stream of such thefts, which started last summer, police spokesman Lt. John Schmalberger said. Postal officials have retrofitted the larger drop box outside the main post office to prevent fishing, but the smaller box, which reads Express, has not been changed, Schmalberger said.

Postal service spokeswoman Amy Gibbs said Tuesday that all collection boxes in Connecticut are being changed to increase security.

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Schmalberger said the check-stealing crews drive along major thoroughfares like Route 44 and do their work quickly. On March 15, police in Scarsdale, New York, found stolen mail and sticky rat traps inside a crashed and abandoned car, according to the Scarsdale Inquirer newspaper.

In Philadelphia, check thieves have used keys to open collection boxes and haul away the entire contents, the Philadelphia Inquirer newspaper reported. Criminals steal the keys from mail carriers or pay the carriers thousands of dollars for the so-called arrow keys. A 2020 report by the U.S. Postal Service Inspector General found lax oversight of the keys.

The Postal Services management controls over arrow keys were ineffective, the report said. Specifically, the number of arrow keys in circulation is unknown, and local units did not adequately report lost, stolen, or broken keys or maintain key inventories. Further, the Postal Service did not restrict the number of replacement arrow keys that could be ordered. Ineffective controls over arrow keys increases the risk that these items will be lost or stolen and not detected.

Spera offered tips to prevent mail theft:

Hand outgoing mail to your letter carrier, or mail it inside at the post office or at a secure receptacle at your place of business.

Never send cash or coins in the mail. Use checks or money orders. Ask your bank for secure checks that are more difficult to alter.

If you see any suspicious substance, such as glue or other sticky product on a mailbox or mail receptacle, notify postal inspectors. Submit complaints at uspis.gov, or by calling 877-876-2455. By analyzing information from the complaint, inspectors can determine if the incident is part of a larger mail theft problem in the neighborhood and customers input may help inspectors catch the thieves.

Jesse Leavenworth can be reached at jleavenworth@courant.com
A Hartford woman who was found shot inside her home last week has died from her injuries, according to police.

Cynthia Reynolds, 62, died at Hartford Hospital on Monday afternoon, five days after she suffered a single gunshot wound, according to the Hartford Police Department.

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Police responded about 1:05 p.m. on March 16 to reports of a person shot at 115 Irving Street, a red three-family home owned by Reynolds since 2018, according to city property records.

When officers arrived at the home, Reynolds was alert and conscious, police said. Her injuries were not believed to be life-threatening and she was taken by ambulance to Hartford Hospital where her condition was stabilized, according to Lt. Aaron Boisvert with the Hartford police.

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She was pronounced dead at the hospital at 1:42 p.m. Monday, Boisvert said.

A medical examiner had not yet ruled on the cause or manner of her death, according to the Connecticut Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.

Police said they do not believe Reynolds was the intended target of the shooting and their investigation is ongoing. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Hartford Police Department tip line at 860-722-8477.
When a dump truck driver saw a man about to jump from the second-floor of a burning building in Willimantic Tuesday, he knew exactly what to do.

Guided by police, Peter Dameron backed up the uncovered trailer full of construction debris to the side of the building and let the fire victim jump in.

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The man was airlifted to a Rhode Island hospital to be treated for smoke inhalation and burns to his arms and hands, Fire Chief Marc Scrivener said. Police drove two others to the hospital themselves after making at least one other rescue at the downtown building in the moments before firefighters pulled up.

Were so grateful for their help, Scrivener said.

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Firefighters and police help a fire victim who jumped out of a burning building into a dump truck full of construction debris in Willimantic Tuesday morning. Peter Dameron, the truck driver, is wearing the yellow vest. (Photo by Nicholas Lucas)

Firefighters were called to 1161-1163 Main St. shortly before 9 a.m., he said.

Two detectives were driving by and they saw the fire, Scrivener said. They ran to the top floor, kicked open a door and grabbed at least one person.

More police began arriving, and they saw a person threatening to jump from a second-story window.

Up drove Dameron, 52, a public works employee and longtime volunteer firefighter in Griswold. He asked how he could help, he said.

They were looking for a ladder, Dameron said. Downtown Willimantic, I dont think people leave ladders hanging around.

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He asked if he could back up the giant trailer for the victim to step into, and they said yes.

This is the scene of the fire in Willimantic that a victim escaped by jumping out a window into the back of a loaded dump truck. (Photo by Patrick Dooley/Squad Fire Photos)

Dameron estimated the victim jumped 3 to 4 feet. The man was conscious and able to speak, he said. Retired Willimantic Fire Capt. Nicholas Lucas arrived at the scene at the same time as firefighters and took a picture of Dameron with police and firefighters as they cared for the man in the back of the trailer.

The three-story building, which houses a hair salon and spa on the first floor and apartments on the second and third, are now unlivable, Scrivener said. Theres fire damage on the second floor, water damage on the first and smoke damage on the third.

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As for Dameron, who was on his way to Willimantic Waste at the time of the fire, it was just another day.

Ive been a firefighter since I was 18 years old, he said. Its something you do.

Im just glad that he was OK.

Christine Dempsey may be reached at cdempsey@courant.com.
Chef Tyler Anderson and Barbara Shaw, executive director Hands on Hartford, are spearheading an effort beginning this fall to open a community cafe that will include dinners created through a monthly rotation of guest chefs creating $35 prix fixe offerings. (Mark Mirko/The Hartford Courant)

Come fall, there will be a new gourmet restaurant serving dinner in an unexpected place: at Hands On Hartford.

Gather55 will open at the 55 Bartholomew Ave. nonprofit social service organization, Hands on Hartford announced. The projected opening date is Oct. 5.

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By day, Hands on Hartford will continue what it has done for 53 years, providing shelter and health resources for the citys marginalized population, with an expansion of its community cafe program planned for May. By night, Wednesday to Saturday, some of the regions top chefs will take over the kitchen, serving high-end prix fixe meals to anyone who makes a reservation.

Guiding the project is Tyler Anderson, owner of the acclaimed Simsbury restaurant Millwrights. Anderson will be the first chef to inaugurate Gather55 and will be a liaison between other chefs and Hands on Hartford.

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Our focus will stay the same, our deep commitment to the community.  This is an opportunity to up our game a bit, said Barbara Shaw, executive director of Hands on Hartford. We will serve anyone no matter how much you pay or if you cant pay anything at all.

Kim Burton, chef with Hands On Hartford, prepares lunch for clients. The social service organization presently provides over 100 meals for breakfast and lunch and is teaming with celebrity chef Tyler Anderson to open a community cafe that will include dinners created through a monthly rotation of guest chefs creating $35 prix fixe offerings. (Mark Mirko/The Hartford Courant)

Anderson said the projected cost of a meal  appetizer, entree and dessert  will be $35. That is subject to change depending on the cost of ingredients. Those who can afford the meal will pay full price. Those who can afford more than that are welcome to pay more. Those who can afford less can pay less. A number of seats each night will be set aside for those who cant pay at all.

A $35 prix fixe meal isnt something youd get at any of my restaurants. Its a lot more approachable than the $65 prix fixe youd get at Millwrights, Anderson said.

Approximately 50 people per night will be served, Anderson said. Meatless and gluten-free options will be offered alongside the primary dinner. Beer and wine will cost extra.

Molly Reynolds, shared kitchen and cafe manager, said waitstaff will be Hands on Hartford employees. Reynolds said they do not expect tips and all tips given will be considered donations to Hands on Hartford.

Shaw said many clients of Hands on Hartford, even if they are needy, want to be able to pay at least something.

We know some folks, seniors especially, who dont want to come out for a meal if it feels like charity, she said. The ability to pay something is important.

Volunteer Jessica Probolus makes grilled cheese sandwiches in the kitchen at Hands On Hartford. The social service organization presently provides over 100 meals for breakfast and lunch and is teaming with celebrity chef Tyler Anderson to open a community cafe that will include dinners created through a monthly rotation of guest chefs creating $35 prix fixe offerings. (Mark Mirko/The Hartford Courant)

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Anderson settled on a monthly rotation of chefs, serving the same meal every day during their rotation, to keep the program eclectic without making it too hectic. We want to give people variety, but we dont want to overwhelm this place, he said. The last thing I wanted is to create a concept that would be a burden to Hands on Hartford.

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Anderson said chefs will provide the recipes and will be present to launch their months, but Hands on Hartford employees will staff the kitchen. The organization is currently searching for an executive chef.

The dining rooms will be renovated with dark wood paneling to match the vintage woodwork on some of the walls, said John Mitchell, Hands on Hartfords director of food, nutrition and culinary services.

Reynolds said Hands on Hartford consulted with A Place at the Table, a pay-what-you-can cafe in Raleigh, North Carolina. Mitchell said the project also takes inspiration from JBJ Soul Kitchen, a New Jersey community restaurant founded by rock star Jon Bon Jovi. We know this model works in in other communities, he said.

Shaw said the pay-what-you-can model of Gather55 aims to promote a feeling of equity among members of the community.

Equity does all kinds of important things. It helps hold people up. It shores them up. It makes them feel they are worthy, she said.

Susan Dunne can be reached at sdunne@courant.com.
A man reacts standing near his house ruined after Russian shelling in Kyiv, Ukraine, Monday, March 21, 2022. At least eight people were killed in the attack. (Efrem Lukatsky/AP)

Ukrainian forces fought off continuing Russian efforts to occupy Mariupol and claimed to have retaken a strategic suburb of Kyiv on Tuesday, mounting a defense so dogged that it is stoking fears Russias Vladimir Putin will escalate the war to new heights.

Putins back is against the wall, said U.S. President Joe Biden, who is heading to Europe this week to meet with allies. And the more his back is against the wall, the greater the severity of the tactics he may employ.

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Biden reiterated accusations that Putin is considering resorting to using chemical or biological weapons, though Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said the U.S. has seen no evidence to suggest that such an escalation is imminent.

The warnings came as attacks continued in and around Kyiv and Mariupol, and people escaped the battered and besieged port city.

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The hands of one exhausted Mariupol survivor were shaking as she arrived by train in the western city of Lviv.

Theres no connection with the world. We couldnt ask for help, said Julia Krytska, who was helped by volunteers to make it out with her husband and son. People dont even have water there.

Explosions and bursts of gunfire shook Kyiv, and heavy artillery fire could be heard from the northwest, where Russia has sought to encircle and capture several the capitals suburban areas.

Early Tuesday, Ukrainian troops drove Russian forces from the Kyiv suburb of Makariv after a fierce battle, Ukraines Defense Ministry said. The regained territory allowed Ukrainian forces to retake control of a key highway and block Russian troops from surrounding Kyiv from the northwest.

Still, the Defense Ministry said Russian forces partially took other northwest suburbs, Bucha, Hostomel and Irpin, some of which have been under attack almost since Russia invaded nearly a month ago.

A Western official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss military assessments, said Ukrainian resistance has brought much of Russias advance to a halt but has not sent Moscows forces into retreat.

Western officials say Russian forces are facing serious shortages of food, fuel and cold weather gear, leaving some soldiers suffering from frostbite. Ukrainians have reported hungry soldiers looting stores and homes for food.

The invasion has driven more than 10 million people from their homes, almost a quarter of Ukraines population, according to the United Nations.

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Thousands of civilians are believed to have died. Estimates of Russian military casualties vary widely, but even conservative figures by Western officials are in the low thousands.

On Monday, Russias pro-Kremlin Komsomolskaya Pravda newspaper, citing the Defense Ministry, reported that almost 10,000 Russian soldiers had been killed. The report was quickly removed, and the newspaper blamed hackers. The Kremlin refused to comment. The Western official said the figure is a reasonable estimate.

Facing unexpectedly stiff resistance that has left the bulk of Moscows ground forces miles from the center of Kyiv, Putins troops are increasingly concentrating their air power and artillery on Ukraines cities and civilians.

Talks to end the fighting have continued by video. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said he would be prepared to consider waiving any bid by Ukraine to join NATO  a key Russian demand  in exchange for a cease-fire, the withdrawal of Russian troops and a guarantee of Ukraines security.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he saw progress in the talks.

From my outreach with various actors, elements of diplomatic progress are coming into view on several key issues, and the gains are enough to end hostilities now, he said. He gave no details.

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The Western official, though, said that there were no signs Moscow was ready to compromise.

In the last update from Mariupol officials, they said March 15 that at least 2,300 people had died in the siege. But there are fears the toll could be much higher. Airstrikes over the past week devastated a theater and an art school where many civilians were taking shelter.

Thousands have managed to flee Mariupol, where the bombardment has cut off electricity, water and food supplies and severed communication with the outside world. The city council said Tuesday that more than 1,100 people who had escaped the siege were in a convoy of buses heading to a city northwest of Mariupol.

But the Red Cross said a humanitarian aid convoy trying to reach the city with desperately needed supplies still had not been able to enter.

Perched on the Sea of Azov, Mariupol is a crucial port for Ukraine and lies along a stretch of territory between Russia and Crimea. The siege has cut the city off from the sea and allowed Russia to establish a land corridor to Crimea.

But its not clear how much of the city Russia holds, with fleeing residents saying fighting continues street by street.

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A senior U.S. defense official, speaking condition of anonymity to give the Pentagons assessment, said Russian ships in the Sea of Azov were shelling Mariupol. The official said there were about seven Russian ships in that area, including a minesweeper and a couple of landing vessels.

Ukraines Defense Ministry said that troops defending the city had destroyed a Russian patrol boat and electronic warfare complex. Britains Defense Ministry said Ukrainian forces continue to repulse Russian attempts to occupy Mariupol.

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Those who have made it out of Mariupol told of a devastated city.

They bombed us for the past 20 days, said 39-year-old Viktoria Totsen, who fled into Poland. During the last five days the planes were flying over us every five seconds and dropped bombs everywhere  on residential buildings, kindergartens, art schools, everywhere.

Beyond the terrible human toll, the war has shaken the post-Cold War global security consensus, imperiled the world supply of key crops, and raised worries it could set off a nuclear accident.

Wildfires broke out near the decommissioned Chernobyl nuclear power plant, but Ukraines natural resources minister said the flames had been extinguished and radiation was within normal levels. Chernobyl in 1986 was the scene of the worlds worst nuclear disaster.

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As part of a series of addresses to foreign legislatures, Zelenskyy urged Italian lawmakers to strengthen sanctions against Moscow, noting many wealthy Russians have homes in the country.

Dont be a resort for murderers, he said from Kyiv.

Anna reported from Lviv, Ukraine. Associated Press writer Yuras Karmanau in Lviv, and other AP journalists around the world contributed to this report.
Netizens call out 'rude' CBS news host for heckling Chinese envoy

(CGTN) 08:23, March 22, 2022

Chinese Ambassador Qin Gang appeared on CBS News program "Face the Nation" hosted by the channel's news anchor Margaret Brennan, to put out Beijing's position on Russia-Ukraine conflict. (Photo/CGTN Graphics)

An American TV news host's repeated heckling of a Chinese envoy during a televised interview is being denounced by netizens, who have called out the media person for her visible bias against the Chinese guest.

Chinese Ambassador to the U.S. Qin Gang appeared on CBS News program "Face the Nation" hosted by the channel's news anchor Margaret Brennan, to put out Beijing's position on the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

Short clips of the nine-minute interview, that was aired on Sunday by the American news broadcaster, have now gone viral on social media, showing a hostile Brennan repeatedly interrupting Qin with netizens criticizing the anchor for "rude" and "unprofessional" behavior.

Qin was "interrupted 23 times by this U.S. hostess, in 9 minutes! Seriously, Americans should learn what is politeness, respect and well-educated. They look very impolite, rude and ill-bred," tweeted ShanghaiPanda (@thinking_panda).

A screenshot of ShanghaiPanda's tweet. /@thinking_panda

ShanghaiPanda's tweet included a short clip of the interview compiling all Brennan's 23 interruptions with Chinese subtitles that has gone viral on Chinese video-sharing platform Douyin (the Chinese version of TikTok).

CGTN analyst Shen Shiwei tweeted a comparison of Brennan's "Face the Nation" interviews with American and Ukrainian officials on the same day to reveal that the anchor didn't interrupt those guests a single time.

A screenshot of Shen Shiwei's tweet. /@shen_shiwei

"Absolutely disrespectful. She was not interested to learn anything from the interview. She had a political agenda to fulfil. Understanding China's position is NOT allowed on mainstream US media," argued Twitter user CryptoMoon (@moondance0602). "In a free country we are only free to hear one tune: THE DRUMS OF WAR."

"Who is this smug &badtameez (Urdu word for rude) anchor," questioned New Jersey-based journalist Sameera Khan tagging another clip of the video.

A screenshot of Sameera Khan's tweet /Twitter @SameeraKhan

"Kudos to @AmbQinGang for remaining polite  blowing up at this smug &obnoxious anchor," she added in a subsequent tweet praising the Chinese ambassador's calm responses to Brennan's provocative interruptions.

This "seemed more like a prosecution than an interview," Khan opined.

A screenshot of Sameera Khan's tweet tagged with Hermela Aregawi's tweet. /@SameeraKhan and @HermelaTV

Another journalist, Hermela Aregawi, called out the double standards of the American media. "If the anchor had the same attitude &approach but her perspective didn't line up with U.S. govt's take, MSM (main stream media) would say she's being biased. But since she's 'in line', she's being a 'tough journalist'," she contended.

"At least let the guest finish his thought So cringey." the Los Angeles-based scribe added.

The episode is an illustration of how a large section of the American and Western media uses different yardsticks, bordering on hostility and aggression, while approaching individuals and news stories from China, and even Russia, vis-a-vis their counterparts elsewhere.

In the "Face the Nation" interview, Qin statedthat China is part of the solution and not part of the problem in the conflict.

"What China is doing is sending foods, medicine, sleeping bags and baby formula, not weapons and ammunition to any party," he told the host, rejecting claims of China providing military assistance to Russia as disinformation.

"We are against wars, as I said, we will do everything to de-escalate the crisis," he said.

The Chinese envoy also said that China's relationship with Russia is not a liability but an asset in the international efforts to solve the crisis in a peaceful way.

(Web editor: Xia Peiyao, Liang Jun)
A state police internal investigation concluded that a rookie trooper stole a gun magazine from a Newington store, but the store owner did not press charges.

Trooper trainee Romello Lumpkin was suspended for 10 days for conduct unbecoming a trooper. Lumpkin said he felt terrible about the incident and the negative effect on the agency, but he did not mean to take the $54 magazine last year, according to the report obtained Tuesday.

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Lumpkin, who was hired in January 2021, had gone to the Newington Gun Exchange at 210 Market Square on Sept. 11, saying he wanted to buy a magazine for a personal handgun. He ended up leaving with one magazine he paid for and another that he picked up off the counter and concealed in his waistband, the report by Capt. Seth Mancini said.

Lumpkin told a store employee who called that evening about the missing magazine that he didnt know how it happened and would return it, but he did not bring it back until five days later, the report said. The store also alerted Newington police about the incident.

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Newington Officer Thomas Bugbee told state police investigators that although Lumpkin said the incident was a misunderstanding, Lumpkins behavior, including waiting until no store workers were watching and looking around at surveillance cameras, was standard shoplifter behavior, Mancini wrote.

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Trooper First Class Jeffrey Meninno heard about the incident while working at the Special Licensing and Firearms Unit. Meninno told investigators his partner was talking with an employee of the Newington store, who mentioned that a state trooper had stolen a magazine. The worker said, however, that the store owner didnt want to end somebodys career before it started, Meninno said, according to the report.

But Meninno said he called the store worker back and said that Lumpkin didnt deserve any consideration and that he is someone that the state is going to be strapped with for the next 25 years, Mancini wrote.

Ultimately, the store owner declined to press charges, but wanted Lumpkin banned from ever returning to the store.

Lumpkin told investigators that if he had intended to steal anything, he would not have used a personal credit card or identified himself with a photo ID, Mancini wrote.

Mancini concluded that evidence showed Lumpkin intentionally left the store with a magazine he did not pay for. Even if the facts showed the act was not intentional, he wrote, the five-day delay in returning the magazine weighed against Lumpkin.

A representative of public safety Commissioner James Rovella declined to comment.

Jesse Leavenworth can be reached at jleavenworth@courant.com
New Britain State's Attorney Brian Preleski, left, and Rev. John Walker, leaders of a new program meant to help kids who witness violence. (Julia Bielecka/Julia Bielecka)

Children who witness every kind of cruelty and violence, from verbal assaults to murder, are the focus of a pilot program in central Connecticut.

The consistent thread I see is that kids tend to be resilient if you give them the resources to cope, New Britain States Attorney Brian Preleski said Tuesday.

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Preleski is leading the recently launched program, called States Attorneys Violence Eradication and Disruption (SAVED), with help from Rev. John Walker, a retired police officer and senior pastor of the Saint James Missionary Baptist Church in New Britain. Inspectors in the prosecutors office, along with school and community leaders and police also are partners in the Division of Criminal Justice program, which is centered on New Britain, Bristol, Newington and Wethersfield.

The goal is to identify children affected by trauma and help them deal, primarily through counseling, with the dark scenes replaying in their minds. Exposure to violence in childhood, according to mental health and criminal justice experts, increases risks of substance abuse, mental health problems and criminal behavior into adulthood.

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Childrens reactions to violence, Preleski and Walker said, range from shutting down to perpetrating violence themselves. The vital role for him, Walker said, is connecting with affected kids and gaining their trust through regular communication.

These kids want to make sure that someone hears them, he said. My job is to build a rapport with them, to let them know that Im there for them... These kids are very perceptive  they want to know they can trust you.

The program also seeks to educate parents, grandparents and other family members about the lasting impact of childhood trauma. Program leaders say intervention is critical to breaking multi-generational cycles of violence, substance abuse and criminal justice involvement.

We are painfully aware of how exposure to violence can affect a childs well-being, New Britain Mayor Erin E. Stewart said. Its a multifaceted impact that requires a holistic approach to healing.

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The idea for the SAVED program, Preleski said, came from a summer conference of the National District Attorneys Association. Prosecutors from Colorado and Alabama described the long-term, corrosive effects on children who witness violence and how a community effort can help them.

A primary focus in the investigation and prosecution of violent crimes is the victims who are injured, killed and psychologically damaged. But kids who see and hear such incidents suffer, too. Preleski offered the example of a child telling a parent about seeing his friend shot.

Your first instinct as a parent is to say, Oh, thank God it wasnt you. Thank God youre OK,  he said, but that is a tough experience for that kid. He will relive that in his mind again and again.

SAVED is the most forward-looking, prevention-focused program ever initiated by the criminal justice division, Preleski said. Much of the divisions work is triage, he said, but this effort seeks positive changes 10 or 15 years from now. He said he hopes the pilot program can be continued and expanded.

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Id like to think this is just smart, Preleski said.

The U.S. Department of Justices Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention recognizes the depth of the problem and funds efforts to help kids exposed to violence throughout the nation, according to a description of programs on its website, https://ojjdp.ojp.gov/programs/children-exposed-violence.

Jesse Leavenworth can be reached at jleavenworth@courant.com
With a spotlight on the enduring issue of domestic and family violence in Connecticut, advocates and lawmakers considered a slew of bills that would enhance support for victims of violence and crack down on harmful interactions with children during a public hearing of the Judiciary Committee Monday. Photograph by Mark Mirko | mmirko@courant.com (Mark Mirko / Hartford Courant/Hartford Courant)

With a spotlight on the enduring issue of domestic and family violence in Connecticut, advocates and lawmakers Monday considered bills that would enhance support for victims of violence and crack down on harmful interactions with children during a public hearing of the Judiciary Committee.

One measure, Senate Bill No. 5, would appropriate $1.44 million in the 2023 fiscal year to fund 18 domestic violence child and family advocates at agencies statewide, as well as combat online abuse by requiring dating apps to verify the identity of each user, criminalize child grooming, and enhance workplace protections for victims of domestic violence.

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Testifying in support of the bill, Senate President Pro Tempore Sen. Martin Looney, D-New Haven, said that children and adults fleeing family violence face limited options as they seek help.

File- Connecticut State Senate Pro Temp Martin Looney, D-New Haven, speaks with the press outside the Senate Chamber in 2022. Photograph by Mark Mirko | mmirko@courant.com (Mark Mirko/The Hartford Courant)

Too often, the adult victims of domestic violence are forced to miss work to address the physical and mental health demands, divorce implications, temporary homelessness, financial fallout and these already suffering people should not lose their jobs as a second injustice, Looney said, noting the bills intent to impel employees to provide accommodations for the victims of domestic violence.

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An investigative series published last year by Hearst Connecticut Media Group drew attention to the nearly 300 people who have died of intimate partner violence in Connecticut over the past two decades and noted gaps in the states system of addressing domestic violence, including stagnant funding for organizations that support victims of domestic violence.

Liza Andrews, the director of public policy and communications for the Connecticut Coalition Against Domestic Violence, a membership organization of the states 18 domestic violence service organizations, praised the increased funding that Senate Bill No. 5 would provide. Andrews noted that the organizations assist more than 4,000 children annually, but that current funding levels mean that our advocates simply do not have enough time to address the complex needs of these kids.

Testimony on the bill was not unanimously positive, however.

Amber Vlangas, the executive director of the Restorative Action Alliance, emphasized that while her organization supports the spirit of the legislative proposal, it was opposed to a provision that would criminalize child grooming.

We dont feel that expanding the criminal code is a good strategy and this is what gave rise to mass incarceration, and we favor a public health approach, Vlangas said.

Another bill under consideration, House Bill No. 5468, would criminalize harmful communication with a minor, including by sharing sexual images of the minor or by forming or maintaining an inappropriate relationship with a minor.

State Rep. Mary Welander, D-Orange, testified in favor of the bill, noting that online exploitation and abuse of children has become more prevalent and subversive.

It is no longer just the stereotype of the stranger in the van that we have to worry about  it is the stranger across the state or the country who sends your child a message when they are sitting right next to you, Welander said.

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Discussion of another measure, House Bill No. 5467, centered on concerns raised by a number of advocates about a provision of the bill that would give equal access to written reports of violence provided by a family violence intervention unit.

Katherine Verano, the chief executive officer of Safe Futures, a New London-based organization serving victims of domestic violence, raised questions about the bills stipulation that a local family violence intervention unit provide a copy of any written report that has been prepared for presentation to the court at any stage of a criminal proceeding, to the prosecuting authority, the defendant and the defendants counsel.

Under the proposal, material shared between the advocate, victim and family relations counselor could be disclosed, Verano said, emphasizing that she was concerned about maintaining privileged communication between a victim and advocate.

Disclosing victim information to the defendant and the defendants counsel would substantially increase a victims risk of further violence immediately following an arraignment, she warned.

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State Sen. Mae Flexer, D-Killingly, vice chair of the committee, emphasized that it was important for members of the committee to understand the chilling effect that the proposal could have on victims.

Karen Foley OConnor, the executive director and CEO of The Network Against Domestic Abuse in Enfield and a former state trooper, emphasized that making a victims statements available to a defendant could be dangerous  or even fatal.

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Its really about not arming the defendant with more information to get them more angry and possibly retaliate the moment that were released, OConnor said.

State Sen. John Kissel, R-Enfield, noted that People will be very hesitant to be completely...revealing in this process if they feel that any of this information could end up endangering them down the road.

Jenn Lawlor, co-founder of Violent Crime Survivors, testified in favor of another measure, House Bill No. 5470, which would ensure that the victim of a crime has participatory rights in any hearing concerning a violation of probation or conditional discharge involving the defendant. Lawlor said that she supported any and all opportunities to better incorporate victims and their families in the legal process.

I can speak with certainty that the very few rights victims and co-victims are given caused tremendous emotional and psychological duress, said Lawlor, whose 25-year-old daughter Emily Todd was killed in Bridgeport in 2018 (Her ex-boyfriend is charged with murder and is awaiting trial). The gap between the rights of the accused and the rights of the victims and their families create immediate as well as both lasting and permanent effects, making healing from the crimes committed against them indescribably harder.

Eliza Fawcett can be reached at elfawcett@courant.com.
Connecticut legislators are trying to crack down on the widespread thefts and resale of catalytic converters from automobiles. The issue is a national problem, as shown in the photo from Utah as a mechanic replaces a worn out catalytic converter on a vehicle. (Francisco Kjolseth/The Salt Lake Tribune/AP)

HARTFORD  Facing a major outbreak of thefts, a key legislative committee voted Tuesday to crack down on the sale of stolen catalytic converters from automobiles.

The public safety committee voted unanimously to prohibit junkyards and motor vehicle recyclers from receiving a catalytic converter that is not attached to a vehicle. That move is designed to stop criminals from cutting converters off cars and bringing them to junkyards in return for cash.

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Both Republicans and Democrats say the thefts are a growing problem in towns around the state as thieves sell the converters for hundreds of dollars. The items are valuable because they contain precious metals that include platinum, rhodium, and palladium.

The seven-page bill would require record-keeping by scrap metal processors and others for at least two years to track the sales and include any identification numbers on the converters, as well as the name, address and drivers license number of the seller. The measure would also limit a seller to only one converter per day per licensee, and the transactions would need to be made by check, not cash. The junk dealers would need to file weekly reports with the state police on their transactions in a closely watched system.

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Theres no doubt that its widespread and affecting the entire state and around the country, said Brian J. Foley, a top aide to public safety commissioner James C. Rovella. Much like with the copper thefts that we used to see with all the copper being stolen, the best way to control that is at the recycle yards. Thats what this bill looks to do. This, I believe, will help with the catalytic converter thefts.

Using a battery-powered saw, an experienced criminal can slice the converter off the car in less than two minutes, police say.

Tuesdays vote came during the public safety committees final meeting of the session as legislative committees are now facing deadlines to pass bills. All bills require final approval by the House and Senate as the regular session heads toward adjournment on May 4.

Converters have been stolen nationwide  with increases that started spiking with the coronavirus pandemic in early 2020. The reason is that the metals needed to create the converters are worth hundreds of dollars upon resale.

The thefts have occurred in numerous towns. In Glastonbury, thefts have jumped to a record-breaking 56 so far in less than three full months this year, compared to only 14 for the entire year in 2020, according to police statistics.

In Windsor Locks, 26 converters have been stolen from a plumbing and heating contractor, according to police.

School buses have been vandalized in Vernon and other towns as thieves arrive at night in the yards where the buses are parked. Last year, converters were stolen from 28 parked buses in Trumbull  knocking out the entire bus fleet. The damage reached about $75,000 because each bus was equipped with two converters.

Some thieves have been particularly emboldened, creating dangerous situations as they flee when police arrive.

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In Windsor Locks recently, a detective narrowly escaped injury at 2:15 a.m. when he arrived as a catalytic converter was being sawed off a vehicle at a hotel parking lot, police said. The detective reportedly saw the car fall to the ground after a jack that held it up was released. The thief then drove directly at the officers marked police car and missed it by inches before escaping, police said.

A chase was called off under a statewide pursuit policy that generally outlaws chases for property crimes in an attempt to avoid injuries of police and innocent bystanders who could be struck during a chase.

In Farmington, Officer James ODonnell suffered serious injuries when he was struck by a fleeing, stolen vehicle on Sept. 20 after going to a scene on a call about a suspected stolen catalytic converter. ODonnell was squeezed between his police car and a car driven by New Britain resident Pedro Acevedo, who was charged with first-degree assault and other criminal counts.

ODonnell endured two surgeries and now has a permanent screw in the bone between his hips and tailbone.

In other matters, the committee approved a multifaceted bill that includes disallowing any discipline against police officers for receiving mental health services related to a behavioral health assessment, sets aside $100,000 for training on crisis intervention, and requires a study to determine how many calls to the 911 emergency system would be better handled by the 211 Infoline system. The bill would also create a task force that will study the mental health needs of police.

Rep. Greg Howard, a Republican who also serves as a Stonington police detective, said the committee had kicked off a great start to the session" with bipartisan support of various bills.

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The committee also approved a bill that would allow a police officer to take a person into protective custody when the officer has reasonable cause to believe that such person is experiencing a narcotics overdose." But Democrats said the bill still needs to be improved because the measure is opposed by the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services, the state public health department, and the Connecticut Association of Paramedics and EMTs, among others.

Rep. Carol Hall, an Enfield Republican, said the bill was a nice compromise" that is asking for a lesser action than the police have the ability to do now" because officers can actually make arrests when someone is involved in drug overdoses."

She added, It is not seeking to arrest or incarcerate or hold anyone against their will. ... This is not a mandatory custody. It is simply a transport for the medical help they need."

But Robert Glaspy, Jr., representing the paramedics, said, Our concern is that this bill could deter witnesses from activating the 911 system in fear of having their loved one taken into custody. In recent years, many efforts have been made, including not criminally charging opiate overdose patients, to prevent unnecessary death due to fear of calling 911. We are worried that passing this bill would negate all those efforts."

Christopher Keating can be reached at ckeating@courant.com
John Adkins of Get Green Remodeling installs a blower door to measure air leaks during a home energy audit in this file photo. Gov. Ned Lamont is sponsoring a bill that would require all rental properties to come with an energy label. (Eduardo Contreras)

Refrigerators and washing machines are sold with bright yellow stickers that detail how much energy the appliance uses. Cars come with mileage estimates.

But prospective renters have no idea how much they will spend to heat and cool their homes.

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Advocates, including Gov. Ned Lamont, are pushing for legislation to change that, supporting a bill that would require residential rental properties to carry a label that provides a snapshot of the units energy efficiency.

This bill puts more control over energy use into the hands of consumers,' Katie S. Dykes, commissioner of the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, said in written testimony to the legislatures housing committee.

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It requires property owners to provide information about a homes energy consumption to potential renters through a home energy label,' she said.

Such labels, Dykes said, act like a miles-per-gallon rating for a home, giving renters the power to choose to live in a more efficient home.

Rental property owners who fail to comply could be fined $500, a provision that prompted an association representing Connecticut landlords to call the proposal a new burden.

Several other states, including Alaska, Hawaii, Kansas, Maine, New York and South Dakota, have passed similar laws. Chicago has required energy labels detailing the units yearly energy consumption since 1987.

The Connecticut measure, House Bill 5041, was endorsed by the Housing Committee last week. The House of Representatives and the Senate have yet to consider the proposal.

It won the support of a wide range of environmental and housing advocates, who say it could help drive down Connecticuts highest-in-the-nation energy costs and provide transparency for consumers.

Emily Basham said it cost her $1,700 to heat her New Haven apartment last year.

Requiring energy labeling in rental units through HB 5041 would prevent families from being blindsided by unaffordable energy costs, she said.

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Charles J. Rothenberger, a climate and energy attorney with Save the Sound, said it would encourage landlords to invest in making their properties more energy efficient in order to stay competitive in the rental market.

Connecticut has a significant amount of older housing stock that falls well below modern standards for energy efficiency, resulting in homes that are more expensive than necessary to heat in the winter and cool in the summer, Rothenberger told lawmakers in written testimony. Improving a homes energy efficiency can often be done for relatively little cost and that these improvements more than pay for themselves in terms of energy savings.

The Connecticut Coalition of Property Owners opposes the legislation.

Prospective tenants will get an accurate idea of the expense at an apartment or home before they move in,' said John Souza, the groups president. Also, neighbors can see how their usage compares to the neighborhood etc. Im not sure how an energy label with 1 to 5 stars would translate into the actual expense/costs for the person looking to buy or rent.

Daniela Altimari can be reached at daltimari@courant.com.
Vice Adm. Kenneth Whitesell, commander of Naval Air Forces, speaks about the future of naval aviation on the flight deck of USS George H.W. Bush on Monday, March 21, 2022. (Dave Ress)

Walking the flight deck of his old flagship, USS George H.W. Bush, after watching the USS Gerald R. Ford head out for flight deck certification was a chance for the Navys top aviator, Vice Adm Kenneth Whitesell, to think about naval aviations future.

Some elements of that, in the form of the Ford and the new E2-D Hawkeye early warning planes, have arrived in Norfolk. But still more, Whitesell said, is coming soon.

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One is the new CMV-22B  a version of the tilt-rotor Osprey. Its slated to replace the Navys C-2A CODs  carrier onboard delivery planes  that bring people and equipment to carriers at sea.

CODs play a particularly important role when people or parts are needed urgently, and the new CMV-22Bs can reach reach farther and so extend the reach of supply lines, Whitesell said. CMV-22Bs should begin arriving in Hampton Roads in about a year.

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The F-35 joint strike fighter will begin joining Norfolk-based carrier strike groups in the months ahead, Whitesell said. They made their first operational deployment last year on the San Diego-based USS Carl Vinson.

Last December, the Bush itself tested another critical element of the next generation Naval Air Force, the MQ-25, a drone that can carry fuel to resupply Navy fighters and E2s while in flight.

With aerial refueling, carrier planes can fly farther and stay in the air longer  as with the CMV-22Bs, the result is that carrier strike groups can reach farther and operate even more flexibly than they do now, Whitesell said.

Walking the flight deck of the Bush, meanwhile, drives home another point  because its island, like the rest of the Nimitz class carriers, is farther away from the stern than is the Fords, its planes mostly have to park behind the island. They can only move from those parking places when flight operations pause, Whitsell said.

Space is tight between the island of a Nimitz carrer and its bow, including areas where plane crews load bombs, missiles and armaments.

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The lone F/18 on Bushs flight deck as it was moored at Naval Station Norfolk during Whitesells visit was secured between the island and the carriers bow  but the planes nose was hanging over the end of one of the catapults used to launch aircraft, which at sea would have put that catapult out of action.

The Fords much larger space in front of the island  its captains call that area their NASCAR pit stop  doesnt infringe on the catapult area. The Fords catapults, like the weapons elevators that carry arms to the flight deck, run with electric motors and magnets instead of the steam and hydraulic systems used on Nimitz class carriers, which cuts down on breakdowns and repairs, Whitesell said.

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The new layout and the electro-magnetic systems mean Ford class carriers can launch more planes faster, another major transformation in the Navys 100 year history of carriers.

The first carrier, USS Langley, was commissioned 100 years ago  basically as a experiment, launching planes while operating on the York River, to see if the idea was even possible, Whitesell said.

A century of innovations has made what was an unproved concept into a worldwide force  one that means carriers based in Hampton Roads can reach anywhere in the world, Whitesell said.

That means that even as new strategic worries arise in new parts of the world, the balance of carriers between the west and east coasts is likely to stay the same, he added.

Dave Ress, 757-247-4535, dress@dailypress.com
The Virginia Marine Police arrested a woman Monday after they said she led officers on a chase through two cities before she struck two marked state police cars on Mercury Boulevard in Hampton.

Susan Freeman, 32, of Hampton, was charged with driving under the influence of drugs, felony eluding, assault, and driving on a suspended license, according to a news release from the Virginia Marine Resources Commission, which oversees the Marine Police.

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The commission said a Marine Police officer saw a 2001 Dodge minivan driving the wrong way  west in the eastbound lanes  at about 7:15 a.m. on Jefferson Avenue in Newport News. The van was also driving at a high rate of speed, the release said.

But when the officer tried to pull the van over, the driver refused to pull over and instead made an illegal U-turn on Jefferson before going north on Interstate 664.

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The minivan fled into Hampton and onto Interstate 64 before getting off at the Mercury Boulevard exit. But once Freeman got onto Mercury, police said, she quickly made another U-turn and tried to get back onto the interstate.

Virginia State Police troopers blocked the minivan from getting back onto the freeway, before police said the vehicle hit two marked VSP cars, lost control, and crashed.

Freeman was taken to Riverside Regional Medical Center for treatment for non-life threatening injuries, police said. No officers were injured.

Formed in 1875 as the Oyster Navy, the Virginia Marine Police enforces state and federal commercial and recreational fishery laws and regulations. But Col. Matthew Rogers of the Virginia Marine Police said his officers are fully empowered under state law to make arrests or traffic stops if a crime or violation occurs in their presence.

Peter Dujardin, 757-247-4749, pdujardin@dailypress.com
A group that runs a drug and alcohol rehabilitation program has asked to use the former Makemie Woods camp in New Kent County. Courtesy of Betsy Sink (HANDOUT)

New Kent  A proposal by a faith-based organization to convert a former youth summer camp into a year-round residential addiction center failed to win over New Kent Countys planning commission Monday night.

The commission voted to recommend that the county Board of Supervisors reject a permit application from Faith Recovery, which wants to set up the treatment center at Makemie Woods in the Barhamsville area of New Kent County. The camp, run by the Presbyterian Church for over 50 years, closed in 2017 because of financial issues.

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The proposal has sparked an outcry from some members of the New Kent community. More than 100 people have joined a Facebook page called Not This Site and launched a petition to stop the treatment center.

On Monday, John Moyer was the sole planning commission member who opposed the negative recommendation, while member Thomas Tiller abstained. Commission Chair Laura Rose said she was concerned at the lack of accreditation held by Faith Recovery.

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While I do applaud the mission of this particular organization and while I understand their motives are good and admirable, the fact that you are not accredited and there is not a good vetted process for how you house and maintain all these residents is my first concern, Rose said.

Rose also worried that land previously used as a summer camp would change to year-round residential use. Prime real estate and we are not even going to get any tax revenue for it while I believe there will be a draw on our services, she said.

Earlier, the Rev. Travis Hall, the executive director of Faith Recovery, made a case for moving residential drugs and alcohol addiction recovery programs from Newport News to Makemie Woods. Halls conditional-use permit asks to use the camp, which has a conference center and residential buildings, as a recovery treatment center for 40 men and on-site staff. The residents would be in 12-month programs.

Rev. Travis Hall of Faith Recovery addresses a packed meeting of the New Kent Planning Commission about a proposed faith recovery center proposed at Makemie Woods. David Macaulay/freelance (The Virginian-Pilot)

However, the petition started by residents claims the camp could cause the crime rate to rise and property values to fall.

Hall said the program would be attended on a voluntary basis by non-violent offenders only. He said residents face a lot of temptations in downtown Newport News, and the more rural location would help people in addiction programs.

The program would also give employment opportunities to residents and transportation would be arranged out of the county for many, Hall said.

We are all in recovery ourselves, he said of the staff. We have come through the program. We know what it takes to move on from a difficult situation. How do you make the transition from where you once were to being a productive member of society?

Faith Recovery began as a program called Youth Challenge in 1979. Hall said addiction is widespread and the camp would also benefit New Kent, which lacks such programs. Its a serious problem in our community and the reality is no community is exempt, he said.

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Supporters of Faith Recovery who spoke at the public hearing included Jean-Paul Thorne, who told the commission the rehab program saved him. We want to come in and help people, Thorne said. We want to be a place thats a solution to that. We want to be a place where people learn and grow.

However, several residents, many wearing orange, spoke Monday night against the application.

It has never been a campground in the 58 years its been there, said Teresa Rondi, who said shes been a caretaker at Makemie Woods for 16 years. It has always been a childrens summer camp and in the off-season was used for group retreats.

Rondi also said she was concerned that Faith Recovery is not licensed. According to Hall, Faith Recovery is applying to have its program licensed through the Virginia Department of Behavioral Health and Development.

There are no less than 25 drug rehabs within a 40-mile area, Rondi said. There is obviously a need for this service. However, the 274 acres at Makemie Woods could do so much for the entire east end of New Kent.

Betsy Sink, who lives near Makemie Woods, said the community is concerned about the treatment centers potential effect on property values and the inherent danger.

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Makemie Woods was never intended to be a year-round residential facility for that many people, Sink said.

She also claimed the community has been blindsided by the application. Although a town hall meeting was held earlier this year, Sink said it was not well-advertised. Rose also said she didnt feel there was enough public outreach before putting the application in.

Sink also brought up 15-minute emergency response times, citing information given by the county sheriff at the town hall, if there was a problem at the facility. We pray for them, we want the best for them, but not in our backyards, Sink said.

The New Kent Board of Supervisors will consider the application on April 11.

David Macaulay, davidmacaulayva@gmail.com
When Ram Gopal Varma (RGV) announced the film Konda (a biopic on the couple Konda Murali and Konda Surekha), everyone was waiting with bated breath to see who would play the powerful role of the late Naxal RK (alias Polam Sudharshan), a close friend of Murali and a big influence on the latters life.

Though a senior actor was expected to be cast in the role, young Prashant Karthi was chosen.

Actor Prashant Karthi

When RGV Sir selected me for the part, I was thrilled, but nervous too, because its a very powerful role, says Karthi.

Although he knew who RK was, Karthi says he started doing research on the Naxal leader and zoomed in on his personality only after he came on board for the project.

I went to Warangal and met several of RK's friends and acquaintances and found out what he was like. I tried to understand his attitudes, the way he walked and talked, and tried to get into his personality. Besides, RGV showed me videos of the late leader, he shares.

Karthi spoke to Murali himself, and got to know a few of RKs traits. And through Murali, he met RKs wife Bharathi. She was glad that I was acting the part of her late husband; she is a quiet person. She did not talk much, but wished me luck, says the actor.

Looks wise, Karthi is excited by his makeover. A team of technicians (hairdressers and makeup artistes) flew in from Mumbai to make the actor look the part. It took him about three months to achieve the makeover.

I was stirred by RKs ideas says Karthi. His revolutionary thoughts, poetry, philosophy, etc., have inspired me a lot, he reveals.

What Karthi likes about the character is that it is raw, rustic and genuine, and he loves the role. But when asked if he was apprehensive about playing the part, he said, though it was challenging, he wanted to push the envelope. Also, realistic roles bring him closer to the audience, he feels.

Was he worried about criticism from his parents or friends for playing such a role? None of them have expressed any concern. In fact, my parents are happy that I am playing a powerful role, he says, signing off.
Charred remains of the houses after some miscreants set the houses on fire for allegedly avenging the killing of TMC leader Bhadu Sheikh, at Rampurhat in Birbhum district, Tuesday, March 22, 2022. At least 8 persons were burnt to death in the incident, according to officials. (PTI Photo)

Kolkata: At least eight persons were burnt to death after their homes were torched by a violent mob on Monday night in Birbhum of West Bengal, following the murder of a Trinamul Congress leader over a feud. The death toll may rise.

The massacre, which has put the TMC government in a tight spot, unfolded at Boktui village in Rampurhat after a gang of four miscreants, travelling on two motorcycles with their faces covered, hurled bombs on upa pradhan (deputy chief) Bhadu Sheikh of Boroshal gram panchayat, at a tea stall on Monday evening.

Sheikh was declared brought dead at Rampurhat Hospital. State DGP Manoj Malviya ruled out "any political angle" and hinted at "personal enmity" behind the murder. The victim's family accused his party colleagues of killing him over an internal feud after the murder of his brother Babar last year.

Within an hour of Sheikh's murder, his followers retaliated, setting at least seven-eight houses on fire after locking the residents from outside. Azizul Haque, an official of the Rampurhat fire station, told the media that three charred bodies were recovered on Monday night while seven more were found at a house early Tuesday. The list of victims which include many women and children, is yet to be identified due to severe burns.

Malviya said, "At night three injured persons were admitted to hospital. One of them succumbed to injuries later. Besides, seven bodies were recovered on Tuesday from one of the houses owned by Sanju Sheikh. Altogether eight were dead. 11 persons were arrested."

He added that SDPO (Rampurhat) Shayan Ahmed and Rampurhat police station OC Tridip Pramanik were suspended while a special investigation team led by ADG(CID) Gyanwant Singh was formed for a probe.

At the Assembly, BJP MLAs staged a walkout and demanded Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's resignation. Putting the death toll at 12, the leader of the opposition Suvendu Adhikari sought the Centre's intervention.

He claimed, "It is up to the Centre to decide whether Article 355 or 356 should be imposed here. But we seek a NIA probe in the murder of the TMC gram panchayat functionary by bomb explosion and a CBI probe in the killings of the villagers."

The BJP also moved the Calcutta High Court for a suo motu cognizance of the incident and sent a memorandum to Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar.

TMC district president Anubrata Mondal claimed, "A fire broke out in three-four houses after a TV set exploded due to a short circuit. Seven people died in the incident. The fire brigade were pressed into service immediately to douse the flames. The police are investigating the incident." He however suspected a link between the massacre and the TMC leader's killing.

State transport minister Firhad Hakim, who visited Boktui along with two TMC MLAs Asish Banerjee of Rampurhat and Avijit Singha of Bolpur on their party supremo's order, alleged a "conspiracy by some people trying to malign Bengal" behind the bloodbath.
Kremlin says premature for Putin-Zelensky meeting

Xinhua) 08:30, March 22, 2022

People walk on Red Square in Moscow, Russia, on March 10, 2022. (Xinhua/Bai Xueqi)

MOSCOW, March 21 (Xinhua) -- Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Monday that it is too early to talk about a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, as there is no breakthrough yet in the peace talks.

"To be able to discuss a possible meeting between the two presidents, you must first do your homework. That is, you need to conduct and agree on the results of the negotiations," Peskov told a daily briefing.

"So far, no significant progress has been made (in the negotiation process) ... The presidents simply have no agreements to approve yet," he said.

Ukrainian and Russian delegations held three rounds of negotiations in person in Belarus starting from Feb. 28 to seek a possible settlement of the current conflict. The two sides started their fourth round of negotiations via video link on March 14.

On Wednesday, Ukrainian Presidential Advisor Mykhailo Podolyak said Zelensky may hold talks with Putin in the coming days.

(Web editor: Xia Peiyao, Liang Jun)
The deleted tweet of the Kerala unit of the Congress posted from its official Twitter handle attempted to project a statistical perspective to the issue of the killings and exodus of the Kashmiri Pandits, arguing that 15000 Muslims were killed during 1990-2007 against 399 Pandits. (Representational Image via ANI)

New Delhi: Amid the buzz surrounding the film, Kashmir Files, the Kerala unit of Congress claimed in a tweet, now deleted, that more Muslims were killed in Jammu and Kashmir during 1990-2007 than Pandits, inviting the wrath of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which called the statements "insane".

'Kashmir Files' has brought the spotlight on the killings and forced exodus of the Kashmiri Pandits from the valley after the Pakistan sponsored terrorists ran amok there in the late 1980s and afterwards.

The deleted tweet of the Kerala unit of the Congress posted from its official Twitter handle attempted to project a statistical perspective to the issue of the killings and exodus of the Kashmiri Pandits, arguing that 15000 Muslims were killed during 1990-2007 against 399 Pandits.

The Kerala Congress in another tweet, part of a series, claimed that over one lakh Muslims were killed in the erstwhile state in the wake of the communal riots (1948) after the partition of the country while no Pandits were killed in retaliation.

The tweets were posted with '#KashmiriPandit issue'.

The BJP, reacting sharply, said that "Congress doesn't understand history". "...this is the most insane statement that Congress can make. Congress doesn't understand history... and they've hugely distorted the version of history. Under the watch of Congress dispensations, over a lakh Pandits left the valley," said former Union Minister and senior BJP leader K J Alphons.

The Kerala Congress also sought to shift the onus for the exodus to the BJP, saying "the migration suited the agenda of the BJP for the Hindu-Muslim division while carrying out the Ram Mandir issue in Ayodhya". Another tweet claimed that the then Jammu and Kashmir Governor Jagmohan was an RSS man, and he in place of providing security to the Pandits asked them to leave the valley en masse.

"Pandits left the valley en masse under the direction of Governor Jagmohan who was an RSS man. The migration started under the BJP-supported VP Singh government," claimed the Kerala unit of Congress in another tweet, arguing further that the BJP supported VP Singh's government came to power in J&K in December 1989 and exodus began the very next month and BJP continued to support VP Singh till November 1990.
Superintendent of Police (Birbhum) Nagendra Nath Tripathi who inspected the area in the morning along with a large contingent of cops confirmed the death of only seven villagers. (ANI)

Kolkata: In a violent carnage at least eight persons were burnt to death after their homes were torched by a gang of miscreants late on Monday night in Birbhum of West Bengal hours after the murder of a gram panchayat functionary of the ruling Trinamul Congress in the district.

The massacre, which has put the Mamata Banerjee government in a tight spot, took place at Boktui village in Rampurhat sub division.

DGP Manoj Malaviya said seven charred bodies were recovered from one of the burnt houses, while one injured person died in hospital.

The situation is now under control and a police picket has been established in the village since last night. We are investigating how the houses caught fire and whether the incident is related to the death of the panchayat deputy chief of Barshal village, he said.

Azizul Haque, an official of the Rampurhat fire station, told the media that three charred bodies were recovered on Monday night while seven more were found at a house on Tuesday morning.

Superintendent of Police (Birbhum) Nagendra Nath Tripathi who inspected the area in the morning along with a large contingent of cops however confirmed the death of only seven villagers. Several other houses were gutted during the night long arson.

Violence struck Boktui village following the killing of TMC leader Bhadu Sheikh who was the Upa Pradhan (Deputy Head) of Boroshal gram panchayat at Rampurhat Block I.

On Monday evening he was at a tea stall. Suddenly a gang of four miscreants travelling on motorcycles with their faces covered hurled bombs on him. With fatal injuries Sheikh was rushed was to Rampurhat Hospital where he was declared brought dead.

Downplaying the carnage, TMC district president Anubrata Mondal claimed, "A fire broke out n three-four houses due to an explosion in a TV set. Seven people died. Fire brigade were pressed into service immediately to douse the flames. This is what I learnt in the morning. The police are investigating the incident." He however suspected a link between the massacre and the TMC leader's killing.
Maharashtra Congress chief Nana Patole accused the Centre of inflicting atrocities on people as soon as the elections got over. (ANI)

Mumbai: The NCP and Congress hit out at the central government on Tuesday over the latest fuel price hike, and questioned the need for increasing the rates at a time when crude oil was imported at highly discounted rates from Russia.

The petrol and diesel prices were on Tuesday hiked by 80 paise a litre, while the domestic cooking gas prices were increased by Rs 50 per cylinder, ending an over four-and-half month election-related hiatus in rate revision, sources said. What was the need to increase the price of cooking gas when you (the Centre) have already imported lakhs of barrels of crude oil at highly discounted rates from Russia, NCP's Maharashtra unit chief spokesperson Mahesh Tapase asked.

The crude oil price has increased to USD 140 per barrel in the wake of the Russia-Ukraine war, he noted.

On one hand, the petroleum ministry is trying to justify the price hike due to increased international prices of crude and on the other, they have made a swift deal at highly discounted rates, said the NCP leader, whose party shares power with the Shiv Sena and Congress in Maharashtra.

Maharashtra Congress chief Nana Patole accused the Centre of inflicting atrocities on people as soon as the elections got over.

He was referring to the Assembly polls held recently in five states - Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Manipur and Goa.

Had said that the BJP will recover (dues) from the people along with interest once it wins elections. Petrol, diesel, gas recovery on, Patole tweeted in Hindi.

Petrol in Delhi will now cost Rs 96.21 per litre as against Rs 95.41 previously, while diesel rates have gone up from Rs 86.67 per litre to Rs 87.47.

Simultaneously, the price of a non-subsidised LPG cylinder has been increased to Rs 949.50 for each 14.2-kg bottle in the national capital.

While the LPG rates were last revised on October 6, 2021, petrol and diesel prices had been on a freeze since November 4 as the five states went to polls.

The LPG prices had gone up by close to Rs 100 per cylinder between July and October 6, 2021, before criticism halted the revision in rates.
VIJAYAWADA: The assembly ruckus by Telugu Desam legislators continued on Monday despite strong objections from from Speaker Tammineni Sitaram and YSRC legislators.

TD legislators went berserk, beat the Speaker Podium with the books and aired slogans against the government and chief minister Jagan Reddy. Angered over this, Speaker Sitaram suspended the protesting TD legislators for a day.

It has become a daily practice for TD legislators to stage protests and get suspension orders all through the present budget session.

Finance minister Buggana Rajendranath referred to the Pegasus and stated that the Supreme Court taking this as a serious issue had appointed a committee to probe acts of governmental spying. He said it was clearly evident that Pegasus software was used by Chandrababu Naidu while as CM, as was clear from a statement of chief minister Mamata Banerjee in the Bengal assembly.

He stated that phones of YSRC leaders were tapped during the term of the Naidu government and no action was taken at the time despite the lodging of several complaints.

TD legislators disrupted the speech of Rajendranath several times. Vexed over the disturbance, ruling party legislators including education minister Audimulapu Suresh urged the speaker to take stern action against the disruptors. Speaker Sitaram repeatedly asked TD legislators to stop their protest but in vain.

The speaker said, '' This is not the market and this is the Legislative Assembly. You are not street rowdies. MLAs should not waste valuable assembly time meant for solving public issues. 

Speaker Sitaram said, You should know how to respect the position of the House and the Speaker. Members should be sober and act as a constructive opposition.

TD legislators remained adamant and did not stop their protest and slogans. Speaker Sitaram then announced suspension of the TD MLAs for a day from the assembly.
Medical students from Ukraine presents a portrait of Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy to him at the Assembly premises. (DC)

VIJAYAWADA: A delegation of students who had returned from Ukraine met Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy at his chamber in the Assembly here on Monday to seek the governments support to them in completing their studies.

The CM assured all support to them and directed the officials to offer them the necessary help. He thanked the government team that brought back the students from Ukraine safely and said it's now the responsibility of the state government to help the students.

The CM said he would write a letter to the central government. He interacted with the students for some time and enquired about the ways for them to continue their studies.

The students thanked Jagan Reddy for the special efforts put in by the state government to bring them back from Ukraine and added that flight tickets to India and transportation to their native places were provided by the government.

They thanked the CM for his special support in getting them back safe from war-hit Ukraine.

AP Ukraine task force chairman Krishnababu, AP Bhavan principal resident commissioner Praveen Prakash, APNRTS president Medapati Venkat, CEO Dinesh, taskforce members Ahmed Babu and other officials were present at the meeting.
Lokesh asked chief minister Jagan Reddy whether he was ready for an unbiased high-level probe into the murder of his family member, Vivekananda Reddy.  DC file photo

VIJAYAWADA: Telugu Desam national general secretary Nara Lokesh on Monday accused the Jagan Mohan Reddy government of spreading lies based on claims allegedly made by West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on the Pegasus software.

He claimed that in the video recording cited by the ruling party, Banerjee spoke in Bengali language and there was no mention of Chandrababu Naidu's name in her comments.

Addressing the media, Lokesh said there was no clarity on whether Banerjee had made any comment against the Chandrababu-led government of the previous term. However, on its part, the TD would be ready to face any inquiry either by a house committee or a judicial committee or even by the CBI.

Lokesh asked chief minister Jagan Reddy whether he was ready for an unbiased high-level probe into the murder of his family member, Vivekananda Reddy. Condemning the government's 'cheap tactics', Lokesh said former DGP Gautam Sawang had given an RTI reply that Pegasus was never procured. He claimed that Israel ambassador announced the spyware was not sold to private persons.

TD legislators led by Lokesh took out a rally outside the assembly on Monday, demanding elimination of all harmful cheap liquor J-brands in the state.

The TD MLAs and MLCs held placards and raised slogans 'Kalthi Sara CM down down' and 'Naatu Sara CM down down'.

They held a protest 'madyabhishekam' (pouring cheap J-liquor) on the photo of Chief Minister Jagan Reddy for committing a multi-crore liquor fraud at the cost of innocent lives. TD legislators demanded a judicial inquiry into the liquor deaths.
New Delhi: Making clear his unhappiness with New Delhis stand, United States President Joe Biden on Tuesday termed Indias response to the Russian military offensive in Ukraine as shaky, while also making it clear that the response of other Quad members such as Japan and Australia was strong.

India has so far abstained from voting against Russia on any of the UN resolutions so far on the Ukraine conflict. The issue could be raised by the US at the high-level 2+2 talks between the two nations at the defence and foreign ministerial level that is expected to take place in Washington next month.

India has time-tested ties with Russia spanning decades, especially in the defence and civil nuclear sectors and is now also purchasing Russian oil at discounted rates, much to the dismay of Washington.

Speaking at a Business Roundtable, President Biden said, In response to dealing with his (Russian President Vladimir Putins) aggression, there has been an united front in NATO and the Pacific. The Quad has, with the possible exception of India (which has) been somewhat shaky on some of this, but Japan has been extremely strong. So has Australia in terms of dealing with Putins aggression.

India is part of the four-nation Quad in the Indo-Pacific region along with the United States, Australia and Japan but even at the Quad forum, India has refused to be part of any move to condemn Russia although New Delhi has repeatedly called for a cessation of violence on the Ukraine conflict.

President Bidens comment came just hours after India held foreign office consultations (FOC) with the United States in New Delhi earlier on Monday evening during which the Ukraine issue was discussed. It also came after Summits between India and its other Quad partnersJapan and Australia.

In a statement on the FOC with the US, the MEA said, The FOC provided a valuable opportunity to discuss contemporary regional issues pertaining to South Asia, the Indo-Pacific region, West Asia, and the situation in Ukraine, among others. Foreign secretary Shringla and undersecretary of state Nuland agreed to maintain regular dialogue and consultations on regional issues. ... the two sides reviewed progress in various domains under the India-US Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership.

The MEA added, Both sides reaffirmed their commitment to a free, open, inclusive, peaceful and prosperous Indo-Pacific. Following up on the Quad Leaders Meetings, they expressed a keen desire to implement quickly the Quads positive and constructive agenda to deliver for countries in the Indo-Pacific region. ... Both sides looked forward to the India-U.S. 2+2 Ministerial Meeting in Washington D.C. They agreed to hold the next FOC at a mutually convenient date in Washington D.C.


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China to offer Ukraine more humanitarian aid supplies

Xinhua) 08:34, March 22, 2022

(Source: Xinhua)

BEIJING, March 21 (Xinhua) -- China has decided to provide more humanitarian aid supplies to Ukraine worth 10 million yuan (about 1.57 million U.S. dollars), a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said Monday.

Spokesperson Wang Wenbin said at a daily press briefing that this additional offer was based on the development of the situation and the actual needs of Ukraine. The Red Cross Society of China had earlier provided 5 million yuan worth of humanitarian aid supplies to the Ukrainian side.

"China pays close attention to the civilian casualties in the Russia-Ukraine conflict," Wang said, noting that the top priority for the international community now is to deal with the possible large-scale humanitarian crisis.

Wang said China has put forward a six-point initiative on alleviating the humanitarian situation in Ukraine and has taken concrete actions, including providing humanitarian aid supplies.

"China will continue to play a constructive role in easing the situation in Ukraine and stands ready to make its own efforts to overcome the humanitarian crisis," said Wang.

(Web editor: Xia Peiyao, Liang Jun)
A medical worker attends to a wounded man at a hospital in Brovary, outside Kyiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, March 1, 2022. Russian shelling pounded civilian targets in Ukraine's second-largest city, Kharkiv, again Tuesday and a 40-mile convoy of tanks and other vehicles threatened the capital  tactics Ukraine's embattled president said were designed to force him into concessions in Europe's largest ground war in generations. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)
Emporia, KS (66801)

Today

Scattered thunderstorms during the morning becoming more widespread this afternoon. High 61F. Winds NNE at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 100%..

Tonight

Rain early...then remaining cloudy with showers overnight. Low 52F. Winds NW at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 80%. Rainfall around a half an inch.
Emporia, KS (66801)

Today

Scattered thunderstorms in the morning, then mainly cloudy during the afternoon with thunderstorms likely. High 61F. Winds NNE at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 100%..

Tonight

A steady rain in the evening. Showers continuing late. Low 52F. Winds NW at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 80%. Rainfall near a half an inch.
Emporia, KS (66801)

Today

Scattered thunderstorms during the morning becoming more widespread this afternoon. High 61F. Winds NNE at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 100%..

Tonight

Rain early...then remaining cloudy with showers overnight. Low 52F. Winds NW at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 80%. Rainfall around a half an inch.
The Senate GOP is readying for a potential victory in November that will kick out most Democrats from the Upper and Lower house, which the White House will regret.

Part of the thrusts of the Republicans will be using the same tactics the Democrats used against them, but they will be all over them.

In November, the Democratic party will be facing its day of reckoning for all the mistakes that Joe Biden has heaped on America. Even senior party members think that the president and vice-president are toxic.

Senate GOP To Target the Democrats After November

A November takeover means a Senate that will bring light to all the Democrats' shenanigans, which they never thought would come back to haunt them as the committees will be on them, according to GOPs, reported Newsmax.

Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis) said they would be on the Democrats like a mosquito having a feast in a nudist colony, calling it a target-rich environment about all the Democratic party members who have escaped scrutiny for a long time, saying they will be all juicy targets.

The Senate GOP plan to scrutinize the Democrats after a victory in November, be it on the presidential son, Hunter Biden, with his controversial laptop, an allegedly messed-up border, Dr. Fauci and coronavirus officials, the fall in Afghanistan, and the military.

Read Also: Vladimir Putin Net Worth 2022: Does Anyone Know Russian President's Hidden Wealth?

These plans will make Biden and the Democrats sweat it out as they will be on the defensive but will know the White House made them so vulnerable.

Republicans Demand To Probe

Due to term limitations, Johnson cannot head any committee now but might lead the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee's permanent subcommittee regarding probes.

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky) will have a clear shot at Dr. Fauci and the coronavirus officials, leading to the pandemic's inadequate response, a score to settle with Fauci.

Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo) focuses on the catastrophic Afghanistan surrender and the military.

Controversy over the involvement of Joe Biden in the business dealings of his son Hunter will be the focus of the congress, cited by the Times. Particularly, Hunter's laptop will now be the topic of inquiry that could bring down a lot of Democrats.

The Hunter Biden laptop story has been covered up by biased media but later acknowledged as accurate and true. After November, the Republicans as a majority with hammer big tech sensors next year.

According to Rep. Claudia Tenney (R-N.Y.), who has been hit by redistricting as one of the Dems maneuvers before midterms, demanded congressional action, citing the New York Post.

Paul has already been vocal about holding Fauci responsible from the sidelines, but if acknowledged, he would become the chairman of the Senate's Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee.

Johnson said there is a lack of transparency in the Biden administration, and he added there would be more activities going after the Democrats and others to wrap.

The Senate GOP will have its hands full unraveling what the Democrats have done and hidden from the public after a victory in November.

Related Article: Hunter Biden's Laptop: NYT Finally Admits Denying Story in 2020

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Shenzhen restarts production, public transportation

By QIU QUANLIN in Guangzhou (China Daily) 08:40, March 22, 2022

Staff members check information of residents for nucleic acid test in Futian District of Shenzhen, South China's Guangdong province, March 17, 2022. [Photo/Xinhua]

Inside a workshop in the Dapeng New District of Shenzhen, Guangdong province, machines operated at full speed on Monday after the city resumed its industrial operations and public transportation.

"We have fully resumed processing operations, thanks to effective control and prevention measures against the COVID-19 outbreak," said Gao Qing, general manager of Shenzhen Jingfeng Crystal Technology Co.

The company, which focuses on research and manufacturing of electronic components, was one of Shenzhen's key enterprises to receive tailored solutions from the city government to sustain its business operations amid the outbreak.

All government agencies, public institutions and businesses in Shenzhenexcept in part of Futian districtresumed normal operations on Monday, after the city basically maintained zero-COVID status at the community level over the past seven days, according to local authorities.

"Local governments have introduced specific control and prevention measures in the industrial zones, which closed last week, that allowed us to maintain production," said Gao.

The resumption of business activities and public transportation came after Shenzhen completed three rounds of citywide testing, from March 14 to 20, in which most new local novel coronavirus cases were found among people already under quarantine.

"The COVID-19 prevention and control situation in the city remains grim, but generally under control," said Huang Qiang, deputy secretary-general of the Shenzhen municipal government.

Huang said the number of locally confirmed cases identified outside quarantined areas of the city had decreased from a previous high of 38 to a single case on Saturday, meaning Shenzhen had essentially achieved dynamic zero-COVID status.

Shenzhen will adopt a variety of measures for businesses in industrial and supply chains to ensure stable operations, Huang said, adding that the city will continue with COVID prevention and control measures at residential communities and villages, where negative test results within 48 hours are required for entry and exit.

"We will continue to guarantee the stable operation of the city's industrial and supply chains and further reduce companies' burdens by implementing a variety of measures," said Yu Jing, deputy director of Shenzhen Municipal Development and Reform Commission.

Shenzhen reported 44 new local COVID-19 carriers, either confirmed or asymptomatic, on Sunday. Forty-two of the 44 were found among quarantined people, local health authorities said on Monday.

Meanwhile, the city of Jilin, in Jilin province, has placed movement restrictions on residents starting Monday as part of the control and prevention measures adopted to fight China's latest COVID-19 outbreak.

The province reported 1,542 new locally transmitted COVID-19 cases and 549 asymptomatic carriers on Sunday, the Jilin Provincial Health Commission said on Monday.

Zhou Huiying contributed to this story.

(Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Liang Jun)
Age has caught up with the E-3 Sentry AWACS, which shows its declining abilities when matched against newer combat planes and weapons. Of concern is how it can survive against the J-20 and its PL-15 air missile, which is long-ranged. As the Indo-Pacific theatre gets more involved, the E-3 will need the upgrades or be diminished by the Chinese or Russians.

E-3 Sentry AWACS Outdated Capabilities

Pacific Air Force Chief Kenneth Wilsbach is concerned that more interactions are expected from stealth fighters, especially, reported the Eurasian Times.

Chief Wilsbach said the Boeing E-3 should be replaced when he spoke at the Mitchell Institute of Aerospace Studies. He said the AWACS fleet is not doing too good and suffering from unreliability, with four in the PACAF, adding they are not flight-ready due to maintenance issues.

Furthermore, the Boeing 737-based E-7 airborne early warning and control aircraft has long been supported by him. These problems are not serious, but they are the plane's electronics, hydraulic system, and engines. It led to where it could keep up with a modern combat arena.

When the E-3 is in flight, the sensors are not reassuring, lagging in a 21-1st century fight with the rise of the Chengdu J-20 or the same combat system it fails. The range is too short for the platform to work effectively, and the interceptor can shoot it down without a fight.

Having the J-20 or the J-11 prowling around will have one of the E-3 Sentry AWACS in the Pacific is not a good thought.

Read Also: Joe Biden Net Worth 2022: How Wealthy Is the 46th President of the United States?

Much Needed E-3 Upgrades

One of the problems is the scarcity of the parts for the Pratt & Whitney TF-33 engines used for the AWACS.

According to Air Combat Command Head Gen. Mark Kelly, they were affected by the lack of spare parts in October last year. They were grounded and weren't up to flying sorties in the Indo-Pacific.

The E-3 Sentry AWACS had already been in service with the US Air Force for thirty years, and one plane can monitor 120,000 square miles. At the optimal altitude, its radar is a look-down type with 360-degrees of the surrounding horizon of fewer than 320 kilometers, seen seaborn and aerial threats in its monitors.

In a strategic role, it can identify and monitor hostile aircraft flying at lower elevations over any terrain. They can also clearly identify friendly aircraft in the same area. But maintenance problems have made it hard to operate them and get the E7 AWACS as a replacement.

E-7 To Replace the E-3

To date, the E-7 is flowed by several US allies, are Australia and South Korea, has better reliability and performance than the older E-3. Plans to buy it are in the works. Plans to buy the E-7 are considered, the US is not ready to abandon its E-3s yet, but the need exists, and it is getting urgent. Two planes if the USAF will commit to it.

Last year, Boeing anticipated that the US Air Force would publicly declare plans to buy its E-7 Wedgetail airborne early warning and control jet in 2022, stirring up rumors that the plane would be included with the military's subsequent expenditure, noted Breaking Defense.

But the USAF asked for information about the E-7A mentioned Airforce Magazine, expressing interest but not committing to any expense. The E-3 Sentry AWACS is grounded too often despite the good equipment, though it can survive, a modern fight is yet to be seen.

Related Article: Northrop Grumman E-2C Hawkeye: Early Warning Aircraft the Lynchpin of Fleet Defense

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Claims that the EU Council chief is allegedly conniving with French Leader Emmanuel Macron, who aspires to lead Brussels with a vision that other leaders do not share. The move to make sure that the bloc will place the former Belgian Prime minister Charles Michel into power.

In 2019, he was the council's successor after Donald Tusk, which many see as a way to influence the going on in Brussels for a second term.

Macron Backs Next EU Council Chief

The move by Macron to prop a second term for the council chief led others to believe that he is an alleged puppet of Paris, reported the Express UK.

But sources say that the French lobbying to retain him in that position a second time, citing the Times News UK.

The media has stated that he is not competent at his job and is called a puppet. For now, France takes the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, allowing Paris to organize meetings, mediate compromises, and even submit assumptions, noted New York Times Post.

However, the French president, who is up for re-election next month, has also taken personal charge of Michel's vote scheduled for Thursday.

"Macron has told the leaders if anyone has any issues, they should call him this week," a diplomatic source said. It sounds like everyone should keep quiet and deal with it. Criticisms that whether it's an actual democratic election or Paris trying to have one of their puppets by the council's president.

Read Also: Vladimir Putin Net Worth 2022: Does Anyone Know Russian President's Hidden Wealth?

French Influence

A Brussels diplomat said that the way communication is done another approach from before. Add in classic Macron, and he'll do the deciding for others.

The French leader has been at odds with the British Prime Minister Boris Johnson when the UK left the European Union. has been protecting a man who has made errors, such as the infamous 'sofagate.' But the French leader has other concerns on his plate.

One privy to Michel said that his uselessness was good enough for the French president. Another said that he is a puppet who does what Macron commands and follows whatever is asked.

This week, in the EU summit, he only invited President Joe Biden to the affair and left out Brexit Britain and Canada. The EU council chiefs' intentions were rather eye-raising why snubbing the other two. Though, British PM Johnson and PM Trudeau from Canada would be in an event set up by Brussels, where NATO heads participate.

According to the Isle of Wight MP Bob Seely, it was a missed opportunity and asked what kind of decisions are these. The petty snub is not good now, and overlooking Boris or Trudeau is not the time. According to an EU source, Michel was oblivious of the importance of cross-Channel interactions.

The EU Council Chief is rumored to be propped by Macron, who sees it as a chance to influence Brussels to his agenda, which others do not agree with.

Related Article: Can Marine Le Pen Beat Emmanuel Macron in the Upcoming French Elections With Another Aspirant Vying for Presidency?

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Every spring and fall for the past 80 years, a ritual has taken place across most of America: shifting clocks one hour ahead or behind, referred to as daylight saving time or standard time.

But the Senate unanimously adopted a bill on March 15 that will make daylight saving time permanent across the United States next year, much to everyone's surprise.

Sunshine Protection Act Faces Hurdle in Congress

The Sunshine Protection Act, a bipartisan bill, would eliminate the need for Americans to adjust their clocks twice a year. The House of Representatives, on the other hand, is taking a more deliberative approach.

Since it was originally implemented as a wartime measure in 1942, members of Congress have been interested in the potential benefits and costs of daylight saving time. The proposal will now be sent to the House of Representatives, where the Energy and Commerce Committee will hear it.

Rep. Pete Aguilar (D-Calif.), who represents the Golden State, said lawmakers should evaluate the widest possible range of consequences, including farmers and children waiting at bus stops in the early morning darkness. Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Washington) said she has heard from all sides of the discussion about the plan since the Senate passed it without warning, NY Daily News reported.

On Tuesday, the Senate passed the bill by the unanimous accord. Any senator can use the technique to approve a bill without a vote, but only one senator can oppose and block it.

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), the bill's lead sponsor, said his office operated a "hotline" on the issue last week, telling other senators' offices that the Florida Republican was seeking unanimous assent to pass the bill.

Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) had an objection to the bill, according to the staffer, and they expected him to object to its passing. Rubio postponed his attempt to pass the bill until Tuesday to give Wicker time to return to Washington after a travel delay.

Starting in November 2023, under the newly passed proposal, daylight saving time would be made permanent, removing the need for most people to change their clocks at that time of year.

Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-Fla.), who says he is lobbying for a counterpart bill in the House to pass quickly, has echoed Rubio's demand for the House to take swift action on the legislation.

On Friday, Buchanan told The Hill that he believes the bill will pass this year, citing recent statements from Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) expressing openness to the notion as a positive indication.

Read Also: Joe Biden To Visit Poland To Discuss International Support for Ukraine; Ukrainian Official Urges US President To Talk to Volodymyr Zelensky

Daylight Savings Bill Could Affect Health, Sleep

Doctors and researchers from the American Academy of Sleep Medicine are among the most vocal opponents of year-round daylight saving time. According to proponents of standard time, sunlight triggers crucial hormones that power a person's day's activities, and the sooner that process begins, the better.

And because melatonin, which is important for falling asleep, is released after the sun sets, the sooner it happens, the better the chances of getting a decent night's sleep. Dr. Nathaniel F. Watson, a neurologist at the University of Washington Medicine Sleep Center and a spokesman for the sleep academy, said that while permanent standard time would be ideal, changing the clock in spring and fall would still be preferable year-round daylight saving time.

Nonetheless, switching between normal and daylight saving times is connected to a number of detrimental health outcomes, including greater incidences of heart disease and more traffic accidents, according to a 2020 study. As a result, stopping the habit of changing clocks may help mitigate such hazards, per NBC News.

Related Article: Is the Daylight Savings Time Permanent Now? Americans React to Senate Approval of 'The Sunshine Protection Act'

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The White House urged private companies on Monday to strengthen their cyber defenses using eight urgent steps amid warnings of the continuously evolving intelligence that suggests Russia is planning and exploring options for a potential cyberattack to target critical U.S. infrastructure.

During a briefing on Monday afternoon, Ann Neuberger, the White House deputy national security adviser for cyber and emerging technology, said that despite the warnings, there was no certainty that there would actually be cyber incidents on critical infrastructure. She added that she was involved because of a call to action to prepare for such a threat.

Russian Cyber Attacks

In recent weeks, United States President Joe Biden's administration has warned that Russia could conduct cyberattacks on U.S. infrastructure or other regions. However, officials previously said that there were no immediate, specific, or credible threats against the U.S. at the time.

But on Monday, Neuberger said officials observed "preparatory activity" that prompted the Biden administration to brief companies and sectors that could be affected in a classified setting last week. The official said that the government shared the intelligence of the preparatory activity in a classified context, as per MSN.

Since the beginning of Russia's invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, the Biden administration has continuously worked to strengthen the country's cybersecurity defenses. President Biden's Executive Order aimed to modernize the federal government's defenses and improve the security provided by widely-used technology.

The Democrat has also opted to launch public-private action plans to shore up the cybersecurity of the electricity, pipeline, and water sectors. Biden directed various departments and agencies across the U.S. to make use of existing government authorities to mandate new cybersecurity and network defense measures.

Read Also: US Confirms Russia Launched Hypersonic Missiles on Ukraine; UN Reports 850 Civilians Killed Since Day 1 of Invasion

According to the White House, on the international stage, the Biden administration has brought together more than 30 allies and partners that it would work with to detect and disrupt ransomware threats. The American government has also rallied G7 countries to hold accountable nations that harbor ransomware criminals. Officials urged them to take steps with partners and allies to publicly attribute malicious activity.

Furthermore, the government issued eight urgent steps that businesses and companies can use to increase their security. These are multi-factor authentication, deploying modern security tools, coordinating with cybersecurity professionals, backing up data offline, practicing emergency plans, encrypting data, educating employees, and coordinating with the FBI and CISA.

Threat of Technological Warfare

During the Business Roundtable Quarterly Meeting held in Washington, President Biden warned that Russian President Vladimir Putin was likely planning cyber attacks as a form of retaliation against the U.S. for sanctions imposed on his territory. After Moscow invaded Ukraine, the consequences were imposed, and he refused to withdraw his troops.

In his remarks, the Democrat said that the magnitude of Russia's cyber capacity was consequential and was inevitable. Biden also noted that Putin had an array of cyber technology to use if he decided to attack the U.S. and its infrastructure.

Biden's statement also noted that his administration acknowledged that the federal government could not defend itself from Russian cyberattacks alone. His remarks said that many of the country's critical infrastructure is either owned or operated by the private sector. This meant that owners and operators are responsible for accelerating efforts to bolster their cyber defenses amid the threat of Russian cyberattacks, CNN reported.

Related Article: Ukrainian Ground Forces Strikes Down Russian Ka-52 Alligator Attack Helicopters; How Were These Powerful Gunships Neutralized?

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Former President Donald Trump and two of his adult children filed an appeal on Monday, arguing that they should not be forced to take depositions by New York Attorney General Letitia James.

The Trumps contended that if James wants them to testify she should take them before a state grand jury, which can grant witnesses protection.

Trump Family Believes Jury Can Make Interference

The appeal is part of the Trump family's effort to overturn a lower court ruling last month that ordered the former president and his two eldest children, Ivanka Trump and Donald Trump Jr., to sit for a deposition as part of James' investigation into the Trump Organization's alleged fraudulent dealings.

A separate joint criminal investigation by James and the Manhattan District Attorney's Office is looking into whether Trump dropped property values on tax forms then raised them to make them look better to financial lenders.

Late last month, Trump's lawyers filed a notice with the state appellate court, requesting a review of Judge Arthur Engoron's decision that the former president and his two eldest children sit for depositions with the attorney general's office.

Trump has called the investigation a politically motivated witch hunt and has filed a federal lawsuit seeking a halt to the investigation, The Hill reported.

In February, a state judge denied the Trumps' motion, stating that they might exercise their Fifth Amendment protection against self-incrimination and decline to answer questions, as Eric Trump did during his deposition in 2020. Per CNN, attorneys for the Trump family contended that if the Trumps refused to answer questions in depositions a jury could make an "adverse inference."

Read Also: Hunter Biden Scandal: Dems, Big Tech Work on Burying Story of President's Son; White House Deflects Foreign Dealing Concerns

Trumps Question Letitia James' "Inappropriate Statements"

Judge Arthur Engoron of the New York Supreme Court had ordered the Trumps to attend for depositions by March 10, but the former President and his children reached an agreement to postpone their appearances until the outcome of an appeal.

In January, James said her office's civil investigation had uncovered significant evidence that the Trump Organization used "fraudulent or misleading asset valuations to obtain a host of economic benefits, including loans, insurance coverage, and tax deductions," and that financial statements contained numerous "misleading statements and omissions."

The former President and his firm have been the subject of a parallel criminal investigation by the Manhattan district attorney's office, which is looking into whether they misled lenders, insurers, and others by giving false or misleading financial statements about property valuations.

However, the inquiry has come to a halt, with two top lawyers resigning earlier this month when Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg stated that he would not authorize an indictment against the former President.

The Trump lawyers also want the appeals court to overturn Engoron's ruling and hold a hearing on the "scope and amount of coordination" between the Manhattan district attorney's office and the attorney general's office.

The Trumps' lawyers noted that the criminal investigation by the Manhattan district attorney's office, like the attorney general's probe, is focused on the valuations and evaluations of Trump's properties in financial statements to taxing authorities and financial institutions.

"Coordination between simultaneous civil and criminal proceedings is routine procedure," according to a filing from the attorney general's office in January.

In their appeal, attorneys for the Trumps described James' public statements about Donald Trump as "an exceptional and unprecedented bombardment of inappropriate public statements" since she sought office in 2018, promising to investigate and prosecute Trump and others close to him. The appeal claims that Engoron's ruling missed James' words, claiming that they reflect "extreme animus" on James' behalf and that they can't be overlooked, as per News Press Now.

Related Article: Donald Trump's Plane Forced to Make Emergency Landing Due to Engine Failure After GOP Donor Speech in New Orleans

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Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson began her first day of the Supreme Court confirmation hearings where the Black woman touted her love for the United States and committed to being Independent if she were to be included in the country's highest court.

United States President Joe Biden's historic SC nominee was introduced by two of her colleagues and made a speech herself. Jackson also listened to more than four hours of speeches from senators. Her opening statement focused on her humble background and she expressed her gratitude to the people who have supported her legal career.

Supreme Court Confirmation Hearing

Jackson and her supporters have emphasized the "independent" approach that she could bring to the bench. On top of that, Senate Judiciary Committee Democrats argued that the Black woman's confirmation will allow the Supreme Court to be more reflective of the country it serves.

Republicans, who have looked at parts of the Supreme Court nominee's record they wanted to criticize, launched a series of broadsides against Democrats for how they handled the confirmation of GOP nominees in the past, as per CNN.

During her opening statements, Jackson said that her name "Ketanji Onyika" meant "lovely one," telling the committee of her parents' pride in their heritage. The nominee revealed that her interest in law was developed from watching her father study law. She also praised the "excellent mentors" she had during her high school days.

Read Also: Ketanji Jackson 1st Black Female Supreme Court Pick Faces US Senators In Historic Confirmation Hearings

In her remarks, she said that Justice Stephen Breyer, who she is set to replace if she were to be confirmed, gave her the greatest job a young lawyer could ask for. She added that Breyer exemplified what it meant to be a Supreme Court justice of the highest level of skill, integrity, civility, and grace.

According to Yahoo News, joined by her parents, her husband, and her daughters, Jackson said that it was a struggle juggling her career and motherhood. She admitted to not always making the right choices but noted that she always worked hard with determination and love.

Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson

Jackson said that if she was confirmed, she will work productively to support and defend the Constitution and American democracy. She noted that she has been a judge for nearly a decade and said she takes her responsibility and duty to be independent very seriously. The nominee's opening remarks lasted for about 13 minutes.

At the beginning of the day, several Democrats in the room were celebrating her nomination to the Supreme Court. Texas Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, who had no formal role in the proceedings, held up her phone and recorded New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker's remarks where he said that Jackson's nomination was "not a normal day for America."

Among GOP members, there were signs of gentility, an example being when Iowa Sen. Charles E. Grassley, who is the committee's senior Republican, pulled out a chair for Jackson before the beginning of the hearing. However, the tone quickly shifted as GOP members stressed that they would not be personally attacking the nominee and focused on her record, the New York Times reported.



Related Article: McConnell Ponders SC Vote as Nominee Begins Confirmation Hearings on Monday

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Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) criticized Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson as a far-left tool but promised to give her a fair hearing in her bid to become the Supreme Court's first Black woman.

Graham accused Jackson of being used to sabotage the candidacy of his preferred candidate, Judge Michelle Childs, a federal judge from his home state of South Carolina, in his opening speech.

Sen. Lindsey Graham Fumes at Confirmation Hearing

Despite having previously voted to affirm Jackson, Graham stated that the Supreme Court nomination is a "whole new game" and promised to ask difficult questions. He also reminded Jackson of the tumultuous debate over Judge Brett Kavanaugh's Supreme Court nomination, which was nearly derailed by decades-old rape allegations.

Although Jackson would be the first Black woman to serve on the Supreme Court, Graham claimed she would have an easier time than former Republican nominees, NY Daily News reported. Graham also promised to grill Jackson on whether she supports extending the Supreme Court and her role in ensuring that accused terrorists incarcerated at Guantanamo Bay receive due process.

Despite Jackson's pointed words, Graham said he hasn't decided whether to support or oppose her. Despite his belief that Childs would have been a better option, he stated he wholeheartedly supports the appointment of a Black woman to the court.

Last month, Graham and Democratic House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn praised Childs on a bipartisan basis, urging President Joe Biden to nominate her to replace retiring Justice Stephen Breyer. If Jackson is approved by a majority vote in the Senate, she will become not just the first black woman on the Supreme Court, but also the first justice with experience as a public defender, as per The Washington Examiner.

During Jackson's confirmation hearings for a seat on the United States Supreme Court, Graham, along with Republican Senators Lisa Murkowski and Susan Collins, voted for her on the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia last year. Graham has become increasingly critical of Jackson's record since Biden's nomination last month.

The South Carolina senator also echoed ranking committee member Chuck Grassley's concerns about left-wing dark money groups that have backed Jackson, such as Demand Justice, which is one of the liberal groups that has backed expanding the court to include more justices to counteract the court's current conservative balance.

Read Also: US Daylight Savings Bill Hit With Potential Issues: Why Are Lawmakers Hesitant About Passing It?

Supreme Court Nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson Pledges Independence

Meanwhile, as a Senate panel launched a confirmation hearing on Monday (March 21) in which her record was attacked by Republicans, Jackson vowed independence if approved and endorsed for a restricted role for jurists.

According to The Strait Times, Jackson also mentioned in her opening remarks before the Senate Judiciary Committee that her parents grew up in the South during the racial segregation era. Biden, who campaigned on a promise to select a Black woman to the Supreme Court in 2020, nominated Jackson, 51, for a lifetime position on the court to replace retiring liberal Justice Stephen Breyer, setting up a confirmation struggle in the Senate.

She would be the 116th justice to serve on the Supreme Court if confirmed. Senator Dick Durbin, the Democratic head of the committee, stated, "Not a single justice has been a Black woman; you, Judge Jackson, can be the first."

The Fraternal Order of Police, among other law enforcement organizations, has approved Jackson's nomination, according to Durbin. "I hope you can see how much I love our nation, the Constitution, and the liberties that keep us free," Jackson added.

Senators will question Jackson on Tuesday and Wednesday. The Senate, which has the power to approve a president's judicial nominees under the US Constitution, is controlled by Biden's Democratic colleagues by a razor-thin margin.

Related Article: Ketanji Jackson 1st Black Female Supreme Court Pick Faces US Senators In Historic Confirmation Hearings

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US President Joe Biden throws shade over major Brexit trade talks between US and UK officials negotiating only now after several entreaties by UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

Several UK politicians like Nigel Farage have scoured the US president for not recognizing the value of the special relationship between the two countries.

Ex-president Trump's negotiations with Brexit were dropped by Biden when he took office, not considering that the UK is one of the biggest trade partners of the US as well.

US-UK Agreement

Instead of encouraging a deal, the president gave a warning to Britain. since January 20, he has snubbed the UK and made a deal to the EU instead, the Express reported.

In Baltimore, the International Trade Secretaries Anne-Marie Trevelyan and Katherine Tai were in discussions. They want to improve the volume of trade in key digital, green trade areas, and how to support small to medium businesses that want to export abroad, cited News 7 Trends.

These trade talks took more than a year to materialize after Brexit left the EU a while back. No explanation was provided by the White House why it has delayed negotiation after he left office in January 2020.

Biden administration Interferes With Northern Ireland Protocol

Despite the many mishaps in foreign and domestic policy, the White House told the UK it had to stop its warning to trigger Article 16 of the NIP. It would render an international agreement agreed upon by an earlier US administration.

Though the talks have gotten off the wrong foot, hope is there that something will pan out despite the opinion of Joe Biden, who is wrestling with low poll numbers.

Read Also: Vladimir Putin Net Worth 2022: Does Anyone Know Russian President's Hidden Wealth?

Before the talks, Trevelyan said that she was excited to meet Ambassador Tai to start negotiations that would determine the future of UK-US trade.

She added, "We look forward to welcoming Ambassador Tai to the UK later this spring, where we will keep discussions on how the UK and US can cooperate to use trade smartly in today's global economy."

Furthermore, trade is essential to the UK's agenda to level up and improve UK-US trade links that will benefit the United Kingdom.

The UK International Trade Secretary will spend two days where the talks will be held; next, it will be in the UK with Ms. Tai scheduled in the spring.

About 116billion in bilateral trade done with the US could ask why Joe Biden is too critical or waited too long to initiate talks.

According to one senior US trade official, the primary objective of this discussion is to work collaboratively to make our trade better choices and help our workers and businesses compete in a very tough world economy, noted the New York Times Post.

One more said there is a need to be creative and be smart when it comes to trade policy. It will sort out everything.

Why Biden has chosen to ignore the relevance of a free trade deal with the UK has resulted in frustration, but considering how his administration has mismanaged everything, this might not come as a surprise.

Senior VP of the US Chamber of commerce, Marjorie Collins, will be part of the trade talks, saying why the White House denigrated an FTA with the UK. Why is it hard to work with an ally; she added.

Why Joe Biden drags on a trade deal with Brexit is puzzling, and many US officials want to start the ball rolling. The warning over Article 16 is not a good sign over the special relationship.

Related Article: Joe Biden Sucks According to Twitter User Due to Dismissive Attitude to Brexit While He Favors Brussels

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Hong Kong authorities aim to relaunch the region's economy by easing COVID-19-related travel restrictions and quarantine requirements.

The orders will lift flight bans that have been in place in nine countries that include the United States and also reduce mandatory quarantine for travelers returning to the region down to seven days. The decision is the first easing of restrictions in the last few months amid the "zero-covid" policy.

Hong Kong's Travel Restrictions

The easing of restrictions will begin on Apr. 1. Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor has acknowledged that the decision was sound for local patients and their close contacts. She also cited that many other nations have opted to ease travel restrictions despite the health crisis.

But while the decision comes as good news to business travelers, holidaymakers, and many people who are looking forward to spending time with family, it also comes as a disappointment to businesses and other individuals. This is because many of the rules will continue to be in place for another month, as per the South China Morning Post.

The changes also underscore rising pressure on Hong Kong officials to not only focus on reopening the region's border with mainland China but also restore its international operations. This is because more and more companies and professionals are leaving the city because of the tyrannical pandemic restrictions.

Read Also: COVID-19 in the US: Dr. Anthony Fauci Warns Potential Surge in Cases Amid 'Blip' in the UK

Despite the easing of restrictions, only fully vaccinated residents will be allowed to enter the city of Hong Kong. The order to lift the bans became the first major move in officials' attempts to reopen Hong Kong's international ties, which have been generally closed off since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic two years ago.

According to the Washington Post, the decision also comes as the city's coronavirus situation continues to worsen, with health experts citing increasing infections and deaths since February. The total case in Hong Kong has reached over one million as of Sunday. This comes as the population of the region is at an estimated 7.5 million. The last pandemic wave also resulted in the death of roughly 5,600 people.

Coronavirus Infections and Fatalities

Once known as Asia's undisputed business hub, Hong Kong has struggled against its fifth wave of coronavirus infections. The incident has resulted in an overload of the region's health care system, which is considered to be a brain drain and a huge blow to the economy.

Lam added that Hong Kong residents returning internationally will be allowed to leave hotel quarantine if they test negative for the coronavirus virus on the fifth, sixth, and seventh day of their quarantine. Afterward, they will be required to take seven days for self-monitoring.

Hong Kong's quarantine restrictions have been one of the most severe and gained notoriety in the international business community. Before the easing of restrictions, the majority of inbound travelers were required to self-isolate in hotel rooms for three weeks, which is one of the longest quarantine periods in the world. The changes also come after Lam acknowledged the need to improve the city's standing in global business, CNN Business reported.



Related Article: China: Experts Predict Major Economic Impact of COVID-19 Lockdown, But Xi Jinping Vows To Minimize Hit

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Russia has conceded that its invasion of Ukraine cost them approximately 10,000 troops.

A pro-Kremlin tabloid provided the previously undisclosed number, which reveals the full cost of Vladimir Putin's catastrophic invasion.

When the Russian dictator authorized the invasion, he expected a quick triumph, but his soldiers have run across stubborn Ukrainian opposition and may shortly succumb. Russia has kept the full death toll hidden and just confessed to 498 dead on March 2.

Russian Soldiers Who Died in Ukraine Include 5 Generals

However, in an unexpected move, Komsomolskaya Pravda stated that 9,861 Russian servicemen died in Ukraine and 16,153 were injured, according to the Russian military ministry. Ukraine claims to have killed about 15,000 Russians and destroyed a significant amount of equipment, as per The Sun.

The latest Russian statistics are higher than the 7,000 people believed to have perished and up to 21,000 people injured by the US military, according to reports. Russia is discreetly transferring the bodies of dead Russian soldiers home via Belarus on trains and ambulances at night in order to conceal the real death toll.

Five Russian generals, as well as other top commanders, including those from special paratrooper groups, are among the dead. The deputy commander of Russia's Black Sea Fleet is the latest senior officer to die, dealing another blow to Vladimir Putin's military.

Read Also: China: Experts Predict Major Economic Impact of COVID-19 Lockdown, But Xi Jinping Vows To Minimize Hit

Vladimir Putin Accused of Abducting Ukrainian Children

Putin is accused of abducting approximately 2,500 Ukrainian children from Donetsk and Luhansk and deporting them to Russia in scenes reminiscent of "Nazi" transports. Ukraine's Ministry of Foreign Affairs accused Russia of kidnapping children through forced relocation, warning that the purported deportations constitute a grave breach of international humanitarian law in particular.

Per Daily Mail, it comes only hours after Kyiv's intelligence service accused Moscow of deporting Ukrainians to filtration centers before forcefully transporting them to distant Siberian settlements after seizing their phones and documents.

The Ukrainian foreign ministry urged the international community to respond to the unlawful transfer of children, warning that depriving children of parental care puts their lives in peril in Russia and that those who commit these crimes will face prosecution.

Before chairing a meeting of the EU's foreign ministers in Brussels, EU foreign policy head Josep Borrell declared that what is occurring in Mariupol is a gigantic war crime: destruction of properties, bombardment, and indiscriminate slaughter of people

Hundreds of refugees from the beleaguered southeastern port city of Mariupol have just arrived in Russia, according to Russian news sources. A trainload of over 280 Ukrainians was also "rescued" from Mariupol, according to Moscow officials, who showed video of them applauding Russian soldiers.

Mariupol is experiencing a humanitarian crisis after being trapped by Russian soldiers, cut off from energy, food, and water supplies, and bombarded mercilessly. On the 25th day of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Ukrainian officials claim that Russian soldiers bombed an art school in Mariupol, where more than 400 people took shelter.

According to local officials, the G12 art school in Mariupol was burned while women, children, and the elderly were inside. There were no casualties recorded at the time. A bomb erupted in a Mariupol theatre earlier on Wednesday, killing 1,300 people, Republic World reported.

Mariupol, a major port on the Azov Sea in Ukraine, has been pounded for at least three weeks and has experienced some of the worst tragedies possible. According to the report, at least 2,300 individuals were slain, with some of them having to be buried in mass graves. The city has run out of food, water, and electricity.

As Russia claimed to have fired a second hypersonic missile into Ukraine on Sunday, Ukraine's human rights spokesperson, Lyudmyla Denisova, accused Russian soldiers of kidnapping Mariupol people and taking them to Russia.

Mariupol, Ukraine's biggest port on the Azov Sea, has been battered for at least three weeks and has seen some of the worst disasters.

Related Article: Russia-Ukraine War: Vladimir Putin Agrees To Meet Volodymyr Zelensky; Ukraine President Warns of World War 3 if Peace Talks Fail

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Hainan takes lead in carbon trading model

08:43, March 22, 2022 By MA ZHIPING in Haikou ( China Daily

Establishment of center on island to aid nation's green transformation

An international carbon emission trading center has been approved for establishment in Hainan Free Trade Port to demonstrate the nation's low-carbon transformation and further open up its financial markets, according to officials with the Hainan provincial government.

To be registered in Sanya, a coastal resort city at the southern tip of tropical Hainan Island, and expected to be in operation in the latter half of the year, the carbon emission trading center was one of the key international trading venues to be promoted in the construction of Hainan Free Trade Port.

The master plan for the Hainan FTP released by the central government in June 2020 said that support would be granted to establish international trading venues for energy, shipping, bulk commodities, intellectual property rights, equities and carbon emission rights in Hainan. The plan aims to build Hainan into a globally influential high-level free trade port by the middle of the century.

The center will provide a strong capital support platform for all kinds of carbon financial products, and boost the reduction of carbon emissions and energy consumption in a bid to serve the national green and low-carbon development strategy, according to a meeting about preparations for the new trading venue held in Haikou, Hainan's provincial capital, last week.

Establishing the international carbon market in Hainan is an important way to achieve the nation's goals for peak carbon emissions and carbon neutrality, and a crucial link in developing a market-oriented ecological compensation mechanism, officials said at the meeting.

Experts said that construction of the Hainan International Carbon Emission Trading Center is of critical significance.

"Hainan FTP has an excellent market environment and preferential tax policies, which will bolster long-term market expectations. Hainan's practice in piloting international carbon emissions trading will be a demonstration for other parts of the country," Zhang Jianhong, a senior engineer with China International Engineering Consulting, told Security Times.

The establishment of various trading centers is an important step for Hainan to build a market system with international factors and accelerate the agglomeration of people, logistics and capital in Hainan FTP.Rapid progress is being made thanks to the introduction of supporting fiscal and tax policies by the central authorities, according to officials with the Hainan provincial financial supervision administration.

International trading centers for energy, tropical agricultural products, intellectual property rights and cultural works of art have been reconstructed or newly built. Efforts are underway to accelerate the building of new international trading places for products and services such as equities, options and shipping.

Song Xiangqing, vice-president of the Academy of Government at Beijing Normal University, said that the trading places in Hainan will become essential platforms for China to export and import commodities and property rights and are expected to foster "Hainan prices", which will become a bellwether for some bulk commodities, property rights, equities and options in world market transactions.

(Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Liang Jun)
President Joe Biden was chastised by former Attorney General Bill Barr for lying regarding the legitimacy of Hunter Biden's laptop.

Following the lead of The New York Post and DailyMail.com, The New York Times recently confirmed the laptop's authenticity. The White House refused to clarify whether President Joe Biden supported Russian misinformation allegations last week.

Hunter Biden's laptop has a plethora of emails regarding his business transactions, as well as explicit videos and pictures. Hunter Biden's taxes tied to his offshore business transactions are being investigated by federal prosecutors, according to Daily Mail.

Biden Family May Expect Hunter's Indictment

"I can't think of anything more when it comes to election influence," Barr said on Fox News, referring to President Biden's attempt to blame the Russians for the laptop.

Barr refused to "venture an opinion" on whether the president may suffer legal consequences as a result of the contents on the laptop. Barr admitted that the White House's laptop story might be politically divisive.

In addition, author Peter Schweizer joined Maria Bartiromo on Fox News Channel's "Sunday Morning Futures" to explore what's behind The New York Times' surprising revelation that Hunter Biden's laptop is real and not a Russian disinformation campaign.

The appearance of the New York Times piece on March 16 shows that the Biden family may be preparing for the impact of Hunter Biden's indictment, according to Schweizer, author of "Red-Handed: How American Elites Get Rich Helping China Win."

Under the watchful scrutiny of the United States, the inquiry into Hunter Biden's dealings has been ongoing since 2018, according to Attorney for the District of Delaware David Weiss. COVID-19 threw a kink in the case's development, and the first son is now being investigated for taxes and corruption once more.

The author's publications have highlighted the Biden clan's corruption and their ties to communist China.

Read Also: Trump Family Appeals To Stop NY Attorney General From Trying To Grill Them as Part of Civil Investigation, Seeks To Quash Her Subpoenas

Joe Biden Is Accused of Lying, Ignoring Facts

Emails on the "laptop from hell" depict Hunter Biden using crack, as well as sexually graphic content and dozens of purported references to shady international business operations. The New York Post broke the original report, which was banned on social media soon before the 2020 presidential election.

He said the laptop had information indicating Hunter Biden had received at least $31 million in dubious foreign cash. The emails' revelations are nothing new. Hunter Biden organized an April 2015 dinner at Georgetown's Cafe Milano with a guest list that included Ukrainian energy firm Burisma advisor Vadym Pozharskyi, according to a New York Post investigation from last year.

Meanwhile, in the run-up to the 2020 US presidential election, high-profile podcaster Joe Rogan has chastised the mainstream media in the United States for "ignoring" the Hunter Biden laptop scandal.

Despite the story's potential ramifications, big tech and much of the mainstream media blocked the New York Post's article. Rogan claimed on his Youtube channel that the media is prepared to "ignore facts to advance" a narrative and that politicians, such as Joe Biden, are willing to "lie" about inconvenient truths.

Emails on this laptop also appeared to indicate that the president's second son had received presents from foreign interests in Ukraine and China, as per Sky News.

Related Article: Hunter Biden Scandal: Dems, Big Tech Work on Burying Story of President's Son; White House Deflects Foreign Dealing Concerns

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A Russian court banned Facebook and Instagram after it labeled the social media platforms' parent company, Meta, guilty of being an "extremist organization" and performing "extremist activity," but it allowed WhatsApp to continue its messaging services.

The decision would prohibit the US company from operating on Russian territory after Moscow's Tverskoy District Court upheld a lawsuit on Monday that was filed by Russian state prosecutors. The court's press service accused the tech giant of tolerating "Russophobia" amid its war on Ukraine.

Russian Ban on Meta Platforms

Officials also said that the ban did not apply to the activities of WhatsApp despite being under the same parent company as the other two social media networks. Meta, on the other hand, did not immediately reply to requests for comments regarding the incident.

In court, lawyer Victoria Shagina said that the company was not carrying out any form of extremist activities and fought against Russophobia. Since Russia's unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, access to Meta's Facebook and Instagram platforms had already been partially limited, as per Aljazeera.

It remains unclear whether or not Meta is planning to appeal the outlawing of the activities of Facebook and Instagram in Russian territory. Communications regulator Roskomnadzor said on Monday that it would exclude Meta from the list of foreign entities that are allowed to operate on the Internet in Russia. They would also remove Facebook and Instagram from the register of social networks.

Furthermore, the communications regulators said that Russian media should label Meta and its various networks as prohibited whenever they distribute information. They are also forbidden from showing off the logos of the companies and networks.

Read Also: [REPORT] Russia Admits Losing 10,000 Soldiers Within 4 Weeks of Ukraine Invasion, Following Airstrike in Mariupol

According to Reuters, in the past, Russia has used the term extremist to describe groups such as the Taliban and Islamic State but later included the Jehovah's Witnesses. Authorities also imprisoned Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny's Anti-Corruption Foundation.

Extremist Activities

Judge Olga Solopova's order could result in the prosecution of Russians who trade large shares in Meta or for purchasing advertisements on Facebook and Instagram. A warning was issued by human rights lawyer Pavel Chiko in a message on Telegram.

Chiko also said that public displays of Meta symbols on websites, shop entrances, and business cards could lead to administrative charges that could impose up to 15 days of imprisonment under Russian law. The court decision excluded WhatsApp because of its alleged "lack of functionality for the public dissemination of information."

On the other hand, the British Ministry of Defense banned its soldiers from accessing and using WhatsApp amid fears that Russia could use the communication app to obtain operationally sensitive information.

Recently, Facebook and Instagram amended policies to allow users in some countries to call for violence against Russians and its armed forces. They categorized the speech as a form of political expression in the context of Russian President Vladimir Putin's unprovoked war on Ukraine.

Furthermore, Meta also allowed users in other countries to call for the deaths of Putin or Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko. State prosecutors on Monday argued that Meta's platforms created what they call an "alternative reality" due to Facebook and Instagram's strong influence on public opinion worldwide, Fox Business reported.



Related Article: Russia-Ukraine War: Vladimir Putin Agrees To Meet Volodymyr Zelensky; Ukraine President Warns of World War 3 if Peace Talks Fail

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Meghan Markle reportedly had a fuss over eggs, prompting Queen Elizabeth to give her an earful ahead of her royal wedding to Prince Harry.

The royal wedding of Meghan Markle and Prince Harry in 2018 was undoubtedly one of the most memorable events in the British royal family's history. It was not, however, without controversy.

There were allegations that Meghan Markle made Kate Middleton weep during her bridesmaid dress fitting in the past, but the Duchess of Sussex subsequently clarified that the situation was reversed.

Meghan Markle Mistreats Palace Staff During Food Tasting for Her Wedding

Meghan Markle, however, wasn't the only one embroiled in controversy ahead of her royal wedding to Prince Harry. Katie Nicholl, a royal biographer, disclosed to Yahoo's Royal Box that Markle had an encounter with Queen Elizabeth.

The Duchess of Sussex made it clear that she wanted eggless foods served at her wedding since some of her guests could be allergic to eggs, Nicholl claimed. During her meal sampling, though, Markle maintained that one of the dishes she was offered had eggs in it.

Despite repeated assurances from Palace officials that eggs were not included in the meal, Prince Harry's wife refused to accept them. Because the food tasting was held within Windsor Castle, it was only a matter of time until Queen Elizabeth overheard Meghan Markle and the palace workers arguing.

According to the Daily Star, Nicholl went on to say that the Queen stepped in on the scene and "quietly pulled Meghan to the side." Her Majesty is said to have warned Meghan Markle that the Royal Family does not speak to people "like that."

They have relocated to California and have been in the process of signing new huge partnerships with worldwide companies such as Netflix and Spotify. Meghan Markle's long-awaited podcast on Spotify will be launched in the summer, according to a spokesperson for the couple's foundation Archewell.

Fans of the Duchess of Sussex have been waiting for fresh Archewell Audio material on the streaming platform for two years. The most recent Spotify podcast was a Holiday Special with Sir Elton John and other celebrities in 2020.

Read Also: Prince William Remembers 'Happy Family Day' Through Sweet Tribute to Prince Harry During St. Patrick's Day Celebration

Prince Harry Rejects Rumor That He Is Afraid Meghan Markle Will Dump Him

Meanwhile, Prince Harry has refuted a remark in which he slammed media coverage of his then-girlfriend Meghan Markle, claiming that he was worried she might dump him. In 2016, he made a furious statement which denounced coverage of Meghan Markle, who was then his girlfriend.

The Duke of Sussex said she had been the victim of "a wave of abuse and harassment." Prince Harry asked his team to issue the media-blasting statement out of fear that Meghan Markle would leave him.

However, the couple's media spokesperson denied that this was the case. According to reports, Jason Knauf, Prince Harry's communications secretary, made the comments criticizing the undertones of the comment pieces that had surfaced.

The Sussex, who have now left the UK to start a new life in Los Angeles with their two children, have firmly refuted that he was "freaking out" about being rejected by Meghan Markle.

Another source featured in the headline claimed Prince Harry was "freaking out" over it, but a spokesperson for the couple dismissed the claims as incorrect, as per Mirror.

After cutting connections with the royal family, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have been asked to present an award at the Academy Awards next weekend. They were reportedly offered the opportunity to present an award in one of the winning categories. The prince married Meghan Markle in Windsor Castle's St. George's Chapel in May 2018, in front of a massive gathering.

Related Article: Meghan Markle's Father Thomas To Testify in Court for Her Sister Over Defamation Lawsuit Filed Against the Duchess

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The Storm Prediction Center warned a storm system that caused widespread damage and some injuries in Texas moved toward Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama on Tuesday, potentially causing "a regional severe weather outbreak."

According to the weather agency, the affected regions could experience strong tornadoes, especially the cities of Baton Rouge and Jackson, Mississippi. Thousands of hurricane survivors living in government-provided mobile homes and recreational vehicle trailers in Louisiana have been urged to have an evacuation plan because the structures may not be able to endure the impending storm.

Bob Howard, the spokesman for the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Louisiana Governor's Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness, reported that more than 8,000 families live in such temporary shelters, as per the Associated Press.

Both agencies issued a joint statement warning residents that "heavy rainfall can occur over the same areas, increasing the risk for flooding." They advise the public to "move to higher ground" once flood warnings have been issued.

The risk-management agencies also advise those dwelling in a state or FEMA temporary housing to keep their cellphones on and fully charged and enable severe weather alert feature enabled as the "danger is expected to be highest at night."

According to a news release issued last week, almost 1,800 households living in trailers directly provided by FEMA are still unable to return to homes ruined by storms Laura and Delta in 2020.

Tornadoes in Texas

Meanwhile, the National Weather Service reported that portions of central and east Texas, particularly Austin and College Station, experienced extreme storms and tornadoes. Photos of the devastation in the areas were posted on social media.

The National Public Radio reported that at least four people got injured from the storm, according to Texas authorities.

In a media conference Monday night, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said that the storms brought massive damage, and the government will be "shoulder to shoulder" with the calamity victims. He also expressed gratitude that there were no immediate reports of deaths, which he considers "a miracle."

Read Also: Joe Biden, White House Issue 8 Urgent Steps to Take Amid Potential Russian Cyberattack

Federal Gov Assistance For Disaster Survivors

Vice President Kamala Harris and FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell announced from Washington DC on Monday that Louisiana will receive $40 million in federal grants for disaster survivors to improve their homes and make them more resilient against floods.

According to Criswell's Federal Emergency Management Agency, projects eligible for new Swift Current funds include property acquisition and demolition, elevation, and relocation.

Swift Current seeks to aid communities in reducing flood damage and adhering to regulatory standards. To help disadvantaged communities meet their non-federal match payments, FEMA grants more fair access to mitigation grants above the typical 75 percent federal share, as reported by The Advocate.

FEMA is willing to pay more than usual for buildings in socially vulnerable communities - 90% instead of 75%, with the balance, paid locally. For Severe Repetitive Loss properties, the federal cost-share is 100%; for Repetitive Loss properties, it is 90%.

FEMA-funded programs are entirely voluntary, and interested homeowners should contact their local floodplain administrator or emergency manager for further information on FEMA programs and the application process.

The application period runs from April 1 to October 3. The Notice of Funding Opportunity is accessible on Grants.gov.

Related Article: Stimulus Check New York: $1000 Available for New Yorkers [Eligibility, Requirements, How to Apply]

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The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has confirmed that 5,000 exoplanets have already been discovered. The count was reached thanks to 65 planets that have been recently added to the NASA Exoplanet Archive.

The 5,000 planets include planets that are similar to own, those that orbit two stars at the same time, planets that are described as smaller Neptunes, and many more.

Space telescopes such as the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite have contributed to the discovery of exoplanets. NASA as well as other space agencies are set to launch more missions to discover more of them.

NASA Confirms 5,000 Exoplanets Discovered

NASA has officially announced that the 5,000th exoplanet has been discovered. The announcement was made by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), which is located in California.

According to the official announcement, "The count of confirmed exoplanets just ticked past the 5,000 mark, representing a 30-year journey of discovery led by NASA space telescopes."

Specifically, 65 exoplanets have been added to the NASA Exoplanet Archive, which led to the count reaching the 5,000 mark. It should be noted that exoplanets discovered using multiple methods or techniques that have appeared in scientific papers that are peer-reviewed are included in the archive.

The 5,000 Exoplanets

The 5,000 exoplanets discovered so far include those that are similar to our planet as well as those that are described as "super-Earths" and "mini-Neptunes," meaning they are similar but smaller than Neptune.

There are also gas giants that are said to be much larger than Jupiter as well as those referred to as "hot Jupiters," which are exoplanets that orbit too close to their stars.

NASA JPL also adds the count includes those the orbit two stars at the same time and those that orbit dead stars.

According to a report by Space, the first exoplanets that have been discovered were found in the early 1990s. Specifically, the first ones were discovered in 1992 by astronomers Alex Wolszczan and Dale Frail.

4,900 of the 5,000 exoplanets are located within just a few light-years from our planet. As reference, one light-year is equivalent around to six trillion miles.

Read Also: #SpaceSnap: Very Large Telescope and the First Photo of an Exoplanet

Current and Future Telescopes, Missions for Exoplanet Discovery

NASA JPL's announcement gives insight into the space telescopes and missions that have contributed to the discovery of exoplanets.

One of which is the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite, otherwise known as TESS, which was launched in 2018. As of press time, there are a total of 203 TESS confirmed planets, according to the website of the NASA Exoplanet Archive.

The recently launched James Webb Space Telescope is also expected to assist with exoplanet discovery.

The announcement likewise highlights upcoming missions that will aid in exoplanet discovery. The Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope is one such mission and it is expected to launch in 2027.

The ARIEL mission of the European Space Agency (ESA), which is expected to launcg in 2029, will have a NASA technology called CASE that will also focus on discovering exoplanets.

Related Article: NASA Set To Reveal A Newly Discovered Planet Beyond Solar System
SpaceX will be helping its competitor OneWeb, a London-based internet satellite company.

The formation of these partnerships comes after the Russian space agency Roscosmos suddenly dropped its relationship with OneWeb.

SpaceX launching OneWeb

SpaceX will be launching OneWeb's satellites in low Earth orbit very soon. OneWeb is a British communications company, providing broadband satellite internet to its customers.

OneWeb aims to be powered by 648 low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites. Currently, OneWeb has successfully launched 428 low Earth orbit satellites into space through Russia's space agency Roscosmos.

According to OneWeb, its goal is to provide high-speed, low latency connectivity for governments, businesses, and communities around the world just like SpaceX's Starlink.

SpaceX and OneWeb are competitors in providing internet connectivity to the world through launching satellites in low orbit.

OneWeb has always launched its satellites aboard the Soyuz rocket of Russia's Roscosmos. However, this time, SpaceX will be launching the next batch of 36 satellites, bringing the total number of the satellite fleet in space at 464.

OneWeb CEO Neil Masterson expressed his gratitude with this newfound partnership and stated that, "We thank SpaceX for their support, which reflects our shared vision for the boundless potential of space."

In addition, he also stated, "With these launch plans in place, we're on track to finish building out our full fleet of satellites and deliver robust, fast, secure connectivity around the globe."

OneWeb did not reveal more contract information to the public about its terms, agreements, and scope with SpaceX. However, it is reported by Space.com that SpaceX would likely carry the next set of launches from OneWeb with 2220 satellites left. The satellite is suspected to be launched in low orbit through the powerhouse Falcon 9 rocket.

SpaceX and OneWeb are expected to have their first launch together later this year.

Read Also: SpaceX CEO Elon Musk Believes Moon Landing in 2029: Does This Mean NASA Artemis?

OneWeb and Roscosmos

OneWeb was supposed to launch 36 of their satellites with the Soyuz rocket under Russia's Roscosmos in the first week of March. However, due to the ongoing specialized military operations of Russia to Ukraine, there was a sudden turn of events.

Russia made sudden demands and prerequisites for OneWeb just a few days before OneWeb's 36 satellites were supposed to be launched aboard the Soyuz rocket.

Roscosmos made two demands to OneWeb. First, Roscosmos wants OneWeb to give a guarantee and assure the Russian space agency that the satellites will not be used in any military defense activities. Second, Roscosmos demanded to oust the British government as their company's board member.

With all of those demands and just a few days left before launching, OneWeb did not meet any of the said conditions. Neither did the British government.

The British government is a huge stakeholder of the London-based satellite company since it is a major investor and saved OneWeb from bankruptcy in 2020.

NASA and Roscosmos

While OneWeb did have some problems with the Russian space agency, NASA had also been threatened by Roscosmos. Roscosmos Director General also threatened NASA to leave American astronaut Mark Vande Hei in the International Space Station. Vande Hei was scheduled to board the Russian rocket Soyuz back to Earth with two other Russian cosmonauts.

A video of the Director-General Dmitry Rogozin was posted on Twitter delivering his threat to NASA in their native Russian language. All of these mishaps are caused by the territorial aggression of Russia towards Ukraine.

These actions are seen as Russia's retaliation from the countries that are siding with Ukraine. In addition, these moves might also be a counterattack to the international sanctions imposed on Russia by the United States.

Related Article: NASA's Astronaut Might Be Left in the International Space Station Due to U.S. and Russia's Conflicting Partnership
Meta is officially banned in Russia along with social media platforms under its ownership, Facebook and Instagram. However, WhatsApp will not be affected and will remain as the operational Meta messaging service in the country.

Meta Is Now Banned in Russia

The Moscow Tverskoy Court has ruled the banning of Meta due to participating in extremist activity. However, the court prosecutors ruled that WhatsApp will not be included in the ban and can remain.

Meta's Instagram was the first social media platform from the company to be banned in Russia. Following just a month after that, Russia is now restricting access to Facebook because of tolerating and urging violent acts against Russia's military troops and President Vladimir Putin.

As reported by The Verge, the Tverskoy District Court in Moscow issued a press statement saying it had upheld a lawsuit filed by state prosecutors seeking to prohibit Meta from conducting business on Russian territory

The Moscow's Tverskoy District Court stated, "The decision does not apply to the activities of Meta's messenger WhatsApp, due to its lack of functionality for the public dissemination of information."

Victoria Shakina, Meta's lawyer and representative in Moscow's Tverskoy District Court defended Meta and clarified that the company does not promote extremist activities.

Shakina also stated that the company does not also favor Russophobia. Russophobia is an anti-Russian sentiment, opposing anything Russian, from their way of life, military, governance, and everything Russian.

Meta did not respond to requests for comment and more information about the ruling laid by the Russian government to the company.

It is not yet clear how WhatsApp can continue to operate in the country knowing that the Russian government banned most of Meta's social media platforms.

Read Also:Facebook Metaverse Jobs: Zuckerberg Wants to Hire 10,000 Europeans, But What Exactly is It?

Meta Might Return

Meta's Facebook and Instagram were banned earlier this year due to the content discrimination they have from Russian state media. This was triggered by both social media platforms blocking Russian-owned news agencies RT and Sputnik in the EU.

Russian State Duma member Anton Gorelkin, who has criticized foreign companies while championing domestic alternatives, stated that Russia could be open to welcoming back Meta again. However, it will be heavily under the conditions and terms of the Russian government.

Gorelkin said, "These are an immediate end to blocking Russian media, a return to the policy of neutrality, and strict moderation of fakes and anti-Russian comments."

Sarkis Darbinyan, the head of the legal department at the digital rights organization Roskomsvoboda, stated that Russia might be planning to isolate Russia from Meta's products.

After the suspension of Instagram in the country, Darbinyan told Reuters, "The government is attempting to close everything gradually so that people gradually become accustomed to it."

In addition, Darbinyan stated that it is also anticipated that services such as WhatsApp could be blocked at any time.

Meta's Image is Prohibited

Meta will now be excluded from the list of foreign tech companies operating on the internet in Russia. This order would remove Instagram and Facebook from the social media register of the country, as stated by the communications regulator Roskomnadzor.

In addition, Roskomnadzor stated that Russian media outlets must identify Meta and its social networks as "prohibited" when disseminating information and are not permitted to display their logos on their websites.

Related Article: Mark Zuckerberg Makes It Official: NFTs Coming to Instagram
Lapsus$ claims that it was able to hack Microsoft. The alleged documents were later leaked on the group's Telegram account.

Lapsus$ Claims to Hack Microsoft

Cyber hacking group Lapsus$ claims to have successfully breached Microsoft's systems through their Azure DevOps. Lapsus$ has reportedly acquired data and source code repositories for Bing, Bing Maps, and Cortana.

Microsoft, on the other hand, is also conducting an investigation to prove if the reported claims are true. Microsoft is the latest tech company that Lapsus$ attacked. Just recently, the threat actors have successfully breached NVIDIA, Samsung, Vodafone, Ubisoft, and Mercado Libre.

Lapsus$ was able to steal a massive amount of data from Samsung and NVIDIA. This group of threat actors functions a little bit on the contrary since the group does not compromise data or deploy ransomware when it attacks.

The group chooses to attack tech giants and steal their source code and their proprietary data. After illegally acquiring the data, Lapsus$ holds it against the company and ransom them to meet their demands.

Lapsus$ is believed to be a group of threat actors based in South America. At approximately 6:17 p.m. PST on Monday, the threat actor Lapsus$ posted a photo in their Telegram, a messaging account, that they were able to breach inside Microsoft.

On its Telegram channel, LAPSUS$ posted a screenshot of what appeared to be information acquired from an internal developer account for Azure, the company's cloud computing division, which was later deleted.

According to the report of Gizmodo, the screenshot posted on Telegram includes these file names: Bing_UX, Bing-Source, Cortana, mscomdev, microsoft, and msblox.

The allegedly breached data of the group has been deleted, Lapsus$ messaged "Deleted for now will repost later."

However, strangely enough, it can be noticed in the screenshot posted by Lapsus$ that the initials of logged-in user "IS" have been intact and have not been edited. Some suspect that the group left this for Microsoft to identify the identity on where the group was able to breach the data.

Unfortunately, Lapsus$ is a cyber threat group with an impressive track record. Lapsus is a fairly new threat actor in the market, this makes the group extremely popular to the community since they have been able to breach huge tech giants.

Read Also: Anonymous Continues Hacking of Russia, Targets Streaming Services

Lapsus$ Hacking: How Is Microsoft Affected?

According to the report of Bleeping Computer, leaking an open source code does not impose an elevated risk for the company.

During the SolarWinds attack on Microsoft, the company provided an explanation of how they operate stating: "At Microsoft, we have an inner source approach - the use of open source software development best practices and open source-like culture - to making source code viewable within Microsoft."

Microsoft clarified further, "This means we do not rely on the secrecy of source code for the security of products, and our threat models assume that attackers have knowledge of source code. So viewing source code isn't tied to elevation of risk."

Lapsus$ Hacking NVIDIA, Samsung, and Ubisoft

Lapsus$ first gained popularity after hacking a massive 1TB of data from NVIDIA. The breach happened on Feb. 23, just one day after Russia declared specialized military operations to Ukraine. Some say the two events are connected, but Lapsusmce_markernbsp; denied involvement in the geopolitical turmoil in Eastern Europe.

Lapsus$ stated that they are hacking the GU company because they "decided to help mining and gaming community."

Samsung was hacked by Lapsus$ after NVIDIA. The threat actors were able to collect 190 GB worth of data from the company and uploaded it for free in Torrent.

The French gaming company Ubisoft also experienced a data breach from Lapsus$.

Related Article: Lapsus$ Hacking: Ubisoft Becomes the Next Target After NVIDIA and Samsung
The International Space Station (ISS) has played a significant role in progressing humanity to understand the whole cosmos more. With that, here are the top 10 things to know about the ISS.

The International Space Station Is a Laboratory in Space

The ISS is an orbiting space laboratory. It has six sleeping quarters, a gym and an observation window that provides a 360-degree view of the surrounding area. It also has space for a wide range of science experiments.

The ISS is a scientific hub where astronauts conduct research and studies to advance humanity.

The International Space Station Is a Multinational Project

The ISS was built with the cooperation of multiple nations around the world. It is the largest infrastructure humans successfully deployed in space.

It also allowed countries to work together in building the multinational construction project through the partnership of the United States, Canada, Europe, Japan, and Russia.

According to CNN, components of the ISS were launched into orbit on 42 assembly flights, 37 U.S. space shuttle missions, and five Russian rocket missions. Most of the facility's main structure was completed between 1998 and 2011.

Packed Meals in Space

The range of food in space is now growing into having a plethora of options. More than 300 different foods are on the ISS's menu of space food. Most food in space stays good for a long time, and it is often stored in plastic boxes. Several can be made by adding cold or hot water, and a few can be heated in an oven. In addition, astronauts can also have nuts, bread, and fruits ready to eat.

Growing Plants in Space

The ISS being an orbital laboratory has successfully grown their own plants in space. Just recently, one of the astronauts that contributed to the development of food growing in space is NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei.

NASA's Vande Hei and his co astronauts have successfully grown peppers and green vegetables aboard the ISS.

Sleeping in Space

A lot of space enthusiasts always wonder how astronauts sleep in space knowing there is no gravity in space. Do astronauts sleep floating? People on the ISS sleep by putting their bodies in small sleeping compartments or sleeping bags to keep them from floating.

Many machines and air-conditioning fans make a lot of noise in space, so the sound is always there. astronauts who find these noises annoying and can't sleep may wear eye masks and earplugs to block out the sounds.

Read Also: NASA Hubble Images: Online Tool Lets You Check What Space Telescope Saw During Your Birthday!

Toilet Situation in Space

Surprisingly, there isn't a shower-like situation in space. However, the toilet is a different thing. Astronauts, like any other human, need to use the toilet multiple times a day. Space enthusiasts are wondering how astronauts excrete their stool in space.

With that, the Japanese self-made billionaire Yusaku Maezawa went to the ISS last year aboard the Soyuz rocket and documented his stay through a vlog. Maezawa was accompanied by Japanese citizen Yozo Hirano who helped document their 11 days stay on the International Space Station.

Exercising in Space

Astronauts need to exercise daily for two hours a day in space to assure that their bones and muscles do not weaken and can grow stronger in return. Astronauts work out with resistance exercise equipment for weight training, and with aerobic exercise equipment like a treadmill and an ergometer to get fit in space.

Getting Sick in Space

Every crew member aboard a rocket mission to the Space Station has roles assigned to them on space. Their space agencies also train their astronauts for the specific roles they play in space. The astronaut who is in charge of emergency medical care is the one who is in charge of the Crew Medical Officer job.

The Crew Medical Officer in space is trained for first aid, suturing wounds, and administering injections. However, in case of emergencies, all astronauts are taught how to perform emergency resuscitation in case a member of the crew goes into cardiac arrest.

Taking a Bath in Space

Taking a bath in space is a different experience knowing that gravity does not exist. Having running water here on Earth will not be the same in space. If astronauts open something like a faucet in space, where gravity is very weak, the water will fly in every direction. For this reason, there are no baths, showers, or washstands on the International Space Station.

As reported by JAXA, in space, astronauts use a wet towel containing body wash to clean themselves. Astronauts can wash their hair by applying shampoo that works without water and wiping it off with a dry towel.

To wash their hands or face, astronauts wipe them with a wet wipe, or wet towel containing liquid soap.

Negative Health Impacts of Being in Space

When living in the International Space Station and in microgravity, crew members lose muscle and bone mass. To make up for this, they have to exercise for more than two hours a day. They lose strength in their lower backs and legs if they don't work out often.

Humans' immune systems and cardiovascular health also get worse when they go into space. When people are on Earth, their hearts do a lot of work to fight gravity and move blood to all parts of their bodies. However, when astronauts move in space, blood and water move up which makes astronauts look puffy.

Related Article: Life on Mars? NASA Discovers Abundant Water Source In The Red Planet
A scene from the musical, "Frida" / Newsis



By Dong Sun-hwa



"Frida," which was voted the most-anticipated musical to premiere in 2022, has lived up to people's expectations, showing how a female-centric theatrical show can still bring diversity while imparting a universal message of hope.



"Frida" is an original production by EMK Musical Company that revolves around Frida Kahlo (1907-1954), the first 20th-century Mexican painter to be included in the Louvre Museum's collection. Directed by Choo Jung-hwa and composed by Huh Soo-hyun, "Frida" features only four actresses in each performance, with three of them  except for the one who plays Kahlo  juggling multiple roles. For instance, Lisa, who plays Kahlo's husband and Mexican muralist Diego Rivera (1886-1957), also assumes the role of Reflejar, the host of "The Last Night Show" in which Kahlo reminisces about her bygone days.



Since its premiere on March 1, "Frida" has been presented in a small theater at the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts in Seoul, without seeking to steal people's attention with a spectacular stage setting or props. Its most powerful weapon is the cast members, and among all of them, Choi Jung-won, who alternates the role of Kahlo with Sophie Kim, delivers a jaw-dropping performance with her incredible stage presence.



One of the highlights of the show is when Kahlo sings "Corset" in Act 1. As she belts out the song with a powerful voice, Kahlo, who looks mostly fragile and disoriented in the beginning of "Frida," finally stands up as a determined and strong-willed painter who is willing to persevere against all odds. To visualize this, she takes off her long white dress and puts on black armor, like a warrior, telling the audience that she is ready to tackle different challenges including the physical pain inflicted upon her by polio and a bus accident.





A scene from the musical, "Frida" / Newsis
In pics: Kazuri workshop in Nairobi, Kenya

Xinhua) 08:43, March 22, 2022

Women work at the Kazuri workshop in Nairobi, Kenya, on March 21, 2022. Kazuri, Swahili name for "small and beautiful," is a famous local brand for hand-made and hand-painted ceramic beads, jewelry and pottery in Kenya. The Kazuri workshop in Kazen has employed over 340 women, mostly single mothers. (Xinhua/Dong Jianghui)

A woman works at the Kazuri workshop in Nairobi, Kenya, on March 21, 2022. Kazuri, Swahili name for "small and beautiful," is a famous local brand for hand-made and hand-painted ceramic beads, jewelry and pottery in Kenya. The Kazuri workshop in Kazen has employed over 340 women, mostly single mothers. (Xinhua/Dong Jianghui)

A woman works at the Kazuri workshop in Nairobi, Kenya, on March 21, 2022. Kazuri, Swahili name for "small and beautiful," is a famous local brand for hand-made and hand-painted ceramic beads, jewelry and pottery in Kenya. The Kazuri workshop in Kazen has employed over 340 women, mostly single mothers. (Xinhua/Dong Jianghui)

Women work at the Kazuri workshop in Nairobi, Kenya, on March 21, 2022. Kazuri, Swahili name for "small and beautiful," is a famous local brand for hand-made and hand-painted ceramic beads, jewelry and pottery in Kenya. The Kazuri workshop in Kazen has employed over 340 women, mostly single mothers. (Xinhua/Dong Jianghui)

A woman works at the Kazuri workshop in Nairobi, Kenya, on March 21, 2022. Kazuri, Swahili name for "small and beautiful," is a famous local brand for hand-made and hand-painted ceramic beads, jewelry and pottery in Kenya. The Kazuri workshop in Kazen has employed over 340 women, mostly single mothers. (Xinhua/Dong Jianghui)

A woman works at the Kazuri workshop in Nairobi, Kenya, on March 21, 2022. Kazuri, Swahili name for "small and beautiful," is a famous local brand for hand-made and hand-painted ceramic beads, jewelry and pottery in Kenya. The Kazuri workshop in Kazen has employed over 340 women, mostly single mothers. (Xinhua/Dong Jianghui)

Photo taken on March 21, 2022 shows the Kazuri workshop in Nairobi, Kenya. Kazuri, Swahili name for "small and beautiful," is a famous local brand for hand-made and hand-painted ceramic beads, jewelry and pottery in Kenya. The Kazuri workshop in Kazen has employed over 340 women, mostly single mothers. (Xinhua/Dong Jianghui)

Ceramic products are shown at the Kazuri workshop in Nairobi, Kenya, on March 21, 2022. Kazuri, Swahili name for "small and beautiful," is a famous local brand for hand-made and hand-painted ceramic beads, jewelry and pottery in Kenya. The Kazuri workshop in Kazen has employed over 340 women, mostly single mothers. (Xinhua/Dong Jianghui)

A woman makes beads with pottery earth at the Kazuri workshop in Nairobi, Kenya, on March 21, 2022. Kazuri, Swahili name for "small and beautiful," is a famous local brand for hand-made and hand-painted ceramic beads, jewelry and pottery in Kenya. The Kazuri workshop in Kazen has employed over 340 women, mostly single mothers. (Xinhua/Dong Jianghui)

(Web editor: Xia Peiyao, Liang Jun)
Citibank Korea CEO Yoo Myung-soon gives congratulatory remarks at the "3rd Climate Action Conference," held online, March 15. Courtesy of Citibank Korea



Conference looks into transformation to low-carbon economy amid the climate crisis



By Yoon Ja-young



Citibank Korea and Citi Foundation announced sponsorship of the "3rd Climate Action Conference," which was held online on March 15. The event was hosted by WWF-Korea with the participation of experts and representatives from a variety of sectors, including the Ministry of Environment, the British Embassy Seoul, corporations, international organizations, academia and civil society groups, to share their knowledge on climate crisis responses.



The conference, titled "Transformation to Low Carbon Economy in the Climate Crisis Era: Present and Future," contemplated Korea's awareness of, and response to, the climate crisis under its recently-unveiled 2050 Net-Zero target as well as economic transformation directions, while discussing the nation's role and opportunities as a new climate leader.



With the participation of experts and representatives from a variety of sectors, including the Ministry of Environment, corporations, international organizations and civil society groups, the conference also looked at global leadership from governance and market and finance perspectives to step up responses to the climate crisis, while discussing measures on how Korea can strengthen its climate actions.



Extreme weather events that swept the world last year, like heat waves, floods and cold snaps, have raised the need for more practical and professional execution plans to respond to the climate crisis. Under such circumstances, measures on how Korea can become a climate leader on the global stage were on the table.



"Citi has announced a 2025 Sustainable Progress Strategy at the global level with a focus on three key areas  Low-Carbon Transition, Measuring Climate Risks and Sustainable Operations  as part of its efforts to respond to the climate crisis era," Citibank Korea CEO Yoo Myung-soon said in her congratulatory remarks.



"Under its strategic goal of becoming the 'Best ESG Bank,' Citibank Korea has expanded ESG finance while organizing an ESG Council to help create a sustainable society. We remain committed to supporting stronger climate action," she added.



During the first session of the conference, Mark Buttigieg, counsellor of the British Embassy Seoul, spoke about the climate leadership of the U.K. as well as the Glasgow Climate Pact, reached at the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26). Then, Dr. Frank Rijsberman, director general at the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI), gave a presentation on international cooperation and the role of Korea in achieving carbon neutrality. In addition, Kim Beop-Jung, deputy minister of the Climate Change and Carbon Neutral Policy Office at the Ministry of Environment, shared information relating to global trends and domestic policies to overcome the climate crisis.



The second session featured presentations by high-ranking officials from government, academia and research institutes on the role of the public sector to respond to the climate crisis. The speakers shared ongoing discussions on, and the current status of, the transition to a low-carbon society in Korea. Jean-Marc Champagne from WWF-International explained the concept of "Bankable Nature Solutions" and related projects, which mobilize private sector investment into sustainable development projects that not only build more climate-resilient ecosystems, but are also financially viable enough to be scaled up and replicated.



The third session introduced efforts in the private sector for industrial transformation. Presentations were given by representatives from a global asset management company, a financial firm, a university and a research institute on domestic and international industrial trends, net-zero execution plans, the role and examples of finance in the climate crisis era, and areas that companies should focus on while putting net-zero plans into action.



In particular, Valerie Smith, Chief Sustainability Officer at Citigroup, introduced Citigroup's priority ESG areas: commitment to $1 trillion in sustainable finance and net zero by 2050, under the title, "Efforts to realize sustainable finance  Citigroup's global-level actions for sustainable finance." She said that when it is implementing net-zero plans, Citigroup will cooperate with customers continuously to support their short- and long-term plans and provide finance to help them to achieve the transition to net-zero emissions.



In line with Citigroup's efforts, Citibank Korea has continuously expanded ESG finance and related activities. As the sole coordinator, the bank provided advice on syndicated bonds worth $2 billion to a consortium of domestic construction companies for a project to build the Panama Metro Line 3. The metro, which could carry 160,000 passengers annually, is expected not only to improve the quality of life for ordinary citizens but also to eliminate 20,000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions annually. In this regard, it is considered a classic example of green financing for ESG management as well as an exemplary deal in the financial market, backed up by the fact that it was recognized in the Deals of the Year Awards by LatinFinance.



In addition, sole coordinator Citibank Korea, in collaboration with Korea Trade Insurance Corporation (K-SURE), closed a 430-million-euro syndicated loan facility in February 2022 for Hanwha Solutions' investment in renewable energy projects in Europe, which demonstrates the bank's continuous expansion of support for Korean companies' direct investment in domestic and overseas green industries.



Citibank Korea added that it will continue its efforts for net-zero emissions and market transformation, including holding a roundtable with WWF-Korea through a climate action partnership, climate action supporter and publishing related research reports.


Kakao Mobility's logo displayed at the firm's headquarters located in Seongnam city's Bundang District / Newsis



By Anna J. Park



Kakao Mobility selected a group of local and global securities firms as its IPO underwriters, accelerating its IPO process despite a series of setbacks.



According to the investment banking industry, the mobile-based mobility platform company tapped Korea Investment and Daishin Securities as the main underwriters last week, along with global firms including Credit Suisse, Morgan Stanley and Citi Global Markets.



The company, a taxi-hailing service operator, sent its request for proposal (RFP) documents to the brokerage industry in August last year, planning to appoint a group of underwriters for its IPO. Yet, the move had somewhat stalled over growing public anger of the conglomerate's overextension into every sector of the economy, ranging from finance, ride-hailing industry, fashion and hair salons, which led to criticism that it is threatening the livelihoods of small-sized mom-and-pop businesses.



Kakao's continuous subsidiary spin-offs coupled with unethical personal financial practices among top management of the group's subsidiaries have impaired shareholder value of Kakao stocks and soured public sentiment. Kakao Pay management, for example, collectively dumped stock options within just one month of the fintech firm's IPO late last year, stirring public anger.



Against this backdrop, President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol vowed to prohibit the excessive spin-offs of companies and subsequent IPOs of the spin-off businesses as one of his key economic pledges to protect minority shareholders' rights. If the incoming administration follows through with a strengthened regulatory stance, Kakao Mobility's IPO viability could come under pressure.



The mobile platform company, however, cannot just sit idly and wait for better external conditions to come, as it received a huge amount of global investments from TPG and Carlyle as well as $50 million from Google in April last year, mostly on condition of going public in 2022, at the earliest.



Thus, the company decided to move faster for a successful IPO, aiming to make its stock market debut as early as the second half of this year. Although President-elect Yoon's pledge to prohibit company spin-offs without concrete measures in place to secure original shareholders' stock values would not be retroactively applied to Kakao Mobility, the company seems to have good reason to reduce its risk exposure to the new government's strict stance by getting the job done as soon as possible.


National Pension Service headquarters in Jeonju, North Jeolla Province / Yonhap



By Lee Min-hyung



Major financial groups here face uncertain outcomes ahead of their regular shareholders meetings this week, as the National Pension Service (NPS) is highly likely to cast dissenting votes on key proposals as the largest shareholder of the nation's top four financial holding firms.



The state-run pension fund has for years intervened in the decision-making processes of KB, Shinhan, Hana and Woori Financial Group, disapproving of such initiatives as leadership reshuffles and appointments of non-executive directors.



The industry is paying particular attention to whether the NPS will oppose Hana Financial Group's plan to change up its leadership. Hana put the proposal on the agenda for its upcoming shareholders meeting to be held on Friday.



The NPS holds a 9.19 percent stake in Hana, so chances appear slim that the fund's dissenting vote will end up blocking Hana's nomination of Ham Young-joo as chairman. But one risk factor is that the NPS' repeated disapproval may leave a negative impression on the company at a critical juncture when it needs to win more trust from overseas investors to enhance its stock valuation.



Last week, Ham lost an administrative suit against a financial watchdog here over the group's involvement in mis-selling of risky derivative-linked funds (DLFs). The NPS is widely expected to raise the issue to back up its possible disapproval of Ham's promotion.



On Thursday, Shinhan Financial Group will be the first of the major financial holding firms here to hold its regular shareholders meeting. But the NPS is known to have come to an internal conclusion to cast a dissenting vote on Shinhan's plan to reappoint five of its non-executive directors.



The pension fund took issue with Shinhan's poor internal supervision over its involvement in sales of problematic derivatives of Lime Asset Management. The NPS holds an 8.78 percent stake in Shinhan.



KB Financial Group is set to discuss the introduction of a union-backed outside director appointment system for the first time among commercial banking groups here. KB's union has recommended outside director candidates four times since 2017, but was rejected each time amid backlash from shareholders. If Kim Young-soo, former vice president of the state-run Export-Import Bank of Korea, wins approval at this year's shareholders meeting, he will become KB's first outside director recommended by the union.



Woori Financial Group plans to put its proposed appointment of Lee Won-duk as a new leader of Woori Bank and a non-executive director to shareholders during its meeting on Friday. Earlier, the Institutional Shareholder Services advised investors to vote against the decision by Woori's management, citing its involvement in a series of legal disputes  such as Woori Bank's mis-selling of risky DLFs.



"Even if the NPS casts dissenting votes against the proposals by financial firms, there stands a low possibility that the pending issues will end up failing to get approval at the upcoming shareholders meetings," an industry source said. "The unilateral disapproval by the pension fund has become more of a common practice in the industry, which will do no good for building a win-win relationship between financial firms and shareholders."


Participants of the Holi Hai festival dance to the music, covered up with color powder in Miryang, South Gyeongsang Province, March 24, 2019. Courtesy of Indians in Korea



By Lee Hae-rin



"Happy Holi Hai!"



On March 19, dozens of Indian nationals in Korea with powder of various colors on their faces and bodies and a government employee from the southeastern city of Miryang greeted each other during an online meeting to celebrate the ancient Hindu spring festival.





Seen is the poster of the 12th Holi Hai festival, jointly hosted by the Indian community and the Miryang City government on March 19. The event was held online due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Courtesy of Indians in Korea



Also known as the festival of love and colors, the Holi festival, which falls on March 18 this year, marks the start of spring and signifies the triumph of good over evil. It is a day when people cover themselves in multicolored powder and throw water balloons all with lively dance and music to set aside differences in religion, age, and gender and mend broken relationships.



"We (the Indian community in Korea) have been celebrating Holi in association with Miryang City since 2019," said Amit Gupta, the president of the Indian community in Korea, explaining the memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed between the two parties in 2018 for cultural exchange.



Since 2016, Miryang City has been taking an initiative to promote cultural exchange with India, according to an official from the Miryang City government. Despite the small Indian population in the city, it aims become the center for cultural exchange between the two countries.



In collaboration with the Indian Embassy in Seoul and India's Ministry for Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homeopathy (AYUSH), Vivekananda Yoga University has been established in the city, becoming the first Asian city to have a campus of the Indian university and held an international Yoga conference.



Gupta said the festival started out small in Busan among Indian friends and families here who were missing their home culture. "It was a casual gathering of about 18 people," explained Gupta before this year's celebration, Friday. "With its vivid color, inviting and festive mood, the gathering attracted the attention of passersby and grew exponentially, until it attained over 3,800 registered participants from 110 countries by 2017."





Over 3,800 people joined the Holi Hai festival at the Haeundae beach, Busan, March 2017. Courtesy of Indians in Korea



But the festival faced administrative issues with local authorities and displeased residents of Haeundae Beach as the festival grew beyond anybody's expectations.



But Miryang City government saw an opportunity amid the troubles. "When we heard about the beautiful Holi festival in Busan, we thought we should offer them a location and also administrative and financial support here," the official said.



With the city's geographic accessibility, beautiful scenery, and hospitality, the offer was welcomed by the Indian community, Gupta said.



In 2019, the city and community partnership yielded a grand success when the festival was held at a park by the Miryang River. The event invited over 4,000 party-goers of 80 nationalities from across the country and 500 photographers, while locals and local authorities also welcomed the influx of visitors and its consequent economic boost and promised to continue to support their project.



"Unfortunately, that was the first and last time we celebrated the Holi together, offline, due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic," the official said. For the 2021 and 2022 festivals, the city offered the community 150 celebration kits with colored powder kits for four people, encouraging the celebration to go on and remain as a tourism asset for the city.





Participants of different nationalities covered in color powder pose during the festival held in Miryang in March 2019. Courtesy of Indians in Korea




North Korean leader Kim Jong-un sent a letter of sympathy to Chinese President Xi Jinping over a Chinese passenger jet crash earlier this week, Pyongyang's state media reported Tuesday.







In the letter delivered the previous day, Kim "expressed deep sympathy and condolences to Xi Jinping and the Chinese party, government and people as well as to the bereaved families of the victims, according to an English-language report of the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).







A China Eastern Airlines jetliner carrying 123 passengers and nine crew members reportedly crashed in the mountains in southern China's Guangxi region Monday afternoon. There has been no report of any survivor.







Kim "sincerely hoped that the Chinese people would eradicate the aftereffects of the accident as early as possible and the bereaved family members would overcome sorrow and lead a stabilized life" under Xi's leadership, the KCNA added. (Yonhap)






Ahn Cheol-soo, right, chairman of the Presidential Transition Committee, speaks with Kim Byung-joon, who is in charge of the committee for national university, in Seoul, Tuesday. Yonhap



By Kang Hyun-kyung



Ahn Cheol-soo, chairman of the Presidential Transition Committee who concurrently serves as chairman of the subcommittee responsible for COVID-19 policy, has been critical of the Moon Jae-in government's COVID-19 response, calling it unscientific and politically motivated.



Sharing the results of the subcommittee's first meeting held on Monday at a press conference in Seoul on Tuesday, Ahn alleged that the Moon government made populist decisions based on public opinion, which explains why Korea's COVID-19 response has failed.



"The new government will introduce scientific measures that are based on facts, rather than political consideration," he said.



Ahn unveiled the seven-point policy recommendations that summarized what he and other sub-committee members had discussed on Monday, expressing hope that the Moon government can adopt their policy recommendations in the fight against the pandemic for the remainder of the incumbent president's term until May.



Warning of shortages of the COVID-19 anti-viral drug paxlovid, Ahn said the government should ask the U.S. pharmaceutical company Pfizer if it can allow the domestic production of the oral medicine in return for royalties.



He said the nation's supply of paxlovid will be completely exhausted by next month, urging the government to secure as many of the pills as it can to save more lives that could be lost due to potential shortages of the anti-viral pills.



The proposal also calls for the lifting of the current at-home treatment, proposing all COVID-19 patients to receive primary care at local clinics in their neighborhoods. Elderly patients or those who test positive while having an underlying medical condition must be prioritized in their treatments. The proposal also calls for disclosure and thorough analysis of data about COVID-19 patients, side effects of vaccines and other information related to the pandemic.



"Disclosure of such data is needed because it will help relieve anxiety and fear of vaccination and people can use the information when they decide whether they are to be vaccinated or not. This is a crucial step to prepare for the next pandemic," Ahn said during the briefing.



The policy recommendations also call for giving parents the option to decide whether to vaccinate their children aged 5 to 11, rather than making vaccination a requirement.



Stressing the need for anti-body testing on a regular basis, Ahn said currently some 300,000 people are infected but the actual number of COVID-19 patients is much more than that because some others infected with the virus didn't realize it because they have no symptoms.



"We think twice as many people are infected with the virus. To make sure how many people are infected and recovered from the virus, we need anti-body testing," he said. If regular testing is conducted, he went on to say that the government can come up with a more accurate and scientific policy response to the pandemic.










Islamabad seen through monument of Pakistan / Courtesy of Embassy of Pakistan in Korea





By Nabeel Munir







Ambassador of Pakistan to the Republic of Korea Nabeel Munir

Today, we pay tribute to the struggle and sacrifices of our founding fathers, and pledge to live up to their ideals. Unity, faith and discipline form the bed rock of our polity, and plurality and respect for human rights are ingrained in our ethos.







March 23 marks the historic day, 82 years ago, when Muslims of the South Asian subcontinent decided to unite in their democratic demand for a separate homeland, where they could establish and practice their lives in accordance with their values and traditions. Their dreams came true seven years later through the birth of Pakistan.







While diplomatic relations between Pakistan and the Republic of Korea were only established in November 1983, contacts between the two peoples date back more than 18 centuries. Buddhism was brought to the ancient Baekje Kingdom by Monk Maranantha from the Gandhara Civilization in 384.







Pakistan-Korea relations have grown from strength to strength in all fields; political, defense, trade and investment, education, science, climate change and the list goes on.







Historically, Pakistan has extended support to newly independent South Korea at the United Nations, then for its first democratic elections, and later during the Korean War. More recently, Pakistan assisted Korea in evacuating eligible Afghan nationals from Afghanistan, through the aptly named "Operation Miracle."







Korean companies have actively engaged in investment in automotive, power and energy, chemicals and consumer goods sectors in Pakistan. New bilateral initiatives are being taken to further enhance collaboration in tourism, small and medium enterprises and human development. Leadership of the two countries remains actively engaged in promoting mutually beneficial cooperation.







As the newly arrived Ambassador, I look forward to further expanding and deepening the relations between Korea and Pakistan, both at the level of the governments, as well as between people.







Kalash people of Pakistan / Courtesy of Embassy of Pakistan in Korea









March 23 is a special day in more ways than one in the history of Pakistan. On this historic day, under the leadership of their founding fathers, ably led by Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah, Muslims of South Asia embarked upon a path to create a homeland of their own  a home where they could live their lives according to the golden egalitarian principles of Islam, fulfill their desires and aspirations and develop their culture and precepts.







The Resolution adopted in Lahore that day symbolized the firm resolve of the Muslims of the subcontinent to form an independent state of their own. It was nothing short of a miracle that it became a reality within seven years (after its passage in the Annual Session of the All-India Muslim League in Lahore on March 23, 1940).







Pakistan is now the fifth-largest country in the world (population of 220 million), with a vibrant political system, a robust economy, a vocal media and an independent judiciary.







How the Muslims of the subcontinent arrived at this historic decision is a long story of peaceful political struggle to safeguard the political and constitutional rights of the Muslim community of South Asia. It is also a lesson on struggles that people face in their quest for self-determination.







Jinnah, initially, was a champion of Hindu-Muslim unity, and tried his best to reconcile the differences between the two communities. His efforts, however, failed to produce the desired results, and a formal "parting of ways" between Jinnah and the Indian Congress came after the Congress Ministries came to power as a result of elections held under the Government of India Act 1935. The Congress had won in six out of eight provinces. With total disregard for the other communities, the Congress Ministries pursued an agenda of supremacy of the Hindu culture, religion and traditions during their stint in power from 1937-39.







The Quaid, in his two-hour presidential address on the eve of the adoption of the Resolution on March 23, 1940, stated "Hindus and Muslims belong to two different religious philosophies, social customs and literature. To yoke together two such nations under a single state, one as a numerical minority and the other as a majority must lead to growing discontent and final destruction of any fabric that may be so built up for the government of such a state."







Expounding upon his Two-Nation Theory, he said, that "Mussalmans are a nation according to any definition of nationhood. We wish our people to develop the fullest spiritual, cultural, economic, social and political life in a way that we think best, in consonance with our own ideals, and according to the genius of our people."







The ensuing seven years were a model of constitutional agitation, peaceful protest and finding negotiated solutions, leading to the creation of Pakistan on Aug. 14, 1947.







Attabad Lake in Northern Pakistan / Courtesy of Embassy of Pakistan in Korea









From the mighty stretches of the Karakorams in the North to the vast alluvial delta of the Indus River in the South, Pakistan remains a land of high adventure and nature. Trekking, mountaineering, white water rafting, wild boar hunting, mountain and desert safaris, camel and yak safaris, trout fishing and bird watching are some of the activities that entice adventure and nature lovers to Pakistan.







Pakistan is blessed with unmatched exotic bounties of nature. It is known for its breathtaking landscape, amazing geography, glorious history, diverse climate and clearly defined four seasons, making it irresistible for a tourist to visit this amazing land.







Pakistan is endowed with rich and varied flora and fauna. The mighty Himalayas, Karakoram and the Hindukush ranges with their alpine meadows and permanent snow line, coniferous forests, the vast Indus plain merging into the great desert, coast line and wetlands, all offer a remarkably rich variety of vegetation and associated wildlife.







Ten of the 18 mammalian orders are represented in Pakistan with species ranging from the world's smallest surviving mammal, the Mediterranean pygmy shrew, to the largest mammal ever known, the blue whale.







Pakistan is an especially important site for both Sikh and Buddhist tourists. At one point, Punjab was the center of the only Sikh empire in history. Nankana Sahib, the birthplace of Baba Guru Nanak (the founder of Sikh religion), is one of the holiest sites for Sikhs, with the potential to attract as many pilgrims as the Golden Temple in Amritsar.







Pakistan's Gandhara region, comprising Mardan, Taxila and Swat, hold a special place in the hearts of Buddhists. Buddhism in Korea was also brought by a Monk from what is now Pakistan, Monk Maranantha, and later on a Korean Monk Hyecho traveled to Pakistan some 1,300 years ago.







Just recently, a 48-foot-long Buddha was unearthed in Haripur making it the world's oldest sleeping Buddha statue. Takht Bahi in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the sites in northern Punjab alone have the potential to attract a major proportion of the 50 million Mahayana Buddhists in Korea, China and Japan.







Horse culture of Pakistan / Courtesy of Embassy of Pakistan in Korea









Pakistan, with the fifth-largest population in the world (more than 220 million), is also the 26th-largest economy by purchasing power parity and 42nd-largest economy by nominal gross domestic product. By 2050, Pakistan is tipped to become the 18th-largest economy.







The country is a federal parliamentary democracy, comprising of four provinces and other federal territories, based on the principle of separation of powers, and an efficient regulatory system that oversees the economy. There are a number of very good reasons why Pakistan is an attractive destination for investment, including investor-friendly policies, big market, availability of skilled workforce, developed infrastructure, geographic location and abundant natural resources.







The Government of Pakistan has created a regulatory regime that is the most investor friendly in the region. Foreign investors, in relation to the establishment, expansion, management, operation and protection of their investments are entitled to treatment "No Less Favorable" than that granted to national investors in like circumstances.







Pakistan receives considerable FDI from across the globe, including Asia, Europe, the Americas, Africa and Australia.







Many Korean investors have been taking increasing interest in Pakistan's market. Kia, Hyundai, Lotte Confectionary and Lotte Chemicals have benefited beyond expectations. Kia, for instance, has become the third-largest car manufacturer in Pakistan within two years of production.?Seeing the success of other companies, Samsung Electronics has also entered the Pakistani market, commencing manufacturing of cellphones and LED TVs in Pakistan.







Korean companies also envision?tapping the vast Central Asian market through Pakistan. As the government in Pakistan is visualizing increased?connection with its neighbors to integrate economically, Pakistan and Uzbekistan have already entered into an agreement to allow transit of goods from Pakistani sea ports to Uzbekistan via land routes and vice versa. Similar transit agreements will be concluded with other Central Asian countries to enhance trade and investment linkages.







Apart from this, Pakistan encourages investors to invest in Special Economic Zones (SEZ), Special Technology Zones and Export Processing Zones, all with their very competitive incentives, such as no income tax for 10 years and zero tax on import of machinery for setting up industries in SEZs.??The Government encourages investment in logistics, food processing, tourism and hospitality, information technology and housing etc.??







Nabeel Munir is ambassador of Pakistan to the Republic of Korea.










Korea and Turkey checked the outcome of their free trade agreement that went into effect nine years ago and discussed ways to further deepen trade and investment ties within the framework, Seoul's industry ministry said Tuesday.







The matter was discussed during the director-level meeting of the Korea-Turkey FTA Joint Committee, the fifth of its kind, which was held via teleconferencing and brought together some 20 trade officials from the two countries.







Since the FTA came into force in May 2013, their trade volume has surged 58 percent from $5.22 billion in 2012 to $8.26 billion last year, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.







Korea's exports of auto parts to Turkey, a key export item, rose 25.3 percent to $396 million, and those of pharmaceutical goods grew more than six fold to $367 million.







Seoul's purchase of clothing, as well as aviation and auto parts, from Turkey also jumped significantly, leading to the overall growth in imports from $600 million in 2012 to $1.2 billion last year, the ministry said.







During the meeting, the two nations also discussed pending trade issues, including Turkey's ongoing probe into three antidumping cases involving Korean firms, including Seoul's exports of polyester fabric.







The government asked for Turkey to investigate the matter fairly by giving the companies enough opportunity to explain themselves, according to the ministry.







"We will continue effort to implement the FTA as agreed upon and to resolve related issues for our companies so as to further boost bilateral trade and investment in a mutually beneficial manner," ministry official Yang Gi-uk said. (Yonhap)










A Korean Marine draftee has departed for Poland without approval while on vacation, a military official said Tuesday, amid a report that he intends to help Ukraine's fight against Russia's invasion.







On Monday morning, the Marine, whose name was withheld from the media, left for the country close to Ukraine through Incheon International Airport, the official said without elaboration.







Earlier in the day, a local media outlet reported that he seeks to join the foreign legion in Ukraine.







"We are trying to reach him through his father and friends, so that he returns home voluntarily," the official said on condition of anonymity. "We are also working closely with related authorities to take him into custody."







Korea is currently cooperating with Polish authorities to check if the soldier has entered Ukraine, according to diplomatic sources.







By law, active service members must get prior approval before traveling overseas during their vacation. Otherwise, they can be punished for desertion.







Korea has banned its citizens from traveling to Ukraine since mid-February amid safety concerns.







The suspected desertion came after Rhee Keun, a former Navy commando, recently entered Ukraine to help its battle against Russia despite Seoul's repeated warnings. (Yonhap)


National Assembly Speaker Park Byeong-seug, left, speaks with Indonesian President Joko Widodo on the sidelines of the 144th Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) General Assembly, Sunday, at Bali International Convention Centre in Indonesia. Courtesy of National Assembly
US admiral hypes China militarization in S.China Sea

By Liu Xuanzun and Guo Yuandan (Global Times) 08:49, March 22, 2022

Move a political farce to copy Ukraine crisis in Asia-Pacific: analysts

The amphibious dock landing ships Wuzhishan (Hull 987), Kunlunshan (Hull 998) and Changbaishan (Hull 989) attached to a landing ship flotilla with the navy under the PLA Southern Theater Command steam alongside in waters of the South China Sea during a maritime training exercise on November 18, 2020. (eng.chinamil.com.cn/Photo by Liu Jian)

A top US military commander on Sunday again hyped the so-called militarization by China in the South China Sea by personally participating in an aerial close-in reconnaissance on Chinese islands and reefs in the region together with journalists, which is a move that Chinese analysts said on Monday could be a political farce attempting to copy the Ukraine crisis in the Asia-Pacific, rallying allies, partners and other countries in the region to confront China.

US Indo-Pacific Commander Admiral John C. Aquilino claimed on Sunday that China has "fully militarized" at least three of several islands it built in the South China Sea by arming them with anti-ship and anti-aircraft missile systems, laser and jamming equipment, and fighter jets, "in an increasingly aggressive move that threatens all nations operating nearby," AP reported on Monday.

Aquilino made the remarks on board a US Navy P-8A reconnaissance aircraft that flew near the Nansha Islands, including the Meiji, Zhubi and Yongshu reefs, and the aircraft was repeatedly warned by Chinese callers that it illegally entered Chinese territory and should move away, AP reported.

While claiming that the US' main objective in the region is "to prevent war" through deterrence and promote peace and stability, Aquilino said that the US is prepared to fight and win "should deterrence fail," with AP noting that Aquilino leads the largest US command with 380,000 military and civilian personnel covering 36 nations and territories.

The Nansha Islands and adjacent waters are Chinese territories and China has sovereignty over them. It is China's rights to construct necessary facilities on its own territory to safeguard sovereignty and territorial integrity, just like any other country does, Ding Duo, deputy director of the Research Center for Oceans Law and Policy at China's National Institute for South China Sea Studies, told the Global Times on Monday.

The biggest pusher of militarization in the South China Sea is the US, as the US military has been frequently conducting military operations in the South China Sea even if the country is far from the region, Ding said.

"It is not reasonable that the US disallows China to deploy defensive military facilities on its own territory, while at the same time the US sends warships and warplanes to China's doorsteps in the South China Sea on a daily basis," Ding said.

In 2021, US large spy planes carried out about 1,200 aerial close-in reconnaissance sorties on China, with some of them coming near 20 nautical miles of the Chinese mainland's territorial baseline. US aircraft carrier strike groups and amphibious ready groups entered the South China Sea 13 times, more than doubling the activities of 2020, and at least 11 US nuclear-powered attack submarines were spotted in or near the South China Sea, including the Seawolf-class USS Connecticut, which had an accident in the region, according to monitoring from the South China Sea Strategic Situation Probing Initiative, a Beijing-based think tank.

US warships also repeatedly trespassed into China's territorial waters in the South China Sea, leading to countermeasures by the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) to warn them away.

Fu Qianshao, a Chinese military expert, told the Global Times on Monday that these provocative US activities could gather intelligence on the PLA, while also prepare the US for a potential military conflict with China.

It is necessary for China to make proper constructions to safeguard national sovereignty, security and territorial integrity, and the US has no right to make irresponsible remarks on this, Fu said, noting that the US has made Guam the world's largest island military base, and also built many military bases in countries like Japan and South Korea.

The US is using rouge logic and applying double standards, which make no sense, analysts said.

Despite the ongoing Ukraine crisis, the US is still hyping the situation in the South China Sea, which is a reflection that the US has set its eye firmly in the Indo-Pacific region, Ding said.

In addition to the increasing US military activities in the South China Sea, including drills, reconnaissance operations and military exchanges with countries in the region, the US may also attempt to stir up trouble in the international public opinion and diplomatic fields, Ding warned.

It could be just like what the US has done with Ukraine, as it could seek a proxy in the region to lead from the front in confronting China, with others following, Ding predicted.

By flying personally to the South China Sea with journalists, Aquilino is staging a political farce to win attention and again build up tensions in the region after the world has shifted its eyes to Europe, another Chinese military expert who requested anonymity told the Global Times on Monday.

China must pay high attention to the situation, and must not allow the US to copy the Ukraine crisis in the South China Sea, Fu said, noting that the situation in the region, despite its complexity, has been relatively stable recently.

(Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Liang Jun)
Former President Park Geun-hye / Yonhap





Former President Park Geun-hye, who was pardoned while serving a prison sentence for corruption, will be discharged from hospital this week and return to her hometown of Daegu, her lawyer said Tuesday.







Park plans to leave Samsung Medical Center, Thursday morning, and take a car to her new residence in Daegu, 302 kilometers southeast of Seoul, Yoo Yeong-ha said.







Before leaving the hospital, the former president will give some brief remarks, and again upon arrival in Daegu.







Park's words will be closely watched for a political message, including any mention of President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol.







Yoon, a former prosecutor, investigated the corruption allegations against Park that led to her impeachment, removal from office and imprisonment in 2017.







Park has been hospitalized for a chronic illness since November but is said to have recovered enough to receive treatment while living at home.







She was set free under a presidential pardon in December after serving four years and nine months in prison. (Yonhap)


President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol reads a report during a meeting with presidential transition committee members at the committee's office in Tongui-dong, Jongno District, Seoul, Tuesday. Joint Press Corps



Clash over relocation plan risks smooth power transition



By Nam Hyun-woo



Concerns are growing over a smooth transfer of power due to an escalating conflict between the incoming and outgoing administrations over President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol's plan to move the presidential office to the defense ministry compound in Yongsan District.



The ruling and opposition blocs are refusing to budge in their confrontation over the controversial relocation plan, with Yoon, President Moon Jae-in and their parties exchanging salvos every day.



"Given the situation so far, (President-elect Yoon) may have to begin his presidency at the presidential transition committee office," Yoon's spokesperson and Rep. Kim Eun-hye of the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) told reporters, Tuesday.



"If Cheong Wa Dae delivers its intention, we will carefully consider it," she added.



Kim's remarks came a day after Moon voiced concerns over Yoon's plan to set up a new presidential office at the Ministry of National Defense headquarters and begin his presidency on May 10 without spending a single day at Cheong Wa Dae, citing a possible "security vacuum" caused by the sudden relocation of the presidential office and its security related facilities during the power transition.



Yoon wants to move the presidential office in order to become more accessible to the public. He believes the existing presidential office compound in Cheong Wa Dae is too secluded, while critics of his plan say the sequestered location ensures the safety of the President.



Citing concerns of a security vacuum, Cheong Wa Dae dismissed the presidential transition committee's proposal to approve necessary funding for the relocation at Tuesday's Cabinet meeting. Yoon seeks to tap into state reserve funds to finance approximately 50 billion won ($40.9 million) of the relocation cost. But that requires Cabinet approval.



Moon did not mention the relocation plan during the Cabinet meeting, but commented on a related issue.



"There should be no vacuum in state affairs, not even the smallest one," Moon said. "National security, the economy and public safety, in particular, should be handled flawlessly."



"With tensions surrounding the Korean Peninsula escalating, there should be no unstable factors when it comes to national security. We should spare no efforts to manage the situation of the Korean Peninsula stably in the period of transition."





President Moon Jae-in enters a meeting room to preside over a Cabinet meeting at Cheong Wa Dae, Tuesday. Yonhap



The confrontation over the presidential office casts a grim outlook on Yoon's efforts to achieve a smooth transition of power. Reflecting such differences, Moon postponed a meeting with Yoon earlier this month to discuss the transfer of power.



"There is no fixed schedule for working-level talks to arrange a meeting between Yoon and Moon," Yoon's spokesperson said.





Rep. Ahn Gyu-back of the Democratic Party of Korea, front, touches his forehead during a National Assembly National Defense Committee meeting on Tuesday. Joint Press Corps
President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol presides over a leadership meeting of his transition committee at the committee headquarters in Seoul's Jongno District, Tuesday. Joint Press Corps

By Jung Da-min







The future of some existing ministries looks uncertain, as President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol's transition team began to take ministerial briefings, with some likely to be scaled back or even abolished.







The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, in particular, is in limbo, as none of its officials have been included among the total 56 expert and working-level members from different government ministries who have joined the transition committee.







A total of 184 members have been put together for tasks related to the government transition, including the 24 primary transition committee members as well as 76 expert members and 73 working-level members, according to the transition committee.







Earlier on March 13, Yoon hinted at the possible abolishment of the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, saying he believes it is an outdated organization which was created under the 1998-2003 Kim Dae-jung administration when the gender gap between men and women had been a larger social problem, while more specific and individual solutions are needed now to address diversified gender-related issues.







"It is not the case that every ministry has sent officials to help the transition committee," the transition committee's spokeswoman Shin Yong-hyun said during Monday's press briefing, regarding the lack of officials from the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family on the transition team.







"We understand that there could be concerns that women-related policies could be neglected, but we believe issues on women, adolescents, the low birth rate and aging can be dealt with together in a broader sense when we decide on major government projects," she said.







A member of the minor opposition progressive Jinbo Party protests President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol's push to abolish the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family in front of Yoon's transition committee headquarters in Seoul's Jongno Distrcit, Tuesday. Courtesy of Jinbo Party





Meantime, there are also speculations that the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Unification could be scaled down, as hinted in comments by members of the conservative main opposition People Power Party (PPP) and the transition committee. Yoon has also vowed to have a small government and promote big markets.







Among the three members of the transition committee's division for science, technology and education, there is no representative for education  only science and technology experts. Some raised speculation that it could be a signal for combining the education ministry with the Ministry of Science and ICT to launch a ministry that is similar to the defunct Ministry of Education, Science and Technology that had been created in 2008 under the 2008-13 Lee Myung-bak administration.







Yoon's transition committee Chairman Ahn Cheol-soo, who ran for president himself in 2022 and 2017, pledged to abolish the education ministry during both campaigns, saying the ministry has hampered the creativity of individual universities.







As for the Ministry of Unification, PPP Chairman Lee Jun-seok has backed its abolishment, saying other ministries could take over its roles.







Yoon's transition committee includes many former high-ranking officials from the Lee Myung-bak administration, which also pledged a smaller government.







As for the diplomacy and security policies of the upcoming Yoon administration, observations are that the Yoon government will focus more on strengthening South Korea-U.S. alliance to be in sync over North Korea-related issues as well as other regional and global security issues. But no China expert have been included among the total 21 members in charge of diplomacy and security tasks of the transition team, including the three committee leaders, nine experts and nine working-level members.








By Ryou Hyo-sang





In Korea, shareholders' meetings at major public companies take place in March. There are frequent governance disputes at many of these companies, which draw keen attention from shareholders, the public and the business media, regardless of the industry.



Many Korean conglomerates are owned and operated directly by the company founder's family. Thanks to the founders' spirit of leadership, entrepreneurship, as well as the fortunate timing of rapid industrialization in Korean history, many companies have achieved lightning-speed growth during the last half-century.



However, in many cases, big problems also arose when the founders have failed to set a specific family governance structure and the management disputes between the children or grandchildren of company founders impact the company.



Many Koreans refer to these cases as "brother rebellion," "nephew rebellion," "sibling rebellion," and so on depending on the relationships involved in the disputes. These types of disputes and the issues that arise from them can dramatically impact the company in terms of corporate and shareholder value.



Of course, there are cases where the parties involved in the conflict go through constructive discussions and continue the legacy of the company. However, there are also cases where disputes adversely impact the company as baseless slander and mudslinging tarnish its reputation and, in worst-case scenarios, may become a target of activist investors, deteriorating existing management rights and damaging the company's business fundamentals.



A good example of this is Lotte. Back in 2015, Lotte's chairman, Shin Dong-bin, was involved in a management dispute with his brother, Shin Dong-joo, and fought over the conglomerate their father had founded. Tragic family drama played out in public with the dispute over the late Chairman Shin Kyuk-ho's succession plan, which brought public attention to Chairman Shin's illness and the appointment of an adult guardian, as well other issues within the Shin family. Shin passed away without seeing his sons settle the dispute.



Besides this case, other conglomerates such as Samsung, Hyundai, Hanjin, Hankook Tires, Kumho, Daelim, Hyosung and many others also have had at least one instance of familial infighting over the management rights or business assets. Family disputes have become more or less a rite of passage for siblings who inherit large companies from the first-generation founders.



If family governance in business is to be transparent and well-established under mutual consultation, it is paramount that the first-generation founders fully discuss all the relevant issues with the family shareholders and establish appropriate procedures to make decisions known to all parties. However, in many cases, these things are conveyed verbally without any documentation, and conflicts arise over time, escalating family arguments into shareholder disputes and potentially major lawsuits.



The composition of the board of directors to enhance corporate and shareholder value is of upmost importance. To achieve such a goal, the board of directors must be constituted by candidates, whether they are old or young, who have demonstrated expertise in the relevant field and have a track record showing tangible achievements.



At this year's shareholders meeting, Hwasung Industrial Co. has drawn significant attention in the media. Hwasung is currently going through a dispute between two board directors  Lee Hong-joong and his nephew Lee Jong-won.



While there are reasonable arguments and each has different plans for the company, the shareholders will be mindful of the fact that the company's main business is construction and will be looking at the vision for the company, as well as previous experience and performance track record of the prospective board members. They will also be interested in the competence and the expertise of outside director candidates for the board and will be concerned with those that present possible conflicts of interest.



Even though the dispute may be personal in nature, in these corporate family disputes, there are risks to shareholders that may arise due to the ongoing conflict even after a temporary victory. Shareholders voting at the annual general meeting will need to look beyond the family dispute and consider carefully what is best for the growth and development of the company, and ensure that there is a board in place that is guided by principles of good corporate governance and is committed to creating sustainable shareholder value.





Dr. Ryou Ho-sang is president of Unicorn Business Institute.




By Robert Skidelsky





LONDON  The West has imposed massive financial and economic

on Russia in response to its invasion of Ukraine. But are the sanctions supposed to be a way to end the war? Are they a means of punishing Russia for its bad behavior? Or are they simply an expression of moral outrage?









This is the second time in less than a decade that Russia has been sanctioned for violating international law. Following Russia's 2014 annexation of Crimea and incursion into eastern Ukraine, the United States imposed economic sanctions aimed at "

."







Clearly, this did not have the desired effect of changing the Kremlin's behavior. Now a new barrage of measures in response to the assault on Ukraine has ramped up sanctions to an unprecedented extent.







The current restrictions on Russia include a ban on trade in critical technologies, extensive asset freezes and travel bans, the denial of major Russian banks' access to international capital markets, travel bans and asset freezes targeting individuals, and the exclusion of Russian aircraft from international airspace.







With the sequestration of the Russian central bank's foreign-exchange reserves and the promised eviction of Russia from the world financial and trading system, oil and gas will remain the country's lifeline to the global economy.











All of this might seem a necessary moral response to Russia's lawlessness. But when relatively light-touch sanctions give way to heavy economic bombardment, two key questions should be asked.







First, at what point do sanctions become a pathway to war rather than an alternative to it? Second, what are such measures expected to achieve, and how effective are they likely to be? So far, these questions have scarcely been asked, much less answered.







Governments should consider the first question carefully before imposing sanctions on a great power, particularly one with nuclear weapons. If that power perceives a threat to its means of survival, there is a strong chance that it will fight to overcome the restrictions.







For example, when the U.S. imposed an embargo on oil and gas exports to Japan in August 1941, following Japan's seizure of oilfields in Indochina, the Japanese responded by attacking Pearl Harbor.









And after OPEC subjected the U.S. to an oil embargo in 1973 in retaliation for American military assistance to Israel during the Yom Kippur War, President Richard Nixon's administration

to invade and occupy OPEC member states' oil fields. The embargo ended.







The sanctions imposed so far on Russia do not yet threaten the survival of the Russian state. But President Vladimir Putin may regard a Western attempt to cut off the remainder of Russia's international trade, especially in energy, as an existential threat.







As for the second question, the objective of economic sanctions is reasonably clear: to prevent or stop war by imposing unacceptable costs on the aggressor state. But while there is no doubt that the Western sanctions on Russia have greatly raised the costs to ordinary Russians of Putin's war, no one expects that this will end the conflict.







The West instead hopes that the costs of the sanctions to Russia's elite will achieve this result. Rather than lose their wealth, the argument goes, the elites may overthrow Putin or force him to end the war. This is the only rationale for the current sanctions that makes sense.







But the likelihood of Putin's ouster, or even of a drastic change in Russian policy, is much lower than most people suppose. Essentially, it depends on Russia's defeat in Ukraine, a prolongation of the conflict without any resolution, or a growing perception among Russia's military that Putin has failed them.







Far more likely is a ceasefire and at least the appearance of a Russian victory. In that case, economic sanctions will have done nothing either to stop the war or secure the peace.









A 2007 U.K. House of Lords

concluded that, "economic sanctions used in isolation from other policy instruments are extremely unlikely to force a target to make major policy changes."









Even sanctions'

in forcing South Africa to abandon apartheid depended on two special circumstances, neither of which applies to Russia today: worldwide enforcement and South Africa's inability to retaliate.









Turkey, India, and China are the most notable of the states that have

Russia, and potential Russian counter-sanctions include cutting off the oil and gas supplies on which most of Europe depends.







But that is not all. Among the "other policy instruments" mentioned in the House of Lords report, the foremost is the "threatened or actual use of force."









In other words, the inefficacy of economic sanctions on their own to change state behavior implies a high risk that they become part of an escalator to war. That is why Western countries have so far

to Ukraine's request to impose a no-fly zone.











Economic sanctions against Russia are supposed to be an alternative to war, but they can reasonably be expected to change the Kremlin's behavior only by becoming tactical components of the conflict.







The sad truth is that Western countries cannot help Ukraine except by threatening to go to war with Russia. But to admit this is to call into question the whole logic of their sanctions policy.









More generally, economic sanctions have become a

of preventive diplomacy. By cutting off parts of the world from international commerce, they promote the formation of antagonistic blocs, and

whatever promise globalization still holds.







Samuel Johnson famously observed that, "There are few ways in which a man can be more innocently employed than in getting money." His French contemporary, Montesquieu, spoke of the douceur of commerce.







True, a lot of trade is criminal, and much of it benefits corrupt and oppressive governments. But forcing countries back to pre-modern economic conditions is not a formula for improvement.









Robert Skidelsky, a member of the British House of Lords and professor emeritus of political economy at Warwick University, was a non-executive director of the private Russian oil company PJSC Russneft from 2016 to 2021. This article was distributed by Project Syndicate (








Industry Minister Moon Sung-wook on Tuesday met with CEO of French auto parts maker Valeo Christophe Perillat and held a ceremony to mark the firm's planned investment of $35 million in Korea.







The investment is meant to boost research and development of key parts for future vehicles and to expand its production facilities in Korea.







"The investment is expected to contribute to the stronger foundation for Korea's eco-friendly mobility and other future car sectors," the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said.







Moon, who is in France for a six-day trip, also vowed active backing for Valeo's smooth operation in the Korean market, the ministry said.







Later in the day, Moon plans to meet with Laurent Bataille, who leads Schneider Electric, the French multinational company that provides energy and automation digital solutions, and ask for its greater investment in the Korean market, according to the ministry.







Moon is also scheduled to have a meeting with Korean businesses operating in France.







The companies have said they have experienced difficulties in taxation and other administrative affairs in doing business in France, and the minister has vowed to seek improvement through active consultations with the French government, the ministry said.







During his stay, Moon is set to attend the ministerial meeting of the International Energy Agency on the global energy situation, which is scheduled to be held in Paris from Wednesday through Thursday. (Yonhap)


gettyimagesbank



By Park Jae-hyuk



A growing number of Korean companies have chosen Canada as the outpost for their expansions in the North American electric vehicle (EV) battery market, according to industry officials, Tuesday.



The latest example is LG Energy Solution (LGES).



Bloomberg reported last Friday that the Korean battery maker will make an official announcement this Wednesday, regarding the plan for its joint venture with Stellantis to build a factory in the eastern province of Ontario.



LGES and Stellantis announced last October that their joint venture will build a North American factory with an annual capacity of 40 gigatwatt-hours.



They are now scouting sites for the construction of the new factory.



Ontario has been viewed by many as a reasonable option, considering the fact that a number of global carmakers have their production facilities there and it neighbors the U.S. state of Michigan, where both LGES and Stellantis have their plants.



Although the two companies have declined to comment on this issue, Ontario's Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade Vic Fedeli told Bloomberg that he "is confident the province will land at least one EV battery manufacturing plant before the election in June."



Earlier this year, POSCO Chemical and Solus Advanced Materials also unveiled their plans to invest in the Canadian EV battery market.



The former will build a cathode materials factory for its joint venture with GM in Becancour, Quebec.



"Canada is playing an important role in our all-electric future, and we are grateful for the strong support we have received from local and provincial and national officials to grow a North American-focused EV value chain," GM Executive Vice President Doug Parks said on March 8.



Solus Advanced Materials plans to start construction in July of its factory in Granby, Quebec, to annually produce 60,000 tons of copper foil, one of the core materials used in EV batteries.



Last November, the battery materials company purchased a plot of land for the factory's construction, becoming the first Korean copper foil producer to have officially commenced procedures to enter the North American market.



It seeks to capitalize on the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) and the EU-Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), which will enable the company's products to be exported to the U.S., Mexico and Europe without tariffs.



According to the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA), the Canadian government has made various efforts recently to attract global EV battery firms with the aim of achieving carbon neutrality by 2050.



In Korea, Canadian diplomats have been in frequent attendance at the annual InterBattery event in Seoul, Korea's only exhibition dealing with the rechargeable battery industry.



Industry officials said that Canada's lower labor costs compared to the U.S. and its huge reserves of raw materials are also attractive to Korean battery firms.








Monitoring system needed to check ESG initiatives, stimulate competition



By Kim Hyun-bin



Business groups, large and small, have been busy promoting their environment, social, and governance (ESG) agenda in recent years as a way of proving they are responsible corporate citizens.



Companies have been rushing to set up ESG committees to face the challenges posed and initiate solutions. However, the committees were found on occasion to have existed in name only with members rarely meeting, plans hitting bureaucratic hurdles, expenses exceeding expectations along with other problems, according to a recent study. Experts say that for most Korean firms, ESG is no different from corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives seen in previous years.



According to Leaders Index, which analyzed activities of the board of directors of 169 listed companies with assets of more than 2 trillion won, 88 of them or 52 percent established ESG committees. The 88 companies held a total of 251 meetings in 2021. Each of those companies held 2.9 meetings on average.



Among the 251 meetings, 567 items were brought up, handling an average of 2.2 cases per meeting. However, most issues were unrelated to ESG management.



"Only 31.3 percent of the agenda was directly related to ESG while around 70 percent, or 370 cases, had to do with management activities such as investments, mergers, etc. that could have been handled at the general board of directors meetings," Leaders Index pointed out.



ESG just fancy name for CSR



The recent ESG movement became a hot issue internationally after global financial investment firms increased their stakes in ESG related fields, which has pressured the Korean government to issue guidelines and local conglomerates to follow suit.



However, experts point out, the majority of ESG initiatives that have been launched by local companies are nothing new and are simply an extension of their CSR agendas already set in place.



"Although companies established ESG committees, there is no significant difference from their CSR initiatives from before. Not much has changed," said Kim Jin-sung, a senior analyst at the Korea Corporate Governance Service. "They are not fully aware of what to address as it (ESG) is in the initial stages. That is why they are discussing issues that could be addressed in board of directors meetings."



Looking at the status of ESG committee implementation by industries, household goods, banking, and distribution sectors that are directly related to general consumers represent a high proportion, while industries such as energy, steel, and construction were relatively passive in establishing ESG committees.



All three telecommunication companies  SKT, KT, and LG Uplus  established ESG committees. Banks are the next most active sector in ESG committee activities. Of the 10 listed companies with assets of 2 trillion won or more, 8 of them  except Jeju Bank and Woori Securities  are operating ESG committees.



The sectors with less than 50 percent of the ESG committee implementation were shipbuilding, machinery, transportation and steel companies.



SK was the most active in ESG activities by approving 41 ESG agenda through 12 meetings followed by Mirae Asset Life Insurance (11 meetings), Hyundai Mobis (10), Hyundai Motor (8), SKC (7), Kia Corp. (6), Hyosung (6), POSCO, SK Telecom, Samsung C&T (5 each).



Although some companies are leading the ESG drives, experts say in the current state, there are no reasons for local conglomerates to invest heavily in such initiatives, as large corporations face limited competition to attract global investors.



"It does not really matter if the Korean companies are involved in ESG or not, since global investors are limited when it comes to which conglomerates to invest in. So it does not really matter if they increase ESG activities to attract investors, which will just result in more expenses," said Kwon Oh-in, a director at the Citizens' Coalition for Economic Justice.



Analysts believe the best way for conglomerates to expand ESG initiatives is to voluntarily take matters into their own hands. But since most Korean companies are not eager to put in the effort, the next best approach is to implement an ESG market monitoring system such as making public access to their ESG efforts mandatory, similar to that of corporate governance issues.



"In the beginning of the Moon Jae-in administration, they tried to make it mandatory for conglomerates to make public their ESG efforts, but such measures were postponed," Kwon said. "I believe we need a system that checks on conglomerates' ESG initiatives to make it easier to compare between conglomerates and stimulate competition in the field."



'Doing our best'



Although ESG management is a fairly recent concept, leading conglomerates say they plan to be more active in the coming years. SK has been leading the ESG efforts among local conglomerates with SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won backing the drive.



"ESG is the best methodology to pursue sustainable growth for future generations and we have made it our core management philosophy," an SK Group official said. "We plan to further strengthen ESG management, such as board-centered management and the early achievement of net zero through carbon reduction."



Hyundai Motor Group's medium to long-term strategy is to sell a total of 3.07 million electric vehicles (EV) in 2030 transitioning 36 percent of its local sales to EVs.



"All executives and employees will continue to work hard for our establishment as a leading ESG management company," a Hyundai Motor Company official said.



Not included in Leaders Index, LG Holdings said its ESG committee held only two meetings in 2021 but vowed to strengthen its ESG management in the coming years.



"LG has strengthened its executive power by appointing CEOs as a member of the ESG committee, and is also developing the LG ESG index to continuously monitor tasks and performance in each ESG field," an LG Group official said.



Samsung Electronics said its Sustainability Management Committee met four times last year and continues to enhance ESG efforts.



"Samsung Electronics has been continuously strengthening its dedicated organizational system, such as establishing the Sustainability Management Secretariat in major business units and upgrading the Sustainability Management Center to report directly to the CEO," a Samsung Electronics official said.








Hyundai Motor and Kia Corp. headquarters in Seoul / Courtesy of Hyundai Motor Group




By Kim Hyun-bin







POSCO Group Chairman Choi Jeong-woo met with Argentine President Alberto Fernandez to seek cooperation in the local lithium business and expand production of cathode materials.







According to POSCO Group, Tuesday, Chairman Choi discussed the rechargeable battery materials business with President Fernandes at the Presidential Palace in Buenos Aires, the capital of Argentina, Monday.







"POSCO Group is the first Asian steelmaker to declare carbon neutral 2050 and expand its business to secondary battery materials, lithium, nickel and hydrogen, leaping beyond steel to become a leading company in eco-friendly future materials," Chairman Choi said. "Lithium, an essential material for electric vehicle (EV) batteries, is a key business area that will drive the future growth of POSCO Group, and the cooperation from the Argentine government is essential."







President Fernandez said, "I am grateful that the POSCO Group made a large-scale investment in Argentina's salt lake to produce lithium directly. We will actively support everything, including licensing."







The meeting was held ahead of the groundbreaking ceremony for POSCO Group's lithium plant in Argentina, Tuesday. POSCO Group acquired the Hombre Muerto salt lake in Argentina in 2018 and is scheduled to start construction of a commercial plant on Wednesday.







POSCO Group also signed an MOU with the Argentinean government to expand the lithium plant and extend cooperation in the production of cathode materials. The strategy is to increase lithium production in Argentina and, through this, produce cathode materials locally to further strengthen the secondary battery materials value chain.







Argentina ranks fourth in the world in terms of lithium reserves and third in production.







Chairman Choi requested the Argentine government's cooperation not only in the rechargeable battery materials business, but also in the hydrogen and food businesses, and President Fernandez promised active cooperation.






RTHK: Kremlin critic Navalny handed new nine-year sentence

Jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny was sentenced to nine years in prison after a Russian court found him guilty of large-scale fraud and contempt of court on Tuesday.

The 45-year-old was already serving a two-and-a-half sentence at a prison camp east of Moscow for parole violations related to charges he says were fabricated to thwart his political ambitions. His current sentence will be incorporated into the one handed down on Tuesday, his lawyers said.

Police detained both of Navalnys lawyers immediately after the hearing. They were later released, one of the lawyers, Vadim Kobzev, said on Twitter.

After his sentence was pronounced, Navalny wrote on Twitter: "I want to say: the best support for me and other political prisoners is not sympathy and kind words, but actions. Any activity against the deceitful and thievish Putin's regime. Any opposition to these war criminals."

Prosecutors had sought to add 13 years to Navalny's existing sentence in the latest criminal case, in which he was accused of using 356 million roubles in donations collected by his foundation for personal purposes.

Navalny was jailed last year when he returned to Russia after receiving medical treatment in Germany following an attack on him, using a Soviet-era nerve toxin, during a visit to Siberia in 2020. Navalny blamed President Vladimir Putin for the attack.

The Kremlin said it had seen no evidence that Navalny was poisoned and denied any Russian role if he was.

Russian authorities have cast Navalny and his supporters as subversives determined to destabilise Russia with backing from the West. Many of Navalny's allies have fled Russia rather than face restrictions or jail at home.

Navalny's opposition movement has been labelled "extremist" and shut down, although his supporters continue to express their views on social media, including their opposition to Moscow's military intervention in Ukraine.

Navalnys other lawyer, Olga Mikhailova, said he would appeal: "Alexei is feeling good  he was sure of his innocence, he argued his innocence." (Reuters)

This story has been published on: 2022-03-22. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
Unholy Crusade: White House leads KOL on anti-Russia propaganda, Western rights groups turn blind eye to hate speech

(Global Times) 08:49, March 22, 2022

As the Russia-Ukraine conflict continues, the internet has seen a surge in hate speech and even death threats against Russians, much of which is manufactured or spread by media outlets or opinion leaders, observers found. Last week, Ukrainian TV host Fakhrudin Sharafmal on his show cited Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann calling for extermination of all Russians including children, and his Fascist speech caused widespread concern and panic, especially among many Russian civilians.

Within this growing anti-Russian movement, the Global Times found that some Western politicians, media personalities, and internet influencers, who once used buzzwords like "human rights" and "anti-violence" with great frequency, have joined in the hatred free-for-all peppered with personal attacks and violent intimidation. Ironically, Western human rights nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), and major social media platforms that claim to say no to hate speech, are condoning or even encouraging extreme hate speech against Russians.

This campaign of spreading hate speech against Russians, along with a raft of sanctions from Western countries, is entirely "against humanity," showing the double standards by the West when faced with different issues, Zhang Shengjun, a professor of international relations at Beijing Normal University, told the Global Times on Sunday.

The spreading of hatred

According to Russia Today, in a video of Sharafmal's appearance on a Radio 24 morning show on March 12, Sharafmal reported on his program about the death of a Ukrainian marine officer and then got emotional during the broadcast, quoting Adolf Eichmann, a notorious Nazi German SS officer, calling for a "genocide" against Russia.

Eichmann played a key role in establishing the Nazi concentration camp during World War II and was largely responsible for implementing the "Final Solution" in the Jewish holocaust.

The day after the controversial segment aired, Sharafmal appeared on the same show as normal. He made a short public apology on the show, during which time the hostess laughed uncontrollably.

Sharafmal's perfunctory apology has caused great dissatisfaction among netizens. On Twitter, the top comments on the apology video overwhelmingly blamed Sharafmal. "He didn't even apologize sincerely, he just read the script without emotion," one netizen commented. "It's too late to apologize, everyone already knows your true feelings," another one said.

The Moscow-based newspaper Komsomolskaya Pravda described Sharafmal as a "mad Nazi obsessed with murder."

On March 15, former Russian Duma member Ilya Ponomarev revealed on social media that Sharafmal had been specially trained to broadcast negatively about Russia, but his comments were in direct violation of Ukraine's law on disallowing fascist propaganda.

However, on the same day, Andreyko Roman Bohdanovych, a co-owner at Radio 24, also publicly apologized, but stressed that Sharafmal had spoken out of sadness, accusing the Russian side of taking it out of context as evidence that "Ukrainians practice Nazism."

European politicians have repeatedly asserted that the threat of Nazism in Ukraine is insignificant, Russia's RIA Novosti news agency noted in its report on March 15.

Observers pointed out that many Western anti-Russia forces are not only ignoring the growing tide of extreme rhetoric against Russia, but are also contributing to this wave of public opinion and propaganda.

In February, US representative Eric Swalwe said on the CNN Newsroom that kicking Russian students out of US universities should be "on the table" in response to Russia's military operations in Ukraine.

Another US congressman, Ruben Gallego, said on Twitter that Russians studying in the US "are the sons and daughters of the richest Russians" as he claimed the world was condemning Russia, reiterating that "A strong message can be sent by sending them home."

"The vulgarity of this emerging tribalism is evident in the fact that many of the people and institutions being condemned are themselves critics of the Russian government," US media outlet MSNBC reported.

With such extreme rhetoric, people have found that offline violence against Russians has begun to spread in the West. In February, a Russian restaurant in Washington DC was vandalized twice in the short span of a weekend. Local police said that the vandals broke windows and spray painted "anti-Russian" slogans on the building.

Since the start of the Ukraine crisis, Germany's federal police has registered hundreds of hate crimes against Russians, including online attacks, property damage, personal insults, and even threats to Russian people's lives on the streets, German local media Berliner Zeitung reported.

The extreme hate speech that is almost ubiquitous online and offline has made Russians anxious and scared. "My female Russian friend got randomly cursed and shouted at while walking in Tbilisi," wrote Twitter user "Kirill Shamiev" on March 14. "Stop doing this, people, we are literally one stab away from open hate crimes."

"To be honest, I don't know how to be Russian when this is all over," another user wrote in Russian on March 19. "You are literally hated by absolutely everyone, including other Russians. The most despised nation and I happened to be born in it."

Who is condoning hatred?

During the current Russia-Ukraine tensions, users of some major social media platforms, particularly those who are based in Ukraine or its surrounding regions, might have found that they seemed free to curse or lash out at Russians, although that went against the "no hate speech" policy promoted by the platforms.

Meta Platforms made a "temporary change," allowing Facebook and Instagram users in some countries to "call for violence against Russians and Russian soldiers" in the context of the Ukraine crisis, Reuters reported on March 10, citing the "internal emails" it saw that day.

According to one of the emails, the change on calls for violence to Russians applied to Armenia, Azerbaijan, Estonia, Georgia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, and Ukraine, Reuters said.

Russia's embassy in the US responded the following day, demanding (US) authorities stop extremist activities of Meta and bring the perpetrators to justice. "Users of Facebook and Instagram did not give the owners of these platforms the right to determine the criteria of truth and pit nations against each other," its Twitter account stated.

Russia's Investigative Committee opened a criminal case against Meta Platforms accusing the company's employees of "illegal calls for murder and violence" against Russian citizens, according to a statement released on the committee's website on March 11.

Meta Platforms' indulgence of hate speech sparked wide criticism. "So, Facebook and Instagram users are now allowed to call for people to be killed - but only if the people they're wishing death upon are Russian," said an article titled The double standards of Facebook's 'death to Russians' policy published in British magazine The Spectator.

"What about the 20 million Iraqis who use Facebook?" the article asked. "If they're still feeling aggrieved by the disastrous American invasion and occupation of their country, can they say 'Death to US troops'? 'Death to Joe Biden'? 'Kill Kamala'?"

Many so-called Western human rights groups, which initiated activities including the "No Hate Speech Movement" and kept repeating slogans like "hate speech is not free speech," have seemingly turned a blind eye to Meta Platforms this time, observers found. Human Rights Watch (HRW), an NGO that claims to be "independent" and "objective," mentioned Meta Platforms' policy change in the Ukraine crisis in its March 16 report, but contained no criticism with regards to the policy change. Instead, it stressed "serious violations by Russian forces" in the report.

Meanwhile, US media website Intercept in February revealed that Meta even allowed its users to praise Ukrainian neo-Nazi military unit Azov Battalion to "defend against Russian invasion." According to the Intercept, the Azov Battalion was previously banned from being freely discussed under the company's Dangerous Individuals and Organizations policy.

By brainwashing and utilizing social media influencers, the US government has also actively engaged in the online propaganda campaign against Russia and its people. According to US media, the White House hosted 30 TikTok stars on a Zoom call earlier this month, touting US strategic goals, policies, and stance on the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Several influencers said they felt "more empowered to debunk misinformation and communicate effectively about the crisis" after the call, The Washington Post reported on March 11.

The White House's action was "wrong" and "kind of funny" in the eyes of Lee Camp, former staffer at RT America, the US branch of the Russian national media outlet. RT America has been permanently shut down amid the Ukraine conflict, with Camp and his more than 100 coworkers being laid off.

"The White House should not be trying to influence TikTok creators. But beyond that, most of the influence of TikTok and YouTube creators, wherever creators, is done with propaganda," Camp told the Global Times. "It doesn't have to be a meeting at the White House for these influencers and content creators to have been manipulated into believing something that is not true so that they continue to create content that will benefit the US empire."

The current campaign against Russia, which is largely being ignored by Western human rights organizations, shows the hypocrisy and double standards promoted by these organizations. The slogans they advertise as "human rights," "anti-hate," and "anti-war" are biased and carefully selected, observers said.

"These so-called NGOs, since the Cold War, have served as tools to cooperate with Western governments to promote and transplant their ideologies in other countries," Zhang said.

"In the Ukraine crisis, the NGOs have failed to preach peace and haven't tried to find solutions. Instead, they made the attacks against Russians 'holy,' in order to realize their goals on ideologies and culture," he noted.

"Just as we would not abandon Ukraine, we also do not accept actions akin to a witch-hunt against the Russian people, literature, students, or artists," Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on March 9. He called the actions against Russia by the West "Fascist practices," noting that these would cast a shadow over Ukraine's "legitimate struggle," Turkish media reported.

Zhang, the professor in Beijing, said that the hysteria of the Western world against Russians is like how the Catholic crusaders launched onslaughts against pagans. "The difference is that today the hatred is driven by ideology, instead of religions.""This Nazi-like behavior of advocating for hatred against a certain group of people could lead to a humanitarian disaster. It is the shame of our time," Zhang noted.

(Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Liang Jun)
Holocaust survivor Boris Romanchenko, 2nd right, stands next to other former prisoners of the Buchenwald Nazi concentration camp during a commemoration ceremony at the camp's memorial site in Buchenwald near Weimar, eastern Germany, in this picture taken April 12, 2015, and handed out March 21 by the Buchenwald and Mittelbau-Dora Memorials Foundation. Romanchenko, 96, was killed when his house in Kharkiv was hit by shelling during the Ukraine-Russia conflict, March 21. AFP-Yonhap





Boris Romantschenko, who survived four Nazi concentration camps during World War II, has been killed by Russian shelling that struck his apartment in the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, the Buchenwald memorial foundation said Monday. He was 96 years old.







"It is with dismay that we have to report the violent death of Boris Romantschenko in the war in Ukraine," the Buchenwald and Mittelbau-Dora Memorials Foundation said in a statement.







Romantschenko died at home on March 18 after his building was bombed in the heavily shelled eastern city, the statement said, citing information from his son and granddaughter.







Describing him as "a close friend," the foundation said Romantschenko was committed to educating others about the horrors of the Nazi era and had been vice president of the Buchenwald-Dora International Committee.







Romantschenko was born into a family of farmers in Bondari, near the Ukrainian city of Sumy, Jan. 20, 1926.







Although he was not Jewish, he was taken by German soldiers when he was 16 years old and deported to the German city of Dortmund in 1942 to work as a forced laborer, as part of Nazi intimidation tactics against the Ukrainian population at the time.







A failed escape attempt landed him in the notorious Buchenwald Concentration Camp in 1943. He also spent time in the camps of Peenemuende, where he was forced to help build V2 rockets, and in Mittelbau-Dora and Bergen-Belsen.







"This is what they call the 'operation of denazification'," said the head of Ukraine's presidential office, Andriy Yermak, referring to Russian President Vladimir Putin's widely disbelieved claim that ridding Ukraine of Nazis was one reason for Moscow's invasion.







"The whole world sees Russia's cruelty," Yermak added.







The Buchenwald Memorial said Romantschenko's death "shows how dangerous the war in Ukraine is, also for concentration camp survivors".







The foundation said it had partnered with 30 other remembrance groups and associations to set up an "aid network" to support former victims of Nazi persecution in Ukraine, including through donations of food and medicine.







It also plans to offer practical help to survivors fleeing Ukraine by picking them up from the Ukrainian border or finding them accommodation in Germany.







There are still some 42,000 survivors of Nazi crimes living in Ukraine, according to the aid network. (AFP)


U.S. President Joe Biden boards Marine One at Gordons Pond in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, March 20, to return to Washington. AFP-Yonhap



President Joe Biden and European allies discussed Russia's "brutal" war in Ukraine, Monday, kicking off a crucial week in the Western standoff with Moscow that will see Biden visit Poland after attending NATO and EU summits.



Biden hosted the call, lasting just under one hour, with French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi and U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson "to discuss their coordinated responses," the White House said.



"The leaders discussed their serious concerns about Russia's brutal tactics in Ukraine, including its attacks on civilians," a White House statement said.



"They underscored their continued support for Ukraine, including by providing security assistance to the brave Ukrainians who are defending their country from Russian aggression, and humanitarian assistance to the millions of Ukrainians who have fled," it said.



On Wednesday, Biden will depart on the most momentous foreign trip of his presidency to date. He attends the twin summits on Thursday in Brussels, then meets President Andrzej Duda in Poland, on the frontline of the West's confrontation with Russia, Saturday.



Russia's war is about to enter its second month, and U.S. and Western allies have imposed unprecedented sanctions on Moscow, crippling the ruble and the country's stock market, while going after President Vladimir Putin's wealthy supporters.



On the ground in Ukraine, Western-supplied weapons, backed by years of training and funding, have helped the country's military to bloody the Russian invaders on multiple fronts.



White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said that Biden's mission was to make sure the West maintains closed ranks.



"Unity has been front and center for the president," Psaki said. "Unity with our European counterparts, unity among NATO, unity among the G7. And that doesn't happen by accident. And so, coming out of this what the president is hoping to achieve is continued coordination and a unified response to the continued escalatory actions of Putin."



However, with the war starting to look like a stalemate, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is making increasingly desperate appeals for the West to do more.





U.S. President Joe Biden listens during a secure video call with French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson in the Situation Room at the White House, March 7, in this image provided by the White House. AP-Yonhap



Hard decisions






U.S. President Joe Biden and U.S. first lady Jill Biden board Marine One as they depart for Washington, D.C. from Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, U.S., March 20. Reuters-Yonhap



Russia's false accusations that Kyiv has biological and chemical weapons illustrate that Russian President Vladimir Putin is considering using them himself in his war against Ukraine, U.S. President Joe Biden said Monday, without citing evidence.



Putin's "back is against the wall and now he's talking about new false flags he's setting up including, asserting that we in America have biological as well as chemical weapons in Europe; simply not true," Biden said at a Business Roundtable event.



"They are also suggesting that Ukraine has biological and chemical weapons in Ukraine. That's a clear sign he's considering using both of those."



The Russian Embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment.






Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks after viewing the "Burma's Path To Genocide" exhibit at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, March 21. AP-Yonhap





U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced new visa restrictions on Chinese officials Monday for their actions to repress ethnic and religious minorities both inside and outside the country.







In a statement, which provided no specific details on which officials would be targeted, Blinken also reiterated a call for China to "end its ongoing genocide and crimes against humanity" in the northwestern region of Xinjiang.







Xinjiang is in the grip of a years-long "anti-terrorism" campaign that has seen more than a million Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities detained in a sprawling network of "re-education" camps, according to rights groups.







Blinken noted that the visa restrictions would be focused on Chinese officials complicit in policies aimed at repressing religious and ethnic minorities, and other dissidents, human rights activists and journalists.







He noted that the actions by Chinese officials extended outside China's borders, including into the United States.







"The United States rejects efforts by PRC (People's Republic of China) officials to harass, intimidate, surveil and abduct members of ethnic and religious minority groups, including those who seek safety abroad, and U.S. citizens, who speak out on behalf of these vulnerable populations," Blinken said.







"We again call on the PRC government to cease its acts of transnational repression, including attempting to silence Uyghur American activists and other Uyghur individuals serving the American people by denying exit permission to their family members in China," he added.







The new actions come only a few days after Joe Biden spoke via video call with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, in which the US president sought to pressure Xi to not provide support for Russia's invasion of Ukraine. (AFP)


Some of the best years of my life  I miss those people.

Good times and memories, but I have moved on.

Not my best days, but I have made peace with them.

Glad to be away from those people  I dont miss the high school experience.

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Chris Martin, chair and former CEO of C.F. Martin & Co., cuts the ribbon Tuesday during a grand opening of C.F. Martin & Co.'s new warehouse in Tatamy. Don Cunningham, president and CEO of Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corp., second from left behind Martin, noted the warehouse among other area Lehigh Valley projects launched during 2021 during Cunningham's remarks Tuesday, March 22, at LVEDC's annual meeting. (April Gamiz/The Morning Call )

The Lehigh Valley saw more than 50 major expansions or new developments in 2021 that created or retained more than 5,000 jobs.

Don Cunningham, president and CEO of Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corp., recited many of those projects during his remarks Tuesday at the organizations annual meeting. The event was held virtually and streamed on LVEDCs Facebook page.

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Among the development, Cunningham said, came the opening in October of Martin Guitars warehouse in Tatamy; at Capital Blue Cross, which in December completed a $4 million renovation of its Allentown office; Penn State-Lehigh Valleys expansion in Upper Saucon Township; and biopharma services company Yourways announcement of an expansion at its Upper Macungie Township facility.

The Lehigh Valley remains in steady evolution, said Cunningham, the Bethlehem native who in July will mark a decade in charge of the regions top economic-boosting organization. Day by day, month by month, a new Lehigh Valley emerges.

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Don Cunningham, CEO of Lehigh Valley Economic Development, shown here at a February 2020 event at Lehigh Valley International Airport, said the Valley's economy has withstood the pandemic during his remarks Tuesday during LVEDC's virtual annual meeting. (Amy Shortell / The Morning Call)

The regions gross domestic product, or private-sector output, fell in 2020 to $42.9 billion compared with a record $44.2 billion the previous year, he said, though 2020s figure came despite state-mandated closings or reduced operations due to the spread of COVID. Regional GDP numbers for 2021 from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis wont be released until early December.

Last year, Cunningham said, the Valley broke into the top 50 manufacturing markets in the U.S., which he called a milestone. At nearly $8 billion and nearly 11% of the workforce, manufacturing ranks second in overall output, he said, behind the financial, insurance and real estate sector, he said.

Some 700 manufacturers continued to churn out food, beverages, medical equipment and other items that Cunningham said sustained the nation through the pandemic. The work helped bring better wages, with the median annual household income at nearly $67,000 he said.

The unemployment rate has rebounded from a 40-year high of around 17% in April 2020 to 4.3% at the end of 2021. Cunningham said the area added nearly 12,000 jobs, the most gained in a year since at least 1990. However, he said many workers have left their jobs since the pandemic, making talent supply the single most important issue facing the region.

During the last decade, the Valleys population rose by 6.2% to 687,508, making it one of Pennsylvanias fastest growing regions, Cunningham said. Incoming residents ages 18-34 now comprise the largest generation in the regions workforce.

Business Buzz Daily The daily update for the Lehigh Valley business person. >

New generations and new people are filling our cities and driving our companies; new companies, different than those of my youth, Cunningham said. The Lehigh Valley is being reborn.

A copy of LVEDCs annual report is at lehighvalley.org

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Morning Call journalist Anthony Salamone can be reached at asalamone@mcall.com.
Lehigh County investigators carried out surveillance on an Allentown constable for nine months to gather evidence that he does not live at the south Allentown address where he has been elected twice since 2015.

Steven A. Wiggs was reelected as constable in Allentowns 16th Ward in November; he was elected with write-in votes in 2015.

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In a complaint filed Monday in Lehigh County Court, District Attorney Jim Martins office alleges that Wiggs actual address is in Newark, making him ineligible to hold elected office in Pennsylvania. The complaint, which asks the court to remove Wiggs from office, also notes that Wiggs is not certified as a constable by the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency.

Wiggs did not respond to a phone message Tuesday and it is unclear whether he has a lawyer.

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It is the second time since the election Martins office has taken action to remove a constable from office. In December, prosecutors filed a complaint against Nicholas C. Douglas, a Michigan man with an extensive criminal record who won a constable position as a write-in candidate in Allentowns 12th Ward, alleging that he was not a resident. A judge declared Douglas ineligible and he was prevented from taking office.

[ Lehigh County judge disqualifies Allentown constable-elect who was convicted of impersonating a police officer ]

Constables are elected in Pennsylvania as local peacekeepers whose duties include keeping order at polling places and other public events. Many constables also work for the district court system, serving arrest warrants, eviction papers and other legal paperwork. To work for the courts and receive payment, constables must have basic certification from the PCCD. Those who complete the agencys firearms training for constables may carry a gun.

Wiggs has repeatedly run afoul of law enforcement, facing charges of illegally carrying guns and impersonating a police officer in New Jersey and Philadelphia, according to court records. The charges against Wiggs in Philadelphia were dropped but the New Jersey charges are pending with no trial date.

According to the complaint, district attorneys office investigators placed pole cameras near the home Wiggs listed as his address in the 700 block of South Woodward Street. He used the address on election paperwork, including his petition to be on the ballot, financial interest statement and oath of office. They also placed cameras near a home in the 2600 block of Fernor Street in Allentown.

Investigators viewed the cameras daily and at no time were [Wiggs] or any of his vehicles seen at the South Woodward Street address. The cameras showed Wiggs parked his three vehicles, including a marked police car and two unmarked police cars at the Fernor Street address, where he visited only to exchange one car for another or to sleep in one of the cars.

By following Wiggs, investigators determined his actual address is in Newark.

A Lehigh County detective interviewed the owner of the South Woodward Street home, who admitted Wiggs does not live at the address. The homeowner said Wiggs was a former neighbor who moved away about two years ago. Wiggs asked the homeowner if he could use his address for constable paperwork and the homeowner agreed.

The complaint asks the court to declare that Wiggs does not live at either of the Allentown addresses, that he is not a certified constable and that he is ineligible to serve as constable in Allentowns 16th Ward because he does not live there.

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Wiggs faces charges in New Jersey that he brought a handgun with an illegal large-capacity magazine to a Newark courthouse and that he impersonated a police officer. Wiggs was also charged twice in 2018 with weapons offenses and impersonating a police officer in Philadelphia but the charges were dropped.

First Call Daily Leading local stories delivered on weekday mornings >

In the New Jersey case, Wiggs was arrested in December 2019 and charged in Essex County with unlawful possession of a weapon, impersonating a police officer, three counts of unlawful possession of large-capacity magazines and using fraudulent documents after he arrived at the county courthouse in Newark and told security officers that he was a constable and carrying his service weapon.

He also showed sheriffs officers a Lehigh County identification card certifying him as an elected constable and a Monroe County identification badge with the words Northeast Regional Counter-Terrorism Task Force. The charges are still pending and no trial is scheduled.

The New Jersey case is the second time Wiggs has been charged with impersonating a police officer and unlawful possession of a weapon. State police initially charged Wiggs in Philadelphia County Court with operating a vehicle illegally with red and blue lights, which are only permitted on police vehicles under the state vehicle code.

When Wiggs arrived at the courthouse to answer the charge in July 2018 while carrying his firearm, state troopers arrested him and charged him with unlawfully carrying a weapon and impersonating a police officer. He was arrested again in September 2018 when he arrived for a hearing on the weapon and impersonation charges. Both sets of charges were later withdrawn and Wiggs sued in federal court but lost.

After his arrest in Philadelphia, state police issued a bulletin concerning officer safety noting that Wiggs made comments on his Facebook page expressing anger over what he called a personal vendetta against him by state police. The Morning Call obtained the November 2018 Pennsylvania Criminal Intelligence Center bulletin from a source who asked not to be identified because of its confidential nature.

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The bulletin noted his arrests in Philadelphia and that Wiggs is known to work as a security guard or as a bouncer in the city. It warned law enforcement officers to use caution if they have contact with Wiggs.

Morning Call reporter Peter Hall can be reached at 610-820-6581 or peter.hall@mcall.com.
US is reestablishing a new Inquisition using Russia-Ukraine crisis as excuse

By Global Times editorial (Global Times) 08:53, March 22, 2022

Illustration: Chen Xia/Global Times

The US, leading several attendants, is launching a round of international mobilization to condemn Russia. After US Secretary of State Antony Blinken accused China of standing "on the wrong side of history" in the Russia-Ukraine conflict, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison immediately followed suit by putting pressure on China. During his visit to India, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida raised his voice on the Ukraine issue, attempting to lobby New Delhi to switch its stance to condemn Russia. Even the Associated Press tweeted, "Amid a worldwide chorus of condemnation against Russia's war on Ukraine, Africa has remained mostly quiet."

It is not up to Washington to decide who stands "on the wrong side of history." The US cannot forcibly pin the label that belongs to itself to someone else. As a netizen commented under the AP's tweet, "Us drinking panadol for your own headache is not something we'll be doing." The US is the one that triggered the conflict and is the biggest hidden hand behind the curtain, who has made the Russia-Ukraine crisis where it is today. To shirk its responsibility and seek its own interests, Washington concocted a new charge for those who haven't condemned Russia to set up a new moral high ground for global sanctions against Russia.

The US is reestablishing a new Inquisition, infamous in medieval Europe, and all who disagree with the US have been labeled "heretics." And the US also wants to tie and burn the "heretics" on the pillars of international public opinion.

Yet, to the disappointment of the US and its attendants, although they have been clamoring that countries should take sides, they cannot cover the fact that they are still the minority in the international community. The US wishes that the whole world will follow it to condemn and sanction Russia, but more than 100 countries are not involved in imposing sanctions against Russia.

The attitude of non-Western major powers, including India, Brazil, and South Africa share a similar attitude with China - hoping to facilitate dialogue for peace and quell the conflict as soon as possible. Why? Because everyone with a sober mind can see that extreme sanctions will not help solve the crisis. On the contrary, they will only add fuel to the fire.

Washington has been clamoring that only sanctions against Russia are "correct" moves. It is humiliating the judgment and political experience of the entire international community. If the crisis can be resolved by simply condemning or sanctioning Russia, it is believed the international community will surely have done it.

But the situation is completely different. Condemning Russia or adding a few names on the sanctions list won't fix anything. Instead, they cut off ties that could have maintained communication and mediation between Russia and Ukraine. Doing so has further weakened the intermediary role in facilitating dialogue for peace.

By mobilizing the international community to "condemn" Russia and join the US sanctions team, Washington has no sincerity or idea of solving the Russia-Ukraine crisis. The "united front" it is advocating is only to satisfy US interests.

Now it wants to pressure China to "condemn" Russia to create a rift in China-Russia relations. If China resists the pressure and does not do it, the US will have an excuse to blame China. For the US, it would be ideal if China were to participate in sanctions against Russia which would result in the breakup of China-Russia relations, making the US easily break through. In other words, the US has dug a hole and imagines that China will have to jump into it.

It has to be said that this smart-aleck bullying is very "American." But there is a fundamental difference between China's logic and that of the US. China has always decided its position and policy based on the merits of the matter itself.

China has no self-interest in the Ukraine issue and is making real efforts to alleviate the humanitarian crisis while urging peace and promoting talks, which is in stark contrast to Washington's inflammatory operations of sending weapons and imposing extreme sanctions. Who is on the right side of history? The international community can judge by itself, and it is not up to the US, the initiator of this crisis, to define it.

It was noted that on March 20, Chinese Ambassador to the US Qin Gang was interrupted 23 times by the host during a 9-minute interview with CBS. In the same program that day, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and US Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell were never interrupted by the host. This is a reflection of the political climate in Washington, where any dissenting voice is considered "heretical." This is the most dangerous thing for the Russia-Ukraine situation.

(Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Liang Jun)
Donald Trumps praise of Vladimir Putin is alarming and dangerous.

His comments arent surprising, considering his poor understanding of history, pattern of deception and attraction to dictators. He seems more interested in Putins power and wealth than in advancing democracy.

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His praise provides aid and comfort to an enemy. He who avoided military service and wouldnt even march with his own insurrectionists dishonors our military, who defend democracy at home and abroad.

More disturbing is that too many Americans appear captivated by the Putin-Trump strongman fraternity, seeming to prefer autocracy to democracy.

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Americans whove spoken out about injustices and national problems have endured decades of America  love it or leave it, accused of hating their country. President Truman once said, If you cant stand the heat, get out of the kitchen.

Perhaps those who cant handle a free and open society should leave for Russia, where protests, truck convoys and insurrections would likely land them in jail, or worse.

Every generation must cultivate democracy or it will wither. Ukrainians are fighting for what we take for granted. Maybe witnessing Ukrainians lose their democracy will compel us to love ours  or lose it.

John Barone

Coopersburg


PHNOM PENH, March 22 (Xinhua) -- Two China-funded modern hospitals, which were inaugurated in Cambodia recently, are crucial to strengthening the health system in the southeast Asian country.

They are the Cambodia-China Friendship Tboung Khmum Hospital in the eastern Tboung Khmum province and the Cambodia-China Friendship Medical Building at the Cambodia-China Friendship Preah Kossamak Hospital in capital Phnom Penh, which were put into use on March 7 and 21, respectively.

Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen and Chinese Ambassador to Cambodia Wang Wentian had presided over the inauguration ceremonies of the two medical facilities.

Hun Sen said he was pleased to see the two hospitals launched in the same month and expressed his profound gratitude to China for funding their construction.

"Both hospitals will not only help improve the quality of medical care services, but also respond to the need for healthcare services among our people," he said during the inauguration event of the Cambodia-China Friendship Medical Building here on Monday.

Health Ministry's director-general and spokesman Hok Kim Cheng said these huge achievements were the fruit of close cooperation between Cambodia and China under the frameworks of the bilateral comprehensive strategic partnership and the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

"Both hospitals are very necessary to strengthen our health system," he told Xinhua. "They will provide great benefits and better medical care services to our people."

The five-storey hospital in Tboung Khmum province has 300 beds and the 11-floor medical building in Phnom Penh has 400 beds, Kim Cheng said, adding that the two facilities have been well equipped with high-tech medical equipment.

Ngy Mean Heng, director of the Phnom Penh Municipal Health Department, agreed that both hospitals will be very beneficial to the people.

"Cooperation with China is very useful for Cambodia to develop quality healthcare services, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic," he told Xinhua.

Eng Kheang, director of the Cambodia-China Friendship Tboung Khmum Hospital, said the hospital would make medical care services more convenient for rural people, who previously had to travel a long distance to Phnom Penh for medical treatment.

"It's a huge gift from China for Cambodia's health sector, and this new hospital will serve people better as it is equipped with modern medical technology that has not been available in the province before," he told Xinhua.

"With the assistance of medical supplies and equipment, as well as technologies from China, I believe that people will enjoy quality medical care services," Kheang said.

Tim Vuochny, a 29-year-old doctor at the Cambodia-China Friendship Preah Kossamak Hospital, said China has not only provided the medical building and equipment, but also specialists to help train local doctors.

"These are essential to strengthening our health capacity and quality and to deliver medical services to our people better and more efficiently," she told Xinhua.

"This medical building will not only greatly contribute to the development of the health sector, but also help deepen people-to-people contacts between the two countries towards a community with a shared future," Vuochny said. 
COLOMBO, March 22 (Xinhua) -- Army personnel were deployed at all fuel stations run by the state-owned Ceylon Petroleum Corporation in Sri Lanka on Tuesday amidst a shortage that led to long queues of consumers.

Military spokesman Nilantha Premaratna said that military personnel were deployed to monitor the distribution of fuel at the filling stations and maintain law and order among the consumers.

He said two military men were deployed at every fuel station as people had to stand in queues for as long as several hours.

Three people died with one person killed in recent days while standing in the fuel queues in different parts of the country, leading to a tense situation in several areas.

The government has assured that fuel would be distributed sufficiently and the required stocks were now arriving without disruption in the country.

Sri Lanka is facing a fuel shortage due to a foreign exchange crisis which the government says is being resolved by seeking economic relief from friendly nations. 




BEIJING, March 21 (Xinhua) -- The Russia-Ukraine conflict continues on Monday as relevant parties are working to broker a peaceful solution.



Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Sunday that Russia and Ukraine have made progress on the "critical" articles of a ceasefire agreement being negotiated, but some issues still require decisions by their leaders.

Cavusoglu told local daily Hurriyet that "if the parties do not step back from their current positions, we can say that we are hopeful for a ceasefire."

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he is ready to negotiate with Russian President Vladimir Putin during an interview with an American news outlet Sunday.

Meanwhile, Ukraine's parliament said on Sunday that Zelensky signed a bill extending the current martial law for 30 days, starting March 26.

Mikhail Mizintsev, head of the Russian National Defense Control Center, said Sunday that humanitarian corridors from Ukraine's Mariupol are set to be open from 10 a.m. Moscow time (0700 GMT) on Monday.

According to Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk, four of the seven previously planned humanitarian corridors actually opened on Sunday, and over 7,000 residents were evacuated from different cities.





Produced by Xinhua Global Service
BEIJING, March 22 (Xinhua) -- More than 41,000 local COVID-19 infections had been reported in 28 provincial-level regions across China between March 1 and 21, a senior health official said Tuesday.

Over half of these infections, or 22,000 cases, occurred in northeast China's Jilin Province, where the epidemic is still on the rise, said Lei Zhenglong with the National Health Commission (NHC) at a press conference.

With the repeated resurgence of COVID-19, China is facing a grim and complicated situation of epidemic prevention and control, said Lei.

The Chinese mainland on Monday reported 2,281 locally transmitted COVID-19 cases and 2,432 asymptomatic cases, NHC data showed. 
CHANGCHUN, March 22 (Xinhua) -- Northeast China's Jilin Province, hit hard by a COVID-19 resurgence, is making every effort to rein in the virus. Here is what you need to know about the epidemic control efforts in the province.

-- Jilin Province reported 1,902 confirmed locally transmitted cases and 563 asymptomatic carriers on Monday, the provincial health commission said Tuesday.

-- The current epidemic prevention and control situation in Jilin is still severe and complicated, with the cities of Changchun and Jilin accounting for the vast majority of newly infected patients in the province, said Zhang Li, deputy director of the commission.

-- The main culprit behind the ongoing wave of COVID-19 infections in Jilin is the Omicron BA.2 sub-variant, which is more contagious and harder to detect.

-- More than 98 percent of COVID-19 cases in the recent resurgence of infections in Jilin have mild symptoms. As of Monday afternoon, over 100 COVID-19 patients had recovered and were discharged from hospital.

-- Jilin boasts more than 20 designated COVID-19 medical institutions and around 10 makeshift hospitals. The province had put over 800 quarantine sites into use by Sunday afternoon.

-- As of Monday morning, Jilin had distributed over 40 million COVID-19 antigen testing reagents to citizens, including students and enterprise employees, to accelerate massive epidemiological screening.

The province is promoting a virus detection model combining citywide nucleic acid testing with self-test antigen kits. This is conducive to identifying people in the acute infection period in time, controlling the infection source and taking quarantine measures as soon as possible, said Tong Xueying, director of the clinical laboratory center in Jilin.

-- As of March 19, around 2,500 medical workers and anti-epidemic personnel from nine provincial-level regions had rushed to Jilin to help fight the virus on the front lines.

-- The province announced a temporary suspension of inter-provincial and inter-city travel starting from March 14.

-- Jilin has launched over 10 hotlines to offer psychological counseling for its residents. 
Aerial photo taken on March 9, 2022, shows a view of Muangxay, a business town along the China-Laos Railway in northern Laos. (Photo by Kaikeo Saiyasane/Xinhua)

BEIJING, March 22 (Xinhua) -- In the face of profound challenges rarely seen in a century, the international community is struggling to maintain development while tackling deficits in peace and governance.

Guided by "Xiconomics," the economic philosophy of Chinese President Xi Jinping, China is committed to following a development path with distinct Chinese characteristics and pursuing win-win cooperation worldwide. Featuring common prosperity, joint contribution with other nations and a shared future, Xi's vision of development and governance will help bolster global confidence and rally support to address threats and challenges.





COMMON PROSPERITY

Poverty eradication is one of the greatest global challenges facing the development of the world. It also tests the resolve and capability of China, a country with a population of more than 1.4 billion.

Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, has pointed out that eliminating poverty, improving people's livelihood and achieving common prosperity are essential requirements of socialism.

A moderately prosperous society in all respects "is a society to be enjoyed by each and every one of us; on the march toward common prosperity, no one must be left behind," Xi said when he and other members of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee met reporters in 2017.

By the end of 2020, China had lifted out of poverty all rural residents living below the current poverty line and met the poverty eradication target set out in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development 10 years ahead of schedule -- unprecedented progress in the history of human development.

Koh King Kee, president of Center for New Inclusive Asia, a non-government Malaysian think tank, said poverty reduction is the only way to achieve common prosperity, and China has laid the foundation for it.

Promoting social equity and justice and gradually realizing common prosperity for all are essential parts of Xi's economic thought, said the expert.

Ronnie Lins, director of the China-Brazil Center for Research and Business, said China's actions to create more significant economic and social benefits are mainly reflected in its sincere political will to act in the interests of the poorest.

China's experience in poverty reduction has become a valuable asset in global poverty reduction cooperation.

Local students at the Obaay Primary School receive the food items donated by fellow Chinese school children through the China Foundation for Poverty Alleviation (CFPA) in Dukem town of Ethiopia's Oromia regional state, on June 9, 2021. (Xinhua/Wang Ping)

Richard A. Black, a representative of the Schiller Institute at the United Nations in New York, said China's achievement in poverty alleviation is a "quiet model and powerful inspiration" to the people in Africa, Latin America and much of Asia.

There are currently ongoing catastrophes of mass deaths by war, starvation and economic strangulation by Western sanctions, Black said, adding that "China has proven -- by its actions, not by its words -- an alternative pathway" in terms of poverty reduction.

"We must take a people-centered approach and make global development more equitable, effective and inclusive so that no country will be left behind," President Xi stressed at the 16th G20 Leaders' Summit via video link in 2021.

Xi, at the CPC and World Political Parties Summit via video link last year, also called for particular attention and care for underdeveloped countries and regions and impoverished people.

"Only when countries develop together can there be true development, and only when countries prosper together can there be true prosperity," said Xi, while addressing via video link the opening ceremony of the Second UN Global Sustainable Transport Conference.

Xi has outlined an ambitious blueprint to promote common development, fairness and inclusiveness. In countries and regions eager to lift themselves out of poverty, China-championed economic cooperation has turned forgotten places into hopeful fields.

China has promoted a project to connect 10,000 African villages to a satellite TV network, helping locals access the world outside. China has built railways, highways, airports and ports to help Asian countries accelerate their development. Chinese e-commerce enterprises have been taking root in Latin America and other regions, promoting local digital transformation and joining hands with partners for a shared future.





JOINT CONTRIBUTION, SHARED BENEFITS

"Economic globalization is the trend of the times. Though countercurrents are sure to exist in a river, none could stop it from flowing to the sea," Xi said at the 2022 World Economic Forum (WEF) virtual session.

Xi has repeatedly expressed his firm determination to promote common development and build an open world economy in the face of rising unilateralism. "Development is the right of all countries, rather than an exclusive privilege of the few," Xi said at the CPC and World Political Parties Summit in 2021.

China has been committed to helping other developing countries grow their economy, improve livelihoods, and enhance their independent and sustainable development capacity.

The people-centered approach reflects the fundamental difference between socialism with Chinese characteristics and profit-oriented Western capitalism. Today, the vision put forward by the Chinese leader has been translated into the vivid practice of joint efforts and shared benefits.

Sommad Pholsena, vice president of the National Assembly of Laos, said while China was not the first country to express a willingness to build a railway in Laos, it was the only one to turn it into reality. By the end of 2021, the entire China-Laos Railway was put into operation, a dream come true for railway-craving Laos.

Since the launch of the Belt and Road Initiative, China has made solid progress in building the Jakarta-Bandung High-Speed Railway, the Hungary-Serbia Railway, the Mombasa-Nairobi Railway and the Gwadar Port. It has gradually improved trade and investment liberalization and facilitation to boost the global economy and trade.

"Only with openness, inclusiveness and connectivity can countries reinforce each other's efforts and achieve win-win results," Xi said at the opening ceremony of the Second UN Global Sustainable Transport Conference in 2021, highlighting the essence of openness and win-win cooperation.

Laborers work at the construction site of the Jakarta-Bandung High Speed Railway (HSR) in Indonesia, Dec. 29, 2021. (Xinhua/Xu Qin)

With a population of more than 1.4 billion and a middle-income group of over 400 million, China imports about 2.5 trillion U.S. dollars of goods and services every year. Thousands of market entities worldwide rely heavily on the Chinese market, and China's opening-up has attracted global attention.

As the world's first import-themed national fair, the China International Import Expo has been held for four consecutive sessions, fortifying China's commitment to opening-up and sharing opportunities with the rest of the world.

China has shared its growth dividend with the world by opening up its market, said Yana Leksyutina, a St. Petersburg State University professor.





SHARED FUTURE

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has dealt a heavy blow to the global economy. China has stood with other countries to fight COVID-19 and promote economic recovery, demonstrating a sense of responsibility as a major country and a commitment to building a community with a shared future for humankind.

"Facts have shown once again that amidst the raging torrents of a global crisis, countries are not riding separately in some 190 small boats, but are rather all in a giant ship on which our shared destiny hinges," Xi said at the 2022 WEF virtual session, calling for stronger solidarity.

"We must put people and their lives first," Xi said at the Global Health Summit in 2021, adding that "we must stick together and promote solidarity and cooperation," and "we must uphold fairness and equity to close the immunization gap."

With a strong sense of responsibility for the Chinese people and the international community, China quickly brought the epidemic at home under control to revive its economy and restore production. China was the first country to pledge to make its COVID-19 vaccines a global public good and launch a large-scale global humanitarian campaign. With a reliable supply of goods and efficient cross-border logistics networks, China has built a lifeline in the global fight against COVID-19 and protecting supply chains.

An airport worker transports packages of Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine at Phnom Penh International Airport in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, on Oct. 14, 2021. (Photo by Phearum/Xinhua)

"China has always stuck together with the world through thick and thin," said Cambodian government chief spokesman Phay Siphan.

To achieve a balanced, coordinated and inclusive growth worldwide, Xi proposed the Global Development Initiative at the general debate of the 76th session of the UN General Assembly.

"No country can alone face such universal problems as COVID-19 and economic stagnation. All this just confirms Xi's vision for global governance," said former Egyptian Prime Minister Essam Sharaf.

President Xi's economic thinking has opened up a new horizon for strengthening global governance and promoting world development, said Sharaf. 
Changes in SW Chinas Liangshan Yi autonomous prefecture in the eyes of a British young man

09:02, March 22, 2022 By Song Haoxin ( People's Daily

When asked where he likes going in China, Toby Symonds, a British young man, said without hesitation that Chinese countryside is so beautiful that foreigners should definitely visit it.

In September 2008, when he was a junior history student at the Newcastle University in Britain, Symonds came to study in the Sichuan University in Chengdu, capital of southwest Chinas Sichuan province, under an exchange program.

Moshixiwu (middle), a girl of Yi ethnic group in Liangshan Yi autonomous prefecture, southwest Chinas Sichuan province, discusses schoolwork with classmates at school. (Peoples Daily Online/Song Haoxin)

When I first arrived in Chengdu, I couldnt speak Chinese and was a complete stranger in the city. But the city soon impressed me with its hospitality and inclusiveness, so I adapted quickly to the life in China, Symonds told Peoples Daily in a coffee shop in downtown Chengdu.

His experience of studying in China as an exchange student, though short, made Symonds fall in love with the country and its exuberant vitality and optimistic people.

After finishing his studies in Britain, Symonds returned to Chengdu to start a business with his friends while writing.

In recent years, Symonds has paid close attention to the development of education in China and made field trips to a lot of places across the country because of his work, during which a girl of Yi ethnic group named Moshixiwu has left a deep impression on him.

In 2013, Symonds went to Siwei village, Shangtianba township, Leibo county, Liangshan Yi autonomous prefecture, Sichuan province, for the very first time, and visited the family of Moshixiwu.

At that time, Siwei village didnt have electricity, and Moshixiwus family lived in an adobe house lit by a kerosene lamp. Like other children in the village, Moshixiwus biggest wish was to have an electric light in her house. If we had electric light, we wouldnt be afraid of the darkness at night, Moshixiwu told Symonds.

Last summer, when Symonds visited Moshixiwus family again, he found that their adobe house was replaced by a new one with rich cultural elements of the Yi ethnic group, and that several children were watching the Tokyo Olympic Games on TV. The new house was bright and equipped with various kinds of home appliances, including refrigerator and washing machine.

Liangshan Yi autonomous prefecture is endowed with rich hydroelectric resources. However, due to poor infrastructure, easy access to clean and safe drinking water used to be a challenge to local people.

Photo taken on Jan. 1, 2021 shows an aerial view of a super-large bridge of a spur line of the first expressway meandering in the Xiaoliangshan mountainous area in southwest Chinas Sichuan province. The spur line, which is located in Mabian Yi autonomous county, Leshan city, Sichuan province, officially opened to traffic in 2021, shortening the travel time between Mabian county and Chengdu city, capital of Sichuan province, to 3.5 hours. (Peoples Daily Online/Yang Fei)

Thanks to Chinas strategy of targeted poverty alleviation, the State Grid Sichuan Electric Power Company has made continuous efforts to improve local infrastructure and help translate the prefectures advantage in hydroelectric resources into economic advantage, eventually driving the economic development of the locality.

Local villagers told Symonds that they have got access to electricity and their lives have become better and better in recent years.

By 2019, Siwei village lifted all households out of poverty, shaking off the shackles of poverty that tortured it for decades.

As economic development picks up speed, educational conditions of the prefecture have also been continuously improved, something Symonds has seen first-hand.

I went to quite a number of counties when I visited Liangshan Yi autonomous prefecture again this year. And I found that those places which were very poor and had few schools in sight now have many modern school buildings. Children run freely on spacious and safe playgrounds, and schools are filled with students laughter and sound of reading, Symonds said.

Now my dream is to go to college, Moshixiwu told Symonds with a happy smile when she talked about dream with him again.

Watching the busy street outside the window, Symonds brought his thoughts back from memories and told Peoples Daily his new understanding of Chinas journey to moderate prosperity in all respects, or Xiaokang in Chinese.

Photo taken on Jan. 10, 2022 at Xichangxi Railway Station in Liangshan Yi autonomous prefecture, southwest Chinas Sichuan province, shows train attendants in traditional costumes of ethnic minority groups posing for a photo with Fuxing high-speed train No. D843, which is about to make the first trip from Xichangxi Railway Station to Kunming, capital of southwest Chinas Yunnan province. The train trip marked that Liangshan Yi autonomous prefecture officially ushered in the era of high-speed trains. (Peoples Daily Online/Hu Zhiqiang)

In the past, I thought Xiaokang is a phrase used only to describe urban life. The changes in Liangshan Yi autonomous prefecture made me realize that Xiaokang exists not only in urban areas but also rural areas. Only when all rural residents achieve Xiaokang can China truly realize the goal of Xiaokang, Symonds said.

When I saw the great changes in villagers lives, especially when I knew that children like Moshixiwu have more beautiful dreams after they got better material and educational resources, I had heartfelt respect for the greatness of the Communist Party of China (CPC), he said.

In Liangshan Yi autonomous prefecture, he finally understood why the CPC often said raising the living standards of rural residents was critical to achieving moderate prosperity, according to Symonds.

(Web editor: Hongyu, Liang Jun)
Pieces of the wreckage of a crashed passenger plane that carried 132 people were found in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region as all-out search and rescue efforts are continuing.



The China Eastern Airlines Boeing 737 aircraft with 132 people aboard crashed on Monday afternoon.

The plane departed from Kunming and was bound for Guangzhou.

It crashed into a mountainous area near the Molang village in Tengxian County in the city of Wuzhou at 2:38 p.m., causing a mountain fire.

The fire was later put out.

All-out search and rescue efforts are continuing.

The cause of the accident is under investigation.





Produced by Xinhua Global Service
PHNOM PENH, March 22 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia on Tuesday launched an educational campaign across the country to raise awareness of health protection and vaccination against the COVID-19 pandemic.

The campaign kicked off under the theme "The highly contagious COVID-19 Omicron variant puts you and your family at risk".

In a statement marking the launching event, Health Minister Mam Bunheng urged people to continue complying with relevant guidelines and to go for free vaccines, both the basic two doses and the booster shots, when their turns come.

The guidelines include wearing a face mask, washing hands frequently and maintaining the physical distancing of 1.5 meters, while avoiding confined and enclosed spaces, avoiding crowded spaces, and avoiding touching each other.

He advised local authorities to use all means including TVs, radios, social media, mobile loudspeakers, banners and leaflets to spread the awareness of COVID-19 prevention and vaccination to the people.

"People are encouraged to report immediately to the competent authorities if there is an outbreak of COVID-19 or other infectious diseases in their community so that our health authorities will be able to take swift action to minimize its impact on the society," Bunheng said.

Cambodia reported a daily record of 73 cases, all were confirmed to be the Omicron variant, with no new deaths on Tuesday, raising the national total caseload to 135,158, with 131,110 recoveries and 3,052 deaths, the health ministry said.

The kingdom has so far administered one dose of COVID-19 vaccines to 14.78 million people, or 92.4 percent of its 16 million population, the ministry said.

In addition, 13.9 million, or 86.8 percent, have been fully vaccinated with two required shots, and 7.8 million, or 48.7 percent, have taken a third dose or booster shot, and nearly 1.13 million, or 7 percent, have got a fourth dose, it added.

Most of the jabs used in the Southeast Asian nation's immunization program are China's Sinovac and Sinopharm. 
Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi (1st L) attends the 48th session of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Islamabad, capital of Pakistan, on March 22, 2022. (Xinhua/Jiang Chao)

ISLAMABAD, March 22 (Xinhua) -- Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said here on Tuesday that China is upholding real multilateralism and willing to build four partnerships with Islamic countries.

Addressing the 48th session of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), Wang said China is ready to build four partnerships of solidarity, development, security and civilization with Islamic countries in a world full of turbulences and transformations.

First, building a partnership of solidarity and coordination. China and Islamic countries should support each other in safeguarding sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity, and back each other in exploring a development path suited to their own national conditions, Wang said.

They should also support each other in safeguarding their rightful development interests and common interests of the developing countries.

Second, building a partnership of development and rejuvenation. China will provide 300 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine to Islamic countries in helping them fight the pandemic, Wang said. Both sides should join hands to build the Belt and Road and implement the Global Development Initiative in high quality so as to contribute to realizing the UN Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.

Third, building a partnership of security and stability. China will continue supporting Islamic countries in solving the hotspot issues in the world with Islamic wisdoms, and holding the key of stability and peace in their own hands, Wang said. China is ready to promote the comprehensive and just settlement of the Palestinian issue on the basis of the two-state solution.

China backs Afghanistan in forming an inclusive government and achieving stability in governance so as to usher in a new era for peace and reconstruction.

China will encourage Russia and Ukraine to continue peace talks for a ceasefire and put an end to conflict until peace is achieved. Efforts should be made to avoid a humanitarian disaster and prevent spillover of the Ukraine crisis, which may otherwise affect or damage the legitimate rights and interests of other regions and countries, he said.

Fourth, building a partnership of mutual learning among civilizations. China opposes creating division and confrontation by drawing lines with ideology, Wang said, adding that China is also against the ideas of "superiority of a civilization" and "clash of civilizations."

Both sides should also deepen their cooperation in preventive anti-terrorism and de-radicalization, and oppose double standard in anti-terrorism and linking terrorism to a specific nation or religion, he said.

Noting that friendship is the mainstream of the relations between China and the Islamic countries, equality is the basis of mutual communication of the two sides and win-win is the target of mutual cooperation, Wang made three proposals to further boost communication between the two sides.

First, China and the Islamic countries should always stick to mutual respect and mutual trust, and accommodate each other's core concerns. China will never forget the firm support from the Islamic countries in restoring its lawful seat at the United Nations, and China, in return, has always supported the Islamic world over its core concern of the Palestinian issue, Wang said.

Second, the two sides should always stick to unity and mutual assistance, and work together for the realization of common development. Jointly building the Belt and Road has served as a bridge and a bond between the two sides for development and prosperity. China has signed cooperation documents with 54 Islamic countries on nearly 600 large projects, bringing tangible results to the peoples of the two sides, Wang said.

Third, China and the Islamic countries should always stick to learning from each other and safeguard the diversity of civilizations in the world. The two sides should draw on the wisdom from each other's long civilization, Wang added. 
NANJING, March 22 (Xinhua) -- China's third-generation space tracking ship Yuanwang-5 on Tuesday set sail for the Pacific Ocean from a port in Jiangsu Province for multiple monitoring missions.

Before the voyage, it underwent more than 50 days of maintenance to improve the reliability and safety of the ship's power system and facilities, said Zhang Hongwang, a first mate of the vessel.

The ship spent 256 days at sea last year.

Yuanwang-5 has by far sailed over 570,000 nautical miles and completed more than 80 tasks at sea, including tracking the Shenzhou spacecraft, the Chang'e lunar probes and BeiDou satellites. 
Chinese Vice Premier Han Zheng, also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, presides over a meeting promoting the clean and efficient use of coal in Beijing, capital of China, March 22, 2022. (Xinhua/Zhang Ling)

BEIJING, March 22 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Vice Premier Han Zheng has stressed coordinated efforts to secure energy supply and make new progress in promoting clean and efficient utilization of coal.

Han, also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, made the remarks on Tuesday while presiding over a meeting promoting the clean and efficient use of coal.

Stressing the extreme importance of national energy security, Han said the country should promote the clean and efficient utilization of coal and bolster the fundamental role of coal in energy and power supply.

The clean and efficient use of coal is a vital path to achieving the country's carbon peak and carbon neutrality goals, he said, calling for moves to advance a green transition of energy in a scientific and orderly manner.

China should focus on key fields and sectors and advance energy conservation and carbon reduction retrofits in coal-intensive industries like power, he said.

The vice premier also called for efforts to popularize advanced energy conservation technologies and achieve breakthroughs in core technologies in this field.

The country should scale up financial support for clean coal, with measures to anchor market expectation and encourage the participation of social capital, Han added. 
ISLAMABAD, March 22 (Xinhua) -- Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Monday extended deep sadness and sympathy over the Chinese passenger plane crash to visiting Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi.

Qureshi, on behalf of the Pakistani government, offered deep condolences and sympathy to the bereaved Chinese families in the incident while meeting Wang here on Monday.

While expressing gratitude to Qureshi, Wang said the Chinese government and people feel deeply sad about the air crash, adding that the Chinese aviation has been among the world's safest ones, and that the Chinese authorities are sparing no effort in the search and rescue operations and will find out the cause of the crash as soon as possible.

Wang arrived in the Pakistani capital on Monday to attend the 48th session of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) held in Islamabad, and for a visit to Pakistan.

A China Eastern Airlines Boeing 737 passenger plane with 132 people aboard on a domestic flight crashed in southern China on Monday afternoon. 
Photo taken on March 21, 2022 shows a vehicle ruined in a pickup-sedan collision in Jalalabad city, capital of Nangarhar province, Afghanistan. Eight people were killed and two others wounded in a pickup-sedan collision in Afghanistan's eastern Nangarhar province, head of provincial traffic police directorate Jawad Shirzad confirmed on Tuesday. (Photo by Hamidullah/Xinhua)

JALALABAD, Afghanistan, March 22 (Xinhua) -- Eight people were killed and two others wounded in a pickup-sedan collision in Afghanistan's eastern Nangarhar province, head of provincial traffic police directorate Jawad Shirzad confirmed on Tuesday.

The accident occurred when the two vehicles hit head-on along a ring road in Police District 6 of provincial capital Jalalabad city on Monday evening, Shirzad told Xinhua.

The killed included four women, a child and three men, including the drivers of the cars, according to the official.

Road mishaps are frequent in the mountainous country and occur mostly due to poor driving or badly maintained roads and vehicles. 

Photo taken on March 21, 2022 shows vehicles ruined in a pickup-sedan collision in Jalalabad city, capital of Nangarhar province, Afghanistan. Eight people were killed and two others wounded in a pickup-sedan collision in Afghanistan's eastern Nangarhar province, head of provincial traffic police directorate Jawad Shirzad confirmed on Tuesday. (Photo by Hamidullah/Xinhua)

Photo taken on March 21, 2022 shows vehicles ruined in a pickup-sedan collision in Jalalabad city, capital of Nangarhar province, Afghanistan. Eight people were killed and two others wounded in a pickup-sedan collision in Afghanistan's eastern Nangarhar province, head of provincial traffic police directorate Jawad Shirzad confirmed on Tuesday. (Photo by Hamidullah/Xinhua)
BEIJING, March 22 (Xinhua) -- Chinese authorities have released a plan for developing a modern energy system during the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025), setting targets for securing energy supplies and boosting energy efficiency.

By 2025, China aims to bring the annual domestic energy production capacity to over 4.6 billion tonnes of standard coal, according to the plan jointly released by the National Development and Reform Commission and the National Energy Administration.

The annual crude oil output will recover and stabilize at 200 million tonnes, while the annual natural gas output will reach over 230 billion cubic meters by 2025, the plan specifies.

It stresses efforts to advance the large-scale and high-quality development of wind and solar power generation, and develop nuclear power in an active, safe and orderly manner.

On the premise of ensuring safety, China will maintain a steady pace of construction on coastal nuclear power projects to rationally deploy new projects, the plan says, setting the goal of elevating the installed capacity of nuclear power operation to about 70 million kilowatts by 2025. 
KUNMING, March 22 (Xinhua) -- From laboratories to farmland, Yang Shaobing has helped those in remote areas in southwest China find a new cash cow by planting traditional Chinese medicinal herbs.

Yang, a 37-year-old researcher with the Yunnan Provincial Academy of Agricultural Sciences, arrived in the Dulongjiang Township in Nujiang Lisu Autonomous Prefecture, Yunnan Province, in 2016 to aid locals in poverty alleviation.

Dulongjiang is home to the Dulong people, an ethnic minority group that long endured poverty and poor access to the outside world.

In Dulongjiang, Yang guided the villagers to plant Amomum Tsao-ko, Chonglou, and other medicinal herbs.

The academy where Yang works has built medicinal herb farming technology demonstration base in Longyuan Village of Dulongjiang Township. Many villagers were trained at the base.

Jiang Jianhua is one of them. He gains a stable income of over 100,000 yuan (about 15,700 U.S. dollars) every year by planting herbs with the newly-mastered techniques.

In Ainishan Township of Chuxiong Prefecture, half of the farmers are growing medicinal herbs. The total planting area of medicinal herbs exceeds 4,300 hectares.

Wang Guolei, one of them, earned 600,000 yuan last year.

"Our Chinese medicinal herbs make sales but can also be made into medicinal food, such as stewed chicken and beef with the herbs, to name a few," said Wang. "Now, there are four medicinal food restaurants in our townships."

On March 7, Yunnan Province announced that it would establish 100 large-scale breeding and growing bases of traditional Chinese medicinal materials and 50 breeding and growing bases of geo-authentic medicinal materials.

The panax notoginseng is an example Yunnan's success in planting geo-authentic medicinal herbs. In Wenshan City, the yield of seeds of such medicinal materials was 720,000 kg in 2020, accounting for 90 percent of the national total.

Zhu Zhaoyun, an academic with the Chinese Academy of Engineering, is now leading a project to utilize panax notoginseng in treating heart diseases.

"The development of Chinese medicinal materials should improve its added value and application rate via modern science and technology," she said.

"To develop the traditional Chinese medicine industry, there must be large-scale planting of medicinal herbs, which will lead to increased income for farmers," she said. 
BASEL, Switzerland, March 22 (Xinhua) -- The Badminton World Federation (BWF) confirmed on Tuesday that the Chinese badminton team reported a few positive COVID-19 cases and has withdrawn from the 2022 YONEX Swiss Open.

The world badminton governing body released the statement on its official website, saying the Chinese Badminton Association reported a few positive cases as well as some injuries in the team.

Citing concerns to the welfare and safety of all participants at the tournament, Team China has subsequently withdrawn all their players from the Swiss Open.

BWF also confirmed that several players from a number of member associations tested positive on their pre-arrival test and arrival test and have been removed from the draw.

The Chinese team started the international tour from the German Open at the beginning of March and followed with the All England.

According to the Chinese association, some players have shown the symptoms of cold and fever after the previous tournaments. 
Coal supplies in Tangshan, major transport hub, remain undisrupted by COVID-19

By Yin Yeping (Global Times) 09:06, March 22, 2022

Tangshan in North China's Hebei Province, a major coal transport hub, is dealing with potential disruptions to coal supplies amid a new COVID-19 outbreak, which prompted traffic controls and other anti-epidemic efforts since Sunday.

Industry sources told the Global Times on Monday that the impact on supplies and prices is so far limited and controllable, given high inventories, flexible transport methods and government contingency measures.

An employee at Tangshan Caofeidian Coal Port Co told the Global Times on Monday that there is no particular impact yet, since most coal arrives by train from elsewhere and is sent directly to the port, before going to other places in China by ships, which aren't affected by traffic controls.

"The port operation is smooth, with staffers working in three shifts and living at the port," the employee said.

Moreover, there are sufficient stocks in the port yard - millions of tons of coal, according to the person.

Tangshan reported two new local confirmed cases on Sunday, according to the government's latest report on Monday, compared with seven cases reported on Saturday.

While epidemic prevention measures aren't likely to affect supplies, market prices may rise, industry insiders said.

An industry veteran told the Global Times that the price of coking coal in Tangshan Port may face a big impact, since coking coal is priced on a quarterly basis, and it's about time for prices for the next quarter to be set.

The market price for coking coal is around 3,000 yuan ($472) to 3,500 yuan per ton, while the long-term contract price is around 2,100 yuan, the insider said, a fairly large gap.

"The long-term contract price could go up around 20 percent if the epidemic situation in Tangshan continues for a week," the person said.

Restrictions on truck movements may also have an impact, with the delivery time extended from two or three days to four or five days, given the need for sterilization and nucleic acid tests for drivers, Hou Lei, an analyst with the Shanghai Metals Market, an industry news portal, told the Global Times on Monday.

Analysts said that any impact on prices will be minimized by government contingency measures. The local government is issuing passes to facilitate coal shipments from ports for inter-provincial transportation, Hou said. Also, the heating season is about to end.

There is also not much demand for coking coal from the steel industry, because infrastructure projects are also being affected by the epidemic, so there's little pressure from that source either, Hou said.

(Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Liang Jun)
KABUL, March 22 (Xinhua) -- Twenty-nine weapons were found and confiscated in Afghanistan's western province of Nimroz as the Afghan caretaker government continues to collect weapons across the country, the Ministry of Interior said on Tuesday.

"As a result of the efforts of detectives and intelligence personnel of Nimroz police headquarters, 29 different types of weapons have been discovered and confiscated in provincial capital Zaranj city," Sardar Mohammad Ayoubi, police chief of Nimroz, was quoted in the statement as saying.

The confiscated weapons included two rocket propelled grenade launchers, two heavy machine guns, three AK-47 rifles, two assault rifles, and many pistols, the police chief said while expressing satisfaction with the cooperation of Nimroz people in the detection and seizure of the weapons.

Last week, a weapon depot was also discovered and confiscated in Chahar Burjak district of the province, according to the statement. 
LONDON, March 22 (Xinhua) -- A series of killings in recent weeks has underscored the dangers faced by those who live on the U.S. streets during the COVID-19 pandemic, The Guardian has reported.

At least five people sleeping on the streets of Washington D.C. and New York were shot by a gunman over the last two weeks, with one killed in each city, said the report on Saturday.

"While life has already been hard for the homeless people as New York City emptied and shut down during coronavirus spikes, matters became bleaker" due to the killings, it said.

The homelessness in New York City has reached the highest level of 48,413, including 15,057 homeless children in January, showed figures by the municipal shelter system.

However, the situation may even worse than the official figure, the report added. 
BEIJING, March 22 (Xinhua) -- China's civil aviation regulator has called for screening hidden risks to boost civil aviation safety after a passenger plane crashed in the country on Monday.

Concrete measures should be taken to strengthen the investigation of hidden dangers concerning aircraft maintenance, flight weather conditions, personnel qualifications and operational skills, said the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC).

The CAAC pledged efforts to promote a three-year campaign to improve work safety and strengthen the management of civil aviation safety with effective measures.

It urged air traffic controllers to strengthen timely weather forecasting, the notification of on-site weather changes and dangerous weather alerts.

Airlines should enhance crew collocation, report any abnormal situations in flight and offer their crew timely and necessary technical and decision-making support, the administration noted.

A passenger plane with 132 people aboard crashed in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region on Monday afternoon.

The China Eastern Airlines Boeing 737 aircraft, which departed from Kunming and was bound for Guangzhou, crashed into a mountainous area near Molang Village in Tengxian County in the city of Wuzhou at 2:38 p.m., causing a mountain fire. The rescue is underway. 
Miradil Mamtawla carries food for medical workers in Nanchang, east China's Jiangxi Province, March 21, 2022. Miradil Mamtawla is from northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. The 29-year-old came to Nanchang in 2013 to attend university and started his own business after graduation. The COVID-19 outbreak in 2020 had a significant impact on his business. At the most difficult time, the local government provided loans and other supportive measures to help his business. After a resurgence of COVID-19 hit Nanchang this year, Miradil and his team joined a volunteer team, providing free meals to frontline essential workers. His team has already delivered over 1,000 naan buns. "The city of Nanchang helped me in the hardest time of my life, and now it's time for me to repay that kindness," he said. (Xinhua/Zhou Mi)

Miradil Mamtawla prepares food for medical workers in Nanchang, east China's Jiangxi Province, March 21, 2022. Miradil Mamtawla is from northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. The 29-year-old came to Nanchang in 2013 to attend university and started his own business after graduation. The COVID-19 outbreak in 2020 had a significant impact on his business. At the most difficult time, the local government provided loans and other supportive measures to help his business. After a resurgence of COVID-19 hit Nanchang this year, Miradil and his team joined a volunteer team, providing free meals to frontline essential workers. His team has already delivered over 1,000 naan buns. "The city of Nanchang helped me in the hardest time of my life, and now it's time for me to repay that kindness," he said. (Xinhua/Zhou Mi)

Miradil Mamtawla prepares food for medical workers in Nanchang, east China's Jiangxi Province, March 22, 2022. Miradil Mamtawla is from northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. The 29-year-old came to Nanchang in 2013 to attend university and started his own business after graduation. The COVID-19 outbreak in 2020 had a significant impact on his business. At the most difficult time, the local government provided loans and other supportive measures to help his business. After a resurgence of COVID-19 hit Nanchang this year, Miradil and his team joined a volunteer team, providing free meals to frontline essential workers. His team has already delivered over 1,000 naan buns. "The city of Nanchang helped me in the hardest time of my life, and now it's time for me to repay that kindness," he said. (Xinhua/Zhou Mi)

Miradil Mamtawla distributes food to medical workers in Nanchang, east China's Jiangxi Province, March 21, 2022. Miradil Mamtawla is from northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. The 29-year-old came to Nanchang in 2013 to attend university and started his own business after graduation. The COVID-19 outbreak in 2020 had a significant impact on his business. At the most difficult time, the local government provided loans and other supportive measures to help his business. After a resurgence of COVID-19 hit Nanchang this year, Miradil and his team joined a volunteer team, providing free meals to frontline essential workers. His team has already delivered over 1,000 naan buns. "The city of Nanchang helped me in the hardest time of my life, and now it's time for me to repay that kindness," he said. (Xinhua/Zhou Mi)

Miradil Mamtawla meets with his team in Nanchang, east China's Jiangxi Province, March 22, 2022. Miradil Mamtawla is from northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. The 29-year-old came to Nanchang in 2013 to attend university and started his own business after graduation. The COVID-19 outbreak in 2020 had a significant impact on his business. At the most difficult time, the local government provided loans and other supportive measures to help his business. After a resurgence of COVID-19 hit Nanchang this year, Miradil and his team joined a volunteer team, providing free meals to frontline essential workers. His team has already delivered over 1,000 naan buns. "The city of Nanchang helped me in the hardest time of my life, and now it's time for me to repay that kindness," he said. (Xinhua/Zhou Mi)

Miradil Mamtawla distributes food to medical workers in Nanchang, east China's Jiangxi Province, March 21, 2022. Miradil Mamtawla is from northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. The 29-year-old came to Nanchang in 2013 to attend university and started his own business after graduation. The COVID-19 outbreak in 2020 had a significant impact on his business. At the most difficult time, the local government provided loans and other supportive measures to help his business. After a resurgence of COVID-19 hit Nanchang this year, Miradil and his team joined a volunteer team, providing free meals to frontline essential workers. His team has already delivered over 1,000 naan buns. "The city of Nanchang helped me in the hardest time of my life, and now it's time for me to repay that kindness," he said. (Xinhua/Zhou Mi)

Miradil Mamtawla prepares for work in Nanchang, east China's Jiangxi Province, March 22, 2022. Miradil Mamtawla is from northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. The 29-year-old came to Nanchang in 2013 to attend university and started his own business after graduation. The COVID-19 outbreak in 2020 had a significant impact on his business. At the most difficult time, the local government provided loans and other supportive measures to help his business. After a resurgence of COVID-19 hit Nanchang this year, Miradil and his team joined a volunteer team, providing free meals to frontline essential workers. His team has already delivered over 1,000 naan buns. "The city of Nanchang helped me in the hardest time of my life, and now it's time for me to repay that kindness," he said. (Xinhua/Zhou Mi)
NANCHANG, March 22 (Xinhua) -- Zhang Zhinan, former vice governor of east China's Fujian Province, was sentenced to 14 years in prison for accepting bribes and abusing his power, a Chinese court announced on Tuesday.

Zhang was also fined 3 million yuan (about 471,000 U.S. dollars), the Intermediate People's Court of Nanchang in east China's Jiangxi Province said in a statement, noting that all illicit gains and accrued interest will be recovered and turned over to the state treasury in accordance with the law.

An investigation found that Zhang had taken advantage of his Party and governmental positions to seek benefits for others in enterprise operations, land-use approvals, and obtaining financial subsidies and bank loans from 1996 to 2019.

In return, Zhang accepted money and gifts worth over 34.3 million yuan, the statement said.

He brought losses of more than 148 million yuan to public assets from 2007 to 2017 as a result of his abuse of power.

The court granted Zhang a lenient sentence according to the law as he confessed to his crimes, informed investigators of crimes committed by others, showed repentance, and surrendered all his illegal gains, according to the statement. 
GOVERNMENT is headed for another showdown with teachers after failing to honour its pledge to pay tuition fees for their children, with less than three weeks before schools close for the first term.

According to a salary deal signed last month following protracted negotiations, each teacher is entitled to school fees for up to three children with a ceiling of $20 000 per child.

The government announced the offer in February alongside a 20% salary increase and an additional US$100 effective this month after teachers boycotted classes citing incapacitation.

Primary and Secondary Education ministry spokesperson Taungana Ndoro yesterday said processing of the money was an ongoing exercise.

It is not true that the government has failed to honour its pledge. Due process is being carried out and we have to wait for it to take place. Remember we have a substantial number of teachers, over 140 000 of them and, therefore, due diligence cannot take place overnight, Ndoro said.

Teachers unions, however, accused the government of insincerity, with Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe secretary-general Raymond Majongwe saying the educators were tired of empty promises.

There is nothing yet. Not even the disbursement template exists. Once again, the government is short-changing its employees. There is neither a policy nor procedure to make the teachers benefit. Government now has a tendency of throwing benefits that benefit no one, Majongwe said.

Last time there was a COVID-19 allowance that was meant to assist those who contracted the disease at work, but until today, none of the 1 588 of our members got a cent even after contracting the deadly disease while those from other ministries benefitted.

Amalgamated Rural Teachers Union of Zimbabwe president Obert Masaraure said they were frustrated by governments failure to implement a resolution passed by the National Joint Negotiation Committee.

It is sad to note that the government promised benefits which have not materialised up to this time. The government pledged to pay tuition fees for teachers children beginning March 1, but these fees are yet to be paid, Masaraure said.

Teachers are also demanding a US$540 salary they used to earn before October 2018. Newsday
A HARARE woman landed in the dock yesterday after she allegedly stole US$16 000 which her husband had given her for safekeeping. The money...
An immunocompromised Welsh man was stuck in his home for more than seven months with intractable COVID, until a jab set him free.

Ian Lester, 37, had begun to think of his home as a prison by the time doctors tried a first-ever use of the coronavirus vaccine: giving him the shot to cure, rather than prevent, the illness.

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Lester suffers from Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome, an immune disorder, and was never able to combat the COVID-19 he contracted in December 2020. While his initial symptoms were mild  a slight loss of taste and smell that cleared up in a month, according to BBC News  the infection would not quit.

Ian Lester (Cardiff University)

Because of his immune-compromised status, doctors suspected Lester might be contagious for longer than the norm. That turned out to be more true than any of them imagined.

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Lester would go on to test positive for the next seven months. Confined to his home in Caerphilly, Wales, he even had to quit his job. His days became a blur of cooking, watching television, reading, playing guitar and waiting for his wife, Katie, to get home.

It was like living in Groundhog Day, he told BBC News. You just end up sitting there staring at the wall. It slowly became my prison cell, especially when it got to the summertime and the restrictions were lifting for everyone else. You could see family and friends starting to get back to a real life, and I was still getting these positive results.

After three months of that, he got sick with fatigue, headaches, insomnia and a tight chest, indicating his body was clearly still fighting the infection, BBC News said. His symptoms were not long COVID, since they were an active infection, which meant he was most likely still contagious.

Given the persistent positive PCR tests and impact on his health and mental health, we decided on a unique therapeutic approach, said Professor Stephen Jolles, Clinical Lead at the Centre and Honorary Professor at Cardiff Universitys School of Medicine, in a statement. We wondered whether therapeutic vaccination could help in finally clearing the virus by inducing a strong immune response within the body.

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Help it did. It worked like night and day, Dr. Mark Ponsford, a clinician scientist at Cardiff University, told BBC News.

By August, Lester was virus-free.

It was a pretty astonishing moment, Ponsford said in the researchers statement, describing the instant the test came back negative.

It was a first for using the vaccine in this way, experts told BBC News, and it has implications for others with weak immune systems. Lesters case was written up in the Journal of Clinical Immunology.

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This infection was burbling along, but with his [weakened] immune system it was just not enough to kick off a response sufficient to clear it, Jolles, who is also the clinical lead at the Immunodeficiency Centre for Wales in the University Hospital of Wales, told BBC News. So the vaccine really made a huge difference, in antibodies and T-cells, and utilized and squeezed every last drop out of what his immune system could do.

Lester is grateful both to have helped people and to have his life back.

They went above and beyond for me, he said in the researchers statement. I will be forever thankful to the doctors, nurses and scientists who helped me.
The trial of accused Sarah Lawrence College sex cult leader Lawrence Ray descended into chaos Tuesday as the alleged abuser was wheeled out of the courthouse on a stretcher  and the Justice Department mistakenly released a list of well-heeled johns who paid to have sex with one of the leaders followers.

Ray, 62, was put in an ambulance outside Manhattan Federal Court for the second time during his trial. His eyes were rolled back in his head and mouth was agape. Just last week, Ray was hospitalized after his lawyers said he suffered a seizure.

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Lawrence Ray being wheeled out of court into ambulance Tuesday. (Noah Goldberg/New York Daily News)

While Ray was rushed to the hospital, the feds faced a different type of emergency. A trial exhibit discussed in court, but not shown publicly, was accidentally uploaded to a database for reporters. The exhibit was a list, compiled in 2018 by Rays follower Claudia Drury, of men she slept with in exchange for money.

Drury, 31, has testified she earned $2.5 million working as a prostitute for four years while in Rays small cult of Sarah Lawrence students and other young adults. She said that Ray forced her to work as a prostitute to repay bogus debts he convinced her she owed.

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The Daily News has a copy of the list, but is not publishing the names of the 112 alleged johns. The list appears to include a retired New York judge and a hedge fund manager, a celebrity dating coach  and an executive at Gap and her husband  among many others.

This file was inadvertently loaded to the U.S. v. Ray file share. Please do not reproduce, share, or use this exhibit in any way, the Southern District of New York wrote in an email to reporters Tuesday morning.

Ray is on trial for 17 racketeering counts alleging he physically and sexually abused the group of wayward youngsters between 2010 and 2020. Ray tortured acolytes in what he called The Ray Family, according to testimony, allegedly hitting one follower in the legs with a hammer, while tightening a tinfoil noose around another victims genitals. Much of Rays abuse came under the guise of therapy, witnesses have testified.

Lawrence Ray being wheeled out of court into ambulance Tuesday. (Noah Goldberg/New York Daily News)

Drury was in the midst of her testimony when Judge Lewis Liman called for an abrupt break and closed the courtroom about 12:30 p.m.

She had been testifying about turning over the extreme majority of her prostitution proceeds to Ray.

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Drury was one of the students who met Ray in 2010 through his daughter, Talia Ray, when they were students at Sarah Lawrence.

By 2015, Drury was working as a prostitute out of her mothers apartment, as well as at hotels, to pay off debt she believed she owed Ray for destroying his property.

She also believed she had poisoned Ray and his daughter. Poisoning was a recurring obsession for Ray, witnesses have said.

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I wanted to repair what I believed I had done to Larry, Drury said when asked by prosecutors why she began working as a prostitute. But the extent to which I became a prostitute and the amount of people I saw ... it was because I felt immense pressure from Larry to get money for him.

The first time she ever saw a client, Drury tried to give $200 of the $700 she made to Ray, she testified.

He got extremely mad. How could I think I was going to keep money after I poisoned him and poisoned his family? And he took all $700, she recalled.
Two Bronx teenagers were caught in their schoolyard handling a loaded gun Tuesday afternoon, police said.

The 16- and 17-year-old students were spotted by school safety agents passing the tan-colored gun back and forth just after noon outside Bronx Mott Hall school in Claremont, school safety sources said.

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Each teen claimed the gun belonged to the other, and both were taken into custody, police said.

The gun recovered at Bronx Mott Hall high school. (courtesy of Teamsters Local 237)

Education Department spokeswoman Jenna Lyle said dangerous items of any kind are not tolerated in our schools. Our outstanding school staff and school safety agents immediately and safely recovered this item, ensuring that all students and staff are safe. All protocols were followed, and we are working closely with NYPD regarding followup actions.

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The number of weapons confiscated in city schools  including guns  has jumped this school year, reigniting a debate about the role of school police and metal detectors.

Much of the uptick in weapons seizures comes from items like tasers and pepper spray canisters, that students describe as protective devices that they bring to stay safe on their commutes to and from school.

The number of school safety agents has dropped significantly since the start of the pandemic through attrition and reduced hiring, falling from more than 5,000 in June 2020 to under 4,000 last November.

Mayor Adams and Schools Chancellor David Banks have said they hope to hire about 1,000 more school safety agents.

Adams has also promised to look into new technology to replace the traditional metal detectors currently used at some city high schools. Bathgate campus, where Bronx Mott Hall is located, does not have permanent scanners, according to school safety sources.

The mayor has said the new devices can detect weapons without imposing the burdens that traditional metal detectors place on students, but experts claim are still lingering questions about the efficacy of the new technology.
American architectural designer that has a close bond with China

09:08, March 22, 2022 By Ju Yunpeng ( People's Daily

Sitting in his office on the 56th floor of the 632-meter-tall Shanghai Tower in Shanghais Pudong New Area, chief designer of this fascinating architect Marshall Strabala stared out the window at the magnificent building clusters along the banks of the Huangpu River.

Marshall Strabala introduces a model architect. (Photo/wsb.sh.gov.cn)

"I'm a part of the Chinese architectural design industry, and I have witnessed how the sector has changed," said the American architect, who, because of architecture, established a close bond with China and observed the country's social progress.

Strabala, who believes that architecture is the most impressive part of a city, came to China for the first time in 1999, when he visited Beijing, Tianjin and Shanghai.

He told People's Daily that when his cab drove all the way from Puxi to Pudong in Shanghai, he was "tasting" the city. Recalling the drive, the man said Puxi was home to a bunch of historical buildings, while skyscrapers were standing in Pudong, including the Jin Mao Tower.

"I felt China was both historical and vital," he said.

After that, Strabala's visits to China became more and more frequent. In 2006, he came to Shanghai for a design competition of the Shanghai Tower. By that time, he had already been a designer of the Zifeng Tower in Nanjing, China and the Khalifa Tower. He and his team put forward a creative plan for the Shanghai Tower, which would make the structure twist 120 degrees.

Marshall Strabala poses for a picture with a model architect. (Photo/Xinmin Evening News)

"Such a design is advanced in the entire world, but it's successfully accepted by China," he said. Two years later, he was chosen as the chief designer of the Shanghai Tower and started working in the Chinese metropolis.

Strabala has put a lot of energy into the Shanghai Tower. Everything about it, from structure to materials, was designed meticulously by him and his team. They designed the tower in a spiraling shape to reduce the impact of wind, and adopted advanced energy management for lower energy consumption.

The Shanghai Tower has been awarded a LEED-CS Platinum Certification from the U.S. Green Building Council in 2015, and in the following year, it was named the 2016 Best Tall Building Worldwide by the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat.

"I've been to Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, as well as Hubei and Jilin provinces. Everywhere I went, I could see robust development," he said.

He shared a story of a field trip to the Changbai Mountain National Nature Reserve in northeast China's Jilin province a couple of years ago. When he first visited the place, there was no decent road around it, but when he revisited it two years later, a road network has been built there.

"Not only megacities like Shanghai, but also every region in the country are developing," he noted, adding that such changes are touching and inspiring.

Photo taken on Dec. 2, 2021 shows several skyscrapers in Shanghai's Pudong New Area. (People's Daily/Wang Gang)

From the Jin Mao Tower, to the Shanghai World Financial Center, and to the Shanghai Tower, the ever-rising skyline of Putong is a witness to China's development miracle.

In recent years, Strabala had contacts with some local governments in China when he joined major design projects in the country. He felt the leadership of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the stable social environment are what made the country achieve such a huge progress.

Strabala said Chinese officials at all levels are good at listening and learning, and are willing to accept novel ideas and suggestions. Through years of field trips in China, he has witnessed the country's development in education, healthcare, housing and other aspects related to livelihood, as well as the concrete efforts of the CPC and the Chinese government to make people's lives better.

"I believe that under the leadership of the CPC, China will surely better embrace the world and the future during its development, and the life of the Chinese people will get better and better," he said.

(Web editor: Hongyu, Liang Jun)
A woman was shot in the face and arm in Brooklyn Monday night, police said.

Police investigate after a woman was shot in the face on E. 108th St. and Glenwood Rd. in Brooklyn on Monday. (Gardiner Anderson/for New York Daily News)

The woman was on the corner of E. 108th St. and Glenwood Road in East New York about 10 p.m. outside of the Breukelen Houses when she was shot, according to police sources.

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A woman was shot in the face and arm Monday on E. 108th St. and Glenwood Rd. in Brooklyn. (Gardiner Anderson/for New York Daily News)

She was taken to Brookdale Hospital where shes in critical but stable condition, police said.

Police are looking for a white four-door pickup truck with a black cover over the bed, sources said.
A Brooklyn woman, after surviving a gunshot to the face, implicated her would-be killer with a gesture toward her left ring finger.

Victim Teanna Rogers, the mother of two, headed out Monday night to break off her engagement with a longtime boyfriend before gunshots tore through the night and into her face and arm, mom Evelyn Torres told the Daily News.

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The 32-year-old victim was blasted in the jaw and rushed to Brookdale University Hospital, where she pointed at her finger in a silent identification of the fugitive fiancee who gave her the ring, recalled Torres.

Police investigate after a woman was shot to the face on E. 108th St. and Glenwood Road in Brooklyn Monday night. (Gardiner Anderson/for New York Daily News)

She was going to talk to him and break it off, said Torres, who wound up with the engagement ring at the hospital. I think thats why he did what he did.

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The mother, along with her son and Rogers two children, heard the gunfire around about 10 p.m. on Monday outside the East New York building where the family shared an apartment.

It was just chaos, said Torres, 54, as the search continued Tuesday for the escaped gunman. I felt like I was in a nightmare  is anybody going to yell, Cut? Like this is a horror movie or something ... she wasnt moving, and I really thought she was dead.

Teanna Rogers

According to Torres, her son looked out the window of their Breukelen Houses apartment after hearing the gunfire  but didnt know the victim was his sister until running downstairs to find her bleeding on the street.

Hed seen that there were some legs on the [ground], there was a body, said Torres. One of her co-workers, a friend that was with her, came and knocked on my door. He said, Your daughter got shot. ... I just started screaming.

The Daily News Flash Weekdays Catch up on the days top five stories every weekday afternoon. >

Police did not identify any suspect, with sources only saying that the shooter fled in a white four-door pickup truck with a black cover over its bed after the gunfire at the corner of E. 108th St. and Glenwood Road. Torres alleged an eyewitness told her the fiancee pulled the trigger.

Rogers, who works as a coordinator in a senior citizens center, is mother to a son and a daughter. The couple was dating for about three years before the shooting that left her in critical but stable condition.

Torres said the bullet fractured Rogers jaw, adding that doctors were considering placing her in a medically induced coma to help in her recovery.

I thank Jehovah shes alive, because I really thought I lost her, said the mom. They feel positive. Shes going to need a lot of surgery, a lot of reconstructive surgery, but they are very hopeful.

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Torres said she never met with her daughters fiancee, most likely because she wouldnt have approved of the man.

My daughter knows Im a very good judge of character, said the mother. I would have told her right away that he was no good.

As for the fugitive shooter, she described him as a monster, a sadistic monster. I hope justice is served and he gets life.
The NYPD is accused in a lawsuit of using clandestine means to obtain a suspect's DNA in the Bronx. (The Legal Aid Society)

The NYPDs DNA database is comprised of an ever-growing number of illegally obtained genetic profiles of thousands of innocent New Yorkers, including children, a lawsuit alleges.

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The Legal Aid Society, in a suit filed Monday in Manhattan Federal Court, wants a judge to declare illegal and unconstitutional the practice of secretly taking, analyzing and maintaining peoples DNA in its suspect index. The public defenders group also seeks an order asking DNA files and records be expunged from the database

According to the suit, the database, which is maintained by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, had at last count 31,826 DNA profiles. Roughly 2,000 are from people who were not convicted or in some cases not even arrested. Most of the rest of the profiles are from those convicted of crimes, with their DNA also entered in a state-run database.

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Civil rights lawyers have described the NYPDs DNA collection efforts as akin to genetic stop and frisk.

The suit cites a case involving a 12-year-old boy questioned in 2018 by NYPD detectives who offered him a McDonalds soda, which he drank. The boy left behind a straw that cops used to obtain his DNA. His genetic profile was entered into the database even though it cleared him of any wrongdoing. The boys family spent more than a year before obtaining a court order to have it removed.

The NYPD said it operates within the bounds of the law and that the database is an important tool to obtain justice for each crime victim.

But critics have said any policy that allows police to collect DNA without consent is a violation of privacy rights, with people of color most often victimized.

While a conviction is required before someones DNA can be entered in the state-run database, those operated by local authorities do not have such requirements. DNA from innocent people is repeatedly used in forensic comparisons with evidence collected in future crimes.

The citys decision to ignore state and federal law while secretly collecting and permanently storing the DNA profiles of thousands of people should send a chill down the spine of every New Yorker, said Dave Pollock, a Legal Aid lawyer in its DNA unit. The NYPDs troubling ruse offering  our clients a drink or a cigarette after hours in a precinct without food or water, and using it to surreptitiously collect their DNA  is wrong and illegal.

The Daily News Flash Weekdays Catch up on the days top five stories every weekday afternoon. >

Sgt. Edward Riley, a NYPD spokesman, said the lawsuit will be reviewed.

The NYPDs investigations and tactics, including the collection of DNA, are guided by what is authorized by the law, the wealth of case law from the courts, and the best practices of the law enforcement community, Riley said. Behind every time the NYPD collects DNA from a suspect in a criminal investigation, there is a crime victim who is suffering and seeking justice.

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The medical examiners office also said the database complies with all applicable laws and is managed and used in accordance with the highest scientific standards set by independent accrediting bodies that have regularly reapproved the existence of the database.

The NYPD is accused in a lawsuit of using clandestine means to obtain a suspect's DNA in the Bronx. (The Legal Aid Society)

The suit was filed on behalf of Shakira Leslie, 26, and Shamill Burgos, 22 and names as defendants Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell, other police officials and Dr. Jason Graham, the acting chief medical examiner.

According to the suit, Leslie in 2019 was arrested when police stopped a car in which she was riding with five other people and found a gun. During her interrogation, Leslie drank from a cup of water offered to her by police. Charges were dropped against Leslie, who is now a mother with a newborn and works as a hairstylist and makeup artist, but her DNA profile was never removed from the database, the suit alleges.

The same goes for Burgos, who was also arrested for gun possession in 2019 under similar circumstances. The suit said police offered him water and a cigarette, then later collected the cigarette after he left the interrogation room. His DNA was stored in the database and is still there, the suit claims. Charges against Burgos were later dropped and he is now in the military.

The NYPD is accused in a lawsuit of using clandestine means to obtain a suspect's DNA in the Bronx. (The Legal Aid Society)

Legal Aid released to the media two NYPD videos involving two other criminal suspects, one of whom drank from a water bottle while the other smoked a cigarette. in both videos, an officer enters the interrogation room after the suspect has been led out and recovers the evidence so it can be tested for DNA.
The family of a Black man who died in police custody has reached a multimillion dollar settlement.

Manuel Ellis, 33, died March 3, 2020 after he was stopped by two Tacoma, Wash. police officers while walking home from 7-Eleven. Police originally claimed Ellis was trying to open car doors.

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After Ellis allegedly resisted arrest, he was physically restrained, tased, tackled and punched. He died from respiratory arrest due to hypoxia, when the body is deprived of oxygen.

Marcia Carter-Patterson, the mother of Manuel "Manny" Ellis, speaks Thursday, May 27, 2021, at a news conference in Tacoma, Wash., south of Seattle. (Ted S. Warren/AP)

Police dispatch captured audio of Ellis crying I cant breathe as he was restrained.

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Three Tacoma officers face criminal trials for their roles in his death.

Timothy Rankine, first-degree manslaughter, and Christopher Burbank and Matthew Collins, second-degree murder are waiting trial after pleading not guilty.

Tacoma police officers Christopher Burbank, left, Matthew Collins, center, and Timothy Rankine via video during their arraignments in Pierce County Superior Court in Tacoma, Wash., Friday, May 28, 2021. (Tony Overman/AP)

After Ellis family sued the city of Tacoma, Pierce County, six Tacoma officers and two Pierce County sheriffs deputies (who came to the scene) in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington, the Pierce County Council moved to settle with the family and is expected to approve it Tuesday.

According to Adam Faber, a spokesperson for the Pierce County Prosecuting Attorneys Office, the settlement is for more than $4 million.

A woman walks past a mural honoring Manuel "Manny" Ellis, Thursday, May 27, 2021, in the Hilltop neighborhood of Tacoma, Wash., (Ted S. Warren/AP)

This proposed settlement will bring the countys involvement with this lawsuit to a close, Faber said. As always, litigation settlements are made with risk management principles in mind. We recognize that the family and friends of Manuel Ellis are grieving, and we hope this settlement will give them some measure of closure.

The other lawsuits are still pending.
A report from the citys comptrollers office published Tuesday found that New York States controversial 2019 bail law has not driven a surge in rearrest rates, and that there is no evidence that a rollback of the reform will curb the crime wave menacing New York City.

The analysis from the office of Comptroller Brad Lander, a progressive Democrat, provided a rebuttal to a push for more restrictive bail laws that has been endorsed by Mayor Adams and appears to have gained the backing of Gov. Hochul.

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The study found that the count of people facing bail in New York dropped by more than 40% from 2019 to 2021 and said that more restrictive bail rules would primarily serve to extract more money from vulnerable communities.

New York City Comptroller Brad Lander (Shawn Inglima/for New York Daily News)

Violent crime has spiked dramatically in New York City during the pandemic, mirroring trends in other cities, and public officials have grasped for solutions to blunt the carnage, from deploying more cops to adjusting court processes.

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And the debate about around bail reform has become one of the most pitched battles roiling local politics, dividing moderate and progressive Democrats.

The data is clear that bail reform is not a contributor to the increase in crime, Lander told the Daily News. I think its important to base our policy on facts rather than fear. So whatever peoples position is, I hope they will just take a look at the data.

Adams, a Democrat elected on a public-safety platform, includes revisions to the bail law in his sprawling crimefighting plan. Hochuls office, in turn, has privately proposed expanding the number of bail-eligible crimes, and allowing judges to consider a defendants criminal history.

Top lawmakers in Albany have expressed resistance to suggested tweaks to the bail law. The law, intended to mend economic and racial disparities in the criminal justice system, ended the use of cash bail for most misdemeanor and nonviolent felony charges.

Judge with a gavel. (Shutterstock)

Little conclusive evidence has emerged to show that bail reform is driving the uptick in violent crime.

But Adams sounded unswayed by Landers report. There are many rivers that feed the sea of violence  we have to dam each one, Adams said, repeating a favored refrain, in a City Hall news conference on Tuesday.

The mayor has argued for ending measures that bar criminal prosecutions of New Yorkers under 18 and prevent judges from considering the dangerousness of defendants when setting bail.

We dont need dangerous people on our streets, Adams said, adding that the laws are contributing to the sea of violence that we are experiencing.

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New York is the only state in the U.S. that prevents the consideration of danger in bail decisions. But criminal justice activists argue that dangerousness judgments are fraught with racial bias.

Hochul said in a Monday news conference that her office is working with legislators to reach a policy that will strike the right balance between safety and protecting defendants rights.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams (Seth Wenig/AP)

The governor, a moderate Democrat, has pursued a close relationship with Adams since his election in November. She is running to retain her seat against long-shot Democratic challengers from both her left and right.

Hochul suggested that her private push to alter the bail law  which landed in press reports last week  was not meant to go public.

Im sure its not the first time in the history of New York that an internal document landed in the press, Hochul said Monday. But I actually know how to get something in the press if I wanted to; Ill just hand it to somebody. We didnt do that.

Asked for comment on Landers review, Hochuls office provided a statement reiterating the governors commitment to privately hammering out any changes to the bail laws.

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As the governor has said consistently since becoming governor, she does not negotiate in public, Hazel Crampton-Hays, a spokeswoman for Hochul, said in a statement. We look forward to continuing to work with the Legislature.

The analysis, based on records from the states Office of Court Administration and the New York City Criminal Justice Agency, a nonprofit, provided fresh ammo for liberal legislators loath to tinker with a law that seems to be fulfilling many of its designers hopes.

Lander said New York should focus on community investments to fight crime.

Crime is rising in the city, that is clear, he said. But the question is: How do we take the most effective strategies for reducing crime? And if the data tells us that bail reform is not responsible for any increase in crime, then we should spend our money doing other things.

With Denis Slattery and Chris Sommerfeldt
As long as New Yorks coronavirus infection risk remains low, toddlers wont have to wear face masks in school starting next month, Mayor Adams announced Tuesday amid concerns that a new COVID variant will cause cases to rise.

Adams, who dropped the mask requirement for K-12 students on March 7, said that, come April 4, kids younger than 5 wont need to wear face coverings in school or at day care settings, either. But with that, he included the caveat that he may reconsider the move if COVID cases surge.

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If the numbers continue to show a low level of risk, masks will be optional for 2-to-4-year-old students in schools and in day cares, Adams said in the City Hall rotunda. We want to see our babies faces again.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams at City Hall in lower Manhattan, New York on Tuesday, March 22, 2022. (Luiz C. Ribeiro/for New York Daily News)

However, Adams would not commit to lifting another contentious COVID rule on Tuesday  the vaccination mandate for private-sector employers. That mandate has made considerable waves because it has prevented athletes whove refused to get vaccinated, like the Brooklyn Nets Kyrie Irving, from playing at-home games.

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I do not feel any pressure doing this job because Im going to do whats right. That is what Im going to do. Let me tell you what pressure is: pressure is being a transit cop in 1984, riding the trains by yourself with a radio that didnt work, Adams, a former NYPD captain, said. Were going to do it in the right way. Were going to follow the science.

Adams suggested that any future lifting of additional mandates would depend, in part, on how mandates that have already been rolled back impact the city.

Each layer we peel back, were going to do an analysis: are we OK? said Adams, who also scrapped the citys coronavirus vaccine mandate for indoor activities like dining earlier this month. And if we have to pivot and shift and come back here in a week and say were going to do something different, were going to do that.

The lifting of the pre-K mandate means there would be no educational settings in the city where masks are still required.

It would also mark a win for a group of young parents whove called on Adams to allow the unmasking of toddlers in school, pointing to studies showing youngsters suffer mentally and socially from the face-covering mandate.

On the flip side, some public health experts have pleaded to keep pandemic precautions in place until a more precise picture emerges of how COVIDs BA.2 strain, the highly contagious subvariant of the omicron mutation, will impact the city.

New York City Health Commissioner Dr. Ashwin Vasan (right) speaks during a press conference with New York City Mayor Eric Adams (left) at City Hall in lower Manhattan, New York on Tuesday, March 22, 2022. (Luiz C. Ribeiro/for New York Daily News)

Even Adams health commissioner, Dr. Ashwin Vasan, made a case last week for keeping the toddler rule in place because federal regulators still havent authorized COVID-19 vaccines for kids under 5.

I would love nothing more than to send my son to day care without a mask, Vasan, whose kid is 4, said during a COVID-19 briefing last week. But as a scientist ... I want to keep him safe because hes not eligible for a vaccine.

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Speaking at Tuesdays City Hall press conference alongside Adams, Vasan stressed that the city will reevaluate the mask mandate rollback for younger kids if BA.2 triggers a sharp surge in cases. But he also attempted to set expectations, noting that he foresees an increase in cases in the coming days.

If we see the levels of risk rise either before or after the mandate is lifted, we may be here having another conversation, he said. We are going to see some rise in cases. We are more prepared than ever to tolerate that in our hospital system, but also with all the tools we have in the community to keep ourselves safe, to keep ourselves out of the hospital in the first place. For New Yorkers, that means go get vaccinated, go get fully vaccinated, and then go get boosted.

Vasan also noted that while hospitalizations among young children due to COVID remains higher when compared with adults, the actual number of kids hospitalized is low.

The overall, the absolute level is very low, which gives us comfort to do this, he said.

Children and their caregivers arrive for school in Manhattan, New York on Monday, March 7, 2022. (Seth Wenig/AP)

The BA.2 variant now accounts for about half of all of New Yorks infections, according to data from the state Department of Health released Monday.

The subvariant is fueling coronavirus spikes in China and Europe and has resulted in a slow but steady increase in cases in the city, with the Big Apples average test positivity rate reaching 1.24% on Monday after weeks of the metric keeping flat at or below 1%.

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So far, New York has not seen a rise in COVID-19 deaths and hospitalizations due to BA.2.

Still, Gov. Hochul acknowledged concern over the subvariant Monday.

We are closely monitoring BA.2 and will continue to stay vigilant by making tests, vaccines and boosters widely available, she said. The best way to keep the numbers down is by using the tools we know work. If you feel sick, get tested. If you test positive, talk to a doctor right away about treatments.
A Staten Island pastor who once equated homosexuality to pedophilia was removed from Mayor Adams education policy panel within hours of being hired Tuesday after the Daily News exposed her anti-gay track record.

Rev. Kathlyn Barrett-Layne, who leads Staten Islands Reach Out and Touch Ministries, was announced Tuesday afternoon as one of Adams nine picks to the Panel for Educational Policy, which serves as a governing body for the city Department of Education and approves its contracts.

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In a press release, Adams office described Barrett-Layne as a seasoned minister who spends her time inspiring people with her speaking and teaching in Bible studies.

But less than six hours later  after The News published a story online outlining her history of anti-gay rhetoric  Adams spokeswoman Amaris Cockfield said Barrett-Layne would not be joining the administration after all.

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We were unaware of these writings and weve asked her to resign, Cockfield said in an email.

Barrett-Layne could not be reached for comment after her abrupt axing.

Kathlyn Barrett-Layne (Kevin Coughlin)

Barrett-Layne has laid out her anti-LGBTQ views in several books.

In a 2013 book entitled Challenging Your Disappointments, Barrett-Layne placed same-sex relationships in the same category of sin as pedophilia and other crimes while discussing temptations facing Christian leaders and their followers.

Leaders struggle with the same temptations of drugs, alcohol, homosexuality, fornication, adultery, pedophilia, stealing, lying, envy, covetousness, and every other sin that the congregation struggle with, she wrote.

In the same book, Barrett-Layne raised concern about homosexuality among incarcerated people. They live in the grip of fornicating homosexual lifestyles, she wrote.

The Barrett-Layne debacle comes on the heels of Adams drawing intense pushback for hiring three other pastors with histories of anti-gay rhetoric. Those three pastors remain in their posts, including ex-City Councilman Fernando Cabrera, who was tapped as Adams senior faith adviser despite his past praise for Ugandas notoriously homophobic government.

In another book from 2004 entitled When Your Mess Becomes the Message, Barrett-Layne recalled that her 3-year-old daughter told her she was a boy after being present for a counseling session Barrett-Layne gave a lesbian woman.

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Barrett-Layne wrote that she and her husband began to militantly and violently pray for, with and over our daughter.

We prayed against every spirit that was not of God, including the spirit of homosexuality, she wrote. At the end of that prayer, my daughter asked me if she was a girl. When I told her yes, she happily began to sing and rejoice about being mommy and daddys little girl. To tell you this was one of the most frightening experiences I had with my little girl is an understatement.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams (Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office)

Allen Roskoff, a longtime LGBTQ rights activist who has known Adams for years, said he voiced his displeasure about the Barrett-Layne hire in text messages to the mayor a few hours before her firing.

Roskoff said he was pleased by Adams rapid reversal, but called it only a partial victory.

Her replacement needs to be someone from the LGBTQ community, Roskoff said. Were only halfway there.

Before the withdrawal of Barrett-Laynes appointment, ex-Queens Councilman Danny Dromm said her hire wouldve been especially egregious because members of the Panel for Educational Policy get say over public school curriculums.

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That the mayor has appointed a virulent homophobe to a panel that will have direct impact on LGBTQIA+ students and staff, its unbelievable, said Dromm, whos gay and used to chair the Councils Education Committee. Shes got to go.
Mayor Adams praised the NYPDs new anti-gun unit on Monday for making 31 gun arrests in six days  while also addressing pressing civil liberties concerns by vowing to make officers body cam footage available to police watchdogs like the Legal Aid Society.

Adams, who announced the new Neighborhood Safety Unit launch last week, appeared beside several officers from their ranks to say that, aside from the 31 arrests, they and their colleagues had taken 10 illegal firearms off the street in less than a week.

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New York City Mayor Eric Adams (center) addresses the media at the NYPD, PSA, Area 7 Command, located at 757 Melrose Ave, Bronx. The Mayor is flanked by NYPD, Commissioner, Keechant Sewel and ranking members of the NYPD. Flanked to his left are the "Neighborhood Safety Patrol Officers" that operate out of NYPD's, PSA 7. (Sam Costanza/for New York Daily News)

More than a gun a day was removed from our streets, he said. This is what precision policing is about. The failure of the past was we stopped anyone, searched anyone based on their ethnicity and based on the demographics or the zip code of where they may have lived. Were not doing that. Were not going to allow that to happen in our city. Were not going to break the law to enforce the law.

Despite reassurances, the new anti-gun unit has raised concerns among skeptics who worry it will mimic the mistakes created by its forebear, the Anti-Crime Unit, which was disbanded for its heavy-handed tactics, especially towards Black and brown people.

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A former NYPD captain, Adams pointed to his record as a police reformer as proof he will not allow the newly constituted unit to run roughshod over New Yorkers civil liberties.

Why would I spend 30-something years fighting for proper policing and then allow it to erode away? he said. All I ask of Legal Aid is to come join us, sit inside, analyze the video, when we do our arrests, be a part of this evolution  because they have a role also.

Corey Stoughton, who heads the Legal Aid Societys special litigation unit, welcomed Adams invitation to observe body-worn footage from officers, but appeared skeptical of the offer, given what she described as Adams failure to offer more insight into how the new anti-gun unit was constituted.

I thought it was great, she said of his invite. If hes inviting us to view videos of arrests by the new Neighborhood Safety teams, then we accept that invitation.

Still, while Stoughtons praise for Adams was genuine, she also questioned how the unit has been rolled out, noting that it is still unclear to her how officers were selected and who was selected.

We want to see him back up his promises with action, she said.

Adams did not directly address some of the concerns she raised, but he suggested that removing guns from the street in a way that also protects civil liberties will take some time.

Crime is a Titanic. Crime is an ocean liner. You have to start changing the mindset on the streets. You have to start understanding that what we were doing in the past is not what is going to happen now. And that is what were doing, he said. The worst thing we could do is to rush something of this sensitivity and not get it right.
RICHMOND, Va. (AP)  President Joe Biden is urging U.S. companies to make sure their digital doors are locked tight because of evolving intelligence that Russia is considering launching cyberattacks against critical infrastructure targets as the war in Ukraine continues.

Bidens top cybersecurity aide, Anne Neuberger, expressed frustration at a White House press briefing Monday that some critical infrastructure entities have ignored alerts from federal agencies to fix known problems in software that could be exploited by Russian hackers.

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President Joe Biden speaks at Business Roundtable's CEO quarterly meeting, Monday, March 21, 2022, in Washington, D.C. (Patrick Semansky/AP)

Notwithstanding these repeated warnings, we continue to see adversaries compromising systems that use known vulnerabilities for which there are patches, said Neuberger, who is the presidents deputy national security adviser for cyber and emerging technologies. That makes it far easier for attackers than it needs to be.

The federal government has been providing warnings to U.S. companies of the threats posed by Russian state hackers since long before the country invaded Ukraine last month. The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency has launched a Shields Up campaign aimed at helping companies strengthen their defenses and has urged companies to back up their data, turn on multifactor authentication and take other steps to improve cyber hygiene.

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Neuberger said theres no intelligence suggesting a specific Russian cyberattack against U.S. targets, but she did add that there has been an increase in preparatory activity, like scanning websites and hunting for vulnerabilities, which is common among nation-state hackers.

Photo illustration of a hacker. (Shutterstock/Shutterstock)

In a statement, Biden said Russia could launch a cyberattack against U.S. targets as retaliation for the unprecedented economic costs weve imposed on Russia through sanctions.

Its part of Russias playbook, Biden said.

The United States and its allies have put a slew of sanctions in place aimed at crippling the Russian economy, and Biden recently announced the U.S. is sending more anti-aircraft, anti-armor weapons and drones to help Ukraine.

John Hultquist, a vice president of intelligence analysis at the cybersecurity firm Mandiant, said cyberattacks give Russia the ability to punch back.

Cyberattacks are a means for them to exact costs without crossing a major red line, he said.

Russia is considered a hacking powerhouse but its offensive cyberattacks since it invaded Ukraine have been muted compared to what some feared. Russia has carried out significant cyberattacks against Ukraine in years past, including the devastating NotPetya attack in 2017 that spread far and wide and caused more than $10 billion in damage globally.

Neuberger said Russian cyberattacks against Ukraine are ongoing, though did not provide specifics. She said the Biden administration has made clear there will be consequences if Russia engages with the U.S. in cyberspace.

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Were not looking for a conflict with Russia. If Russia initiates a cyberattack against the United States, we will respond, she said.

The Russian embassy did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
After a stormy dispute over terror detainees at Guantanamo Bay, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) stormed out of the Senate hearing for Supreme Court nominee Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson.

I hope they all die in jail if theyre going to go back and kill Americans, Graham said before grabbing a bottle of soda and stalking out. Thats a better outcome than letting them go.

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Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., questions Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson during a Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. on Tuesday, March 22, 2022. (Andrew Harnik/AP)

Wagging his finger, Graham appeared to lose his temper as he derided the frickin Afghanistan government and accused Jackson of being soft on the detainees.

He grilled the trailblazing jurist for filing a brief that raised questions about whether the government had the right to hold accused enemy combatants indefinitely without putting them on trial.

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Advocates to change the system like she was doing would destroy our ability to protect our country, Graham snapped.

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., walks off after questioning Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson during her confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Tuesday, March 22, 2022, in Washington. (Evan Vucci/AP)

Jackson kept her cool and refused to give an inch to Graham, calmly correcting him about his interpretation of her positions and noting that her legal responsibility was to represent her clients.

Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), the Judiciary Committee chair, also sought to correct the record about Guantanamo. He noted that President Trump also released suspected Taliban prisoners, a point that set off Graham.

Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson testifies during her Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, March 22, 2022. (Andrew Harnik/AP)

Graham voted to confirm Jackson for her current post as an appeals court judge and was considered one of the few Republicans who might consider backing her historic appointment as the first Black woman justice.

But he spent most of his question time badgering Jackson about her work as a federal public defender for Guantanamo Bay detainees and even her churchgoing habits.

Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 40 U.S. President Joe Biden embraces Ketanji Brown Jackson moments after the U.S. Senate confirmed her to be the first Black woman to be a justice on the Supreme Court in the Roosevelt Room at the White House on April 7, 2022, in Washington, DC. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

The pugnacious lawmaker even grilled her about progressives who supported her nomination over that of his preferred candidate, Judge J. Michelle Childs of his home state of South Carolina.

The fact that so many of these radical groups that would destroy the law as we know it supported you is problematic to me, he said.
Experts ready to assist with investigation into China Eastern Airlines aircraft crash: Boeing China

Xinhua) 10:02, March 22, 2022

BEIJING, March 22 (Xinhua) -- Boeing China said Tuesday that it is cooperating with China Eastern Airlines and will provide support after a Boeing 737 passenger plane crashed Monday afternoon.

The company is keeping in contact with the National Transportation Safety Board in the United States, said Boeing China, adding that its technical experts are ready to aid the Civil Aviation Administration of China in conducting the investigation.

A passenger plane with 132 people aboard crashed in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region on Monday afternoon.

The China Eastern Airlines Boeing 737 aircraft, which departed from Kunming and was bound for Guangzhou, crashed into a mountainous area near the Molang village in Tengxian County in the city of Wuzhou at 2:38 p.m., causing a mountain fire.

(Web editor: Xia Peiyao, Liang Jun)
A super-yacht likely owned by Russian oligarch Dmitrievich Pumpyansky was seized Monday when it docked in Gibraltar.

The opulent, 236-foot-long luxury vessel Axioma fell into the clutches of British authorities enforcing the sanctions that have sent Russian billionaires the world over scurrying to keep their boats afloat as their home country continues its unprovoked bombardment of Ukraine.

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Pumpyansky owns the steel conglomerate TMK, Russias largest maker of steel pipes.

Russian billionaire and owner and chairman of OAO TMK, a Russian global manufacturer of steel pipes for the oil and gas industry Dmitry Pumpyansky speaks on the side of the Russian Energy Week in Moscow, Russia, Wednesday, Oct. 13, 2021. (Sergei Ilnitsky/AP)

The U.K. last week imposed widespread sanctions in response to the Ukraine invasion, and have started seizing assets of Russian companies and individuals.

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The yacht moored at the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar, flying a Maltese flag, Reuters reported. Its owned by a holding company, Pyrene Investments, based in the British Virgin Islands, and Pumpyansky is one of the holdings beneficiaries, Reuters said.

It isnt always certain who owns the gargantuan vessels, as The Associated Press reported earlier this month. As with Axioma, there are 56 superyachts  those longer than 79 feet  that a few dozen Kremlin-aligned oligarchs are thought to own. Those seaborne assets are estimated at more than $5.4 billion in market value, AP said.

Many are high-tailing it to places like the Maldives and Montenegro, where Western sanctions cannot go because there are no extradition treaties.

Many others have been seized, including the superyacht Amore Vero, snatched by French authorities in the town of La Ciotat on the Mediterranean as its crew frantically prepped the 289-foot vessel for a hurried departure, AP said.

Last week the European Union and the U.K. clamped down billions of dollars worth of sanctions on Russian entities and individuals, seeking to cut the country off from its wealth, or at least the billionaires luxuries. The U.S. is also working to seize and freeze Putin-aligned wealth.

With News Wire Services
Alexei Navalny, a prominent critic of the Kremlin and Russian president Vladimir Putin, was sentenced to an additional nine years in prison Tuesday.

The opposition leader will serve the sentence at a maximum-security prison, state-run news agency TASS reported.

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Russian prosecutors accused Navalny of fraud and contempt of court.

The 45-year-old activist has long argued the allegations levied against him are politically motivated because of his vocal criticism of Putin and his regime. A large number of human rights organizations and activists have arrived at the same conclusion.

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Alexei Navalny contends his stiff sentences stem from his criticism of Russian President Vladimir Putin. (Pavel Golovkin/AP)

Navalny has been imprisoned since January 2021, after returning to Russia from Berlin, where he recovered from being poisoned with the nerve agent Novichok in August 2020. That sentence was handed down for alleged parole violations.

Navalny was accused of embezzling funds from his own Anti-Corruption Foundation, an organization that investigates how oligarchs and Russian presidents make their money. Navalny has alleged Putin was personally behind his poisoning.

The activist appeared to take his new sentence, which is shorter than what prosecutors originally sought, in stride.

Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny is seen on a screen via a video link during the verdict in his embezzlement and contempt of court trial at the IK-2 prison colony in the town of Pokrov in Vladimir Region on Wednesday. (-/AFP via Getty Images)

9 years. Well, as the characters of my favorite TV series The Wire used to say: You only do two days. Thats the day you go in and the day you come out I even had a T-shirt with this slogan, but the prison authorities confiscated it, considering the print extremist, he wrote on Twitter Tuesday.

9 years. Well, as the characters of my favorite TV series The Wire used to say: You only do two days. That's the day you go in and the day you come out"

I even had a T-shirt with this slogan, but the prison authorities confiscated it, considering the print extremist.  Alexey Navalny (@navalny) March 22, 2022

He followed up that tweet with a call to action.

Breaking News As it happens Get updates on the coronavirus pandemic and other news as it happens with our free breaking news email alerts. >

I am very grateful to everyone for their support, he wrote. And, guys, I want to say: the best support for me and other political prisoners is not sympathy and kind words, but actions. Any activity against the deceitful and thievish Putins regime. Any opposition to these war criminals.

The sentencing comes after Navalnys organizations and supporters were added to the extremist and terrorist federal registry in Russia.

Hours before the sentence was handed down, Navalnys organization published a new report alleging that a yacht under construction in Italy belonged to Putin and should be seized by a Western government.

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State-owned news agency RIA reported Navalny was fined the equivalent of $11,500, as well.

He is expected to appeal the sentencing.

Experts said the prison term could be a signal of even more crackdowns on dissent in Russia following the invasion of Ukraine. Its believed thousands remain detained after mass anti-war demonstrations in Moscow and St. Petersburg.

Putin also recently signed a new law that made it illegal to publish or broadcast fake information about the invasion of Ukraine.
Just one month ago, the National Registry of Exonerations revealed the nations 3,000th wrongful conviction (since 1989). A staggering 20% of these people had pled guilty to crimes they did not commit. Those of us who advocate on behalf of the wrongfully convicted know this number is just the tip of the iceberg because not only are there comparatively few lawyers litigating post-conviction claims, but these figures largely fail to capture misdemeanor wrongful convictions, a huge universe of cases that are rarely revealed post-conviction.

Consider the case of Jason Serrano, who was driving in Staten Island when he was stopped by police after they claimed to have smelled marijuana. During the course of the stop, Serrano, who was recovering from an abdominal injury, was pushed to the ground, writhing in pain, and was arrested for drug possession and resisting arrest. Serrano took a guilty plea. Why? Because, he later explained, he feared being detained at Rikers Island. Then in 2019, airtight proof of his innocence emerged  body camera footage of the arresting officers planting the drugs they found in his car.

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It wasnt until two years later, in November 2021, after calls from his Legal Aid attorneys, elected officials and advocates, that the prosecution agreed to dismiss the charges. Had that footage never emerged, Serrano would be one of the many invisible New Yorkers who plead guilty to crimes they did not commit.

Tragically, this case is not anomalous  the pressures to plead guilty are enormous, even for the innocent. An astonishing 98% of cases in New York State are resolved through plea agreements. And while the general sentiment of the public is that innocent people dont plead guilty to crimes they did not commit, the numbers tell otherwise.

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Just one month ago, the National Registry of Exonerations revealed the nations 3,000th wrongful conviction (since 1989). (Shutterstock)

What contributes most to the phenomenon of innocent people pleading guilty? Until the passage of a transformational pretrial reform package in Albany three years ago, what had been known as The Blindfold Law guided New Yorks discovery rules and kept defendants in the dark about the evidence in their cases, driving innumerable wrongful convictions and ill-informed case outcomes. Without the benefit of evidence like the body camera footage in Serranos case, innocent people often run blind and succumb to the pressures of plea agreements in order to avoid detention, while others accept prison and jail sentences for fear of what the outcome of a jury trial would be. Incarceration destabilizes families and communities and bars people from accessing social services, harming public safety and further contributing to what can only be described as a mental health crisis.

Yet once again, New Yorks discovery rules are in the crosshairs. Prosecutors are proposing amendments that would gut the 2019 pretrial reforms by allowing prosecutors to only substantially comply with their discovery obligations, which practitioners know will effectively essentially invalidate the 2019 reform law. Under a system in which prosecutors are once again excused from making full disclosure, New York would inevitably return to the blindfold era of criminal discovery, with prosecutors in a gatekeeping role, the very role that led to a scourge of pretrial jailing and wrongful convictions that largely victimizes communities of color. As is clear across the country, from Texas to North Carolina, early and automatic discovery laws play a central role in ensuring that people are not convicted and forced to suffer incarceration for crimes that they did not commit.

In addition, New York should pass the Challenging Wrongful Convictions Act, which would create a clearer pathway under our states actual innocence law for people like Jason Serrano to get relief. Although there was a video that provided airtight evidence that Serrano was innocent, he was not able  without the intervention of the prosecutor  to clear his name because he pled guilty. The Challenging Wrongful Convictions Act would remove the bar on guilty pleas in the postconviction law and enhance the ability of innocent New Yorkers to get justice.

Consider for a moment that you or your loved one was wrongfully arrested. Would you want the prosecution making ultimate determinations about what evidence could or could not be accessed by you and your defense lawyer in advance of a plea agreement or trial? Would you be comfortable tossing constitutional due process in the name of expediency? That is the question before New Yorkers. Lets not go back in time.

Brown is director of policy at the Innocence Project.
It was bound to happen. Even though neither the Russian invasion of Ukraine nor the heroic Ukrainian resistance to the invasion is in any way, in the words of a much-overused phrase, a Jewish issue, someone was bound to blame the Jews for the carnage.

Addressing a recent conference of the Pan African Solidarity Network in Dakar, Senegal, South African National Assembly member Nkosi Zwelivedile Mandela, a grandson of Nelson Mandelas, declared that the drums of war in Ukraine were beaten by the ever-popular (but utterly fictional) global military-industrial complex that includes neo-Nazis in Ukraine, NATO members intent on advancing cold war politics, and, wait for it, the Apartheid Israel dogs of war.

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Never mind that Israel had nothing whatsoever to do with the Russian invasion, which Mandela chose not to even mention. Never mind that Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett has tried to end the bloodshed by being an intermediary between Presidents Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelensky. Mandela and other anti-Semites like him  and make no bones about it, Mandela is an anti-Semite  wont let facts get in the way of their hatred of Jews.

But wait, Mandela referred to Israel, not to Jews. Except of course, to paraphrase World Jewish Congress President Ronald S. Lauders question to the late Venezuelan strongman Hugo Chavez, who does anyone think lives in Israel? Martians? The fact is that the obsessive demonization of the state of Israel has become one of the 21st centurys principal incarnations of increasingly unrestrained anti-Semitism.

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Mohammed Ali Al-Houthi, a senior leader of Yemens Iran-aligned Houthi movement, is even more explicit in his virulent Jew-hatred. Speaking on Lebanese television, he declared: I think that what happened in Ukraine is the result of the evil-doing of the Jews. This is proof that when a Jew is the leader of a country, it results in war.

Mandela and Al-Houthi are far from alone. Jewish university and college students are being terrorized on campuses around the world by pro-Palestinian  read anti-Israel  activists, including professors and lecturers, who attack them viciously for merely wanting to identify as Jews. Universities in the United Kingdom, to give only one representative example, reported 111 anti-Semitic indents for the 2020-2021 academic year, as opposed to 70 during 2019-2020. Jewish people are unfairly targeted all the time and it is exhausting just presenting as Jewish on campus, said one student.

Deborah E. Lipstadt, nominated to be Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism, with the rank of Ambassador, speaks during her Senate Foreign Relations nomination hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Feb. 8, 2022. (Andrew Harnik/AP)

The U.K. experience is reflected in other countries. According to one recent report, 2021 saw an average of more than 10 anti-Semitic incidents every day around the world, with more than half of these occurring in Europe. The report noted that expressions of anti-Jewish bigotry now also included anti-Semitic conspiracy theories accusing Jews as spreaders of the pandemic to control the world.

The Daily News Flash Weekdays Catch up on the days top five stories every weekday afternoon. >

The carnage taking place in Ukraine and the resulting refugee crisis are certain to make an already distressingly bad situation significantly worse. The ADL points out that: Since Russias invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022, extremists and anti-Semites across the ideological spectrum have used the war as fodder for promoting anti-Semitic conspiracy theories. Emanating from classic anti-Semites and white supremacists, as well as QAnon influencers and Proud Boys acolytes, classic tropes of Jewish power, financial control and abuse of the Holocaust narrative abound online. In just a few short weeks, tens of thousands of social media users have been exposed to these dangerous lies.

All of which brings me to the reason for this article. Seven months ago, President Biden nominated historian Deborah Lipstadt to serve as U.S. special envoy to monitor and combat anti-Semitism. Virtually every American Jewish leader and organization of consequence has enthusiastically endorsed her appointment.

But because this position has been elevated to the rank of ambassador, it requires Senate confirmation. Despite the fact that Lipstadt, a highly respected and widely admired scholar with impeccable academic credentials, enjoys broad bipartisan support, her nomination has been stalled in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee by one senator who is offended by a single tweet for which she has apologized.

In the interest of full disclosure, I do not write as an uninterested observer. I have known Lipstadt for more than 35 years and we are friends. We served together on the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Council, and she has graciously written blurbs for two of my books. And it is precisely because I know her well that I am able to vouch not only for her intelligence and accomplishments but, as important if not even more important, her absolute decency and uncompromising integrity.

Jew-hatred can be found across the entire political spectrum, Lipstadt said at her confirmation hearing. One finds it among Christians, Muslims, atheists and sadly, even a handful of Jews. One finds it in Europe, the Middle East, Latin America and even in countries with no Jews. I am an equal-opportunity foe of anti-Semitism. Unless one is willing to fight Jew-hatred wherever one finds it, one should not be a nominee for this position.

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Given the ever-growing threat posed by white supremacists, neo-Nazis, Jihadists, Holocaust distorting conspiracy theorists, and other anti-Semites, it is imperative for Deborah Lipstadt to be allowed to serve in this position. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee should report her out without further delay so that she can be confirmed by the full Senate.

Rosensaft is the associate executive vice president and general counsel of the World Jewish Congress. He is the author of Poems Born in Bergen-Belsen.
A man is known by the company he keeps. The origin of that well-worn line is a fable by Aesop called, fittingly, The Ass and His Purchaser.

As it goes, a man brings a new donkey home, and when he sees that it chooses to sidle up next to the laziest and greediest beast in the stable, the man tries to return the donkey, saying, I could see what sort of beast he is from the companion he chose for himself.

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The Bible is replete with similar riffs on this theme. Proverbs 13:20: Walk with the wise and become wise; associate with fools and get in trouble.

Im personally partial to the words of the famed Oklahoma sage Garth Brooks, who said proudly, Ive got friends in low places.

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Well, if the new resident scholars of the American far-right are to be known by the company they keep, theyre not only associating with fools  theyve got friends in the lowest of places.

The Kremlin, to be exact.

From Fox News personalities to members of the U.S. Congress, right-wing Russian apologists here in America are being cheerfully boosted by Vladimir Putins state TV, Russian agitprop Twitter accounts, Russian diplomats and even Moscow officials.

It is a chilling sight to see.

Fox News primetime star Tucker Carlsons clips are played regularly on Russian TV networks. In one, sounding an awful lot like Putin but with a St. Georges accent, he asks, Is Ukraine really a sovereign country?

Back in February, Carlson called Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky a dictator, and hes argued that Putin  whos senseless and criminal war has already killed at least a thousand Ukrainians and more than 7,000 of his own Russian troops  isnt all that bad, really.

Carlsons been such an effective Putin booster, in fact, that the regime reportedly distributed instructions to Russian media to use more of his clips.

According to a document obtained by Mother Jones, outlets were reportedly told, It is essential to use as much as possible fragments of broadcasts of the popular Fox News host Tucker Carlson, who sharply criticises [sic] the actions of the United States [and] NATO, [and] their negative role in unleashing the conflict in Ukraine

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Foxs light touch on Putin isnt limited to Carlson. Other hosts and guests have parroted Russian talking points either to slam President Biden or push baseless conspiracy theories.

And all to Putins delight, presumably. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov had nothing but kind words for Fox News, calling it the lone American media outlet trying to represent some alternative points of view.

Russian state media has some other useful idiots here in America, too. Outlets there have been running clips of Madison Cawthorn, the Trump Youth congressman who bragged about his trip to the vacation house of the Fuhrer, in which he tells a town hall audience: Remember that Zelensky is a thug. Remember that the Ukrainian government is incredibly corrupt, and it is incredibly evil, and it has been pushing woke ideologies.

Not to be left out, a cadre of right-wing women are vying for Putins affections, too.

Former Fox News castoff Lara Logan has been boosted by Kremlin Twitter accounts for her utterly bizarre assertions that Ukrainian soldiers are mostly Nazis and occultists, among others.

In what can only be described as a Muscovite fever dream, she also called Zelensky a puppet, insisted Russias invasion is going great, spread Russian propaganda about Ukrainian bioweapon labs, and sympathized with the suffering of  wait for it  Putins family during World War II.

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So of course Russias deputy permanent representative to the UN Alexander Alimov tweeted out her interview.

The Daily News Flash Weekdays Catch up on the days top five stories every weekday afternoon. >

Candace Owens, whos sad girls arent taught how to make their husbands a sandwich anymore, shared with her Twitter followers that Ukraine wasnt a thing until 1989. Ukraine is indeed older than Taylor Swift, but Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Anne Applebaum was all of us when she retorted, Behold the face of pure ignorance.

Owens also insists WE are at fault for Putins war of aggression in Ukraine, so just STOP talking about Russia and invade Canada instead.

But it was her Russian Lives Matter tweet that got her a retweet from the Russian Embassy.

She hasnt made the club yet, but Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene is working hard at it. Speaking from the House floor last week, the Jewish space laser aficionado regaled the crowd with a story about how Putin and Trump just want to get the bioweapons out of Ukraine. Her star turn on Russian TV is just one conspiracy theory away.

When a ruthless Russian dictator is a big fan, youre definitely doing it wrong.

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Just imagine the ignominy of being Hitlers favorite cable news host, or Saddams favorite political analyst, or Pol Pots favorite pol. Imagine being used for propaganda thats helping to invade a sovereign nation and murder thousands of innocent people. Imagine being this wrong about the world.

secuppdailynews@gmail.com
The conservatorship that controlled parts of actress Amanda Bynes life for almost nine years came to an end Tuesday, with a California judge terminating the longstanding arrangement.

Judge Roger L. Lund made the ruling during a hearing at the Ventura County Superior Court, the Daily News confirmed through Bynes attorney, David A. Esquibias.

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The termination was approved nearly a month after the What A Girl Wants actress filed paperwork seeking to reclaim control of her finances and other aspects of her life.

Bynes mother, Lynn, became her conservator in August 2013 on a temporary basis following multiple incidents involving the actress, who was accused at the time of setting fire to a driveway. The arrangement became a full conservatorship the following year.

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Following todays decision by the judge to terminate my conservatorship, I would like to thank my fans for their love and well wishes during this time, Bynes said in a statement to People.

I would also like to thank my lawyer and my parents for their support over the last nine years.

Amanda Bynes in 2011. (Jason Merritt/Getty Images)

Bynes, 35, didnt attend Tuesdays hearing, which went as expected after Lund expressed plans Monday to terminate the conservatorship in a tentative ruling.

The court determines that the conservatorship is no longer required and that grounds for establishment of a conservatorship of the person no longer exist, Judge Roger L. Lund wrote in Mondays filing.

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Bynes, who is now attending the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising in Los Angeles, is known for the Nickelodeon sketch comedy series All That and The Amanda Show, and for films such as Shes the Man and Easy A.

In the last several years, I have been working hard to improve my health so that I can live and work independently, and I will continue to prioritize my well-being in this next chapter, Bynes said in her statement to People. I am excited about my upcoming endeavors  including my fragrance line  and look forward to sharing more when I can.

Bynes mother had been vocal in her support of the conservatorship being terminated, with an attorney for Lynn saying she was extremely happy and thrilled and proud of her daughter, according to Variety.

Im excited for her. She is excited, Esquibias told Variety on Monday. Were all excited and were all anxiously looking forward to Amanda living a life as a private and normal citizen.

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The development comes four months after a judge terminated the 13-year conservatorship of pop star Britney Spears in November following a lengthy and highly publicized legal battle.

Earlier this month, Bynes thanked her fans for their support in a since-deleted Instagram video after she filed to end the conservatorship.

Whats up, Instagram? Amanda Bynes here, she said at the time. My court date is coming up in two weeks. I want to thank you all so much for your love and support. Peace out.
This undated photo shows Emmett Louis Till, a 14-year-old black Chicago boy, who was kidnapped, tortured and murdered in 1955 after he allegedly whistled at a white woman in Mississippi. (AP)

The show must  and will  go on for the stars of Emmett Till, A New American Opera amid a barrage of negative attention stemming from an online petition calling for its cancellation last week.

The show has come under internet ire for  according to Change.org petition organizer Mya Bishop  being written by a white woman, being centered on white guilt and [exacerbating] the adultification of Black children which has historically led to their brutalization.

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The premiere is still scheduled for the Gerald W. Lynch Theater at New York Citys John Jay College on Wednesday.

Rehearsal for "Emmett Till: A New American Opera." (Courtesy of Taku Nishimae Photography)

Till, brutalized and murdered by white racists in rural Mississippi at the age of 14 in 1955, is a central figure to the civil rights movement of the 1960s.

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On March 7, 2022, the U.S. Senate unanimously passed the Emmitt Till Anti-Lynching Act, giving final congressional approval to make lynching a federal hate crime for the first time after many unsuccessful attempts to specifically outlaw the brutal attacks used to terrorize Black Americans for centuries.

Based on Clare Coss award-winning 2013 play Emmett, Down in My Heart, the production stars Robert Mack in the title role.

The Newark-born tenor has been attached to the work since 2016 and portrayed Till in a different show years before. Mack says its no coincidence that the pandemic-delayed opera is finally seeing the light of day.

Its all Gods design, thats where I come from with it, he told the Daily News. Theres nothing ugly in here. Theres nothing malicious in this piece. And I dont say it just because Im a part of it. I say it because Ive gone through the score from beginning to end for over six, seven years.

Conductor Tania Leon and star Robert Mack during a rehearsal for "Emmett Till: A New American Opera." (Courtesy of Taku Nishimae Photography)

The story must be told, and why not use every art form that exists? Mack wondered. Let it be a book, let it be poetry, let it be a painting, let it be opera, let it be on Broadway, let it be on TV. Now let it be accurate, of course. But dont shun any genre, any idiom that can be used to tell the story.

Mack said the work is continuing the tradition of Tills mother, who made it her mission to expose the ugly truth about racism  specifically in the Jim Crow-era South. Mamie Till-Mobley welcomed media to her sons funeral and encouraged them to publicize his brutalized corpse in the glass-topped casket.

Tania Leon and Lucia Bradford during a rehearsal for "Emmett Till: A New American Opera." (Courtesy of Taku Nishimae Photography)

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Lucia Renata Bradord is portraying the stoic matriarch in Emmett, A New American Opera.

The Flatbush, Brooklyn, native told The News that she immediately felt a heavy weight when approached to play Till-Mobley.

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Theres so much resonance there for me and I want to make sure that story and her side of it gets told, and we feel the emotion, Bradford said.

Rehearsal for "Emmett Till: A New American Opera." (Courtesy of Taku Nishimae Photography)

The only reservation the Fiorella H. LaGuardia High School alum had was playing a mother grieving the murder of her son.

She explained, I was in my mid-30s, as well and to know that a woman at that age to go through all of that, it was difficult for me at first to sort of take that on.

Braford said the controversy  which made her emotional and upset  did bolster interest and sell out Wednesdays performance.

Its scary, because a lot of the comments I saw, they were just incorrect. And I was like, you know, what, I really hope these people come and see it so that they can get a better understanding at least, Bradford concluded.
Its nothing short of fetch.

Mean Girls star Jonathan Bennett, known for playing hunk Aaron Samuels, and Amazing Race alum Jaymes Vaughan are married, the couple confirmed in stunning photos jointly shared to their Instagram accounts.

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Mr and Mr Bennett Vaughan, the newlyweds captioned a shot of them ecstatically returning down the aisle after exchanging personalized vows.

Jaymes Vaughan, left, and Jonathan Bennett attend 10th Annual Thirst Gala on Sept. 28, 2019 in Beverly Hills, Calif. (Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images for Thirst Project)

We highly recommend standing next to the person you love and declaring that love loudly and boldly, in front of your chosen family and as unapologeticly [sic] emotional as you want, the couple captioned a carousel of wedding snaps. Because it is the biggest honor and most magical moment you will ever have.

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The newlyweds, who have been together five years and got engaged in late 2020, tied the knot at UNICO 2087 Hotel Riviera Maya in Solidaridad, Mexico, about 61 miles south of Cancun, according to the posts tag.

The couple told People that their special day was an inclusive one  which both made space for those throughout the LGBTQ+ community and paid tribute to Bennetts late mother.

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When youre part of the LGBTQ+ fam, not everything in the wedding space is for you yet, said Vaughan. The whole purpose of our wedding is to come together and join the two of us together, join our families together and start a new family.

Bennett, who in 2020 starred in the long-awaited first LGBTQ+-themed Hallmark holiday movie, told the magazine that he and Vaughan realized that our wedding is also more than just about us.

Its about the entire community, he continued, noting of the gender-neutral black- and white-tux theme, Everyone looks represented and feels sexy in their own way. ... Its like a new tradition for the community. You dont have to do dresses and tuxes. Anyone who wants to wear a tux, wear a tux, go for it.

Only shades of white were to be worn by guests, as a form of tribute to Bennetts mother, whom was also honored by the floral arrangements of white roses, according to the outlet.

Another way in which the couple made the wedding their own was to meet each other at the altar to the tune of a song Vaughan wrote for their engagement.

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It was honestly a dream wedding! Bennett told People. If you had told me this was one of my Hallmark movie sets, I would have believed it. It was that perfect.
That didnt take long.

The film world was thrown for loop earlier this week when West Side Story star Rachel Zegler posted on social media about having to root for Steven Spielbergs Oscars contender from her couch during Sundays broadcast of the Academy Awards.

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Idk yall i have tried it all but it doesnt seem to be happening, the 20-year-old actress wrote.

Rachel Zegler attends Disney Studios' premiere of "West Side Story" at El Capitan Theatre on December 07, 2021 in Los Angeles, California. (Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images)

I hope some last minute miracle occurs and I can celebrate our film in person but hey, thats how it goes sometimes, I guess, Zegler wrote later on Instagram Sunday. Thanks for all the shock and outrage  Im disappointed, too. But thats OK. So proud of our movie.

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The lack of an invite for a star of one of the Best Picture nominees after a partial list of presenters, which included DJ Khaled and Sean Diddy Combs, was published Monday.

An Oscar statue is pictured underneath the entrance to the Dolby Theatre (Chris Pizzello/Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP)

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Zegler will be presenting during the program after all as long as she can shuffle her schedule and fly from London to Los Angeles in time.

Academy member Russ Tamblyn, who played Riff in the original West Side Story film, tweeted before the latest update that it was the Academys, duty to find Rachel a seat at the Oscars.... When they say representation matters, this is what that means. Please do right by her.

Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 40 (L-R) Mike Faist, David Alvarez, Ariana DeBose, Rachel Zegler and Ansel Elgort attend Disney Studios' premiere of "West Side Story" at El Capitan Theatre on Dec. 7, 2021, in Los Angeles, Calif. (Jesse Grant/Getty Images for 20th Century St)

Curiously, Zegler is currently filming Walt Disneys live-action Snow White. ABC, which will broadcast the award show, is owned by Disney.

However, most Academy members never attend the Oscars as tickets are in limited supply. Each presenter and nominee gets two tickets, studios get a number of tickets, as do ABC and the broadcasts sponsors.

The Academy issued even fewer tickets this year than usual as a COVID-19 precaution.

With News Wire Services
Carrie Bradshaw isnt done just yet.

And Just Like That..., the revival of HBO hit Sex and the City, will return for a second season, HBO Max announced Tuesday.

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I am delighted and excited to tell more stories about these vibrant, bold characters  played by these powerful, amazing actors, executive producer Michael Patrick King said in a statement. The fact is, were all thrilled. And Just like That our Sex life is back.

Original stars Sarah Jessica Parker, Cynthia Nixon and Kristin Davis  who play Carrie, Miranda and Charlotte  all returned to their roles for the reboot. This time, theyre married (albeit briefly, for some) women in their 50s trying to figure out the next chapter in their lives.

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Cynthia Nixon, Sarah Jessica Parker and Kristin Davis return in And Just Like That. (HBO Max)

Sara Ramirez, Sarita Choudhury, Nicole Ari Parker and Karen Pittman also joined the cast to round out the group in Samanthas (Kim Cattrall) absence.

Theres no word yet on who will be back for the second season.

[ How And Just Like That wrote off Willie Garson after actors death (SPOILERS) ]

We have been delighted by the cultural conversation generated by these characters and their stories, set in a world we already know and love so much, Sarah Aubrey, the head of original content at HBO Max, said in a statement.

The first season of And Just Like That, which premiered in December, wrapped with some closure for Carrie as she sprinkled late husband Bigs ashes over a Parisian bridge, then met up with an off-screen Samantha for drinks in London.

Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 28 (L-R) Matthew Broderick, Sarah Jessica Parker and James Wilkie Broderick attend HBO Max's premiere of "And Just Like That" at the Museum of Modern Art on Dec. 8, 2021, in New York City. (DIMITRIOS.KAMBOURIS@GETTYIMAGES.COM/Getty Images)

But rest assured, all hope  and sex  is not lost: in the final seconds, she grabs her podcast producer Franklyn (Ivan Hernandez) for a steamy makeout session in the elevator after recording her first solo episode, titled, appropriately, Sex and the City.

Miranda, meanwhile, threw away her law internship to follow Che (Ramirez) across the country to Los Angeles, while Charlotte finally found some peace at home.
Why China's vision for development can help promote global prosperity

Xinhua) 13:51, March 22, 2022

BEIJING, March 22 (Xinhua) -- In the face of profound challenges rarely seen in a century, the international community is struggling to maintain development while tackling deficits in peace and governance.

Guided by "Xiconomics," the economic philosophy of Chinese President Xi Jinping, China is committed to following a development path with distinct Chinese characteristics and pursuing win-win cooperation worldwide. Featuring common prosperity, joint contribution with other nations and a shared future, Xi's vision of development and governance will help bolster global confidence and rally support to address threats and challenges.

COMMON PROSPERITY

Poverty eradication is one of the greatest global challenges facing the development of the world. It also tests the resolve and capability of China, a country with a population of more than 1.4 billion.

Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, has pointed out that eliminating poverty, improving people's livelihood and achieving common prosperity are essential requirements of socialism.

A moderately prosperous society in all respects "is a society to be enjoyed by each and every one of us; on the march toward common prosperity, no one must be left behind," Xi said when he and other members of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee met reporters in 2017.

By the end of 2020, China had lifted out of poverty all rural residents living below the current poverty line and met the poverty eradication target set out in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development 10 years ahead of schedule -- unprecedented progress in the history of human development.

Koh King Kee, president of Center for New Inclusive Asia, a non-government Malaysian think tank, said poverty reduction is the only way to achieve common prosperity, and China has laid the foundation for it.

Promoting social equity and justice and gradually realizing common prosperity for all are essential parts of Xi's economic thought, said the expert.

Ronnie Lins, director of the China-Brazil Center for Research and Business, said China's actions to create more significant economic and social benefits are mainly reflected in its sincere political will to act in the interests of the poorest.

China's experience in poverty reduction has become a valuable asset in global poverty reduction cooperation.

Richard A. Black, a representative of the Schiller Institute at the United Nations in New York, said China's achievement in poverty alleviation is a "quiet model and powerful inspiration" to the people in Africa, Latin America and much of Asia.

There are currently ongoing catastrophes of mass deaths by war, starvation and economic strangulation by Western sanctions, Black said, adding that "China has proven -- by its actions, not by its words -- an alternative pathway" in terms of poverty reduction.

"We must take a people-centered approach and make global development more equitable, effective and inclusive so that no country will be left behind," President Xi stressed at the 16th G20 Leaders' Summit via video link in 2021.

Xi, at the CPC and World Political Parties Summit via video link last year, also called for particular attention and care for underdeveloped countries and regions and impoverished people.

"Only when countries develop together can there be true development, and only when countries prosper together can there be true prosperity," said Xi, while addressing via video link the opening ceremony of the Second UN Global Sustainable Transport Conference.

Xi has outlined an ambitious blueprint to promote common development, fairness and inclusiveness. In countries and regions eager to lift themselves out of poverty, China-championed economic cooperation has turned forgotten places into hopeful fields.

China has promoted a project to connect 10,000 African villages to a satellite TV network, helping locals access the world outside. China has built railways, highways, airports and ports to help Asian countries accelerate their development. Chinese e-commerce enterprises have been taking root in Latin America and other regions, promoting local digital transformation and joining hands with partners for a shared future.

JOINT CONTRIBUTION, SHARED BENEFITS

"Economic globalization is the trend of the times. Though countercurrents are sure to exist in a river, none could stop it from flowing to the sea," Xi said at the 2022 World Economic Forum (WEF) virtual session.

Xi has repeatedly expressed his firm determination to promote common development and build an open world economy in the face of rising unilateralism. "Development is the right of all countries, rather than an exclusive privilege of the few," Xi said at the CPC and World Political Parties Summit in 2021.

China has been committed to helping other developing countries grow their economy, improve livelihoods, and enhance their independent and sustainable development capacity.

The people-centered approach reflects the fundamental difference between socialism with Chinese characteristics and profit-oriented Western capitalism. Today, the vision put forward by the Chinese leader has been translated into the vivid practice of joint efforts and shared benefits.

Sommad Pholsena, vice president of the National Assembly of Laos, said while China was not the first country to express a willingness to build a railway in Laos, it was the only one to turn it into reality. By the end of 2021, the entire China-Laos Railway was put into operation, a dream come true for railway-craving Laos.

Since the launch of the Belt and Road Initiative, China has made solid progress in building the Jakarta-Bandung High-Speed Railway, the Hungary-Serbia Railway, the Mombasa-Nairobi Railway and the Gwadar Port. It has gradually improved trade and investment liberalization and facilitation to boost the global economy and trade.

"Only with openness, inclusiveness and connectivity can countries reinforce each other's efforts and achieve win-win results," Xi said at the opening ceremony of the Second UN Global Sustainable Transport Conference in 2021, highlighting the essence of openness and win-win cooperation.

With a population of more than 1.4 billion and a middle-income group of over 400 million, China imports about 2.5 trillion U.S. dollars of goods and services every year. Thousands of market entities worldwide rely heavily on the Chinese market, and China's opening-up has attracted global attention.

As the world's first import-themed national fair, the China International Import Expo has been held for four consecutive sessions, fortifying China's commitment to opening-up and sharing opportunities with the rest of the world.

China has shared its growth dividend with the world by opening up its market, said Yana Leksyutina, a St. Petersburg State University professor.

SHARED FUTURE

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has dealt a heavy blow to the global economy. China has stood with other countries to fight COVID-19 and promote economic recovery, demonstrating a sense of responsibility as a major country and a commitment to building a community with a shared future for humankind.

"Facts have shown once again that amidst the raging torrents of a global crisis, countries are not riding separately in some 190 small boats, but are rather all in a giant ship on which our shared destiny hinges," Xi said at the 2022 WEF virtual session, calling for stronger solidarity.

"We must put people and their lives first," Xi said at the Global Health Summit in 2021, adding that "we must stick together and promote solidarity and cooperation," and "we must uphold fairness and equity to close the immunization gap."

With a strong sense of responsibility for the Chinese people and the international community, China quickly brought the epidemic at home under control to revive its economy and restore production. China was the first country to pledge to make its COVID-19 vaccines a global public good and launch a large-scale global humanitarian campaign. With a reliable supply of goods and efficient cross-border logistics networks, China has built a lifeline in the global fight against COVID-19 and protecting supply chains.

"China has always stuck together with the world through thick and thin," said Cambodian government chief spokesman Phay Siphan.

To achieve a balanced, coordinated and inclusive growth worldwide, Xi proposed the Global Development Initiative at the general debate of the 76th session of the UN General Assembly.

"No country can alone face such universal problems as COVID-19 and economic stagnation. All this just confirms Xi's vision for global governance," said former Egyptian Prime Minister Essam Sharaf.

President Xi's economic thinking has opened up a new horizon for strengthening global governance and promoting world development, said Sharaf.

(Web editor: Xia Peiyao, Liang Jun)
In a consequential ruling Monday night, a Miami federal judge said four major cruise lines with South Florida ties  Carnival, Norwegian, Royal Caribbean and MSC Cruises  engaged in prohibited tourism and trafficking activities by carrying passengers to Cuba and profiting from the use of Havana port facilities confiscated by the Fidel Castro-led government, the first decision of its kind that could affect similar lawsuits.

By using the Terminal and one of its piers in various ways, Carnival, MSC SA, Royal Caribbean and Norwegian committed trafficking acts, U.S. District Judge Beth Bloom concluded.

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Royal Caribbean's Grandeur of the Seas anchored at the Port of Miami. The ship typically sails from Baltimore. (Baltimore Sun)

According to court records, the companies earned at least $1.1 billion in revenue and paid $138 million to Cuban government entities.

Read more at Miami Herald.
Melbourne police Monday identified the bodies of three people found dead inside a car parked at an apartment complex over the weekend as a 35-year-old woman and her 3-year-old twins, the agency said.

Officers responded to a call of a suspicious vehicle Sunday at Manatee Cove Apartments on Madelyn Way around 10:50 p.m., according to a news release from the Melbourne Police Department.

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Inside the vehicle, officers found the bodies of Andrea Langhorst and her two children, Olivia and Adam Dryer, the release said.

The mother and her twins, who were listed as being from St. Lucie County, appeared to have been living transiently out of the vehicle along the east coast of Florida, police said.

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The womans father, Randy Langhorst, told Florida Today he contacted police last weekend to look for his daughter after not hearing from her since March 11.

She was a free spirit, smart as a whip, beautiful, but lived her life to the beat of her own drummer. Its just a tragedy, he told the newspaper. ... The twins were her pride and joy.

Detectives are working with the medical examiners office to learn more about the deaths, police said.

The investigation into this incident remains active, the agency said. ... Detectives have no reason to believe there is an active or persistent danger to the community.

MPD asks anyone with information about Langhorst and her children to call the agency at 321-608-6371.

mcordeiro@orlandosentinel.com
Police believe Andrea Smarr, 26, and John Valiquette, 24 are responsible for the death of their 14-month-old son due to exposure to meth and fentanyl. (Pasco County Jail)

Police officers are blaming a Florida couple for the death of their 14-month-old son.

New Port Richey officers arrested Andrea Smarr, 26, and John Valiquette, 24, last week, WFLA reported.

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The investigation into the death of the toddle began on Jan. 6.

Smarr told officers she put her son to sleep in his crib for the night. Although she told officers the child was healthy and alive at the time, officers said theyd taken fentanyl and methamphetamine from their home.

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Video surveillance showed Valiquette asleep on the floor while the toddler, unsupervised in the living room, put a scrap of tin foil in his mouth, WFLA reported.

A medical examiners report found the child died from some combined drug toxicity.

Read the full report on wfla.com.
A 23-year-old Florida man leading a drug trafficking organization is going to prison.

A judge sentenced Marvin Harris, Jr. to 24 years and five months in prison on Monday, according to the Department of Justice. Harris is guilty of conspiring to distribute fentanyl, crack cocaine, and cocaine.

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Court documents said his organization operated in Fort Myers, where he recruited dealers to work for him by providing housing that doubled as a primary distribution point for the operation. Officials jailed him on Aug. 14, 2020, for contempt in connection with a homicide investigation, the DOJ reported.

While in jail, Harris recruited his girlfriend, Destiny Molina, to supply dealers and collect drug proceeds, according to the DOJ. An audio recording features the couple discussing business strategies to keep the operation afloat. It also captured Harris teaching Molina how to mix fentanyl into the drugs to increase profits.

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On Oct. 15, 2020, FBI agents executed a search warrant on Molinas residence and Harris main drug house in Fort Myers. They found more than $53,000 in cash, expensive jewelry and a firearm at Molinas home, according to the DOJ. They found $5,000 in cash, fentanyl, cocaine and another firearm at the drug house.

Molina, along with co-conspirators Bradly Griffin, 20, Robert Rosado, 24, and Fabian Kelly, 20, already pleaded guilty to the conspiracy.

Griffin received seven years, Rosado received 12 years, and Kelly received nine years in prison, according to the DOJ.

A judge will sentence Molina on June 6.

Shes facing five to 40 years in prison.
WASHINGTON  Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson forcefully defended her record as a federal judge Tuesday, pushing back against Republican assertions that she was soft on crime and declaring she would rule as an independent jurist if confirmed as the first Black woman on the high court.

In a marathon day and evening of questioning that lasted more than 13 hours, Republicans aggressively pressed Jackson on the sentences she has handed down to sex offenders in her nine years as a federal judge, her advocacy on behalf of terror suspects at Guantanamo Bay, her thoughts on critical race theory and even her religious views. At one point, Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas read from childrens books that he said are taught at her teenage daughters school.

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[ Watch live: Ketanji Brown Jackson Supreme Court confirmation hearings ]

Several GOP senators grilled her on her child pornography sentences, arguing they were lighter than federal guidelines recommended. She responded that she based the sentences on many factors, not just the guidelines, and said some of the cases had given her nightmares.

Could her rulings have endangered children? As a mother and a judge, she said, nothing could be further from the truth.

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In what Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin, D-Ill., described as a trial by ordeal, Jackson attempted to answer GOP concerns and also highlight the empathetic style that she has frequently described when she is handing down sentences. The committees Republicans, several of whom have their eyes on the presidency, tried to brand her  and Democrats in general  as soft on crime, an emerging theme in GOP midterm election campaigns.

Jackson told the committee that her brother and two uncles served as police officers, and that crime and the effect on the community, and the need for law enforcement  those are not abstract concepts or political slogans to me.

Tuesdays hearing was the first of two days of questioning after Jackson and the 22 members of the panel gave opening statements on Monday. On Thursday, the committee will hear from legal experts before an eventual vote to move her nomination to the Senate floor.

Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson testifies during her Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, March 22, 2022. (Andrew Harnik/AP)

President Joe Biden chose Jackson in February, fulfilling a campaign pledge to nominate a Black woman to the Supreme Court for the first time in American history. She would take the seat of Justice Stephen Breyer, who announced in January that he would retire after 28 years on the court. Jackson would be the third Black justice, after Thurgood Marshall and Clarence Thomas, and the sixth woman.

Barring unexpected developments, Democrats who control the Senate by the slimmest of margins hope to wrap up Jacksons confirmation before Easter, though Breyer is not leaving until the current session ends this summer.

She said the potential to be the first Black woman on the court is extremely meaningful and that she had received many letters from young girls. Jackson, who grew up in Miami, noted that she had not had to attend racially segregated public schools as her own parents did, and the fact that we had come that far was to me a testament to the hope and the promise of this country.

Her nomination also supports public confidence in the judiciary, Jackson said.

Responding to Republicans who have questioned whether she is too liberal in her judicial philosophy, Jackson said she tries to understand what the people who created this law intended. She said she relies on the words of statutes but also looks to history and practice when the meaning may not be clear.

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Democrats have been full of praise for Bidens Supreme Court nominee, noting that she would not only be the first Black woman but also the first public defender on the court, and first with experience representing indigent criminal defendants since Justice Marshall.

Republicans praised that experience, too, but also questioned it, focusing in particular on work she did roughly 15 years ago representing Guantanamo Bay detainees. Jackson said public defenders dont pick their clients and are standing up for the constitutional value of representation. She said she continued to represent one client in private practice because her firm happened to be assigned his case.

Picking up on a thread started by Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley and amplified by the Republican National Committee in fundraising emails, Cruz questioned Jackson on her sentences for child pornographers, at one point bringing out a large poster board and circling sentences he said he found egregious.

Cruz  who along with Hawley is a potential 2024 presidential candidate  asked Jackson if the voice of the children was heard.

Again noting that she is a mother, Jackson defended her decisions by saying she takes into account not only sentencing guidelines but also the stories of the victims, the nature of the offenses and the defendants histories.

A judge is not playing a numbers game, she said. A judge is looking at all of these different factors.

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The White House has rejected Hawleys criticism as toxic and weakly presented misinformation. And sentencing expert Douglas Berman, an Ohio State law professor, wrote on his blog that while Jacksons record shows she is skeptical of the range of prison terms recommended for child pornography cases, so too were prosecutors in the majority of her cases and so too are district judges nationwide.

Beyond crime, Republicans raised issues that have proved winning for them in recent campaigns.

Jackson bristled at questions from South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham, who voted for her confirmation as an appeals court judge last year but has openly expressed his frustration after President Joe Biden picked her over a South Carolina judge. Graham asked her about her religion, and how often she goes to church, in angry comments referring back to what he said was unfair criticism of Justice Amy Coney Barretts Catholicism ahead of her 2020 confirmation.

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Jackson  who thanked God in her opening statement and said that faith sustains me at this moment  responded that she is a Protestant. But she said she is reluctant to talk about her faith in detail because I want to be mindful of the need for the public to have confidence in my ability to separate out my personal views.

On critical race theory, a controversial topic particularly in some public schools, she told Cruz: Ive never studied critical race theory, Ive never used it, it doesnt come up in my work as a judge.

Asked about abortion, Jackson readily agreed with comments that Justices Barrett and Brett Kavanaugh made when they were up for confirmation. Roe and Casey are the settled law of the Supreme Court concerning the right to terminate a womans pregnancy. They have established a framework that the court has reaffirmed, Jackson said.

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That line of questioning from Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., and Jacksons answers bypassed a key point: The court right now is weighing whether to overrule those cases that affirm a nationwide right to abortion.

The White House said Tuesday that Biden had watched part of the hearings and was proud of Jacksons grace and dignity.

The president was struck by how she swiftly dismantled conspiracy theories put forward in bad faith, said White House deputy press secretary Chris Meagher.

Associated Press writers Jessica Gresko, Lisa Mascaro, Josh Boak, Colleen Long and Kevin Freking in Washington and Aaron Morrison in New York contributed to this report.
In this 2021 file photo, a Chihuahua named Leo alerts visitors at the Orange County Animal Services pet shelter that he's available for adoption. (Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda/Orlando Sentinel)

A pedigreed architectural firm with a dog-friendly name was tapped Tuesday to design Orange Countys new animal shelter.

The Bacon Group Inc., headquartered in Clearwater, also boasts a portfolio of successful similar projects in dozens of communities in the eastern United States, including animal-care centers in Atlanta, Charlotte, Cleveland, Louisville and Memphis.

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The firm also designed shelters for Broward, Collier, Dade, Pinellas and Okeechobee counties and the Florida Keys.

Orange County commissioners approved the $3-million design contract as part of its consent agenda, moving one step closer to replacing the existing facility on Conroy Road in Orlando near the Mall at Millenia.

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The new shelter will be built on the same property, which was shared by the Mosquito Control Division.

Animal welfare advocates have lobbied for nearly a decade for a more modern, spacious kennel facility for beleaguered shelter animals  specifically air conditioning in summer months.

In an appeal to commissioners two years ago, Animal Services Director Diane Summers said the existing facility was never designed to accommodate the programs the agency offers today or the volume of abandoned animals its staff cares for.

For instance, it was built before the county created an adoption program, now the operations cornerstone mission.

We welcome approximately 100,000 people annually and they come to our building with an interest in helping homeless pets, she has said. A new facility, specifically one designed with these programs and life-saving mission in mind, will help us better unite people and the animals that need them, ushering in a new era of success.

Founded in 1991, The Bacon Group was one of four design firms to answer the countys request for proposals, but the only one which met all criteria.

shudak@orlandosentinel.com
Samantha-Abbygail Botha, 27, stops just before the edge of the dock to take one last deep breath before stepping off and diving into the cool water of Little Lake Conway behind the FOP Lodge on Tuesday as she passed certification to become the 7th woman certified in Orange County Fire Rescue's dive team. (Natalia Jaramillo)

Samantha-Abbygail Botha stopped just before the edge of the dock to take one last deep breath before stepping off and diving into the cool water of Little Lake Conway behind the FOP Lodge on Tuesday.

Botha, 27 and born in South Africa, is now one of the seven female divers certified in dive rescue for Orange County Fire Rescue.

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Im excited really and proud, Botha said, slightly out of breath. I dont even have words.

The department certified four divers Tuesday and will certify 13 more by the end of the week to add to the 175 person dive team spread out across various Orange County fire stations.

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After a 100-question written test on dive rescue policy and procedure, the firefighters one-by-one slipped into their wetsuits, buckled their buoyancy control vests and walked to the edge of the dock with diving fins in hand ready to take the final portion of their dive rescue certification.

Lt. Brandon Allen telling firefighter Samantha-Abbygail Botha she passed her dive rescue certification test at Little Lake Conway on Tuesday. (Natalia Jaramillo)

Botha, like all the other firefighters in the dive rescue training program, is required to be certified in recreational scuba diving and pass a rigorous swimming test.

Here its not just looking and seeing whats pretty, you have to find something, something very important, Botha said about the difference between recreational diving and diving to rescue. Youre trying to save lives quickly.

Botha and the other three firefighters were tasked with locating and pulling out two human-like weighted dummies from a vehicle submerged roughly 20 feet underwater before swimming to shore to find out if they passed or failed.

Running out of air or not locating the victims would cause the firefighters to immediately fail, said Lt. Brandon Allen, who oversees water rescue operations.

Some of these new certified divers are on shift tomorrow so they could be operating as that solo diver as early as tomorrow, Allen said.

The divers had to apply after getting a recreational diving certificate, Allen said. After passing a rigorous swim test, divers are considered for training, which began in early February, based on their schedules, he said.

Ramiro Cipullo, a firefighter also taking the test, passed his swimming test four years ago but opted not to complete his dive rescue certification, due to having a baby and the disruption of the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Its awesome, Cipullo said after he passed his testing Tuesday. Branden [Allen] put together a great program so I feel totally capable.

Four Orange County Fire Rescue firefighters getting ready to get into the water for their dive rescue certification test at Little Lake Conway on Tuesday.

The divers are rushed to calls within 10 minutes, Allen said, then divers have one hour to pull out victims before the mission becomes a recovery, meaning the victim is no longer expected to be alive.

The way that our dive stations are spread out we can get there faster than 10 minutes but it depends on the call, Allen said. If everything goes to plan we can pull out victims pretty quickly.

Allen said about three years ago the dive rescue team was called to a young man who had driven into a lake and, by the time his diver got there, the man had been underwater for 10 to 15 minutes.

By the time our diver got there we had him out pretty quick and he ended up making a full recovery, Allen said. When you hear stories like that, all the long days and nights in the cold water it just makes it worth it.

Breaking News As it happens Be the first to know with email alerts on important breaking stories from the Orlando Sentinel newsroom. >

The 17 firefighters in dive rescue training have endured intensive training scenarios since February. In some scenarios, the divers were blindfolded to simulate water with very low visibility, Allen said.

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Allen said the most common scenario dive rescue sees in Orange County is a vehicle going off the side of the road into the water. Most of the time, passengers can escape on their own. Boating accident calls become more common during the busy summer months, he said.

Typically Allen said he sees three mistakes from Florida drivers that cause the need for a dive and rescue: A driver fell asleep at the wheel and ended up in a body of water, the driver was under the influence or a driver crashes and ends up in water and they call 911 immediately.

The first thing you should do is try to get out of your car and up to the surface, Allen said. I see the mistake of people taking precious seconds to call 911 instead of getting out.

Orange County firefighter Samantha-Abbygail Botha dove into Little Lake County on Tuesday to become certified in dive rescue. (Natalia Jaramillo)

Allen started this intensive dive rescue training in 2015 after growing up surfing and scuba diving in Southern California. Botha, who shares a similar love for anything aquatic, said she treasures the peace and tranquility of being underwater.

My dads a commercial diver so hes excited for me, Botha said. Both my parents were police officers in South Africa so theyve instilled my love of helping people.

njaramillo@orlandosentinel.com
What we called the worst environmental bill in state history is no longer horrible. But Gov. Ron DeSantis should still veto it.

To recap, Senate Bill 2508 in its original form essentially would have made Lake Okeechobee a permanent reservoir for farmers south of the lake. The Everglades, and almost everyone else in South Florida, would have suffered.

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[ RELATED: Senators get caught carrying water for Big Sugar | Steve Bousquet ]

After a torrent of public criticism, the Florida Senate quickly backpedaled and passed a rewritten version that removed all of the worst parts of the original. But sugar growers and their allies are relentless. They got yet another rewritten version through the Legislature last Monday on the final day of the session, during a one-day extension. If DeSantis signs this bill, it will be another unwarranted favor to the sugar industry.

The issue is complicated. We will simplify it.

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During droughts, the South Florida Water Management District allocates water by making a recommendation to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which manages the lake. The district bases its recommendations on rules 40 years old.

Not surprisingly, given the politics of that time, the rules favor farmers over the environment. On Jan. 1, the Corps of Engineers will enact new policies that make agriculture a lower priority and the environment a higher priority.

New strings attached

Under the revised SB 2508, however, any proposed rule from the water management district must be ratified by the Legislature and presented to the governor before going to the Corps of Engineers. No one seems certain whether DeSantis could veto the rule. A spokesman said the water management district is reviewing the bill and hasnt taken a position.

Sen. Ben Albritton, R-Wauchula (www.flsenate.gov )

The bill also apparently could affect money for Everglades restoration projects. State legislators would have to certify them. SB 2508s original version held hostage state money for the essential new reservoir south of Lake Okeechobee.

The extra step that the bill would create is unnecessary. Given the dense language of the bill, its also reason to be suspicious after the machinations of the past month. The bill passed a unanimous Senate 33-0, and the House, 99-8, so Democrats have provided plenty of political cover for DeSantis to sign it.

Sen. Ben Albritton, R-Wauchula, a farmer, filed the original SB 2508 halfway through the session, well after the usual deadline for major legislation. He sought to tie those damaging policy changes to a budget bill, meaning that DeSantis  who opposed them  would have to veto the entire budget to block those favors for the sugar industry.

Everglades Foundation Executive Director Eric Eikenberg calls the new version of SB 2508 a Hail Mary by the sugar industry to salvage something from the 2022 session. Senate President Wilton Simpson, who chiefly sets the Senates agenda, is a Republican candidate for agriculture commissioner.

Everglades Foundations Eric Eikenberg and conservationists rally at state Capitol after Senate, under intense public pressure, scales back a controversial water bill. The days of getting rolled are over, Eikenberg said on Thursday, February 17, 2022. (Steve Bousquet/South Florida Sun Sentinel)

At Simpsons urging, the Legislature last year shielded sugar growers from lawsuits over cane burning. This year, at Simpsons urging, SB 2508 would give these same polluters a chance to lobby the Legislature against policies that favor the environment and bring resulting economic benefits.

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More problems, too

News reports have flagged more problems with the bill. Utilities seeking to destroy wetlands could get permits faster. The state program to protect farmland could compete for money with Florida Forever, the program that buys land for environmental preservation.

Captains for Clean Water, the statewide coalition that claims to have generated 156,000 emails and 1,500 phone calls in opposition to the original bill, said in a statement that this version of SB 2508 is less of a threat. But the organization also said, Even after being amended, SB 2508 does nothing to help Floridas environment and other concerning provisions remain.

Gil Smart is policy director for Friends of Everglades, which River of Grass author and Floridas most famous environmentalist, Marjory Stoneman Douglas, founded. Smart told Treasure Coast News: Its important to note that (SB 2508) could still result in Big Sugars water supply being prioritized over the needs of the Everglades and the estuaries.

A key provision of SB 2508, the so-called water bill headed to Gov. Ron DeSantis. (Florida Senate)

For decades, Florida allowed sugar growers to dictate water policy. The industry wanted lake levels kept artificially high. Doing so caused discharges of polluted lake water to coastal estuaries that serve as breeding grounds for marine life.

Political Pulse Weekly Get latest updates political news from Central Florida and across the state. >

Those discharges have killed grasses in the Indian River Lagoon, an estuary that runs from the Space Coast to Martin County. Manatees feed on those grasses. Without that sustenance, Floridas iconic mammals are dying in record numbers, despite an emergency feeding program.

Water policy must change.

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That depends on DeSantis, who ran for governor in 2018 as a harsh critic of Big Sugar and U.S. Sugar helped pay for attack ads against him. I havent sat down and read everything on it, the governor said of SB 2508. But that is (in) a dramatically different posture today than it was a month ago.

The bill passed a unanimous Senate, 33-0, and the House, 99-8. That gives DeSantis plenty of political cover from Democrats to sign it.

Before SB 2508, Florida was approaching an inflection point. Water policy would be out of Big Sugars control. The industry wants to maintain that control.

Only DeSantis can stop that from happening.

The Orlando Sentinel Editorial Board consists of Editor-in-Chief Julie Anderson, Opinion Editor Krys Fluker, Viewpoints Editor Jay Reddick and El Sentinel Editor Jennifer Marcial Ocasio. The Sun Sentinel Editorial Board consists of Editorial Page Editor Steve Bousquet, Deputy Editorial Page Editor Dan Sweeney, and Anderson. To contact us, email at insight@orlandosentinel.com.
Show up, speak out for responsible Orange development

About 12 years ago, I started my advocacy opposing urban development across the Econlockhatchee River. Some may think this takes up half my life  and some days it feels like it! But there is no end to the constant push in East Orange County with urban development.

With a term limit of December 2024, my service is coming to an end on the Orange County Commission  a board to which I was elected in 2016 because of my advocacy against two significant development projects east of the Econlockhatchee River. In the early 1990s, commissioners firmly stated we would not cross the river with urban development. They even installed smaller diameter water and sewer pipes to limit the availability of public services needed for the area to grow. However, my predecessor convinced three fellow commissioners to make an exception to

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this rule for the development of a project named The Grow.

Myself and community advocacy groups I helped organize were unable to prevent this intrusion into our rural areas. It is moving forward only because prior commissioners entitled the development to a predetermined maximum number of residential units and commercial spaces.

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High Oaks Ranch is part of a group of rural properties in Seminole County, just north of the Orange County line and East of the Econlockhatchee River, on Friday, April 13, 2018. The property owners are looking to sell the land. (Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda/ Orlando Sentinel) (Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda / Orlando Sentinel)

As the current District 5 County Commissioner, I am working with engaged citizens, experts, and even the developer to ensure the community remains its best for residents, wildlife and the environment. I need the residents of District 5 to be diligent and show up at upcoming meetings to support me as we work with the other commissioners for what is best for our community.

It is a struggle; there are so many forces working against us. I need your support, and I cannot do this alone. Please, keep an eye out for the upcoming county meeting agendas at ocfl.net and follow my social media for updates. I need your support to be effective. The next meeting for The Grow will be today, at 2 p.m. at the County Administration Building at 201 S. Rosalind Ave.

Emily Bonilla Orlando

Political Pulse Weekly Get latest updates political news from Central Florida and across the state. >

Emily Bonilla has served as the Orange County Commissioner for District 5 since 2016.

SONY DSC User Upload Caption: Emily Bonilla, candidate for Orange County Commission District 5 (Stephen Hudak / Orlando Sentinel)

Make it easier to charge up

Why dont national restaurants along the nations interstates install charging stations for electric cars? Could they get federal funds loaned to defray costs? That should attract customers and reduce wasted time for consumers  have the oil companies bribed legislators with campaign contributions to prevent it?

And why dont service stations install solar panels on their canopies or whatever they call those huge roofs over their pumps? Can they get federal loans to help defray costs, or will the power companies bribe legislators with campaign contributions to prevent it?

Lucinda Coulter-Burbach Apopka

Stand up to Putin

Others have written but it bears repeating. Vladimir Putin is an angry hater of democratic (Western) governments who respects only strength. Our government has a history of boldness  but only against small, overmatched countries. America watched millions of innocents die in Europe from between 1933 and 1942 before it acted. And then only because Japan made the fateful (at the time) mistake at Pearl Harbor. We were late in the Balkans and we watched the Soviets run over a peace-loving Hungary after World War II. We watched Putin bomb Syrias infrastructure into dust and murder hundreds of thousands in support of Bashar al-Assads effort enforce authoritarian control of Syria. We failed to assist Ukraine in repelling the Russian invasion of Crimea.

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It seems that we can be tough  except when it comes to Russia. Any 6th grade history student can see that. How many men, women and children will die before this country uses its fire power to face a ruthless antagonist down? Hoping for a diplomatic resolution, without the Ukraine losing permanently vital areas of its land to Russia, while thousands die from bombs and bullets and now starvation, is the cowards way.

David Kahn Boca Raton
Fred Closter on Thursday Feb. 17, 2022 with his $40,000 solar power installation, which includes $24,000 in solar panels and two $8,000 Tesla storage batteries that enables the Boynton Beach retiree and his wife to life almost completely free of FPL's grid. (Susan Stocker / South Florida Sun Sentinel)

Sometimes in politics, its tough to connect all the dots in a complicated story.

Thats not the case with the latest attempt to neuter Floridas already-tiny solar industry. The facts here are clear.

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Utilities companies wanted to make it more costly for homeowners who choose solar energy. So they wrote a bill that does just that.

They then give that bill to state lawmakers  who theyd also blessed with fat campaign donations.

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And the bill passed.

Rarely do we see lawmaking that appears so nakedly transactional.

As a result, unless this bill gets a veto by Gov. Ron DeSantis, lawmakers will push Florida  a state where fewer than 1% of homes run on solar  further away from green energy.

Yes, at a time when most Americans are pushing for energy independence, Florida legislators took action to make this state more dependent upon fossil fuels. And upon the power companies that fund their campaigns.

The Miami Herald reported that FPL wrote and delivered this year's solar bill to State Senate sponsor Jennifer Bradley and that FPL's parent company gave her campaign committee a $10,000 check two days later. (Wilfredo Lee/AP)

The new law  which would allow power companies to give solar customers less credit for the energy they generate  was written by Florida Power & Light lobbyists and then given to Senate sponsor Jennifer Bradley along with a $10,000 check, according to the Miami Herald.

Records from the Florida Senate show that FPL drafted the bill, and lobbyist John Holley delivered it to Bradley, R-Fleming Island, the Herald wrote, FPLs parent company followed up with a $10,000 contribution to her political committee.

Bradleys committee would get another $10,000 two months later  part of more than $3 million that FPL and its parent company, NextEra, have funneled into political accounts in Florida over the last 15 months.

FPLs money has flowed to politicians on both sides of the aisle. And several Democrats ended up siding with Republicans and voting for FPLs bill. That includes Central Florida Sens. Randolph Brady and Victor Torres, both of whom have received campaign checks from NextEra.

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Democrat Linda Stewart was the only state senator from Central Florida  from either party  to vote against FPLs bill and in favor of solar. Most local House Democrats also voted no, except for Kamia Brown. (Phelan M. Ebenhack/AP)

Democrat Linda Stewart was the only local senator from either party to side with solar.

In the House, Orange County Democrat Kamia Brown also sided with Republicans and the utility companies.

Solar advocates say the goal was clear  to solidify the utilitys monopoly grip on its customers and unnecessarily squash an entire industry by putting an expiration date on the current rooftop solar policy. So says Alissa Jean Schafer, a researcher with the utility watchdogs at the Energy and Policy Institute.

I dont know that this bill will actually decimate the solar industry. But it will definitely make it less attractive and less affordable. Sen. Jeff Brandes, one of the few Republicans to vote against the bill, called it a sledgehammer of a bill on the solar industry of Florida.

The general idea is to decrease the amount of credit new solar customers get for the energy they generate starting in 2023 and dropping even more in subsequent years. Basically, it would take longer for a solar system to pay for itself, if it ever does.

The final bill isnt as bad as originally proposed  thanks largely to media coverage and activism. Current solar customers would have their existing rates locked in for 20 years. Thats a big improvement.

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But overall, it will dissuade homeowners from going solar in the future because it worsens the return they can get on their investment.

FPL says critics have them and this bill all wrong. The company says it loves solar energy and that this bill isnt about punishing solar customers, but rather protecting the financial interests of the other 99% of non-solar users.

FPL does not oppose net metering, spokesman Christopher McGrath said in a statement earlier during the session, referring to the term used for crediting solar customers. We oppose the multi-million dollar annual subsidy thats paid for the 99.5% of customers who choose not to or cant buy a private rooftop solar system.

The argument is essentially that, if solar customers start paying more, the rest of you will pay less.

Except theres nothing in this bill that guarantees that.

Two months ago, I asked the two main sponsors  Bradley in the Senate and Tampa Bay Republican Lawrence McClure in the House  two simple questions:

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1. How much will the average Floridian save if this legislation passes?

Political Pulse Weekly Get latest updates political news from Central Florida and across the state. >

2. Is there anything in the legislation that guarantees customers will actually see those savings?

Neither ever responded.

Thats because There will be no financial benefits to customers because of this legislation, said the Energy and Policy Institutes Schafer. In fact ... the Senate sponsor admitted that there were no cost savings that would be passed on to customers.

Critics claim FPL has wildly inflated its subsidy claims and that lawmakers rebuffed efforts to independently vet the data.

All the more reason for DeSantis  a guy who has billed himself as a Teddy Roosevelt-styled conservationist  to veto this bill.

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Theres no hurry to approve it, since the changes dont start right away. And extra time would allow lawmakers to vet the data and insert language explicitly guaranteeing savings for the other 99% of homeowners  if thats really the goal anyway.

smaxwell@orlandosentinel.com
Facts about Russia-Ukraine conflict: Zelensky says Ukraine's compromises with Russia to be put to referendum

Xinhua) 13:52, March 22, 2022

BEIJING, March 22 (Xinhua) -- The Russia-Ukraine conflict continues on Monday as relevant parties are working to broker a peaceful solution. Following are the latest developments of the situation:

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Kiev's compromises at peace talks with Russia would be put to a nationwide referendum in Ukraine, the government-run Ukrinform news agency reported Monday.

"I explained to all negotiating groups: when you talk about all these changes, and they can be historic, there is nowhere to go -- we will have a referendum," Zelensky was quoted as saying in an interview with the Ukrainian public broadcaster Suspilne.

Zelensky emphasized that he stands ready for any compromises if they are supported by the Ukrainian people.

- - - -

A total of nine captured Russian servicemen has been exchanged for Melitopol Mayor Ivan Fyodorov, marking the first of such swap between Russia and Ukraine, said Kremlin's human rights commissioner Tatyana Moskalkova on Monday.

"The first exchange has taken place -- nine people, some of them from the list that I have been compiling based on reports. I very much hope that we will avoid any delays with these lists, cards, procedures," Moskalkova told the reporters.

- - - -

Russia on Monday protested U.S. President Joe Biden's recent "unacceptable remarks" regarding Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement that it summoned U.S. Ambassador to Russia John Sullivan on Monday and handed to him a demarche and a note of protest.

Biden's harsh remarks on Putin have "put Russian-U.S. relations on the verge of breaking," it said, warning that hostile actions against Russia will receive "a decisive and firm rebuff."

- - - -

The Russian Foreign Ministry said Monday that it will no longer continue peace treaty negotiations with Japan in response to Tokyo's sanctions against Russia over the situation in Ukraine.

Moscow will also cancel visa-free travel for Japanese citizens to the four disputed Pacific islands, which are known as the Southern Kurils in Russia and the Northern Territories in Japan.

The Russian side is withdrawing from the dialogue with Japan on establishing joint economic activities in these islands, the ministry said in a statement.

(Web editor: Xia Peiyao, Liang Jun)
Rusty Roberts, former Congressman John Micas longtime chief of staff, is joining a crowded field of Republicans vying for an open congressional seat being vacated by Democratic U.S. Rep. Stephanie Murphy.

Roberts announced his candidacy for Floridas 7th Congressional District on Tuesday, highlighting a political resume that includes 18 years working for Mica, a Republican who represented District 7 from 1993 to 2017.

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The last time we had a balanced federal budget was when Republicans took control of Congress in the mid-1990s, Roberts said in a prepared statement. I worked successfully with Congressman Mica and Republicans to put the brakes on reckless Washington spending.

Rusty Roberts is running for Congress. (Handout )

Murphy, who defeated Mica in 2016, is not running for re-election. Barring a veto from Gov. Ron DeSantis or litigation, the 7th Congressional District would become more GOP-friendly with the addition of parts of Volusia County under a redistricting plan passed by the Florida Legislature.

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Roberts also served as chief of staff for former U.S. Rep Ileana Ros-Lehtinen of Miami and South Florida director for former U.S. Sen. Paula Hawkins.

[ RELATED: Stephanie Murphy leaves Congress for now ... maybe with an eye on Rick Scott | Commentary ]

After his tenure on Micas staff, Roberts joined former Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbours lobbying firm. He then went on to work for Brightline, the high-speed passenger train system.

Roberts joins 11 other Republicans in the field, including Brady Duke, Cory Mills, Jeremy Liggett, state Rep. Anthony Sabatini, Erika Benfield and Joe Cavagna.

Two Democrats  Al Krulick and Allek Pastrana  have declared their candidacy.

sswisher@orlandosentinel.com
After watching folks get first glimpses and overnight stays at Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser, I had a flashback to when the Walt Disney World project was announced.

Picture it, at a D23 gathering, 2017: Bob Chapek, then chairman of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts and now CEO of Walt Disney Co., was the lead speaker. There was plenty to announce, including major rides, changes in transportation and an inkling of what would become the transformation of Epcot.

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Our headline back then: Coming to Disney World: Tron, Guardians of the Galaxy ride, Star Wars hotel. The last part doesnt quite describe the finished product, but its shorter than Star Wars two-day, two-night immersive experience with character interaction, lightsaber training and a theme park visit.

We looked back at the announcements from July 15, 2017, using Orlando Sentinel archives and videos from the event for D23, Disneys official fan club, held in Anaheim, California. Opening dates for the attractions werent shared although some were tied loosely to the 50th anniversary of Walt Disney World more than four years into the future. But this was pre-pandemic and before we knew that the company would celebrate its golden year for 18 months.

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Rodian musician Ouannii (left) speaks with Scott Trowbridge, portfolio creative executive for Walt Disney Imagineering, in the atrium of the Halcyon during a preview of Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser last month. (Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda/Orlando Sentinel)

Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser

How it started: Chapek called it the companys most experiential concept ever. Among its attributes, he said, were that it would be a multiday experience and that every room would have cabins that looked out into space. He didnt say where at WDW it would be built, when it would open or what its name would be.

We feel like this could be the start of something very, very big, he said.

This D23 event also was when the Star Wars: Galaxys Edge name was revealed for theme-park lands at Disneys Hollywood Studios and Disneyland.

How its going: Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser opened adjacent to Disneys Hollywood Studios theme park March 1.

Epcot visitors stroll by the site of the Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind roller coaster, which is set to open in summer of 2022. (Dewayne Bevil / Orlando Sentinel)

Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind

How it started: Disney said the new attraction would replace Ellens Energy Adventure, which would close the month after this announcement. The ride would be rooted in an Epcot story, Chapek said. The exterior of the Ellen attraction has since been reimagined, and the Guardians ride also includes a large, newly constructed, sky-blue boxy structure.

Reminder: This is when Chapek referred to future Epcot as more timeless, more relevant, more family and more Disney.

How its going: The indoor roller coaster will open this summer, Disney says.

Shangahi Disneyland visitors experience Tron Lightcycle Power Run, a thrill ride that's now under construction at Magic Kingdom. (David Swanson)

Tron ride at Magic Kingdom

How it started: D23 attendees whooped it up after the Chapeks Tron news, possibly because Tron Lightcycle Power Run had opened at Shanghai Disneyland to positive reviews a year earlier, and the images literally were glowing.

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How its going: Construction has been underway for years near Space Mountain, even disrupting the circular flow of the Walt Disney World Railroad. No opening date, month, season or year has been announced.

Runaway Railway was presented as the first ride starring Mickey Mouse. (Matt Stroshane/Walt Disney World)

Mickey & Minnies Runaway Railway

How it started: Additional hoopla ensued when Runaway Railway was announced and presented as the first ride starring Mickey Mouse. The Hollywood Studios attraction, which took over the Chinese Theater home of Great Movie Ride, is going to be game-changing, Chapek said.

How its going: MMRR debuted in early March 2020, just before Disney Worlds four-month pandemic shutdown.

Remy's Ratatouille Adventure at Epcot opened to guests on Oct.1 as a part of Walt Disney World's 50th anniversary celebration. (Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel)

Remys Ratatouille Adventure

How it started: The 3D dark ride already was popular at Walt Disney Studios Park in Paris. The Epcot version represented an expansion of the parks France pavilion.

How its going: Remy ride debuted Oct. 1, Disney Worlds 50th anniversary, along with nighttime spectaculars Harmonious at Epcot and Disney Enchantment at Magic Kingdom, which were announced after the D23 event.

A theater at Magic Kingdom

How it started: A performance venue, designed in the style of the 1920s, was planned for near the entrance of Magic Kingdom. An artists rendering was shown, and it was said to be based on the Willis Wood Theater of Kansas City.

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Well have more to share later on exactly what well be performing there, Chapek said.

How its going: Its been quiet on the Main Street front. There have been no public updates.

The Minnie Van service debuted at Walt Disney World in mid-2017. (Courtesy of Walt Disney World/David Roark, photographer)

Minnie Vans

How it started: The polka-dot transports started moving small groups, for a fee, around Disney World in a deal with Lyft in late July 2017. The punny name met the approval of D23 attendees.

How its going: The fleet hasnt been on the street since before the coronavirus pandemic, although it has been spotted on Disney property in various places, including Epcots parking lot.

Disney's Riviera Resort, a Disney Vacation Club property, debuted in late 2019. (Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda/Orlando Sentinel)

Riviera Resort

Theme Park Rangers Weekly The latest happenings at Disney, Universal Orlando, SeaWorld and other Central Florida attractions. >

How it started: Work on Disney Vacation Clubs 15th property was underway by the time of its official announcement. Among its selling points: a rooftop restaurant and views of nighttime shows at Hollywood Studios and Epcot.

How its going: Disneys Riviera Resort opened in December 2019. Up top, Topolinos Terrace serves a character breakfast and dinner.

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On Jan. 17, 2020, Disney's Epcot premiered their Awesome Planet film which features 10 minutes of captivating images from around the world. (Walt Disney World)

Fresh set of films

How it started: Filming was to begin for a new production intended for Epcots China pavilion plus Awesome Planet was coming.

How its going: Awesome Planet debuted in early 2020 and is seen multiple times in the World Nature section of the park. Epcot continues to feature the long-running Reflections of China.

Journey of Water is a new attraction based off "Moana" coming to Epcot. (Disney)

And the rest

There have been several developments announced since 2017, including the Moana-inspired Journey of Water attraction and the Play area, which account for a good chunk the construction-wall territory at Epcot.

But on the quiet side, a multilevel festival center hasnt been officially mentioned in months. A Mary Poppins attraction was announced and vaguely described in the Epcot Experience preview center as a practically perfect adventure  that will have you laughing with delight. That segment eventually was edited out.

Email me at dbevil@orlandosentinel.com. Want more theme park news? Subscribe to the Theme Park Rangers newsletter at orlandosentinel.com/newsletters or the Theme Park Rangers podcast at orlandosentinel.com/travel/attractions/theme-park-rangers-podcast
Tripoli, Libya (PANA) - The Libyan prime minister of the National Unity Government, Abdelhamid Al-Dbaiba, reviewed during a meeting on Monday in Tripoli the financial situation of the Libyan National Oil Company (NOC) and the procedures to be followed to support the company to increase its production
Kinshasa, DRC (PANA)  The Democratic Republic of Congo's (DRC) military has suppressed peaceful critics in the more than 10 months since the government imposed martial law in the conflict-ridden eastern provinces of North Kivu and Ituri, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said on Tuesday
Tunis, Tunisia (PANA) - The ministries of Higher Education and Scientific Research of the two neighboring countries signed on Monday a cooperation agreement with 10 Tunisian and Algerian universities located in border regions for the implementation of joint research projects
Kinshasa, DRC (PANA) - The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) on Monday condemned in the strongest terms the most recent attack against displaced people in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which took place on 19 March in the village of Gudda, Ituri Province
If you were looking for the Charlestown Democratic Town Committee website and ended up here, try this





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China-aided hospitals key to strengthening Cambodia's health system

Xinhua) 13:54, March 22, 2022

PHNOM PENH, March 22 (Xinhua) -- Two China-funded modern hospitals, which were inaugurated in Cambodia recently, are crucial to strengthening the health system in the southeast Asian country.

They are the Cambodia-China Friendship Tboung Khmum Hospital in the eastern Tboung Khmum province and the Cambodia-China Friendship Medical Building at the Cambodia-China Friendship Preah Kossamak Hospital in capital Phnom Penh, which were put into use on March 7 and 21, respectively.

Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen and Chinese Ambassador to Cambodia Wang Wentian had presided over the inauguration ceremonies of the two medical facilities.

Hun Sen said he was pleased to see the two hospitals launched in the same month and expressed his profound gratitude to China for funding their construction.

"Both hospitals will not only help improve the quality of medical care services, but also respond to the need for healthcare services among our people," he said during the inauguration event of the Cambodia-China Friendship Medical Building here on Monday.

Health Ministry's director-general and spokesman Hok Kim Cheng said these huge achievements were the fruit of close cooperation between Cambodia and China under the frameworks of the bilateral comprehensive strategic partnership and the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

"Both hospitals are very necessary to strengthen our health system," he told Xinhua. "They will provide great benefits and better medical care services to our people."

The five-storey hospital in Tboung Khmum province has 300 beds and the 11-floor medical building in Phnom Penh has 400 beds, Kim Cheng said, adding that the two facilities have been well equipped with high-tech medical equipment.

Ngy Mean Heng, director of the Phnom Penh Municipal Health Department, agreed that both hospitals will be very beneficial to the people.

"Cooperation with China is very useful for Cambodia to develop quality healthcare services, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic," he told Xinhua.

Eng Kheang, director of the Cambodia-China Friendship Tboung Khmum Hospital, said the hospital would make medical care services more convenient for rural people, who previously had to travel a long distance to Phnom Penh for medical treatment.

"It's a huge gift from China for Cambodia's health sector, and this new hospital will serve people better as it is equipped with modern medical technology that has not been available in the province before," he told Xinhua.

"With the assistance of medical supplies and equipment, as well as technologies from China, I believe that people will enjoy quality medical care services," Kheang said.

Tim Vuochny, a 29-year-old doctor at the Cambodia-China Friendship Preah Kossamak Hospital, said China has not only provided the medical building and equipment, but also specialists to help train local doctors.

"These are essential to strengthening our health capacity and quality and to deliver medical services to our people better and more efficiently," she told Xinhua.

"This medical building will not only greatly contribute to the development of the health sector, but also help deepen people-to-people contacts between the two countries towards a community with a shared future," Vuochny said.

(Web editor: Xia Peiyao, Liang Jun)
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The Punjab Legislative assembly on Tuesday adopted a unanimous resolution moved by the leader of the house and Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann to install the statues of Shaheed-e-Azam Bhagat Singh, Bharat Ratan Bhim Rao Ambedkar and Sher-e-Punjab Maharaja Ranjit Singh in the complex of the assembly.

"As an indebted nation, we can never forget the contribution of Shaheed-e-Azam Bhagat Singh who laid his life for freedom of the country. Likewise, Dr B. R. Ambedkar shaped the destiny of the country in pre-and post-Independence era as chief architect of the Indian constitution," said Mann.

Describing these great leaders as the country's role model, he said the lives of these iconic leaders will ever remain a source of inspiration for millions of people.

Mann said the state government would leave no stone unturned for perpetuating the legacy of these great personalities. Likewise, a statue of Maharaja Ranjit Singh would also be constructed within the premises of the Assembly as a humble and befitting tribute to the founder of Khalsa Raj, reads the resolution.

Mann also announced to declare a gazetted holiday across the state on the martyrdom day of Bhagat Singh, Shaheed Rajguru and Shaheed Sukhdev on March 23 as a tribute to the martyrs.
Delhi government's Armed Forces Preparatory School will be named after freedom fighter Shaheed Bhagat Singh, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said on Tuesday.

"We are building a ' Shaheed Bhagat Singh Armed Forces Preparatory School' on 14 acres of land in Jharoda Kalan, where students will be trained for the armed forces. It will provide free education and have separate hostels for boys and girls", he announced further.

Being constructed at Jharoda Kalan area of the city, the school will be residential with all facilities. He said that the retired Army people will be appointed to train the students. Any student residing in Delhi can take admission in this school for classes 9 and 11.


Russia's false accusation that Ukraine has biological and chemical weapons is a "clear sign" that a desperate President Vladimir Putin ' title=' Putin '>Putin is considering using them himself, US President Joe Biden said. The US President said Putin's "back is against the wall and now he's talking about new false flags he's setting up including, asserting that we in America have biological as well as chemical weapons in Europe  simply not true. I guarantee you", the Guardian reported. "They are also suggesting that Ukraine has biological and chemical weapons in Ukraine. That's a clear sign he's considering using both of those. He's already used chemical weapons in the past, and we should be careful of what's about to come." Putin ' title=' Putin '>Putin "knows there'll be severe consequences because of the united Nato front," he said, without specifying what actions the alliance would take, the Guardian reported. The remarks echo previous comments by officials in Washington and allied countries, who have accused Russia of spreading an unproven claim that Ukraine had a biological weapons programme as a possible prelude to potentially launching its own biological or chemical attacks. Biden spoke after the Pentagon said it had seen "clear evidence" Russian forces were committing war crimes and that it was helping collect evidence.




NASAs Juno spacecraft has snapped a lovely photo of its target planet, Jupiter, and two Jovian moons: Io and Europa.

Juno launched on August 5, 2011, from Cape Canaveral, Florida, with the ambitious mission of finally seeing beneath the dense clouds covering Jupiter.

On July 4, 2016, the robotic orbiter finally reached the giant planets orbit.

Juno is in a polar orbit around Jupiter, and the majority of each orbit is spent well away from the planet.

But, once every 53 days, Junos trajectory approaches Jupiter from above its north pole, where it begins a 2-hr transit  from pole to pole  flying north to south.

During these flybys, the spacecraft is probing beneath the obscuring cloud cover of the giant planet and studying its auroras to learn more about its origins, structure, atmosphere and magnetosphere.

Juno captured the new image of Jupiters southern hemisphere and two of its moons, Io and Europa, during the spacecrafts 39th close flyby of the gas giant on January 12, 2022.

Io is the Solar Systems most volcanic body, while Europas icy surface hides a global ocean of liquid water beneath, said members of the Juno team.

At the time the image was taken, Juno was about 61,000 km (38,000 miles) from Jupiters cloud tops, at a latitude of about 52 degrees south.

Juno will have an opportunity to capture much more detailed observations of Europa  using several scientific instruments  in September 2022, when the spacecraft makes the closest fly-by of the enigmatic moon in decades, the researchers said.

The mission will also make close approaches to Io in late 2023 and early 2024.
The first quarter of this year is shaping up to be a busy one for Scott Mining, the mining division of automation and robotics solutions provider, Scott Technology Limited (NZX: SCT ), as the business continues making waves in the Australian mining sector.

This month marks two years since Rio Tinto awarded Scott Technology a multimillion-dollar contract to design and build an automated mine laboratory for their Gudai Darri iron ore project in the Pilbara, Western Australia.

Once completed and in production, the Gudai Darri laboratory will be the safest, most productive, highest quality iron ore facility in the world. The project highlights Scotts evolution in the mining sector from a world leading supplier of sample preparation equipment to a complete end-to-end automation and analysis solution provider.

While the Rio Tinto project continues to track positively, the Scott mining team is deeply embedded in the ramp-up and commercialisation of another large and complex automated laboratory system in West Australia for mining services provider, MinAnalytical.

The project has moved into the operational phase which now sees the Scott team providing ongoing support and service to MinAnalytical, who were recently acquired by global mining services company ALS.

John Kippenberger, Scott Technology CEO, says the companys commitment to the mining industry is second to none and projects such as Gudai Darri and ALS-MinAnalytical demonstrate Scotts competency in this sector.

Were delighted to continue partnering with such respected organisations to deliver successful automation projects in the mining sector. This gives us a platform to further grow the mining arm of the Scott business, evolving our global strategy to design and build the latest in sample preparation equipment to serve the growing needs of our customers, markets and industry trends, says Kippenberger.

To support the significant growth ambitions in Scotts mining strategy and the development of this area of the business, Scott has appointed Ian Enright as the companys Global Director of Scott Mining.

Enright is based out of Perth, Australia, and will take the lead on new business, looking at opportunities across various geographic markets and metal industries that fit Scott Technology, as well as meeting the technology needs of customers as they adjust to a low carbon future.

While acknowledging that COVID-19s impact on the global business environment has been disruptive, particularly when moving people and technology across borders, it is motivating to see how Scott Technology has moved with positive momentum throughout this period to support their customers. Im looking forward to growing our business across the mining industry and having the right structure and investment in place to support the changing needs of our customers .

As we continue our growth in automation and systems, we will maintain the development and evolution of premium products such as Rocklabs, while also developing products in other areas to expand our exposure and impact in the mining industry, says Enright.

Prior to joining Scott Technology, Enright held senior positions in several large industrial companies including Thyssenkrupp, Worley and BOC / Linde Group, and operated from several locations around the world. His primary focus over recent years has been on the Miningand Metals industries, with substantial experience engaging executives across business cultures and geographies; including America, Asia, Africa, Europe, United Kingdom and Australia.

Encouraged by Enrights experience and leadership, Kippenberger is excited to have Enright join the company and looks forward to working with him to support Scott Technologys mining customers on their Digital and Automation journey.

Enrights experience lies in truly understanding customer issues and developing insights to deliver a focused and strong strategy. Were confident that he will be instrumental for driving key projects in our mining business and furthering our promising forward work plan for 2022 and beyond, says Kippenberger.

With new leadership and several significant projects both on the horizon and nearing successful completion, Scott Mining is ideally positioned for growth in Australia.

ENDS

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Governance based on virtue in Confucianism

Xinhua) 16:20, March 22, 2022

BEIJING, March 22 (Xinhua) -- Since ancient times, the traditional Chinese idiom Wei Zheng Yi De or "governance based on virtue" has been used to describe the importance of such deeds.

The idiom came from the classic "The Analects of Confucius," which says, "Governance based on virtue is like the North Star taking its place in the sky, while all the other stars revolve around it."

In the Western Zhou Dynasty (1046-771 B.C.), the rulers advocated the approach that prized high moral values and the virtue of being cautious in meting out punishment.

Confucius (551-479 B.C.) expounded this philosophy, which his followers in later eras promoted, on the basis of such approach.

The idea stands in contrast to ruling by the use of harsh punishment as a deterrent. It does not exclude the use of punishment, but rather highlights the virtues in governance and moral edification.

In contemporary society of China, virtues remain an important factor for consideration in the selection and promotion of officials.

(Web editor: Xia Peiyao, Liang Jun)
Auckland, New Zealand, 23 March 2022 - Fisher & Paykel Healthcare Corporation Limited today provided revenue guidance for the financial year ending 31 March 2022.

At current exchange rates, the company expects full year operating revenue for the 2022 financial year to be in the range of $1.675 billion to $1.70 billion.

Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Lewis Gradon said, Our second half hospital consumables revenue is currently tracking to be similar to the hospital consumables revenue that we reported in the first half of the 2022 financial year. This is consistent with reports of the increasing prevalence of the Omicron variant over the last two months and its associated lower respiratory intervention requirements, as well as a relatively mild flu season in the Northern Hemisphere.

In our Homecare product group, growth in sales of our OSA masks is currently tracking above our first half growth rate despite supply constraints of treatment hardware in the market.

Freight rates remain elevated and for the 2022 financial year are expected to impact our long-term gross margin target of 65% by approximately 250 basis points.

Regardless of how COVID-19 effects unfold over the short term, we are confident our business is well-placed to contribute to a positive change in clinical practice and improving outcomes for respiratory patients in general over the long term, concluded Mr Gradon.

The company intends to release on Wednesday, 25 May 2022 its financial results for the year ending 31 March 2022.

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The Walking Dead actor Moses J. Moseley

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Reservoir on Yellow River boosts water flow to assist spring farming

Xinhua) 16:21, March 22, 2022

LANZHOU, March 22 (Xinhua) -- Liujiaxia reservoir, a major reservoir on the upper reaches of the Yellow River, boosted its water outflow from 430 cubic meters to 800 cubic meters per second starting from Monday to assist spring farming in the river basin.

Each spring, the reservoir provides up to 1.2 billion cubic meters of water for agricultural production downstream, mainly in Gansu Province and the Ningxia Hui and Inner Mongolia autonomous regions, irrigating an area of more than 16 million mu (about 1 million hectares) of farmland.

On Monday, the water level in the reservoir stood close to its designed capacity of 1,735 meters above sea level, fully prepared for replenishing water for agricultural irrigation and ecological protection in the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River.

The Yellow River originates from the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and runs through the Loess Plateau. The Yellow River basin is deemed "the cradle of Chinese civilization."

China has adopted ecological protection and high-quality development of the Yellow River basin as a major national strategy. The river is expected to play a crucial role in striking a balance between environmental protection and economic growth.

(Web editor: Xia Peiyao, Liang Jun)
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Can't call method "get_id" on an undefined value at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25. Trace begun at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Exceptions.pm line 125 HTML::Mason::Exceptions::rethrow_exception('Can\'t call method "get_id" on an undefined value at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25.^J') called at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25 HTML::Mason::Commands::__ANON__ at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Component.pm line 157 HTML::Mason::Component::run_dynamic_sub('HTML::Mason::Component::FileBased=HASH(0x55e83886f338)', 'main') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 948 HTML::Mason::Request::call_dynamic('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x55e838881d38)', 'main') called at /var/cache/mason/obj/2011159162/main/smetimes/dhandler.html.obj line 17 HTML::Mason::Commands::__ANON__ at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Component.pm line 135 HTML::Mason::Component::run('HTML::Mason::Component::FileBased=HASH(0x55e83886f338)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1302 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1292 HTML::Mason::Request::comp(undef, undef, undef) called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 955 HTML::Mason::Request::call_next('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x55e838881d38)') called at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/autohandler_template.html line 149 HTML::Mason::Commands::__ANON__ at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Component.pm line 135 HTML::Mason::Component::run('HTML::Mason::Component::FileBased=HASH(0x55e83887b278)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1300 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1292 HTML::Mason::Request::comp(undef, undef, undef) called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 481 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 481 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 433 HTML::Mason::Request::exec('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x55e838881d38)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/ApacheHandler.pm line 165 HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler::exec('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x55e838881d38)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/ApacheHandler.pm line 831 HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler::handle_request('HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x55e838220d90)', 'Apache2::RequestRec=SCALAR(0x55e8382e2558)') called at (eval 592) line 8 HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler::handler('HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler', 'Apache2::RequestRec=SCALAR(0x55e8382e2558)') called at -e line 0 eval {...} at -e line 0
System error

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context: ... 21: </%method> 22: 23: % foreach my $c (@categories) { 24: <%perl> 25: my $category_id = $c->get_id(); 26: my @stories = Bric::Biz::Asset::Business::Story->list ( { element_type_id=>1148, category_id=>$category_id , Order=> 'cover_date', publish_status => 't' , OrderDirection=> 'DESC' , Limit=>10 } ); 27: </%perl> 28: <table width="90%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"> 29: <tr> ... code stack: /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html:25

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Homestead, FL (33030)

Today

Sunny skies during the morning giving way to clouds and a few showers late. High 89F. Winds NNW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 30%..

Tonight

Mainly clear skies. Low near 70F. Winds light and variable.
Homestead, FL (33030)

Today

Sunny skies during the morning giving way to clouds and a few showers late. High 89F. Winds NNW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 30%..

Tonight

Mainly clear skies. Low near 70F. Winds light and variable.
Friedrichshafen HAM RADIO 2022 will welcome worldwide visitors The ARRL report that with the recent relaxation of COVID-19 regulations, the Deutscher Amateur Radio Club (DARC) and Messe Friedrichshafen, partners of the HAM RADIO 2022 exhibition in Germany, are optimistically looking forward toward to holding the 45th HAM RADIO from June 24 - 26 in Friedrichshafen, subject to the final official approval by the local authorities.



Appropriate hygienic and distancing measures will be in place for the safety of all visitors. These will have implications on the design of the stands, the opening ceremony, the presentation rooms, and the flea market area.



One of the largest amateur radio conventions in the world, alongside Dayton Hamvention in the US and the Japan Amateur Radio League Ham Fair, HAM RADIO attracts exhibitors and visitors from more than 52 countries to Germany. ARRL The National Association for Amateur Radio will be among the participating International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) member-societies exhibiting at the convention. HAM RADIO organizers say they are "looking forward to seeing you in Friedrichshafen!" ARRL
Helgoland hop

Over twenty amateur radio operators will activate the German island of Helgoland for two weeks, starting this Friday, the 25th of March.

The group will be using two callsigns. DA0HEL will be used on the main island, located in the German Bight. The second callsign DL0IH will be used during daytime from the uninhabited dune island next to Helgoland, limited by the tides and the ferry timetables.

The youth hostel on the island will provide accomodation and serve as the shack for operations on all bands, on all modes. Contacts with the team on Helgoland will count towards the RSGB-IOTA diploma, Helgoland and the neighbouring dune share the IOTA number EU-127

IRTS
Signing of MOU between the Government of India and Sri Lankas Ministry of Technology for financial grant facilities from India for the implementation of the Sri Lanka Unique Digital Identity (SL-UDI) framework.

Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) MP Harin Fernando has raised concerns over urgent Cabinet approval granted to several projects.

The opposition MP raised concerns over three agreements with India and one agreement with a United Arab Emirates (UAE) based company.

Man of the race: Dr. S. Jaishankar, External Affairs Minister of India and Member of Parliament (Rajya Sabha) from Gujarat State.

Following are the three key Memorandums of Understanding (MOU) that are to be signed with the Government of India.

1. The signing of MOU between the Governments of India and Sri Lanka, and Bharat Electronics Limited for providing MRCC.

The Government of India has agreed to provide a grant of US $ 6 million for the establishment of a Maritime Rescue Coordinating Center in Sri Lanka.

Accordingly, the Cabinet of Ministers has approved the proposal presented by the President in his capacity as the Minister of defense to sign a Memorandum of Understanding between the two countries and to sign an agreement between the Government of Sri Lanka and Bharath Electronics of India on the establishment of the Center.

2. Signing of MOU between the Government of India and Sri Lankas Ministry of Technology for financial grant facilities from India for the implementation of the Sri Lanka Unique Digital Identity (SL-UDI) framework.

The Government of India has agreed to provide a grant of Indian Rs. 300 Million to implement the Sri Lanka Unified Digital Identity Framework. It is proposed to sign MoU between the two countries to obtain the said grants. The draft Memorandum of Understanding has been cleared by the Attorney General. Accordingly, the Cabinet of Ministers has approved the proposal presented by the President in his capacity as the Minister of Technology to sign the said MoU.

3. The Signing of MOU between Sri Lankas Ministry of Defence and the Government of India to supply DO-228 Dornier Reconnaissance aircraft by India to Sri Lanka.

A request on the possibility of obtaining two (02) Dornier Reconnaissance aircraft from India to enhance the maritime surveillance capabilities of the Sri Lanka Navy was presented by Sri Lanka at the Defence Dialog between the two countries in New Delhi in January 2018.

In order to undertake Sri Lanka Navys Maritime Surveillance activities and Search and Rescue (SAR) in and off Sri Lanka and especially to conduct reconnaissance within the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of Sri Lanka, the Government of Sri Lanka has sought the assistance of India for the provision of one Dornier 288 Maritime Patrol Aircraft and a team of personnel for ground maintenance.

The proposals in this regard have been tabled by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, in his capacity as the Minister of Defence.

Raising concerns over the agreements, SJB MP Harin Fernando told reporters today that Sri Lanka has sold its airspace by signing the MOU on obtaining DO-228 Dornier Reconnaissance aircraft.

He said India will provide three Dornier maritime surveillance aircraft to Sri Lanka, while the Sri Lanka Navy is to receive a 4,000 MT floating barge from India.

Harin Fernando further warned that the proposed Maritime Rescue Coordination Center will threaten Sri Lankas security.

The MP said the proposed Maritime Rescue Coordination Center is to be set up inside the Sri Lanka Navy Headquarters.

Stating that a Sub-Unit will be set up in Hambantota, he said seven other units will be positioned across the country.

He also pointed out that the financial assistance for the implementation of the Sri Lanka Unique Digital Identity (SL-UDI) framework will grant access to a foreign country on the fingerprints of Sri Lankan citizens.

The former Minister also raised concerns over the agreement to enter into a long-term contract with a UAE-based company to supply crude oil to the Sapugaskanda Oil Refinery.

Harin Fernando said the Cabinet has granted approval to enter into a long-term contract with Fortuity General Trading LLC based in the UAE for this purpose.

Stating that there was no such major company in Dubai, the MP said this information had been verified by doing a thorough check via a person in the UAE.

He said instead of a large company, Fortuity General Trading LLC is a small office consisting of only four employees.

MP Fernando raised suspicion if the company had been established as a middle agent to obtain fuel from Russia.
President Joe Biden seeks to Destroy Russia and Punish the Russian People: He Supported Savage Sanctions that Killed One Million Iraqis in the 1990s and Criminally Ignores the Plight of Post-War Afghanistan

by John Stanton

So what does President Joe Biden want the sanctions imposed on Russia to do? Think back to the 1990s and what the US-NATO imposed no-fly zone and sanctions did to the people of Iraq? The results were almost 1 million Iraqis dead, according to the website GlobalIssues.org.

Over at truthout.org, Jake Batinga reported that President Joe Biden strongly supported those sanctions as a US Senator and recently has turned a blind eye to the humanitarian crisis unfolding in Afghanistan: Senator Biden strongly supported the sanctions and advocated for even more aggressive policies toward Iraq. Biden was not then, and is not now, known for his humanitarian impulses or dovish foreign policy stances.

Batinga also notes that:

More Afghans are poised to die from US sanctions over the next few months alone than have died at the hands of the Taliban and US military forces over the last 20 years combined  by a significant margin. Yet, as journalist Murtaza Hussain recently wrote, US establishment politicians and intellectuals who decried the humanitarian crisis during the fall of Kabul are seemingly unbothered by imminent mass starvation, imposed by us.

The Biden administration  which routinely laments human rights violations perpetrated by China, Iran, Russia, and other adversaries  is ignoring desperate pleas from humanitarian organizations and UN human rights bodies, choosing instead to maintain policies virtually guaranteed to cause mass starvation and death of civilians, especially children. Yet it is important to note, and remember, that as a matter of policy, this is not particularly new; the US has often imposed harsh economic sanctions, causing mass civilian death. A previous imposition of sanctions resulted in one of the worst humanitarian catastrophes, one largely forgotten in mainstream historical memory.

In 1990, the US imposed sanctions on Iraq through the UN following the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. These sanctions continued for more than a decade after Iraq withdrew from Kuwait, and had horrific humanitarian consequences eerily similar to the imminent mass starvation of Afghan civilians. The sanctions regime against Iraq  which began under President George H.W. Bush but was primarily administered by President Bill Clintons administration  froze Iraqs foreign assets, virtually banned trade, and sharply limited imports.These sanctions crashed the Iraqi economy and blocked the import of humanitarian supplies, medicine, food, and other basic necessities, killing scores of civilians.

BRICs Made of Straw

The BRIC nations, Brazil, Russia, India and China have been in the news lately and for good reason. There is talk, and talk is cheap of course, of China and Russia creating an alternative payment system to the US dollar dominated international payments system SWIFT.

Already Russia has joined Chinas Cross Border Interbank Payment System Payment as an alternative to SWIFT, along with joining Chinas UnionPay credit card system which serves as an alternative to Visa and Master Card who, along with dozens of other Western country businesses (Europe, USA plus Japan and South Korea), bolted Russias marketplace after its military operation got started in Ukraine in late February.

India apparently is trading with Russia in a rupee, ruble swap but that seems ad hoc, at best. And there is news of Saudi Arabia cutting a deal with China to use the yuan as an exchange currency. Brazil has enough internal problems to deal with: crime, disease, Amazon deforestation.

Chinese leaders must realize that if Russia falters in Ukraine which means it is unable to liberate the Republics of Luhansk and Donetsk, gain international recognition of Crimeaand maintain territorial gains made on the coast of the Black and Azov Seasand/or President Putin is removed from office and Russia destabilizes, the United States will chop up Russia into separate republics, steal its resources and cancel the billions in deals signed with China for oil, gas, and grains

The United States will bring the NATO military alliance to Chinas doorstep and likely put on show trials in the International Criminal Court arguing that Putin and his general staff are war criminals, which would be utter nonsense given US policies and actions in Iraq, Afghanistan and Yemen.

China is trying to placate the US because it still fears US economic and military power. Its party officials probably figure that they can keep building up the Peoples Liberation Army, Navy, Air Force and Strategic nuclear capability and when there is enough firepower, will be able to challenge US dominance in the Pacific. But how?

The PLA forces have no modern combat experience to speak of and their plan seems to be; well, no plan at all. They are faced with the combined forces of the USA that are building new aircraft carriers, submarines and long distance B-21 bombers, along with upgrading all three legs of its nuclear TRIAD.

Which brings us back to Russia and the economic support it needs so that Bidens sanctions dont end up killing a million Russians. Because that is what Biden intends and his track record on supporting sanctions is disturbingly clear. When China looks at what the USA-NATO have done to the Russian economy, they are looking at their own future.

Hypocrisy

Joe Scalice at the World Socialist Website notes the hypocrisy of the USA-NATO and the compliant MSM Western media:

The wars of aggression of Clinton, Bush, Obama and Trump contained the accumulated evil of the torture in Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo, the drone bombing of children at play, villages leveled by precision missiles and refugees drowned in the Mediterranean. Baghdad crumbled beneath the shock and awe of unstinting US bombing; Fallujah burned with white phosphorus.

The American mass media is complicit in these crimes. They never challenged the governments assertions, but trumpeted its pretexts. They whipped up a war-frenzy in the public. Pundits who now denounce Putin were ferocious in demanding that the United States bomb civilians.

Thomas Friedman wrote in the New York Times in 1999 of the bombing of Serbia under Clinton, It should be lights out in Belgrade: every power grid, water pipe, bridge, road and war-related factory has to be targeted [W]e will set your country back by pulverizing you. You want 1950? We can do 1950. You want 1389? We can do 1389 too. [Biden supported bombing Belgrade]

Biden labels Putin a war criminal in the midst of a new media hysteria. Never referring to the actions of the United States, never pausing for breath, the media pumps out the fuel for an ever-expanding war. Hubris and hypocrisy stamp every statement from Washington with an audacity perhaps unique in world history. Its hands bathed in blood up to the elbows, US empire gestures at its enemies and cries war crimes.

Tactics

Indeed, the media has capitulated to the war propaganda narrative of the Biden Administration. The US MSM relies almost exclusively on Ukrainian sources for its error filled reporting. If you are reading the New York Times or the Washington Post, you arent getting the full story. Pro-Russia sites like Southfront, Newsfront, War Gonzo and others tell a different story. For example, the Retroville Mall destruction on March 21 was reported in the West as a wanton and random attack on a shopping place. In fact, the below-building parking lot was home to Ukrainian military vehicles clearly shown by a set of photos that appeared on Newsfront. Residential buildings are clearly being used by the Ukrainian forces to hide their weapons or launch anti-tank attacks from apartment building roofs or top floor apartments. Thats a tactic that makes sense. The Russians know that.

Youve got to look at all the news sources, even the ones you dont want to view, in order to be informed about this conflict.

John Stanton can be reached at jstantonarchangel@gmail.com
Fort Lauderdale  Fort Lauderdale has hired a new police chief just 19 days after the firing of former Chief Larry Scirotto.

City Manager Chris Lagerbloom, who embarked on two national searches to find Scirotto, moved quickly in hiring former Davie Police Chief Patrick Lynn to lead the department.

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Lynn, who will earn a $200,000-a-year salary, takes over as chief on April 4.

A longtime chief in Davie, Lynn is no stranger to the Fort Lauderdale Police Department. He served as interim chief last year while the city conducted its search for a new chief.

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Lynn, 59, left the department not long after Scirotto was hired in mid-August. Scirotto was the departments first gay chief and is also biracial, the son of a white mother and Black father.

At the time, Mayor Dean Trantalis said the city was counting on him to bring systemic change to a department that employs 530 officers and 179 civilians.

Scirotto, 48, had been on the job for only six months when he was fired on March 3 amid allegations of promoting minority officers based on skin color  a claim he denies.

Patrick Lynn, shown on Feb. 25, 2021 when he was interim chief of the Fort Lauderdale Police Department, has been tapped to lead the agency. He will take over as chief on April 4. (Susan Stocker / South Florida Sun Sentinel)

The chief he was hired to replace, Rick Maglione, was demoted in July 2020 after praising cops who fired rubber bullets at protesters in a clash that embarrassed the city during a fierce national debate over police brutality. Maglione, who was promoted to chief in January 2017, now works as a major with the department.

On Tuesday, Lagerbloom sent a text explaining why he turned to Lynn to lead a department thats been rocked by change over the past couple years.

I enjoyed Chief Lynns leadership style, his calming presence and his stellar record in policing when he was our interim, Lagerbloom said. There was no reason to conduct a national search. He is the best candidate to lead our department forward.

Lagerbloom described Lynn as a stabilizing figure last year while the department was looking for a new leader.

He has the respect and support of the command staff and the rank and file, Lagerbloom said. I reached out and asked if hed be willing to come out of retirement, and thankfully, he said yes.

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Mayor Dean Trantalis says he has high hopes for the new chief.

We had a good experience with Patrick Lynn as interim chief, Trantalis said. The city manager made that choice to fill the void with someone whose talents he could rely on. Im very hopeful the new chief will be able to fulfill the duties he will be assigned.

Lynn brings 35 years of law enforcement experience to the job.

Fort Lauderdale PD is an excellent department with excellent people, Lynn said in a prepared statement. For me, its an honor to have the opportunity to serve with them.

[ RELATED: Fort Lauderdales fired biracial chief was not part of good old boys club, NAACP leader says ]

Lynn began his law enforcement career as a patrol officer with Pembroke Pines in 1982 and rose through the ranks before retiring as deputy chief in 2007. He then moved on to the Davie Police Department, where he served as chief from 2007 to 2017.

His accomplishments include revamping the hiring process and Internal Affairs division to ensure compliance with state law, increasing minority recruitment and hiring community-focused personnel. Lynn holds a bachelors and a masters degree in public administration from Florida Atlantic University. He is a graduate of the 210th Session of the FBI National Academy and the Southern Police Institute Command Officers Course.

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He has also served as president of the Broward County Chiefs of Police Association.

Susannah Bryan can be reached at sbryan@sunsentinel.com or on Twitter @Susannah_Bryan
Students at Royal Palm Beach Community High School waiting at their bus stop Tuesday morning were hit by a driver who lost control of his car and drove up onto the sidewalk where they were standing.

The crash happened shortly before 7 a.m. Tuesday in the area of Crestwood Boulevard and Cypress Lake Drive in Royal Palm Beach.

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The four students were taken to St. Marys Medical Center and Palms West Medical Center. Two were in critical condition, and two were in serious condition Tuesday afternoon, according to the Palm Beach County Sheriffs Office.

Four high school students waiting for their school bus were hit by a driver who lost control of a car on Tuesday, March 22, 2022, in the area of Crestwood Boulevard and Cypress Lake Drive in Royal Palm Beach. (WPEC-CBS12/Courtesy)

Angel Antonio Lopez, 57, of Royal Palm Beach, was driving a 2018 Alfa Romeo Stelvio north on Crestwood Boulevard nearing Cypress Lake Drive in the outer lane when he drifted to the right and the passenger-side front tire struck a curb, the Sheriffs Office said in a news release.

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After hitting the curb, the Alfa Romero went up onto the sidewalk, and the front of the car hit the students. The car then rotated counter-clockwise and hit another curb, according to the release.

Lopez car finally stopped facing west on the east curb of Crestwood Boulevard after it had rolled over, according to the Sheriffs Office. He had minor injuries but refused medical treatment, and charges are pending.

A message to parents from Principal Michelle Fleming Tuesday confirmed the four students attended Royal Palm Beach Community High.

This morning, 4 of our students, awaiting the arrival of their school bus, were struck by the driver of a passing car, Flemings message said. All four students are hospitalized. Out of respect for, and in the interest of the privacy of the families involved, I am unable to share any further information about this accident.

Counselors and a school police therapy dog are available for any students who may have witnessed this incident, or any who would just like to seek comfort.

Eileen Kelley can be reached at 772-925-9193 or ekelley@sunsentinel.com. Follow on Twitter @reporterkell.
Rescue work continues after passenger plane crash

Xinhua) 17:09, March 22, 2022

Photo taken with a mobile phone shows pieces of a crashed passenger plane's wreckage found at the crash site in Tengxian County, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, March 21, 2022. (Xinhua)

NANNING, March 22 (Xinhua) -- Rescue work continued on Tuesday after a passenger plane with 132 people aboard crashed in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region Monday afternoon.

Over 2,000 people have been sent to the site as part of the rescue efforts.

Since the site of the crash is located in a mountain forest, the search for the black box relies on both drones and rescue staff.

Zhu Xiaodong, a rescuer with a drone rescue center in Guangzhou, capital of south China's Guangdong Province and also the destination of the plane, said at the site that it is difficult to carry out rescue work as there are only a few paths leading to the site.

At around 7:30 a.m. on Tuesday, light rain fell over the rescue site. The local meteorological department forecast that more rain would hit the area from Tuesday to Thursday, which might adversely affect the search efforts.

The China Eastern Airlines Boeing 737 aircraft, which departed from Kunming and was bound for Guangzhou, crashed into a mountainous area near Molang Village in Tengxian County in the city of Wuzhou at 2:38 p.m. Monday, causing a mountain fire.

(Web editor: Xia Peiyao, Liang Jun)
As a 79-year-old woman lost her grip and plunged from a rising drawbridge, the bridge tender now charged in her death appeared to be oblivious to the chaos right outside her window.

She was texting with her supervisor about somebody having a case of pink eye.

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Other text messages reveal that the bridge tender was told what to reveal to police about the tragedy  and then to delete the incriminating texts.

Investigative police reports of time-stamped text messages and surveillance video footage of the scene provide new details about the death of Carol Wright, 79, of West Palm Beach, and the arrest on manslaughter with culpable negligence charges of bridge tender Artissua Paulk, of Greenacres. Paulk was released on Friday after posting a $20,000 bond.

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[ LEE EN ESPANOL: Sur de Florida: Mate a una mujer en el puente. Surgen nuevos detalles de accidente en que mujer de 79 anos cae 60 pies hacia su muerte desde puente levadizo ]

An undated file photo of Carol Wright was presented, Monday, Feb. 14, 2022, in West Palm Beach during a news conference at the Royal Palm Bridge where she died. (Joe Cavaretta/South Florida Sun Sentinel)

Just after 1 p.m. on Feb. 6, Wright repeatedly yelled for help as the Royal Park Bridge connecting Palm Beach to West Palm Beach started to open, lifting her skyward. A motorist stopped behind the crossing gates heard the womans cries and blared on his horn, hoping to get the bridge tenders attention. A man on a skateboard saw Wright desperately trying hold on to the railing, and he grabbed the womans arm as her grip on the railing began to loosen. But he too lost his grip, letting go when there was nothing for him to steady himself with and prevent him from also falling into the abyss.

Six minutes before fire-rescue workers arrived, finding Wright dead on the concrete pit under the bridge, Paulk responded to the text message asking supervisor Kathie Harper if the person with pink eyes needed to be hospitalized.

[ RELATED: Woman who fell to her death frequently crossed the bridge with her bike ]

Each time a bridge is opened for passing boats, bridge tenders are required to leave their tower and walk around the balcony three times to visually inspect that the movable part of the bridge is cleared before it is opened. Records show Paulk did not do that even once when the bridge was lifted with Wright on it.

Those records show that during Paulks shift, the bridge was lifted six times, meaning the bridge tender would have to come out and walk the balcony 18 times. Records say it was done only one time when the bridge was lifted and two other times when the bridge was not lifted.

Artissua Lafaye Paulk, 43, of Green Acres has been arrested on negligent homicide charges after opening a draw bridge and a 79-year-old woman plunged to her death. (Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office)

Harper is listed in Paulks phone as Mother-in-law. Text messages show Harper telling Paulk to lie to police a few hours after Wrights death:

When they talk to you make dam sure you tell them you walked on balcony 3 diff times to make sure no one was past gates n delete this msg after one time to make sure card stop 2nd time after gates lowered and 3rd time before you raised spans ok now delete this I know ur upset but u gotta tell them step by step how u do opening. The message was deleted records say.

Records say Paulk responded immediately: I did. That message was also deleted.

Twenty-three minutes after that, Paulk sent another text message to someone by the name of Shakira: Im here with the police i killed a lady on the bridge.

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[ RELATED: Family demands answers in woman's drawbridge death ]

Then Harper continued to direct Paulk on what do, records show. That text was also deleted.

Florida Bridgetenders Inc., a multi-million-dollar company that provides bridge services all along the eastern seaboard, hired Paulk and Harper. On Monday a manager there refused to answer questions when asked if Harper was under investigation, suspended or fired for directing Paulk to tell police she performed her duties as she was supposed to when records say she did not, as well as to delete the text messages.

A spokesperson for the Florida Department of Transportation, which owns the bridge and contracts some of the bridge-tending responsibilities to Florida Bridgetenders, Inc., refused to answer when asked if Florida Bridgetenders, Inc would still be providing services to the state.

Eileen Kelley can be reached at 772-925-9193 or ekelley@sunsentinel.com. Follow on Twitter @reporterkell.
Disney cast member Nicholas Maldonado protests his company's stance on LGBTQ issues, while participating in an employee walkout at Walt Disney World, Tuesday, March 22, 2022, in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack) (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack/AP)

About 100 Walt Disney Co. employees in California walked out of work Tuesday to protest the companys response to the so-called dont say gay bill approved by the Florida Legislature two weeks ago.

The Los Angeles Times reported the demonstrators gathered outside the Roy E. Disney Animation Building in Burbank to show support of LGBTQ+ coworkers and their families. Video taken by a CNBC producer showed dozens of people, identified as Disney employees, marching outside the property chanting, say gay!

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But in Orlando, an apparent lone protester held a sign outside an entrance to Walt Disney World, wearing a rainbow mask and waving a sign that read, Trans rights are human rights.

Nicholas Maldonado, 27, a merchandise employee who works at Disneys Character Warehouse off International Drive and occasionally at the Emporium shop in the Magic Kingdom, said he wanted to represent his fellow Disney employees who were unable to walk out.

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Hopefully, down the road I can say that Im proud to be an out LGBTQ cast member for the Walt Disney Company, and I will continue to work and make the magic that I was hired to do, said Maldonado, who is bisexual. But at this point, the company needs to do better. They have a long ways to go towards gaining our trust back.

At least one of the major unions representing Orlandos Disney workers has publicly said it does not support the walkout and that it violates a no-strike provision of its contract with the company.

There are other ways to move to company, Eric Clinton, president of Unite Here Local 362, said last week. He added the union is not affiliated with the Disney Do Better group organizing the walkouts.

Other union leaders in Florida and California said they have not seen the walkout gain momentum among members. Employees in non-unionized positions, including in divisions like production, IT and marketing, are more likely to participate, organizers said.

Tuesdays walkout, organized by a group claiming to represent concerned Disney employees, was scheduled for throughout the full workday. The group has encouraged small-scale walkouts across the company for the past week during employees 15-minute breaks.

The past walkouts were legally protected acts of protest, but Tuesdays is not, the group notes on its website. Organizers encourage Disney employees to take [their] own situation into account before choosing to participate. Organizers could not be reached for comment.

Protesters are demanding Disney indefinitely halt donations to politicians involved in the creation or passage of the bill; create and implement a plan to protect employees from hateful legislation, including pausing the move of employee jobs to Orlando; make company-wide content more representative of the LGBTQ+ community; and publicly advocate for LGBTQ+ staff, including creating a brand focusing on queer and trans creators and donating to advocacy groups.

Disney has already paused its political contributions indefinitely in response to recent outcry. It pledged to make its content more representative of LGBTQ+ community in 2020, but Pixar employees say the company has censored gay characters from recent films.

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In an unsigned statement, the company did not address questions about the walkout. Instead, the statement said Disney held a virtual, companywide discussion about the legislation Monday.

We know how important this issue is for our LGBTQ+ employees, their families and allies, [and] we respect our colleagues right to express their views, and we pledge our ongoing support of the LGBTQ+ community in the fight for equal rights, it read.

Ahead of the demonstration, Disney and its affiliated brands posted messages in support of the LGBTQ+ community across social media Tuesday morning.

Disney Parks, Experiences and Products is committed to creating experiences that support family values for every family, and will not stand for discrimination in any form, a post on Walt Disney Worlds Facebook and Instagram accounts read. We oppose any legislation that infringes on basic human rights, and stand in solidarity [with] and support our LGBTQIA+ Cast, Crew, and Imagineers and fans who make their voices heard today and every day.

ESPN, the Disney-owned sports network where employees have openly protested the legislation on-air, posted similar messages of support to Twitter.

Well continue to partner with organizations that support the LGBTQIA+ community, be accountable where we fall short of expectations, and never stop telling stories about LGBTQIA+ athletes, it posted in a series of tweets promoting stories on transgender athletes.

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ESPN believes in inclusivity and denounces legislation and actions across the United States that infringe on any human rights. We stand with our LGBTQIA+ colleagues, friends, families, and fans.  ESPN (@espn) March 22, 2022

Disney is one of Floridas largest employers. As of October, it employed around 190,000 workers across the company, three-quarters of which were positioned in its Parks, Experiences and Products division.

Gov. Ron DeSantis slammed Disney earlier this month for pushing a woke agenda by speaking out against the legislation. CEO Bob Chapek called DeSantis after the bill passed the Legislature to express concerns it could target LGBTQ+ children and families.

DeSantis and other Republicans contend the bill protects parental rights in schools by prohibiting discussion of gender identity or sexual orientation from kindergarten through third grade. Democrats and LGBTQ+ advocacy groups say its intentionally vague language could be used to silence teachers and students from talking about the LGBTQ+ community in schools entirely.

DeSantis said Tuesday he will sign the bill when he receives it from the Legislature.

I dont think it will be tomorrow, but it will be soon, he said.

Maldonado said he might have risked his job of three years with Disney by participating in the walkout but felt it was more important to make a stand.

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He said he was happy with the employee town hall Disney hosted Monday evening, but he wants the company to go further in supporting its LGBTQ+ communities.

Disney should speak out more quickly and firmly against harmful legislation, host more town halls to hear from workers, host official Pride events and add gender-neutral bathrooms for workers and park-goers, he said.

We deserve better from the company, he said.

Staff writer Jeffrey Schweers and the Associated Press contributed to this report. krice@orlandosentinel.com and @katievrice on Twitter
WASHINGTON  White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Tuesday that she is positive again for COVID-19 and will not accompany President Joe Biden to Europe this week for urgent meetings with world counterparts on Russias invasion of Ukraine.

Biden tested negative on Tuesday, she said.

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Psakis reinfection is the latest COVID-19 scare for the White House after recent positive tests for Vice President Kamala Harris husband and Irelands prime minister, who was in the nations capital last week for a series of in-person celebrations of St. Patricks Day with Biden and other officials.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki listens as Anne Neuberger, Deputy National Security Advisor for Cyber and Emerging Technology, speaks during a press briefing at the White House, March 21, 2022, in Washington. (Patrick Semansky/AP)

The scares come as the Biden administration is trying to help the United States ease back into its pre-pandemic norms, even as cases climb in Europe due to a new variant of the omicron variant of the coronavirus.

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Psaki tweeted that she took a laboratory test for COVID-19 as part of her preparation for the trip, which gets underway on Wednesday, and was later notified of a positive result.

She said she had two socially distanced meetings with Biden on Monday and that he is not considered a close contact under guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Psaki tweeted and released a statement a short time before she was scheduled to step into the White House press room for her daily briefing, accompanied by National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, who was joining her to discuss the trip.

After a brief delay, White House deputy press secretary Chris Meagher entered and introduced Sullivan to a waiting White House press corps. Meagher read a statement on the changes caused by Psakis condition and on Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jacksons appearance before the Senate Judiciary Committee for her confirmation hearing. He took no questions, while Sullivan delivered a statement and answered questions about Bidens trip.

Psaki said she will follow CDC guidance and no longer accompany Biden to Belgium, where he will participate in a series of meetings with European and other world leaders on Russias war in Ukraine, and to Poland, which shares a border with Ukraine and has taken in millions of Ukrainians fleeing warfare.

Psaki said she has only experienced mild symptoms and credited being vaccinated against COVID-19. She said under White House COVID-19 protocols, she will work from home and plan to return to work at the end of a five-day isolation period and a negative test.

As coronavirus cases plummeted around the United States this year, and states and localities dropped their mask-wearing requirements, the White House did as well. As of March 1, neither White House staff nor reporters were required to wear face masks inside the building.

Doug Emhoff, the vice presidents husband, tested positive on March 15, the White House announced. Harris, meanwhile, has continued to test negative.

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The following day, Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin learned he had tested positive for COVID-19 while attending a dinner event with U.S. leaders, including Biden and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Martin was due at the White House on March 17, to help celebrate St. Patricks Day with Biden, but he made those appearances on video instead because of his diagnosis.

This is the second time that COVID-19 has forced Psaki to bow out of accompanying Biden abroad. She sat out last falls trip to Rome and Glasgow, Scotland, after disclosing she had tested positive.
Its a common sight on the shores of South Florida.

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Hundreds of Haitians aboard a homemade boat, risking their lives for days on uncertain seas to leave behind the turmoil in their country, try to make it to safer land.

Theres been a recent influx of Haitians making the treacherous trip to Florida. On Saturday, U.S. Coast Guard officials stopped 189 Haitian migrants, including children, at sea. Last Monday, 140 Haitians migrants landed in Summerland Key. And since Oct. 1, 2021, Coast Guard officials said they have interdicted 1,577 Haitian migrants.

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What they are sent back to in Haiti is political instability in the wake of President Jovenel Moises assassination, gang violence and a suffering economy.

[ RELATED: Heartbreak as over 100 desperate Haitians clinging to a homemade boat are intercepted off Miami ]

U.S. Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, the first Haitian-American Democrat elected to Congress, joined other officials and Haitian advocates Monday to urge the Biden administration to to rescind the federal policy that allows for the expulsion of immigrants due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The policy, called Title 42, has been in effect for two years.

Cherfilus-McCormick met with about 150 Haitian detainees at the Broward Transitional Center. They shared their experiences at the center of finding cockroaches and worms in their food, she said at the conference, and of confusion about the immigration process.

They felt they are treated as prisoners rather than people seeking a life better than the ones they have in Haiti, she said. Many have been expelled under Title 42, and many others were waiting to be deported.

The assassination of the Haitian president and the attempted assassination of the current Prime Minister Ariel Henry have been an impetus for many of them leaving, Cherfilus-McCormick said. They are afraid that if they leave their homes, they may be kidnapped, she said, and they fear gangs who control the streets.

Kidnappings in Haiti have increased by 180% in the past year, the Associated Press reported, and over 16,000 people since mid-2021 have been displaced because of gang violence.

So we see the terror thats going on in Haiti is a terror thats similar to what we see in other areas and other countries that are being granted asylum, Cherfilus-McCormick said. But yet the Haitian community is still being denied asylum under these circumstances.

Haitians seeking refuge are not being given due process, she said. Interviews for them to express what is called credible fear for them to be granted eligibility for asylum are not happening, she said.

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Over 210 deportation flights with Haitian immigrants aboard have left from the United States, without ensuring they received due process, Cherfilus-McCormick said.

Tessa Petit, co-executive director of the Florida Immigrant Coalition, said 22,000 Haitians have been deported in the last year under Title 42.

[ RELATED: Haitians aiming for Florida Keys outpace 2021 migration ]

On March 4, a federal appeals court in D.C. issued a ruling that said immigrants cannot be expelled under Title 42 if they will be expelled to places where they will be persecuted or tortured.

A couple of weeks ago, a court in D.C. gave the Biden administration the opportunity to repeal Title 42. They did not, Petit said. The United States has been a welcoming nation for immigrants. The United States is supposed to be the land of the dreams. But that is not what were seeing now.

Lack of due process is what Haitians are seeing now, Petit said.

The 10 years prior to the Biden administration never saw such a high number of Haitians being deported, she said.

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North Miami Councilwoman Mary Estime-Irvin cited a March 11 memo from the Department of Homeland Security that said Ukrainians may be excluded from expulsion under Title 42 due to the ongoing war.

Why is that same privilege not given to brown and Black people, but today were especially talking about the Haitian community, she said.

Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.
I want to thank the Sun Sentinel for calling ArtsPark part of my legacy. With two-thirds of the three-acre site open space and park land, almost a quarter of a billion dollars in financial benefits to the city (it is in the fine print, as well as the Ernst & Young and Colliers reports), a gathering place for cuisine and casual visits, and a true 21st Century cultural center, I was proud to vote yes.

In fact, it was an almost-unanimous 4-1 vote, with even my dissenting colleague saying she liked the project. She wanted a skate park on the site, but we could not find a place for it. I hope it can be built at the InterMiami park we are all excited about at the site of the former Lockhart Stadium.

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Back to ArtsPark. While there have been many opinions provided, facts are the reason I voted for the project, with the support of so many in Flagler Village, my district, and around Fort Lauderdale. Of course there was opposition  there always is. But the Sun Sentinels opposition ignored the many voices who support ArtsPark, especially those within Flagler Village.

Its almost obsessive focus on not just the proposal, but the people involved, helped instigate personal, nasty attacks that backfired. Just look on social media pages; the attacks are still there. It makes me sad anyone would go that far. Our community is better than that.

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Contrary to what has been written in print time and again, this is no giveaway. To the contrary, ArtsPark is a solid deal for the taxpayers. On property valued at $35 million, the city will receive more than $137 million, as confirmed by the respected Colliers International, while retaining ownership. Yes, the city will continue to own all the property. Additionally, the $100 million-plus private investment in new, architecturally-breathtaking buildings, world class park space and improvements will immediately become the property of the city as soon as they are built.

Fort Lauderdale District 2 city commissioner Steve Glassman.

It is spelled out clearly in the agreement  even if a small group of loud voices suggest otherwise. To answer the Sun Sentinels question as to why we did not demand a cut of the revenue, it is because we negotiated a far safer, guaranteed revenue stream to the city without downside and liability.

About the open space and park land, it is a guaranteed $10 million investment at no cost to the taxpayers. What about operations and maintenance? An estimated $15 million will be paid completely by ArtsPark. Facts are facts, and these are all in the agreement.

I appreciated it when the Sun Sentinel called me a most enthusiastic champion of the project in their March 17 editorial because I know it will be a transformative addition to Fort Lauderdale. Unique and cosmopolitan, ArtsPark will be a wonderful public asset for our residents and a compelling draw for visitors from around the world.

[ RELATED: A downtown 'cultural center' with a 2 a.m. closing time | Editorial ]

One last detail, because details are my thing. The Sun Sentinel asked, Whats the rush? This proposal certainly was not rushed. Discussed around town for close to four years, the initial vote was considered for July 2021, but recognizing continued dialogue with the community and stakeholders could improve the proposal, I insisted we slow down the normal P3 process.

In the end, the final vote came more than eight months later, in March 2022. Of course, now the standard regulatory development review process begins, with no shortcuts, continued public input, and transparency for the public all along the way.

To the last point in that March 17 editorial: Yes, I hope ArtsPark will be a pivotal issue in the next election. It is a great idea that will be even better when it becomes real.

Steve Glassman is the City of Fort Lauderdale District 2 Commissioner.
Special interests have many friends at the Florida Supreme Court. The people have one  Justice Jorge Labarga.

The courts stridently right-wing future was foretold when Gov. Ron DeSantis packed it with Federalist Society ideologues. The court made that reality brutally clear with a 6-1 decision to insulate the tobacco industry from potentially hundreds of millions of dollars in damages for Floridians it sickened and killed.

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Twelve years ago, in the nations most closely-watched class action against Big Tobacco, the court overturned a $145 billion punitive damage award and said some 8,000 plaintiffs would need to sue individually for their illnesses or the deaths of loved ones. It also held that they would not have to prove what the big trial already had: that cigarette smoking causes many kinds of heart and lung diseases and cancer and that the industry had misled people to believe smoking was safe.

The intent was to make the individual trials simpler, swifter, and less susceptible to costly delaying tactics. On balance, it was a major victory for the public interest, but those justices are all long gone. Now, in Prentice v. R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., the court essentially took it back. The new fiercely conservative bloc of six justices held that each of the Engle progeny plaintiffs must prove that they relied on specific tobacco ads that misrepresented smoking as safe. That is impossible for the dead, and virtually impossible for the living.

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As Labarga wrote in a dissent, By requiring reliance on a specific statement, the majority has removed all permissible inferences of fact concerning the causal relationship between the tobacco industrys advertisement campaigns and the smoking decisions of Engle progeny plaintiffs.

Why governors matter

The majority ruling exemplifies what DeSantis and his predecessor, former Gov. Rick Scott, intended with their appointments to the appellate bench. Its what the tobacco industry hoped to achieve with nearly $12 million in Florida political contributions over the past decade.

A Reynolds subsidiary accounted for much of it, including nearly $2 million to the Republican Party of Florida and its campaign arms since 2017. The minority Democrats got just under $400,000.

DeSantis Supreme Court appointees are Justices John Couriel, Jamie Grosshans and Carlos Muniz, who wrote the tobacco opinion. They have formed a bloc with holdover Justices Charles Canady, Ricky Polston and Alan Lawson, and precedents are falling like hunted ducks. The six barely acknowledge Labargas frequent emphatic dissents.

The tobacco ruling upheld a decision of the far-right First District Court of Appeal that was at odds with how the other four district courts had ruled in similar cases.

There are ominous consequences beyond the injustice to smoking victims. The outcome bodes poorly for how the high court will rule on the Legislatures batch of new laws of dubious constitutionality and on the congressional redistricting snarl that will likely call for a court to draw new maps.

It also confirms that the courts dominant member is Muniz, the justice with by far the most partisan resume.

A chief concern

Jaws dropped in law offices statewide when the court announced that Muniz will rotate into the chief justices office on July 1 instead of Justice Alan Lawson. Traditionally (though not always), the next turn has gone to the most senior justice who had not been chief. Thats Lawson.

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Lawson has voted as conservatively as Muniz, but with one obvious difference: Lawson was appointed by Scott and Muniz by DeSantis, whos no friend of Scott.

Muniz, 52, has the least experience as a judge, consisting only of his three years on the high court. Lawson has worn robes for 20 years, including three as a trial judge, 11 on the Fifth District Court of Appeal and six on the Supreme Court.

(Florida Supreme Court)

The chief justice has only one vote in how the court decides a case, but has influence over the judges of lower courts and the Florida Bar and its committees. The chief also supervises the entire judicial system and can temporarily assign a replacement for a justice who is ill or has stepped aside from a case for ethical reasons. Whos chosen can determine how a close case is decided.

Canady, the departing chief, flexed his powers to censor a diversity training program for new judges and got the court to overturn a Bar rule requiring diverse panels in continuing education courses.

[ RELATED: Diversity finds another enemy: the Florida Supreme Court | Editorial ]

Since 2012, the rules have said the chief justice should be chosen on managerial, administrative, and leadership abilities, without regard to seniority only. That makes the elevation of Muniz to chief justice even more conspicuous.

Interspersed with stints at the politically-connected law firm of GrayRobinson, which has a high-profile lobbying presence and often represents the House of Representatives, Muniz served as a deputy general counsel to Gov. Jeb Bush (2001-2003); general counsel to Bushs Department of Financial Services (2005-06); deputy chief of staff and counsel to House Speaker Marco Rubio (2007-09); former Attorney General Pam Bondis deputy and chief of staff (2011-14); and general counsel to the U.S. Department of Education under President Trump (2018).

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From December 2006 until Rubio hired him seven months later, Muniz was policy director for the Republican Party of Florida. On his application to the Florida Supreme Court, Muniz said he had never tried any case to verdict or judgment.

Lawson declined to discuss the situation with the Sun Sentinel.

Four of the seven justices face statewide retention votes this year if they want new six-year terms. They are Canady, Polston, Grosshans and Labarga. Voters should remember in November.

The Sun Sentinel Editorial Board consists of Editorial Page Editor Steve Bousquet, Deputy Editorial Page Editor Dan Sweeney, and Editor-in-Chief Julie Anderson. Editorials are the opinion of the Board and written by one of its members or a designee. To contact us, email at letters@sun-sentinel.com.
State courts would lose all jurisdiction over congressional redistricting if a developing Republican legal strategy prevails. The courts could not overturn gerrymanders or adopt maps when a governor and legislature deadlock, as is happening in Florida. One partys Legislature could all but banish the other from the states delegation.

The radical independent legislature theory is a prescription for tyranny that rests on a tortured interpretation of the U.S. Constitutions elections clause (Art. I, Sec. 4). Proponents of the theory say the elections clause allows only Congress to check how legislatures decide the times, places and manner of electing senators and representatives.

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The elections clause argument, which North Carolina Republicans are pursuing at the U.S. Supreme Court  where three and perhaps four of nine justices already favor it  is a particular threat to one of the two Florida Fair Districts initiatives, Amendment 6, that voters wrote into the state constitution in 2010.

The other initiative, concerning how the Legislature redistricts itself, would not be affected directly by that case, but Gov. Ron DeSantis is attacking it from another direction, and the Tallahassee tea leaves are ominous.

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The case before a circuit court would be appealed, however it is decided, to a state Supreme Court dominated by DeSantis three right-wing appointees. The chief justice-designee, Carlos Muniz, was once briefly policy director for the Republican Party of Florida.

In U.S. District Court in Tallahassee, where a federal case is pending, one member of the three-judge panel is Allen Winsor, who was a state appeals court judge when President Trump put him on the federal bench two years ago. Earlier, in private practice, Winsor and his firm represented the Florida House when it and two members of Congress sued in 2010 to have Amendment 6 overturned. Winsor signed most of the pleadings.

The code of conduct for federal judges doesnt compel judges recusals in cases in which they were not involved as an advocate, even if it is similar to ones in which they were. It does call for disqualification, however, when the judges impartiality might reasonably be questioned. Plaintiffs have not asked Winsor to step aside, but he should consider it.

Citizens and voting advocacy organizations filed the state and federal lawsuits asking the courts to design Floridas 28 congressional districts, up from 27 after the census. Impasse is likely because DeSantis intends to veto the Legislatures congressional map, which treated the minority party better than he would. There dont appear to be enough votes to override a veto.

DeSantis, who is more militantly partisan than any previous Florida governor, wants to erase two of the four districts that elected Black Democratic representatives and increase the Republican portion from 16 of 27 seats to 18 of 28.

He claims the existing map is an unconstitutional racial gerrymander under the U.S. Constitution and that the Fair Districts initiatives violate the equal protection clause. He hasnt raised the independent legislature theory  not yet  but is expected to.

It wouldnt be the first time it menaced fair districting in Florida.

The votes had barely been counted in 2010 when the Florida House and two members of Congress filed suit in U.S. District Court at Miami, intending to overturn Amendment 6 before it could guide congressional redistricting after the decennial census. They lost.

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U.S. District Judge Ursula Ungaro ruled that the amendment was as valid and binding on the Legislature as if lawmakers, rather than a citizen petition, had written it. Moreover, the elections clause did not apply. She found that the Constitutional Convention of 1787 had debated only whether Congress should have any power over districting, not whether legislatures could ignore their own state constitutions and courts.

The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld her decision in every respect, noting that at least 10 other state constitutions had similar instructions on how or how not to design districts.

The court also said the factors in Amendment 6 have been for many years commonly considered by legislative bodies in congressional redistricting and long accepted by the courts as being lawful and consistent with the powers delegated to the state legislatures by the United States Constitution.

If the two Congress members and the House had their way, the court added, there would be no clearly explicated factors for a legislature to consider. This is plainly wrong.

It would still be plainly wrong.

The language DeSantis aims to erase provides that no district may be drawn to favor or disfavor a party or incumbent, or with the intent or result of denying or abridging the opportunity of racial or language minorities to participate in the political process or to diminish their ability to elect representatives of their choice.

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That would make his redistricting scheme unconstitutional in the eyes of any fair-minded court. Whether the courts are still fair-minded is the question. How they rule on the pending cases will answer it.

The Sun Sentinel Editorial Board consists of Editorial Page Editor Steve Bousquet, Deputy Editorial Page Editor Dan Sweeney, and Editor-in-Chief Julie Anderson. Editorials are the opinion of the Board and written by one of its members or a designee. To contact us, email at letters@sun-sentinel.com.
In a consequential ruling Monday night, a Miami federal judge said four major cruise lines with South Florida ties  Carnival, Norwegian, Royal Caribbean and MSC Cruises  engaged in prohibited tourism and trafficking activities by carrying passengers to Cuba and profiting from the use of Havana port facilities confiscated by the Fidel Castro-led government, the first decision of its kind that could affect similar lawsuits.

By using the Terminal and one of its piers in various ways, Carnival, MSC SA, Royal Caribbean and Norwegian committed trafficking acts, U.S. District Judge Beth Bloom concluded.

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Royal Caribbean's Grandeur of the Seas anchored at the Port of Miami. The ship typically sails from Baltimore. (Baltimore Sun)

According to court records, the companies earned at least $1.1 billion in revenue and paid $138 million to Cuban government entities.

Read more at Miami Herald.
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WUZHOU, March 22 -- China Eastern Airlines flight MU5735, en route from Kunming to Guangzhou, lost contact and crashed in Wuzhou city of South Chinas Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region at 14:38 on March 21. There were 123 passengers and 9 crew members on board.

The PLA Southern Theater Command launched the emergency response mechanism at the news. The PLA Wuzhou Military Sub-command, as well as the Wuzhou Detachment of the Chinese Peoples Armed Police (PAP) Force, both dispatched rescue forces to the scene of the accident without one-minute delay.

Meanwhile, an army aviation brigade, a transport and rescue brigade of the air force, and the armed police troops stationed around the accident site promptly completed their preparation and stood ready for duty.

On the evening of March 21, the wildfire caused by the plane crash had been put out, and parts of the wreckage and debris of the plane had been found. But sadly, there had been no news of the missing personnel. On-site emergency rescue forces have set up two temporary command posts for search and rescue and conducted on-site protection around the crash site.

In early hours of March 22, the relevant units were continuing search and rescue work after overnight operations. The temporary command post used unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for search and rescue, and set up a UAV-mounted base station to provide 24-hour communication support.

As of press time, on-site rescue, aftermath disposal and accident investigation were still in progress.
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MBABANE- In an effort to ensure all communications services best promote economic and social development, including protecting end-users from excessive pricing, ESSCOM has planned a 60 per cent price reduction.

ESCCOM stands for Eswatini Communications Commission. This decision was taken in terms of Section 37 of the Eswatini Communications Commission Act, 2013. The Eswatini Communications Commission (ESCCOM) is the regulatory body responsible for regulating the communications sector in Eswatini, constituting of telecommunication services and networks, broadcasting services, postal services and the use and allocation of radio spectrum. It derives its mandate from the Swaziland Communications Commission Act no. 10 of 2013.

According to the ESCCOMs findings on the pricing benchmark a study conducted from 2020, the commission undertook an assessment of Eswatini Posts and Telecommunications Corporation (EPTC) wholesale leased line, broadband and Installation costs and compared EPTCs available wholesale leased line prices, wholesale internet broadband prices and installation prices with similar-sized markets within Southern African Development Community(SADC). The benchmark countries were Botswana and Lesotho. This will be good for the business community as it will lessen the costs.

Installation

The findings concluded that Eswatini prices remained the highest for wholesale installation fees, wholesale leased lines and wholesale internet broadband with comparable and competitive markets in the SADC region. Interconnection or access service prices in Eswatini are high, which contributes to market distortion in the downstream market for leased lines and internet broadband, to the detriment of end-users, reads the report. In 2017, the average annual prepaid voice and SMS basket price locally was almost six times higher than the lowest priced annual basket price, which was recorded at US$ 2.13 (E31. 87) in Kenya. ESMs launch in 2017 effectively reduced the kingdoms voice and SMS mobile price from USD 11.8 (E165) to US$6.5 (E97.25) in 2018. In the last year of the review period, Eswatinis voice and SMS price basket was relatively competitive at USD 5,8 (E86,78) placed slightly higher than Zambia. Tanzania took a price in both 2018 and 2019, pricing its voice and SMS basket as the most expensive within this grouping. In light of the findings, the commission issued a proposed decision for public consultation and further received comments from the Competition Commission, EPTC and MTN Eswatini.

Decision

The final decision was then taken in terms of Section 37 of the Act as it issued a final decision on the implementation of the 60 per cent price reduction on a three year glide path as follows:

EPTC to review and reduce current wholesale installation costs;

EPTC to introduce a flat fee installation cost for all bandwidth speeds;

EPTC to offer wholesale last mile ADSL - shared internet access services at wholesale rates;

EPTC to review and reduce all wholesale national leased line rates; and

EPTC to review and reduce all wholesale internet bandwidth rates across all speeds.

Other key findings were that Installation costs for international leased lines remained constant for the assessed bandwidth offerings, with the monthly (usage) rates also constant between 2017 and 2018, increasing in 2019 by 52 per cent for the 10 mbps and by 35 per cent for STM-1 and STM-4 bandwidth offerings. It was further recommended that the installation costs be reviewed downward and that a flat flee be charged across all bandwidth speeds.

It was also envisioned that it will significantly lower prices, due to the area coverage of the country which in turn can save money for businesses and the country at large.

Also, it was concluded from the findings that wholesale pricing in Eswatini is significantly higher than that of Botswana despite both countries being landlocked with similar pricing constraints. For example, Botswana Fibre Networks (BOFINETs) current leased line (and internet included) fee are between 854 per cent and 2 286 per cent lower than EPTCs for similar bandwidths.

Eswatini Consumer Association Bhanyaza Mdluli said the decision was most welcomed, given the price increases the country had experienced in the past. The decision is most welcome. Consumers have been faced with so many increases and such a reduction would b be appreciated, he commented. The ESCCOM Commission became operational on the July 31,2013, effectively taking over all the regulatory powers of the sector from the EPTC and Eswatini Television Authority (Eswatini TV).
MANZINI  There is no special treatment for investors. We screen all of them, says Thulani Mkhaliphi.

Mkhaliphi, who is the Principal Secretary (PS) in the Ministry of Public Works and Transport, said in as much as the country was in dire need of investors, there was no special treatment as they were all expected to undergo due diligence. He was referring to the debacle of Crowne Aerospace. He said in as much as the country was keen on getting investors who would better the lives of the citizenry, there was no room for begging. In vernacular, he said: Asincengani la! This was after he had been asked if due diligence was done on the company that claimed to be bringing an investment of about E91.7 billion.

It has since however been brought to light that the companys claims were not the same as the situation on the ground. The PS was sought for comment following the concerns that were raised by Crowne Aerospace in an article published by our sister publication  Times SUNDAY  wherein potential investors who are said to have been interested in developing King Mswati III International Airport into the largest cargo hub in Africa had cancelled the investment out of anger.

Jobs

The investment was said to be valued at about E91.7 billion (US$6.2 billion) and stood to create 630 permanent job opportunities, a further prospect of 2 000 temporary jobs during construction, while also increasing the utilisation of the KMIII International Airport, among other things. Mkhaliphi said if the business entity was willing to do business with the country, it was well and good while also the same applied if it was no longer willing to engage in same. He said it was essential that the proprietors of Crowne Aerospace be treated like any other entity seeking to do business in the kingdom. Mkhaliphi further wondered on the prospects of the company having the funding that they claimed to have. Rhetorically, he asked: Who has E91.7 billion readily available?

Situation

It is worth noting that our sister publication quoted Douglas Berry, the Founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Crowne Aerospace as having said the reality of the situation was that Eswatini had effectively lost E91.7 billion (US$6.2 billion) in investment. It was further reported that Berry claimed that this was a disaster for the kingdoms economy. This investment is almost four times more than the national budget of the Kingdom of Eswatini which was tabled by the Minister of Finance, Neal Rijkenberg. The national budget for the 2022/23 financial year is E23.2 billion. Meanwhile, the Minister of Commerce, Industry and Trade, Manqoba Khumalo, said: I think the PS was speaking in context. He wouldnt push away an investor. Thats my official response. Actually he did everything he could to support them, personally taking them to the parastatal in an effort to assist them. Im not surprised that they are acting this way, they become very nasty when you ask them to prove themselves.

This was after he was sought to expand on governments position when it comes to investors. He said he was taken aback when he saw the article. He said this was because his ministry through the Eswatini Investment Promotion Authority (EIPA) had done due diligence. Khumalo said when Crowne Aerospace first came to the kingdom in 2019, EIPA was assigned to do due diligence as expected of any prospective investors in order to avoid spending more time with people who could be misrepresenting themselves. He said the due diligence was done to establish whether they were capable of doing all the things they were proposing to do in the kingdom and further establish their portfolio. What I can say with full confidence is that they did not pass the due diligence test at the time. EIPA advised the Ministry of Public Works and Transport to request more information from them.

The minister said they wanted more information to establish if the companies they claimed to have were authentic and also to establish if the terminals they claimed to operate existed.

He said this was a necessity because when they did the due diligence, all these things did not checkout. He said while EIPA was conducting the due diligence process, they found nothing to be in existence with what had been presented. This information, Khumalo said, was not new to the Ministry of Public Works and Transport, as it was formally presented following the due diligence procedure. I was taken aback by what they were saying in the media. This is because we communicated with them that until they gave us information substantiating what they were claiming to be, we cannot necessarily continue with the process.

He said this was because the company had presented to have experience and the skill set in their field but when EIPA checked, there was none such.

Engaged

Khumalo said in 2019; government engaged the Eswatini High Commission in the United Kingdom (UK) to check their physical premises, offices, Crowne Aerospace contact person and contact number. The minister claimed that when checking these details, nothing came back positive, such that even the physical address that was given to them did not exist. He insisted that the claims that were made by Crowne Aerospace were not consistent with the reality on the ground. He said the company had claimed to have terminals in Johannesburg and other places, but when the EIPA checked, none of these terminals existed. Following this, Crowne Aerospace founder and CEO was contacted to establish if it was true that their presentation to government did not pass the due diligence.

He was also sought to establish where they were operating their business and what businesses, the investor who was in their company in January 2022. In response, he said: As far as Im concerned, the matter is finished, its over and done with. We do not have to justify anything. Our offices are registered with the Companies Authority in the United Kingdom, its One Charterhouse News London, theres absolutely no doubt about that. Berry requested not to comment further and instead, he proposed that he be called in the morning.
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The Expo 2020 Dubai has boosted the prospects of strengthening bilateral trade and investment relations between Dubai and Paraguay, officials from the South American country said at the Global Business Forum LATAM.



I am confident that the Global Business Forum LATAM will be yet another milestone opportunity for both parties to further drill down on identified partnership prospects and on how to create a mutually beneficial future together, said Ambassador Estefenia Laterza, Vice Minister for Investments and Exports Network, Rediex (by its Spanish initials) of Paraguay.



Being held under the theme `Towards a Resilient Future at Expo 2020 Dubai during March 23-24 in a hybrid format, the 2022 Global Business Forum LATAM is aimed at exploring synergies between Latin America, Dubai, and the UAE in general. The forum launched in 2016, exclusively focuses beyond the traditional markets of the US, Europe and China.



Paraguay has held a few excellently received Middle East business forums during the Expo 2020 Dubai ever since the opening in October 2021, and the results have buoyed us up further in terms of the pan-vertical trade and investment avenues Dubai and Paraguay can explore together going forward, said Laterza.



Since the opening of the Expo 2020 Dubai, Paraguay held many large and small business forums in the quest of cementing business relations between the governments as well as private and public sectors of both countries.



Paraguay celebrated its Expo 2020 Dubai National Day on March 4, 2002, with the visit of Mario Abdo Benitez, President of the Republic of Paraguay, amidst dazzling cultural performances that showcased the country's unique and diverse talents.



Paraguay will also have direct diplomatic presence in the UAE soon with the opening of an embassy, and we believe that this is a move in the right direction supporting and complementing the excellent relations both countries share, said Laterza.



She pointed out that the opening of the embassy is a key component of Paraguays strategic focus on the development of a significant trade and investment agenda, looking for a partnership mutually beneficial for both countries and their regions.



Expo 2020 Dubai presented us, as well as to other Latin American countries, an excellent platform to enhance bilateral relationship with the UAE and the Middle East region in general, while also offering avenues to expand trade ties with other participating countries from across the world, said Luis Castiglioni, Minister of Industry and Trade of Paraguay.



Paraguay wants to look at Dubai as a vantage point for the country to expand its global trade. Paraguay  UAE bilateral trade stands at $25.8 million in 2020 with the UAE imports at $19.5 million.



Both the UAE and Paraguay have identified various key verticals for enhanced cooperation, which includes food security, technology, healthcare, energy etc. Paraguay is also known for its food and beverages, biofuels and renewable energy to forest products and floriculture to meat and meat derivatives. The country is also a leader in exports of clean energy, soybean, stevia and meat.



Paraguay also held a meat-focused event in Dubai earlier this month, in line with its reputation as one of the worlds top beef exporters.  TradeArabia News Service
Drones illuminated Dubais sky yesterday (March 21) with one of the greatest light shows in the Middle East to reveal Omniyats latest ultra-luxury real estate project, the soon to be developed AVA at Palm Jumeirah, Dorchester Collection, Dubai.

The AVA at Palm Jumeirah launch is in conjunction with the celebration of delivering One at Palm Jumeirah, being managed by the iconic hospitality brand, Dorchester Collection, Dubai, stated the developer.

A globally famous marvel of engineering and real estate development, boasting a set of residences designed with unprecedented architecture standards by the worlds brightest engineers, the completed project was fully sold to foreign investors, breaking a record of selling the three exclusive and most expensive penthouses in Dubai for over AED260 million ($71 million) in total.

Boasting 17 hanging palaces with a uniquely innovative architectural character, the project is set to re-shape the real estate development industry and its luxury market, added the developer.

According to Omniyat, AVA at Palm Jumeirah will further elevate extravagant lifestyles for local and international high net worth individuals, with the newly innovated palace living experience that it provides.

For the first time in Dubai, and in the world, drones have been deployed to display a 3D architectural design and to characterize luxury across the city sky, it added.

To portray remarkable and astonishing canvases of the new AVA at Palm Jumeirah  which is managed by Dorchester Collection  500 drones, flying over 120 m above the ground, captivated the eyes of residents and guests at Palm Jumeirah, Jumeirah Beach, and Dubai Marina, it stated.

Founder and Executive Chairman Mahdi Amjad said: "Driven by Dubais inspiring enthusiasm, rejuvenation, and endless capacity to fascinate the entire world, we have ventured to announce the ultra-luxury AVA at Palm Jumeirah project in an exciting, innovative, and globally never-seen-before fashion. Unquenched by delivering One at Palm Jumeirah to the homeowners, Omniyat has simultaneously unveiled this new project to re-shape the luxury real estate market."

"Delivering a ultra-luxury project while launching another, deeply embodies Omniyats commitment towards the unique and globally illuminated Dubai and all high-net-worth individuals wishing to live and work in the city," stated Amjad.

"Omniyat is committed to elevating luxury lifestyles towards new heights to meet Dubais ever-leading position and ambitions of becoming the top city for living, working, and travel, as well as the best destination for real estate development in the world," he added.-TradeArabia News Service
Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group has announced a management agreement to rebrand the historic Shepheard Hotel in Cairo, marking the Group's first hotel in Egypt and expansion of the brands portfolio in the region.



The celebrated Shepheard Hotel first opened its doors in 1841 and remains a landmark in the city. A comprehensive renovation of the property is already underway and Paris-based interior designer, Sybille de Margerie, is tasked with preserving the buildings heritage design while enhancing the facilities and services.



Upon completion, currently anticipated for 2024, the hotel will re-open as Mandarin Oriental Shepheard, Cairo.



Situated on the eastern shore of The Nile river, in the heart of Downtown Cairo, the property will feature 188 rooms and 88 suites, many with balconies, providing excellent views over the city, the Nile and Gezira island. The hotel is ideally located to explore the citys renowned attractions such as the historical Egyptian Museum, Khan el-Khalili Souq and Al-Azhar Mosque, and provides easy access to the river, key commercial buildings, and vibrant shopping, restaurants and cafes.



Mandarin Oriental Shepheard, Cairo will feature five restaurants and bars, including a rooftop restaurant for al fresco dining, as well as an exclusive club lounge. The hotel will also offer expansive function spaces, including a rooftop ballroom, making this the ideal destination for conferences and social gatherings of all sizes.



An all-encompassing Spa at Mandarin Oriental will provide eight treatment suites and offer the tailored experiences and signature treatments for which the Group is renowned. Further wellness facilities include an indoor lap pool, a rooftop swimming pool, a beauty salon, fitness centre and a kids club.



The project developer is Al Sharif for Tourism and Hotels, an Egyptian Closed Joint Stock Company that is a subsidiary of Al Sharif Group Holding, the Saudi holding group based in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, who won the concession to redevelop the site from the Egyptian General Company for Tourism and Hotels in 2020.



James Riley, Group Chief Executive of Mandarin Oriental said: We are delighted to extend Mandarin Orientals renowned levels of hospitality into Egypt and to work with Al Sharif Group Holding on bringing this iconic and historic hotel back to life. The project presents an ideal opportunity to further grow our brand in the Middle East & Africa, and we look forward to creating many unique experiences for our guests.



Mandarin Oriental is an award-winning international brand, renowned for its exemplary service and attention to detail said Nawaf Faiz Al-Sharif, President of Al-Sharif Group. They are the ideal partner for this unique project, and we look forward to working together on enhancing Cairos appeal and creating the most sophisticated luxury hotel in the city, he added.  TradeArabia News Service


The Chinese naval amphibious dock landing ship Wuzhishan docks at a military port in Zhanjiang, Guangdong Province, on March 21, 2022. (Photo by Yin Zheng)

ZHANJIANG, March 22  The PLA naval vessels, the amphibious dock landing ship Wuzhishan (Hull 987) and the comprehensive supply ship Chaganhu (Hull 967), ended their mission of transporting disaster relief materials to Tonga and returned to a naval port in Zhanjiang, South Chinas Guangdong Province, on the morning of March 21.

Upon the request of the Kingdom of Tonga for volcanic disaster relief, the two PLA naval vessels left Guangzhou city in South Chinas Guangdong Province on January 31 and started to transport the second batch of Chinese emergency supplies assistance to Tonga. The mission lasted for 50 days, with a cumulative voyage of more than 12,000 nautical miles.

"The preparation time for this mission is limited, the sailing distance is long, and there are a lot of materials for loading and unloading. This is really a huge test for emergency response capabilities of our troops," said Chen Yajun, political commissar of the Wuzhishan ship. In order to improve the space utilization rate and loading reliability, they had repeatedly deduced the loading plan.

During the voyage, the sailors kept eyes on the meteorological conditions and the distribution of volcanic pumice and volcanic ash in the sailing area, overcame the adverse effects of volcanic ash, and adjusted the route in time to ensure the safety of navigation.

After docking at the Nuku'alofa Port, Chinese naval sailors worked continuously for 137 hours and completed the unloading task four days earlier than expected. They also used their reserves of fresh water to replenish the local residents.

"The assistance provided by China includes not only urgently needed food and water, but also materials needed for post-disaster reconstruction. We really appreciate the support from China," stated Tongan Prime Minister Siaosi Sovaleni.


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Miss Gibraltar - Expression of Interest

The Ministry of Cultures Miss Gibraltar Office will no longer be funding the Miss Gibraltar Pageant.

The Ministry of Culture will retain the Miss World Licence to ensure quality control should an individual be selected to participate in this Pageant in the future.

The Miss Gibraltar Office is therefore calling on event organisers interested in undertaking the organisation of this event, at their own expense, to express their interest. All expenses to produce the pageant and ensure Miss Gibraltars participation at Miss World, will need to be self-funded by the Producer, or funded through private sponsorship.

Expressions of Interest should arrive at the Miss Gibraltar Office, City Hall, by Friday 29th April 2022.
Permanent Teacher & SNLSA Compliment Increased

Government has announced it will increase the complement of permanent teachers and permanent Special Needs Learning Support Assistants (SNLSAs) in an unprecedented manner.

Government has taken the decision to increase the quota of permanent teachers from 374 to 471. This is a significant addition of 97 permanent mainscale teaching positions, an increase of 26%. The number of permanent teachers (excluding School Heads) at the time that the Government was first elected in 2011 was 299, representing an increase of 172 teachers given permanent contracts in ten years.

The increase including senior teachers and Heads will go from 407 in financial year 2021/22 to 504 in 2022/23. This is a significant addition of the said 97 permanent teaching positions, which is an increase of 24% overall.

The staffing level of SNLSAs will also increase from 96 permanent SNLSA positions in financial year 2021/22 to 218 in financial year 2022/23. This is a 127% increase in the SNLSA quota, with an additional 122 permanent SNLSA positions being added to the Department of Educations permanent staffing complement. The number of classroom aides (as they were then known) at the time that the Government was first elected in 2011 was 49, representing an increase of 169 (or 345%) given permanent contracts in ten years.

'The substantial increase in SNLSAs evidences HMGoGs commitment to supporting pupils needs so as to ensure each child and young person is given the care and specialist assistance they require and deserve.'

Over the last few months, Government has been working closely with the Department of Education to undertake a detailed review of the staffing complement of HMGoG schools. This arose from representations made by the NASUWT about the nature of contracts its members had, with large numbers without permanent contracts but permanently teaching in our schools. The Government has said its decision recognises that staffing levels at schools are very much needs-dependent, as the system needs to respond to a number of fluctuating factors, such as pupil cohort size and pupils individual needs and, in the latter years of a young persons educational journey, to learners subject choices. "These factors have been considered in great detail as part of the Budgetary process this year, with careful scrutiny of trends over time."

'The notable growth in the number of permanent teacher positions that HMGoG have committed to is recognition of the fact that schools needs have outgrown the established, and outdated, complement of teachers, which had gone out of synchrony with modern teaching and learning. This is not the first time the GSLP/Liberal Government has committed to supporting the growing needs of schools. It first committed to an increase in the teaching complement in 2012 by 47, with further increments being introduced in 2019.'

However, recent developments in HMGoGs educational system, such as the introduction of morning nursery placements for all, the provision of Learning Support Facilities in two additional schools, the introduction of new vocational pathways, and the equalisation of curriculum opportunities in both secondary schools further to the realignment of the key stages and the introduction of co-education as from Year 7, have all contributed to the growth in our educational provision. The impact of these systemic developments together with larger pupil cohorts and the growth in the number of pupils with additional needs have been carefully considered and have directly informed HMGoGs commitment to increasing the teacher and SNLSA staffing complements.

'Additional teachers have indeed been taken on to cover these needs, but on a temporary, supply and often ad hoc basis, leading to many teachers working full-time for several years but without the stability provided by permanent employment.'

'This move therefore does not increase the cost of Education to the tax payer at this point in time, but recognises the work and commitment of the teachers in question who will now have the reassurance of permanent employment with the Government.'

The Government says it is proud of its schools and recognises the very important work that teachers and all staff in schools undertake every day. 'By continuing to invest in our communitys schools, be it in the buildings themselves or in the human resourcing of our educational settings, Government continues to invest in our communitys future generations, giving them the best chances of success for their future, whatever pathway they choose to follow.'

Minister for Education, the Hon Professor John Cortes MP, commented, It is only right that we should have responded in this way to recognise the work of these teachers who have been looking after our children, some for several years, with what they thought was little prospect of permanent employment. I am so pleased that we have been able to regularise this in this way. As we held interviews for the vacant positions we had before this increase already, we will be able to communicate with those who are supply teachers and who have been successful in taking these permanent posts in coming days. 

The Chief Minister and Minister for Public Finance, the Hon Fabian Picardo QC MP, said: The teachers union raised with us that many of their members were not on permanent contracts and had been on supply for years. We looked into this in detail and found that the number of teachers we were funding permanently had grown but the number of permanent contracts had not moved in line with classroom demands. The same is true of SNLSAs. Given that there is no likelihood of a decrease in the number of teachers required, and these are being funded already, we have taken "the decision to increase the complement and in that way have a clearer view of the numbers directly employed and funded by the taxpayer. This will also mean we have better accountability to the taxpayer in respect of individuals who are absent from the work place and who have to be covered via additional funding for temporary absences. Additionally, we are working with the Department of Education to ensure it is properly resourced at a clerical level to attend to the increased numbers of pupils, teachers, SNLSAs and staff we have responsibility for.
Chief Minister Meets with Foreign Secretary Truss

The Chief Minister, the Hon Fabian Picardo QC MP, today met with the Foreign Secretary, the Rt Hon Liz Truss MP, at the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office in London.

Mr Picardo was in London to support the Royal Gibraltar Regiment on the occasion of their Royal public duties and took the opportunity to meet with the Foreign Secretary.

During the meeting the Foreign Secretary and the Chief Minister were able to discuss matters outstanding in respect of the United Kingdom / European Union negotiation for a Treaty in relation to Gibraltars future relationship with the EU. This was important given the upcoming round of talks due to be held as momentum continues for agreement to be finalised as soon as possible ahead of the Easter break if possible.

The meeting touched upon the ongoing plans for the unlikely eventuality that it might not be possible to agree an UK/EU Treaty, although Her Majestys Government of Gibraltar has said it continues to be strongly optimistic that such a Treaty will be finalised.

Additionally, the Foreign Secretary and the Chief Minister were able to discuss the most recent developments in relation to the international, UK and EU sanctions regime against Russia, Vladimir Putin and his known associates. The discussion was particularly relevant given the arrest in Gibraltar in the past twenty-four hours of a yacht, under the jurisdiction of the Admiralty Marshall of the Supreme Court of Gibraltar, the ultimate beneficial owner of which is a sanctioned individual.

It was great to be able to talk face to face with the Foreign Secretary ahead of meetings to be held in coming weeks as we hope that the ongoing negotiations will come to a successful conclusion. We are working hard to deliver a safe and secure UK/EU Treaty for Gibraltar and the region around us which delivers unimpeded frontier fluidity leading to enhanced and shared prosperity for us and the people of the whole the area of the Bay. We must be conscious, however, that, even post the worst of the COVID pandemic, we are now carrying out these negotiations with the backdrop of a bloody and atrocious war being waged by Russia in Europe. Ministerial bandwidth is, therefore, obviously impacted, and the fact I was able to secure time with Ms Truss today is a demonstration of the commitment to Gibraltar that she and the UK Government have continually shown during the course of this negotiation on which we are working very closely together as one British team. We, prudently, also continued to discuss options for the eventuality of a no-negotiated outcome, although I remain strongly optimistic that we will be able to finalise negotiations with a Treaty that is safe and secure for Gibraltar on matters of our inviolable British sovereignty, jurisdiction and control. Finally, I was also able to discuss with the Foreign Secretary the latest developments in the application of international sanctions against the Russian regime of Vladimir Putin, as well as the first arrest in Gibraltar of a yacht, the ultimate beneficial owner of which is a sanctioned individual on the UK, EU and, consequently, the Gibraltar list. The meeting was very friendly and positive and I believe it helps us both to ensure that our negotiating teams have the necessary political steers and direction for the important meetings ahead in the coming weeks.
Through the HMRC-WCO-UNCTAD Trade Facilitation Capacity Building Programme supported by the United Kingdom, the WCO conducted a mission to the Gambia from 7 to 11 March 2022 to further strengthen capacity within GRA and other border agencies to implement an Authorised Economic Operator (AEO) programme and Coordinated Border Management (CBM) in the Gambia.

The mission that included experts from Her Majestys Revenue and Customs (HMRC) and the Uganda Revenue Authority was a consolidation further to virtual capacity building support provided to the GRA since September 2021. A series of virtual sessions was held on a weekly basis to enhance the knowledge of GRA staff on the concepts of AEO and CBM, using tools developed by the WCO and best practice approaches. A key component of the virtual engagement was the sharing of experiences from other WCO members, including the Burundi Customs Administration, South African Revenue Service, and US Customs and Border Protection #.

The mission commenced with a visit to the Gambia seaport, the land border in Admadallia between Senegal and the Gambia, focus group meetings with different GRA teams including the ASYCUDA World implementation team, and an AEO-CBM joint workshop for government and private sector stakeholders.

The joint workshop was attended by over 40 participants, representing other border agencies, brokers, importers, and exporters. The workshop was opened by the Acting Commissioner General of GRA Mr. Alieu Bittaye. In his opening remarks Mr. Battaye said: We are very thankful to the WCO for its continuous support to GRA. He added: We also highly appreciate the assistance provided by the UK government by financing this programme. We assure the WCO and the UK government that we will put this support to the best use to streamline our procedures and processes to facilitate trade.

The WCO will continue supporting the Gambia during the next phase of the HMRC programme (2022-2025), which was launched as Accelerating Trade Facilitation on Friday 4 March 2022.

For more information on the Programme, please see here, or contact capacity.building@wcoomd.org.




KUNMING, March 21 (Xinhua) -- China has become more concerned about conservation and has developed good conservation policies, says a Spanish ecologist. #GLOBALink





Produced by Xinhua Global Service
BEIJING, March 22 (Xinhua) -- China on Tuesday demanded that the United States immediately revoke sanctions imposed against Chinese officials for so-called human rights violations, warning that otherwise the U.S. will face reciprocal countermeasures from China.

"The U.S. statement is full of ideological bias and political lies, discrediting China and suppressing Chinese officials for no reason. What the United States has done violates international law and norms, and grossly interferes in China's internal affairs," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin told a regular news briefing.

China is firmly opposed to this, Wang said.

"The worst human rights violator in the world is the United States itself," Wang said, noting that it should repent for butchering the Native Americans and reducing their population to 250,000 at the beginning of the 20th century from 5 million in the late 15th century.

In the face of nearly 1 million COVID-19 deaths, over 40,000 gun violence victims each year, and tens of thousands of victims of racial discrimination, the United States should reflect on its own human rights deficit, Wang said.

The spokesperson added that the United States should beg for forgiveness from the international community for waging war in Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan and causing 330,000 civilian deaths and over 26 million refugees, rather than lecturing others on human rights.

He urged the United States to face up to and resolve its own systemic and chronic human rights problems, instead of undermining the human rights of other countries in the name of protecting human rights.

"If the United States ceases being a lecturer of human rights, the situation of human rights in the world will be better," Wang said. 
Photo taken with a mobile phone shows temporary tents set for rescue efforts at the plane crash site in Tengxian County, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, March 22, 2022. (Xinhua/Zhou Hua)

NANNING, March 22 (Xinhua) -- A passenger plane with 132 people aboard crashed in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region on Monday afternoon, the regional emergency management department said.

The China Eastern Airlines Boeing 737 aircraft, which departed from Kunming and was bound for Guangzhou, crashed into a mountainous area near the Molang village in Tengxian County in the city of Wuzhou at 2:38 p.m., causing a mountain fire, according to the department.

The Guangxi regional health commission has dispatched 12 medical experts to the site, and over 80 medical workers and 36 ambulances sent by health authorities in the city of Wuzhou have arrived at the scene.

China Eastern Airlines said that it has initiated an emergency response mechanism. It has established nine special working groups for aircraft disposal, accident investigation, family assistance, logistics support, legal support, public relations, security, financial insurance, and cargo disposal.

The airline said the cause of the accident will be fully investigated.

Photo taken with a mobile phone on March 22, 2022 shows pieces of a crashed passenger plane's wreckage found at the crash site in Tengxian County, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. (Xinhua/Zhou Hua)

Photo taken with a mobile phone on March 22, 2022 shows pieces of a crashed passenger plane's wreckage found at the crash site in Tengxian County, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. (Xinhua/Zhou Hua)

Photo taken with a mobile phone shows temporary tents set for rescue efforts at the plane crash site in Tengxian County, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, March 22, 2022. (Xinhua/Zhou Hua)
All-out search for black boxes of crashed passenger plane underway: official

EditorWang Xinjuan Time2022-03-22 22:14:27

Photo taken with a mobile phone shows a rescuer searching for the black boxes at a plane crash site in Tengxian County, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, March 22, 2022. Rescuers are making all-out efforts to retrieve the black boxes of a passenger plane that crashed in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region Monday afternoon, an official with the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) said Tuesday night. The passenger plane with 132 people aboard crashed on Monday afternoon, the regional emergency management department said. The China Eastern Airlines Boeing 737 aircraft, which departed from Kunming and was bound for Guangzhou, crashed into a mountainous area near the Molang village in Tengxian County in the city of Wuzhou at 2:38 p.m., causing a mountain fire, according to the department. The airline said the cause of the accident will be fully investigated. (Xinhua/Zhou Hua)

NANNING, March 22 (Xinhua) -- Rescuers are making all-out efforts to retrieve the black boxes of a passenger plane that crashed in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region Monday afternoon, an official with the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) said Tuesday night.
BEIJING, March 22 (Xinhua) -- China has released 1 million tonnes of national potash fertilizer reserves to meet production needs during this year's spring farming period, according to the country's top economic planner.

The move is part of China's efforts to secure a summer grain harvest in the face of challenges and difficulties in the sector due to autumn floods during the sowing period last year.

China aims to ensure that the grain output for 2022 stays above 650 billion kg, according to this year's government work report.

Due to rare autumn floods last year, farmers had postponed the sowing of 7.33 million hectares of wheat, accounting for one-third of the country's wheat plantation area, in the provinces of Hebei, Shanxi, Shandong, Henan and Shaanxi.

To cope with the situation and ensure grain output, the country increased its financial aid to the sector.

Last year, the central government allocated 1.4 billion yuan (about 219.9 million U.S. dollars) of one-time disaster relief funds in the five provinces for grain harvesting and planting, while a total of 1.6 billion yuan of subsidies were issued earlier this month for wheat production.

To protect grain planters from rising prices of farming supplies, China has also provided 20 billion yuan from the central government budget to grain producers, including individual farmers, family farms, farmers' cooperatives, agricultural enterprises and related entities.

In the meantime, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs deployed 11 working groups to provinces producing winter wheat to offer technical support.

Modern machinery will play an important role in spring farming this year. More than 22 million tractors, sowing machines, rice transplanters, and other items of farm equipment are expected to be used to improve agricultural productivity.

The ministry has also provided farmers with training on farming skills, and produced over 3 million brochures, along with 2,952 online training courses.

Through a variety of efforts, the proportion of winter wheat seedlings in China that meet the required standard has reached 80.8 percent, 10.3 percentage points higher than before the winter.

However, Pan Wenbo, an official with the ministry, said that the wheat crop still faces challenges, including drops in temperature, snowfall, drought, pests and crop diseases.

The ministry has made plans to cope with possible bad weather and called upon localities to make proper preparations.

"We will never let up until we see a bumper summer grain harvest," said Pan. 
BERLIN, March 22 (Xinhua) -- After the pandemic-related slump of Chinese company investments in Europe in 2020, the number of transactions rose again and reached 155 in 2021, according to a study published by consulting firm Ernst & Young (EY) Germany on Tuesday.

Total transaction volumes even increased eightfold to 12.4 billion U.S. dollars, according to the study. The largest single investment by a Chinese company in Europe was the acquisition of Philips' home appliances division, headquartered in Amsterdam, which was sold to Hong Kong-based investment firm Hillhouse Capital for 4.4 billion U.S. dollars.

The second-largest transaction was Tencent's acquisition of the British video game developer Sumo Digital, followed by China International Marine Containers' takeover of the Danish reefer container manufacturer Maersk Container Industry, each for 1.1 billion U.S. dollars, according to the study.

In 2021, Britain replaced Germany as the busiest market for Chinese investments with 36 acquisitions and company participations. Germany recorded 35 transactions, followed by the Netherlands with 13 transactions, according to the study.

Traditional industrial companies still accounted for the majority of deals as 30 of the 155 transactions in Europe took place in the industrial sector, according to the study. However, the number was slightly lower than in 2020.

"There is still interest among Chinese investors in European automotive suppliers or mechanical engineering companies -- but now more in the subsectors of electromobility, autonomous driving and high-tech materials," said Yi Sun, partner and head of China business services in the Europe West region at EY.

In Germany in particular, there were "some very large investments in startups last year in which Chinese investors played a major role," Sun said. In addition to German engineering skills, "e-commerce expertise is increasingly in demand." 
Photo taken on March 21, 2022 shows a vehicle ruined in a pickup-sedan collision in Jalalabad city, capital of Nangarhar province, Afghanistan. Eight people were killed and two others wounded in a pickup-sedan collision in Afghanistan's eastern Nangarhar province, head of provincial traffic police directorate Jawad Shirzad confirmed on Tuesday. (Photo by Hamidullah/Xinhua)

JALALABAD, Afghanistan, March 22 (Xinhua) -- Eight people were killed and two others wounded in a pickup-sedan collision in Afghanistan's eastern Nangarhar province, head of provincial traffic police directorate Jawad Shirzad confirmed on Tuesday.

The accident occurred when the two vehicles hit head-on along a ring road in Police District 6 of provincial capital Jalalabad city on Monday evening, Shirzad told Xinhua.

The killed included four women, a child and three men, including the drivers of the cars, according to the official.

Road mishaps are frequent in the mountainous country and occur mostly due to poor driving or badly maintained roads and vehicles. 

Photo taken on March 21, 2022 shows vehicles ruined in a pickup-sedan collision in Jalalabad city, capital of Nangarhar province, Afghanistan. Eight people were killed and two others wounded in a pickup-sedan collision in Afghanistan's eastern Nangarhar province, head of provincial traffic police directorate Jawad Shirzad confirmed on Tuesday. (Photo by Hamidullah/Xinhua)

Photo taken on March 21, 2022 shows vehicles ruined in a pickup-sedan collision in Jalalabad city, capital of Nangarhar province, Afghanistan. Eight people were killed and two others wounded in a pickup-sedan collision in Afghanistan's eastern Nangarhar province, head of provincial traffic police directorate Jawad Shirzad confirmed on Tuesday. (Photo by Hamidullah/Xinhua)
CHONGQING, March 22 (Xinhua) -- In a vast swathe of fields embellished with blossoms, a red motorcycle sped along, adding brightness and vigor to the dazzling spring scenery.

Li Jiuquan, the 54-year-old motorcyclist, was on the way to visit an elder and provide a set of services.

As a member of a service group that takes care of rural disadvantaged elderly who mostly don't have offspring and lack financial gains, Li's main job is to visit each elder once a month and help them with haircuts and mani-pedis, or just chat.

Living alone in Yongle Village, Qijiang District, southwest China's Chongqing Municipality, Xu Wenzhi, 62, is always happy when he sees Li coming.

"Without him, I need to walk miles to the barber's shop which is exhausting. He makes things easier, and I also have someone to talk to," said Xu, who suffers from lung disease and has no children.

As disadvantaged elders can receive a monthly subsidy of over 800 yuan (about 125.7 U.S. dollars) and have no worries about food and clothes, the rural eldercare service needs to shift its focus from material needs to psychological ones, said Chen Li, vice director of Qijiang Civil Affairs Bureau.

Hence, the service group was established in January 2021 under the guidance of the bureau to give companionship to the elderly who chose to live on their own rather than go to government-funded nursing homes.

After 40 minutes, Li clocked in on an app and documented his services. Although there are 18 categories of services, Li normally does more for over 100 elders he has tended to, such as celebrating their birthdays and helping them buy daily necessities.

Li does not consider the job troublesome but feels more than happy to help. Unlike previous jobs he has undertaken in big cities, rural eldercare service allows him to work in his hometown and "find a sense of belonging and fulfillment."

"I feel more emotionally bonded with my hometown and I found a balance between work and family," said Li. His monthly salary is over 3,000 yuan and the job provides him with welfare as well.

There are more than 80 staff in the service group now. All of them are local residents, and some are even couples or siblings. Their cooperation makes the services more efficient.

Chen found another benefit of this service group. "During service, elders are willing to share life difficulties with service staff. Therefore, the service can be a good window for the government to address elders' concerns."

From January 2021 to February 2022, Qijiang District has provided 57,000 times of services for more than 5,000 rural disadvantaged elders, according to data released by the bureau. 
Photo taken with a mobile phone shows the plane crash site in Tengxian County, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, March 21, 2022. (Xinhua)

BEIJING, March 22 (Xinhua) -- Boeing China said Tuesday that it is cooperating with China Eastern Airlines and will provide support after a Boeing 737 passenger plane crashed Monday afternoon.

The company is keeping in contact with the National Transportation Safety Board in the United States, said Boeing China, adding that its technical experts are ready to aid the Civil Aviation Administration of China in conducting the investigation.

A passenger plane with 132 people aboard crashed in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region on Monday afternoon.

The China Eastern Airlines Boeing 737 aircraft, which departed from Kunming and was bound for Guangzhou, crashed into a mountainous area near the Molang village in Tengxian County in the city of Wuzhou at 2:38 p.m., causing a mountain fire. 
Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi (L) speaks at a joint press conference with Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi in Islamabad, Pakistan, on March 21, 2022. (Xinhua/Ahmad Kamal)

ISLAMABAD, March 21 (Xinhua) -- Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said here Monday that China and Pakistan are committed to enhancing their strategic coordination and pragmatic cooperation.

Speaking at a joint press conference with Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Wang said he is currently paying his first visit to Pakistan since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, and he has held extensive and in-depth talks with Qureshi on bilateral ties.

As the world is facing turbulence and challenges, Wang said China and Pakistan need to strengthen their strategic communication and join hands to build a closer China-Pakistan community of a shared future, so as to bring stability to regional peace and prosperity.

Wang proposed that efforts be made in the following four areas to further China-Pakistan ties.

First, giving firm support to each other. No matter what changes take place in the international situation and their respective countries, China will stick to its friendly policy toward Pakistan, firmly support the Pakistani people in taking a development path that fits their own national conditions, and support Pakistan in defending its sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity, Wang said.

It is hoped that various political parties in Pakistan will strengthen their cooperation and unity to ensure development and stability in the country, he said.

Second, accelerating common development and revitalization. China and Pakistan should enhance the integration of their development strategies, build the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor with high quality, and stay committed to advancing key cooperation projects and expand cooperation in green development, digitalization, poverty reduction, health and other fields, Wang noted.

China will support Pakistan in developing industries, strengthening commerce and revitalizing agriculture so as to achieve a more balanced, independent and sustainable development, Wang said.

Third, deepening counter-terrorism cooperation. China supports Pakistan in severely punishing the perpetrators of the Dasu terrorist attack, appreciates its efforts to strengthen the security of Chinese personnel and projects in Pakistan, and will, as always, help Pakistan improve its law enforcement and security capacity, Wang said.

Fourth, maintaining closer multilateral coordination. The two countries should strengthen coordination on international and regional issues such as Afghanistan and Ukraine, jointly practice true multilateralism, earnestly safeguard the basic norms governing international relations, oppose power politics, bullying and unilateral sanctions, and work to help the international order advance in a more just and reasonable direction, Wang said. 
AMMAN, March 21 (Xinhua) -- Jordan will ease COVID-19 restrictions during the upcoming holy Islamic month of Ramadan, Minister of State for Media Affairs Feisal Shboul said on Monday.

The new measures follow recommendations by the National Epidemiological Committee, Shboul was quoted by the state-run Petra news agency as saying.

The measures include canceling physical distancing at mosques and churches, and removing the obligatory measure to wear masks in open places, but wearing masks in gatherings in closed areas is still needed.

For restaurants and cafes, the limitation on seating capacity would also be canceled, the minister added.

The new measures permit the organization of Ramadan-related gatherings and iftar banquets during the holy month, he added.

The minister also revealed that a campaign would be launched to revive rituals and activities associated with the holy month after a two-year hiatus due to the pandemic. 
MOSCOW, March 21 (Xinhua) -- A Moscow court ruled on Monday to ban Facebook and Instagram in Russia, labeling the parent company of the two social networks Meta Platforms Inc. "extremist."

The Prosecutor General's Office of Russia said that the lawsuit was aimed at protecting Russians from "a violation of their rights," according to local media.

Meta has violated its own rules by allowing posts with violent speeches towards the Russian military and has ignored more than 4,500 requests to remove fake information on Russia's special military operation and calls for unauthorized rallies, the prosecutors said.

The court ruling will come into effect immediately but will not affect WhatsApp messenger.

Meta is also banned from doing business in Russia as the Prosecutor General's Office and Russia's Federal Security Service accused the U.S. giant of acting against Russia and its armed forces. 
ISLAMABAD, March 21 (Xinhua) -- Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said here Monday that China and the Islamic world have a strong desire to build partnerships for unity, justice and development.

During a joint press conference with Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Wang said it is the first time for him to attend, in his capacity as the Chinese foreign minister, the 48th session of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) held in Islamabad.

He noted that his presence at the OIC event reflected the strong desire of China and the Islamic world to further deepen their cooperation, saying the theme of the OIC foreign ministers' meeting -- "Building Partnerships for Unity, Justice and Development" -- bears special significance under the current international circumstances.

China and the Islamic world both enjoy a profound history, seek similar values and share historic missions, Wang said, adding that China is ready to build partnerships with the Islamic countries for mutual support and mutual understanding.

The cooperation between China and the Islamic world is a key part of South-South cooperation, Wang said.

In the face of the centennial changes and the once-in-a-century pandemic, Wang said it's necessary for China and the Islamic world to forge a closer unity and a common position, speak with one voice, and safeguard their common interests.

Wang pointed out that the current world is far from tranquility, and the international system and the basic norms governing international relations have encountered grave challenges.

China is willing to work with the Islamic world to pursue multilateralism, safeguard sovereignty independence and national dignity of all states, uphold the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, and maintain fairness and justice in international relations, Wang said.

Underlining the huge potential and complementary advantages in the cooperation between China and the Islamic countries, Wang said China is ready to join hands with friends of the Islamic world to make due contributions to the world's economic recovery and growth. 
by Xinhua writers Sun Ding, Hu Yousong

WASHINGTON, March 22 (Xinhua) -- The latest video call between Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Joe Biden is "important," as the dialogue matters to the management of the China-U.S. relationship, an American pundit has said.

"Dialogue at the leader-to-leader level is very important. Dialogue at other levels of the government is very important," Neysun A. Mahboubi, a research scholar of the Center for the Study of Contemporary China at the University of Pennsylvania, told Xinhua in a recent virtual interview. "We're seeing that happening."

On Friday, Xi and Biden had a candid and in-depth exchange of views on China-U.S. relations, the situation in Ukraine, and other issues of mutual interest. The two presidents, agreeing that the video call is constructive, directed their teams to promptly follow up and take concrete actions to put China-U.S. relations back on the track of steady development.

"There is already a narrative about how U.S. and Chinese administrations have been engaged in dialogue since the change of administration here in the United States," Mahboubi said.

"I think for those of us who are looking closely, we do see there's been this runway of more and more productive dialogue," he said, describing the online interaction between the two heads of state on Friday as "part of that trend of dialogue."

Besides, Mahboubi said that dialogue and exchanges among scholars, students, and businesses have been "an enormously important ballast" in China-U.S. relations.

The expert mentioned that he and his colleagues used to travel to China multiple times a year for academic exchanges before the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, adding that "I would like to go to China," which is "beneficial to my work and my research."

"And I miss my friends in China," the scholar added, noting that bilateral exchanges have brought "a lot of value" to the people of the two sides.

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the "Shanghai Communique," a historic document that became a key political foundation for the two countries to establish diplomatic ties.

Fifty years on, the U.S.-China relationship has once again come to a critical time. How this relationship develops will shape the world in the 21st century, Biden said in the video call with Xi.

The Chinese president underscored that there have been and will continue to be differences between China and the United States. "What matters is to keep such differences under control. A steadily growing relationship is in the interest of both sides," Xi added.

Mahboubi said "We know that the interests on both sides and the values and the priorities will always be different but enough of common ground can be reached that the relationship can remain stable," adding that "That's the best I think we can hope for." 
The Chinese Foreign Ministry on Tuesday urged the U.S. to stop sowing discord and flexing muscles in the South China Sea as U.S. Indo-Pacific commander earlier claimed in an interview that China has fully militarized three islands in the South China Sea.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin at a regular press conference responded that China, as a sovereign country, is naturally entitled to deploy necessary defense facilities on its own territory.

It is consistent with international law and beyond reproach for China to do so, he added.

The spokesperson also pointed out that the U.S. has been enhancing military deployment around the South China Sea in recent years and frequently sent warships and military aircraft on a large scale for provocative purposes, which gravely threatens the sovereignty and security of littoral countries and undermines the sound order and navigation safety in these waters.

Wang said he hopes the U.S. will play a constructive role in maintaining regional peace and stability.
NAIROBI, March 22 (Xinhua) -- The private sector arm of the World Bank, International Finance Corporation (IFC) on Tuesday joined hands with several multilateral lenders to launch an alliance aimed at fostering growth of small businesses in Africa.

Dubbed the "Alliance for Entrepreneurship in Africa (AforE)", the initiative seeks to harness technical and financial strength of multilateral lenders to spur growth of Africa's small and medium-sized enterprises owned by women and youth, IFC said in a joint statement issued in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi.

Makhtar Diop, IFC's managing director, noted that African start-ups are key to the continent's inclusive growth, stability and resilience in the face of climatic shocks, hence the need to stimulate their growth through fiscal and policy incentives.

Other signatories to the alliance for promoting growth of African start-ups include the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), the European Investment Bank(EIB), African Development Bank (AfDB) and the French government.

It is expected the alliance will hasten recovery of small and medium-sized enterprises in Africa amid sluggish growth linked to the pandemic besides ensuring they are part of global supply chains.

Additionally, the alliance will expand financing options for the start-ups, support creation of a robust investment climate in the continent alongside digitization and greening of new enterprises.

Solomon Quaynor, the AfDB's vice president for the Private Sector, Infrastructure and Industrialization said the alliance will help unlock financing to African start-ups, create new jobs and address inequalities.

"We want to ensure that African entrepreneurs have the means to thrive and can play an important part in solving Africa's development challenges," said Quaynor, adding that foundations, venture capital firms, innovators and academia are expected to join the alliance for fostering growth of African start-ups. 
Children arrive at school in New York, the United States, March 7, 2022. (Xinhua/Wang Ying)

"If we continue to see low levels of risk, then, on Monday, April 4, we will make masks optional for 2-4 year old children in schools and daycare settings," New York City mayor said.

NEW YORK, March 22 (Xinhua) -- New York City Mayor Eric Adams on Tuesday said the mask mandate for children under five years old in schools and day-care facilities would be removed on April 4 if current low levels of risk sustain.

"If we continue to see low levels of risk, then, on Monday, April 4, we will make masks optional for 2-4 year old children in schools and daycare settings," said Adams in a press conference.

Adams added that masks would continue to be available to children and school staff members who wish to continue wearing them.

New York City dropped its school mask mandate on March 7 for students aged five and over.

It was reported that parents and students staged a protest against the mask mandate for younger students on Sunday in City Hall Park.

Children under the age of five are still not qualified to get COVID-19 vaccine, according to the latest rules.

The seven-day average percentage of positive COVID-19 test results ending Sunday stays at a low level of 1.45 percent within New York City, according to data issued by the New York State government. 
Chinese Vice Premier Liu He, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, and Chinese State Councilor Wang Yong attend a meeting on the plane crash of China Eastern Airlines flight MU5735 in Wuzhou, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, March 22, 2022. On behalf of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council, Liu He and Wang Yong leading relevant officials arrived in Wuzhou to guide rescue work, the settlement of the aftermath and investigation into the cause of the crash. (Xinhua/Liu Bin)

NANNING, March 22 (Xinhua) -- Two senior Chinese officials arrived in the city of Wuzhou early Tuesday to guide rescue work following the crash of a passenger plane carrying 132 people the day prior.

On behalf of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and the State Council, Vice Premier Liu He, also a member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, and State Councilor Wang Yong, accompanied by other relevant officials, arrived in Wuzhou, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, to guide the settlement of the aftermath and the probe into the accident.

On Tuesday morning, the two officials traveled to the crash site, where they were updated on the progress of rescue efforts. They also visited and offered support to rescuers.

A special meeting was held after the site visit to study and launch related work, stressing the need for immediate and all-out search and rescue work, and the proper settlement of the aftermath. It called for the organization of experts to conduct comprehensive investigations and collect evidence to identify the cause of the accident.

Public concerns should receive active responses, with information released continuously, according to the meeting. It also urged efforts to launch special safety overhauls of civil aviation and all other key sectors to ward off major and severe safety accidents.

Rescue work is underway and no black boxes have been found so far. The cause of the crash is under investigation. 

Chinese Vice Premier Liu He, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, and Chinese State Councilor Wang Yong guide rescue work at the site of the plane crash of China Eastern Airlines flight MU5735 in Wuzhou, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, March 22, 2022. On behalf of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council, Liu He and Wang Yong leading relevant officials arrived in Wuzhou to guide rescue work, the settlement of the aftermath and investigation into the cause of the crash. (Xinhua/Liu Bin)
UNITED NATIONS, March 22 (Xinhua) -- China on Tuesday called on Israel to cease expanding settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory.

"We call on Israel to halt the expansion of settlements, stop the eviction of Palestinians, stop the demolition of Palestinian homes, and create conditions for the development of Palestinian communities in the West Bank, as called for in council resolution 2334," China's permanent representative to the United Nations Zhang Jun told the Security Council briefing on the situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question.

The ambassador said that "settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian territory violate international law, disrupt the contiguity of the occupied Palestinian territory, squeeze the living space of the Palestinian people, and affect the prospects for achieving the two-state solution."

On the security situation, Zhang said that China is concerned about the recent deterioration of the security situation in the occupied Palestinian territory, and deeply saddened by the casualties on both the Palestinian and Israeli sides caused by the violence, especially Palestinian children.

"The protection of children in conflict settings is not an empty slogan, but an unshakable moral responsibility and an international obligation that must be fulfilled. We call for a thorough investigation of the recent violence and for effective accountability," he said.

The ambassador noted that China calls on all parties concerned to refrain from provocative words and deeds, to refrain from incitement to violence, to jointly uphold and respect the historic status quo of the holy sites in Jerusalem, to make every effort to prevent the situation from escalating out of control, and not to allow the conflict in Gaza last year to repeat itself, with the upcoming month of April, which will celebrate important holidays for both Muslims and Jews.

The envoy also urged the international community to continue to help Palestine alleviate its fiscal crisis, improve its economy and people's livelihood, and fight the COVID-19 pandemic.

Zhang underscored that the current security situation in Europe has drawn attention from all parties, but the Palestinian-Israeli issue is equally important.

"The Palestinian question should not be marginalized, much less allowed pending for a long time. China will continue to work with the international community to make unremitting efforts and contribute China's share to a comprehensive, just and lasting solution to the question of Palestine," he said. 
JERUSALEM, March 22 (Xinhua) -- Four people were killed in an attack by an Arab assailant in Israel's southern city of Beersheba on Tuesday, Israeli police said.

The assailant was shot and killed by a passerby on the scene, the police said.

The state-owned Kan TV news reported that the attacker is a Bedouin resident of the village of Hura in the Negev Desert. 
BEIJING, March 22 (Xinhua) -- A launch ceremony for the BRICS Vaccine Research and Development (R&D) Center was held online on Tuesday.

During the ceremony, Chinese Minister of Science and Technology Wang Zhigang said that China will work with other BRICS countries to use the center's launch as an opportunity to promote exchanges and cooperation on vaccine R&D and testing.

China will work with these countries to jointly establish plants and the mutual recognition of standards, so as to strengthen the defense against COVID-19 and deliver hope and confidence for global economic recovery, Wang said.

At the ceremony, the five BRICS countries jointly proposed an initiative to strengthen vaccine cooperation to ensure the accessibility and affordability of vaccines in developing countries through their equitable distribution as global public goods.

The initiative is also aimed at enhancing BRICS countries' capability to control infectious diseases and respond to public health events.

It places special emphasis on openness and welcomes more partners to join. The launches of the BRICS Vaccine R&D Center and the initiative mark a solid step forward in strengthening cooperation on public health and vaccine R&D among BRICS countries.

Related officials and representatives from the five BRICS countries attended the ceremony online. 
First responders gather at the scene of an attack near a shopping mall in Beersheba, southern Israel, on March 22, 2022. Four people were killed on Tuesday by an Arab assailant who was later shot dead by a passerby in Beersheba, Israeli police said. (Dudu Grunshpan/JINI via Xinhua)

JERUSALEM, March 22 (Xinhua) -- Four people were killed on Tuesday by an Arab assailant who was later shot dead by a passerby in Israel's southern city of Beersheba, Israeli police said.

The assailant fatally stabbed a woman in a gas station after exiting his car near a shopping mall in Beersheba. He then went back to his car and ran over a bike rider before stepping out of the car again to fatally stab another man and woman, the police said in a statement.

The state-owned Kan TV news reported that the attacker is an Israeli Arab citizen, a Bedouin resident of the village of Hura in the Negev Desert. He previously served prison terms for alleged ties to the terror group Islamic State.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack, which is the deadliest in Israel in the past few years.

Police spokesman Eli Levy told Channel 13 TV that the incident appeared to be "an individual terrorist who went on a stabbing spree."

Israeli police were sweeping the area in search of any possible accomplice, according to the police.

Following the event, Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett called a security meeting with the internal security minister and the police chief, said a statement from the prime minister's office. 

Israeli security personnel work by the vehicle used by an assailant near a shopping mall in Beersheba, southern Israel, on March 22, 2022. Four people were killed on Tuesday by an Arab assailant who was later shot dead by a passerby in Beersheba, Israeli police said. (Dudu Grunshpan/JINI via Xinhua)

Members of Israeli security forces stand guard at the scene of an attack near a shopping mall in Beersheba, southern Israel, on March 22, 2022. Four people were killed on Tuesday by an Arab assailant who was later shot dead by a passerby in Beersheba, Israeli police said. (Dudu Grunshpan/JINI via Xinhua)
UNITED NATIONS, March 22 (Xinhua) -- UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Tuesday called for the sustainable use of groundwater for future generations.

"On this World Water Day, let us commit to intensifying collaboration among sectors and across borders so we can sustainably balance the needs of people and nature and harness groundwater for current and future generations," the UN chief said in his message for the international day, which is observed annually on March 22 and highlights the importance of fresh water.

The secretary-general underscored that humanity's demand for water is growing and pressure on water resources is increasing due to overuse, pollution and climate change.

"Droughts and heatwaves are becoming more intense and more frequent. Sea-level rise is driving salt-water intrusion into coastal aquifers. Groundwater aquifers are being depleted," he said.

The top UN official said that water can be a source of conflict but also of cooperation. "It is essential that we work together to provide better stewardship of all water sources, including the world's supply of groundwater."

On the situation of groundwater, the secretary-general said that it is "out of sight, but we cannot afford for it to be out of mind."

"Stored in rocks and soil, groundwater is our biggest source of liquid freshwater," the secretary-general said, adding that "it sustains drinking water supplies, sanitation systems, farming, industry and ecosystems. Yet, some 20 percent of the world's aquifers are being overexploited."

"In many places, we simply do not know how much of this precious resource might exist. We need to improve our exploration, monitoring and analysis of groundwater resources to protect and better manage them and help achieve the Sustainable Development Goals," the UN chief noted. 
Wang Yang, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, visits Xinjiang Normal University in Urumqi, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, March 19, 2022. Wang Yang made an inspection tour in Xinjiang from March 18 to 22. (Xinhua/Rao Aimin)

URUMQI, March 22 (Xinhua) -- China's top political advisor Wang Yang has stressed the importance of maintaining a clear mind when it comes to the overall targets set for Xinjiang, and the need to view them as long-term, arduous, complex tasks with a focus on deep-seated problems concerning the region's long-term stability.

Wang, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, made the remarks during a research tour of northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region from March 18 to 22.

During his tour, Wang visited areas of Urumqi, Kashgar and Hotan, and had heart-to-heart talks with Party and governmental officials. Wang also presided over a forum to seek opinions on related issues.

For more than five years in a row, Xinjiang has not reported any cases of violent terrorism, said Wang, who also applauded Xinjiang's achievements in winning the fight against poverty as scheduled.

Despite impacts of major changes and a pandemic both unseen in a century, Xinjiang has nurtured an atmosphere in which people can enjoy social stability, the harmonious co-existence of different ethnic groups and religions, and happy and comfortable lives, Wang said.

He stressed the importance of securing happy lives for the people of various ethnic groups in Xinjiang as a way to counter the rumors, slanders and attacks from hostile forces.

Wang also emphasized that the people's enthusiasm and initiatives should be fully mobilized to achieve the long-term stability of the region.

Xinjiang should further adapt Islam to the Chinese context, and ensure healthy, orderly, harmonious and stable development in the religious sector, Wang said. 

Wang Yang, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, visits the ancient city of Kashgar, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, March 20, 2022. Wang Yang made an inspection tour in Xinjiang from March 18 to 22. (Xinhua/Rao Aimin)
A woman casts her ballot at a polling station in Amman, Jordan, on March 22, 2022. Jordan held governorate and municipal council elections on Tuesday, with strict measures in place to prevent the spread of COVID-19. (Photo by Mohammad Abu Ghosh/Xinhua)

AMMAN, March 22 (Xinhua) -- Jordan held governorate and municipal council elections on Tuesday, with strict measures in place to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

The final turnout of the local elections was 29.6 percent, with more than 1.36 million votes collected in 1,850 polling stations across the kingdom, according to a statement released by the Independent Election Commission (IEC).

Precautions were taken to ensure social distancing, and unvaccinated voters were not allowed to cast their ballots, according to the IEC statement.

A total of 4,646 candidates, including 846 women, were competing for the posts of 1,135 representatives across the kingdom, the IEC said, adding election results are expected to be released on Wednesday.

Jordan's Public Security Directorate said in a statement that the polling day went off smoothly, dismissing reports of riots and brawls or the suspension of voting in some areas. 
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ABUJA, March 22 (Xinhua) -- At least 16 villagers were killed following an attack by suspected bandits in Nigeria's northwestern state of Zamfara, police confirmed on Monday.

The gunmen's invasion of the Ganar Kiyawa village in the Bukkuyum local government area of the state on Sunday was a "bizarre crime" that left behind sorrows, tears and blood, spokesman for the state police Muhammad Shehu told reporters.

Shehu said security agencies are currently conducting an extensive bush combing of the affected community.

Armed attacks have been a primary security threat in Nigeria's northern and central regions, leading to deaths and kidnappings in recent months. 
KHARTOUM, March 21 (Xinhua) -- Concerns are growing that the economy in Sudan would further deteriorate amid the continued decline of the national currency Sudanese pound, the unprecedented rising prices of essential goods as well as the impact of liberalization of fuel prices on the productive sectors.

Since the Central Bank of Sudan announced the liberalization of the exchange rate of Sudanese pound against the U.S. dollar on March 8, the competition between local banks and the parallel market to control the exchange market has intensified amid high demand against supply.

On Monday, foreign currency exchange rates reached record high at the local banks, with one dollar registering 630 Sudanese pounds compared to 645 pounds in the parallel market.

At the same time, the prices of basic commodities are skyrocketing few days before the holy month of Ramadan, arousing concerns that the deteriorating economic situation would increase the suffering of the citizens.

"There are signs of an economic collapse looming on the horizon," Ayoub Abdul Hafeez, a Sudanese economic expert, told Xinhua on Monday.

"Markets are witnessing an economic stagnation under lack of purchasing power and unprecedented hike in the prices of basic commodities," he added.

With the rise in prices, another problem emerged represented in shortage in necessary commodities such as cooking gas and flour.

Al-Tayeb Zain Al-Abidin, an owner of cooking gas distribution agency in Al-Azhari neighborhood, south of the capital Khartoum, told Xinhua that "gas is not available in large quantities in warehouses, while there are those who work outside the warehouses and create a parallel market for selling the gas."

Meanwhile, Abdul-Jalil Dahab, a professor of economics at Sudanese universities, attributed the economic crisis to the financial and monetary policies, weak production, and the continued phenomenon of speculation, whether in currencies or basic commodities, urging for quick actions and "restructuring the economy."

Xinhua reporters visited some markets in the capital Khartoum where the prices of basic commodities lifted sharply. A sack of sugar (50 kilos) jumped from 18,000 pounds to 30,000 pounds, while the price of edible oil (36 pounds) registered 24,000 pounds instead of 17,000 pounds.

Additionally, most bakeries were forced to increase the prices of bread due to the shortage in cooking gas and the high prices of flour, where the price of one loaf of bread reached 50 pounds.

Earlier, the World Food Programme (WFP) Office in Sudan warned of a severe shortage of grain in the country, especially wheat.

"For the first time since 1984, we're looking at a cereals-production deficit for Sudan. The WFP resources are not looking good. The situation is worse and we have less ability to respond," the WFP said in a press release.

Around 20 million people would likely be classed as suffering from emergency or crisis levels of acute food insecurity, double 2021's figure, it noted.

The economic crisis is expanding to various productive sectors in Sudan. As a result of the rise in fuel prices, the public transportation tariff has doubled, while the cultivated agricultural areas have decreased due to the increase in prices of gasoline.

Sudan has been facing an economic crisis after the United States and international agencies suspended aid with hundreds of millions of dollars after Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, the general commander of the Sudanese Armed Forces, declared a state of emergency on Oct. 25, 2021 and dissolved the Sovereign Council.

The United States immediately suspended 700 million dollars in economic aid to Sudan, while a budget support of 500 million dollars from the World Bank, which was expected in November 2021, as well as 150 million dollars in special drawing rights from the International Monetary Fund, were also halted.

Sudan's debt relief process under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative of the International Monetary Fund has also been halted.

Sudan has been undergoing a dire economic crisis since the secession of South Sudan in 2011, due to which Sudan lost 75 percent of its oil revenues. 
TUNIS, March 21 (Xinhua) -- Tunisia on Monday expressed its strong condemnation of attacks targeting sites in Saudi Arabia.

"Tunisia firmly condemned the attacks that targeted vital sites as well as economic establishments in Saudi Arabia," according to a statement released by the Tunisian Foreign Ministry.

"Tunisia expresses its total solidarity with the Saudi people and reaffirms its support for the kingdom," read the statement.

Yemen's Houthi militia on Sunday claimed responsibility for an attack against a Saudi Aramco oil facility in the Saudi Red Sea port city of Jeddah and other vital energy facilities in the Saudi southwestern city of Jazan, the second of such cross-border missile attacks against Saudi Arabia in less than 24 hours. 
PRETORIA, March 22 (Xinhua) -- South Africa is a water-scarce country with its quality under threat, said Minister of Water and Sanitation Senzo Mchunu on Tuesday, World Water Day.

He said South Africa is ranked the 30th driest country in the world, receiving summer rainfall from November to March.

"Since the surface water resources are fully allocated, our water supply needs are supplemented by international transfers from the Lesotho Highland Water Transfer Scheme. In order to meet the increase in water demand, we have gradually increased groundwater use through the groundwater development scheme," said Mchunu.

He stated that studies have shown that Southern Africa will experience water scarcity to meet human and ecosystem needs as a result of climate change.

"We have acknowledged that our country's water resources are on the decline in both quality and quantity. We are not the only country facing water quality challenges. The World Economic Forum Global Risks Report of 2019 reports that water and environmental concerns are more prevalent than ever," he added.

Mchunu said the Water Research Commission (WRC) have researched on water shortages and qualities and made recommendations which have informed policy.

He said there has been slow translation of science into policy. 
Edric Chu (L), CEO of Huawei Angola, and Maria Rosario Braganca, the head of Angola's Ministry of Higher Education, Science, Technology and Innovation, attend the launching ceremony of the "Angola National ICT Star" program in Luanda, Angola, March 21, 2022. Huawei and Angola's Ministry of Higher Education, Science, Technology and Innovation launched the "Angola National ICT Star" program on Monday, during the National Ecological Forum of Talents. The Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) training program mainly targets undergraduate, master's and doctoral students with excellent academic performance. (Photo by Engracia Matias/Xinhua)

LUANDA, March 22 (Xinhua) -- Huawei and Angola's Ministry of Higher Education, Science, Technology and Innovation (MESCTI) launched the "Angola National ICT Star" program on Monday, during the National Ecological Forum of Talents.

The Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) training program mainly targets undergraduate, master's and doctoral students with excellent academic performance.

Scholarship recipients will have the opportunity to study and research in the field of ICT.

During the event, Edric Chu, CEO of Huawei Angola, expressed that the program aims to guarantee and accelerate the digital development of Angola, training the technicians that the country lacks.

"We hope that through joint efforts with industry partners, we can invest in and develop education and expand an ever-widening path of inclusive development, and thus fill the gap that exists as much as possible," he said.

The head of MESCTI, Maria Rosario Braganca, also recognized the urgency of accelerating the training of young people in new technologies.

"I emphasize the importance of qualifying technical and senior staff in the field of ICTs, being aware that it is essential to invest in the sustainable development of technical and personal skills of our young people, to ensure our technological future, in a global context where they will only survive societies capable of accompanying the digital transformation," she said.

Huawei has cooperated with 16 Angolan universities, to which it provided teacher training programs and online courses. It built a laboratory and trained 1,000 students, certifying 600 talents. 
DAR ES SALAAM, March 22 (Xinhua) -- Tanzanian immigration authorities on Tuesday announced a week-long country-wide crackdown on illegal immigrants.

The commissioner general for the Tanzania Immigration Services Department, Anna Makakala, told a press conference in Morogoro region that the force will leave no stone unturned in detecting the aliens.

Makakala warned Tanzanians against involvement in human trafficking, saying culprits will face the full force of the law.

"Tanzanian human traffickers are hugely contributing to the rising number of illegal immigrants that enter into the country without valid travel documents," said Makakala shortly after she had inaugurated a workshop for the Tanzania Immigration Services Department.

She said the immigration authorities have secured a permit to employ 820 new immigration officials that will play a major part in cracking down on illegal immigrants in the future. 
VIENTIANE, March 22 (Xinhua) -- Laos' COVID-19 tally rose to 156,422 on Tuesday with 2,328 new cases registered in the past 24 hours, while the death toll swelled to 651, according to the Ministry of Health.

The National Taskforce Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control reported 2,306 locally transmitted cases and 22 new imported, Deputy Director General of the Department of Communicable Diseases Control under the Lao Ministry of Health, Sisavath Soutthaniraxay, told a press conference in the capital Vientiane on Tuesday.

Among the newly recorded community cases, 1,331 were detected in the capital.

Meanwhile, 22 imported cases were recorded, with 11 in Huaphan, seven in Xieng Khuang, two in the capital, one each in Savannakhet and Champasak province.

Sisavath urged residents across the country to continue to comply with COVID-19 prevention measures and get vaccinated.

Laos reported its first two confirmed cases of COVID-19 on March 24, 2020. 
ULAN BATOR, March 22 (Xinhua) -- Mongolia's foreign-exchange reserves fell to 4.3 billion U.S. dollars as of Tuesday, down 2 million dollars from the beginning of this year, according to the country's central bank.

The decrease shows that imports have exceeded exports, Byadran Lkhagvasuren, governor of the Bank of Mongolia, said at a press conference.

Mongolia's imports have increased by more than 40 percent since the start of this year, Lkhagvasuren said, adding that COVID-19 restrictions have prevented the country from exporting much of its coal, its main export product, despite the high prices of raw materials in the world market.

Therefore, the balance of payments was in deficit and foreign exchange reserves declined.

According to Lkhagvasuren, the central bank could propose restricting imports of luxury goods.

Mongolia has spent 1.37 billion U.S. dollars on imports since the beginning of this year, with almost half on luxury cars, according to the bank. 
CANBERRA, March 22 (Xinhua) -- Australia's government has revealed a plan to lure tourists back to the country in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Tuesday announced an additional 60 million Australian dollars (44.3 million U.S. dollars) in funding to attract international visitors back to Australia following two years of border closures.

Of the funding, 45 million Australian dollars (33.2 million U.S. dollars) will be spent on a Tourism Australia marketing campaign for regional destinations hit hardest by the loss of international tourism, with the remaining 15 million Australian dollars (11 million U.S. dollars) to go towards promoting the iconic Great Barrier Reef to visitors.

Australia's borders reopened to fully vaccinated international tourists on Feb. 21 about 700 days after they were closed to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

"The return of our international tourism market will support hundreds of thousands of tourism jobs, strengthen our economy," Morrison said in a statement.

According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, in the 2020-21 financial year, tourism gross domestic product (GDP) fell 37.9 percent in chain volume terms, the contribution of which to the country's total GDP fell from 2.6 percent to 1.6 percent. Meanwhile, the tourism employed persons decreased by 20.3 percent to 507,000 people.

Due to border closures, the number of international arrivals in Australia fell from about 8.7 million in 2019 to 245,770 in 2021.

Dan Tehan, Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment, flagged further future support for the industry.

Australia on Tuesday reported more than 40,000 new COVID-19 cases and more than 20 deaths from the pandemic. 
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DUBLIN, March 21 (Xinhua) -- Online retail sales in Ireland have dropped sharply following the removal of COVID-19 restrictions on local businesses, according to the figures released by the country's Central Statistics Office (CSO) on Monday.

In January 2022, only 5.8 percent of retail sales in Ireland were transacted online compared to 9.7 percent in December 2021, and an all-time high of 15.3 percent in April 2020 following the first lockdown in the country on March 27, 2020.

In March 2020, online retail sales accounted for 4.5 percent of all retail sales in Ireland, a figure slightly higher than the 4.1 percent recorded in the pre-pandemic December 2019.

There were similar but less dramatic increases in the share of online sales in subsequent lockdowns, said the CSO. Ireland was placed under another two national lockdowns in October and December of 2020.

Following the October lockdown, the share of online sales jumped from six percent in October to 12.4 percent in November. After the December lockdown, the share jumped from 5.8 percent in December to 11 percent in January 2021.

Starting from the end of this February, the Irish government has scrapped the rules requiring people to wear masks in indoor retail settings.

The move will help physical stores attract more customers and may result in a further decline in online retail sales, according to local watchers. 
MOSCOW, March 22 (Xinhua) -- Washington must stop escalating tensions if it wishes to normalize ties with Moscow, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said Tuesday.

"They need to stop their escalation, both verbally and in terms of pumping the Kiev regime with weapons," Ryabkov said, adding that the United States must also stop threatening Russia, according to Russian media reports.

"In the meantime, we are seeing a downward trend in relations," said Ryabkov, who faults the United States for the state of ties.

"We regret this. However, this doesn't have any effect on our determination to work towards achieving the goals of the special military operation and adapt to the circumstances resulting from U.S. sanctions," he said. 
KIEV, March 21 (Xinhua) -- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Kiev's compromises at peace talks with Russia would be put to a nationwide referendum in Ukraine, the government-run Ukrinform news agency reported Monday.

"I explained to all negotiating groups: when you talk about all these changes, and they can be historic, there is nowhere to go - we will have a referendum," Zelensky was quoted as saying in an interview with the Ukrainian public broadcaster Suspilne.

Zelensky emphasized that he stands ready for any compromises if they are supported by the Ukrainian people.

On March 18, Ukrainian Presidential Advisor Mykhailo Podolyak said a ceasefire, the withdrawal of troops and strict security guarantees with specific formulas are Ukraine's main demands at peace talks with Russia.

The fourth round of negotiations between Ukrainian and Russian delegations started on March 14 via video link. 
STOCKHOLM, March 22 (Xinhua) -- Two people were killed in an attack on a school in the Swedish city of Malmo on Monday.

An 18-year-old man was arrested at the scene, but police have not released any details about the incident, which claimed the lives of two women in their 50s.

Approximately 50 other people were in the building when the attack took place late in the afternoon, many of them high school students rehearsing a musical, according to local media.

Local media also reported that the arrested man was a student at the school, although police have yet to confirm the detail.

Police will release more information at a press conference on Tuesday. 
BEIJING, March 22 (Xinhua) -- The Russia-Ukraine conflict continues on Monday as relevant parties are working to broker a peaceful solution. Following are the latest developments of the situation:

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Kiev's compromises at peace talks with Russia would be put to a nationwide referendum in Ukraine, the government-run Ukrinform news agency reported Monday.

"I explained to all negotiating groups: when you talk about all these changes, and they can be historic, there is nowhere to go -- we will have a referendum," Zelensky was quoted as saying in an interview with the Ukrainian public broadcaster Suspilne.

Zelensky emphasized that he stands ready for any compromises if they are supported by the Ukrainian people.

- - - -

A total of nine captured Russian servicemen has been exchanged for Melitopol Mayor Ivan Fyodorov, marking the first of such swap between Russia and Ukraine, said Kremlin's human rights commissioner Tatyana Moskalkova on Monday.

"The first exchange has taken place -- nine people, some of them from the list that I have been compiling based on reports. I very much hope that we will avoid any delays with these lists, cards, procedures," Moskalkova told the reporters.

- - - -

Russia on Monday protested U.S. President Joe Biden's recent "unacceptable remarks" regarding Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement that it summoned U.S. Ambassador to Russia John Sullivan on Monday and handed to him a demarche and a note of protest.

Biden's harsh remarks on Putin have "put Russian-U.S. relations on the verge of breaking," it said, warning that hostile actions against Russia will receive "a decisive and firm rebuff."

- - - -

The Russian Foreign Ministry said Monday that it will no longer continue peace treaty negotiations with Japan in response to Tokyo's sanctions against Russia over the situation in Ukraine.

Moscow will also cancel visa-free travel for Japanese citizens to the four disputed Pacific islands, which are known as the Southern Kurils in Russia and the Northern Territories in Japan.

The Russian side is withdrawing from the dialogue with Japan on establishing joint economic activities in these islands, the ministry said in a statement. 
ANKARA, March 22 (Xinhua) -- Turkish prosecutors on Tuesday issued arrest warrants for 147 suspects over their alleged links to a network accused of orchestrating a coup attempt in 2016.

The chief prosecutor of the capital Ankara issued a warrant for 132 suspects who were allegedly linked to the Gulen Movement "structure" in the Gendarmerie General Command, the semi-official Anadolu Agency reported.

The suspects included two active-duty and 74 dismissed officials, along with 56 private-sector employees. The police have been conducting raids across 50 provinces.

Meanwhile, the Ankara chief prosecutor issued a warrant for 15 other suspects as part of an investigation into the group members in the health sector. Four of them were on active duty, and the rest of the suspects were previously dismissed, the agency reported.

The Turkish government accuses Gulen Movement of infiltrating into the state bureaucracy and then attempting a coup on July 15, 2016.

The movement, which mainly runs schools around the world, is a community of people named after Muslim preacher Fethullah Gulen, who is regarded by followers as a spiritual leader.

Ankara accuses U.S.-based Fethullah Gulen of masterminding the attempted coup, in which at least 250 people were killed.

Ankara requests the extradition of Gulen, but Washington is reluctant to extradite the self-exiled Islamic cleric, saying that Turkey has not presented sufficient evidence against him.

The Turkish government has launched a massive crackdown on suspects with links to the network in the aftermath of the coup attempt. 
WASHINGTON, March 22 (Xinhua) -- An off-duty police officer accused of putting his knee on a 12-year-old girl's neck to restrain her amid a lunchtime fight in Kenosha in the Midwest U.S. state of Wisconsin, is under investigation, NBC has reported, citing the city's police department.

The surveillance footage released on Friday by Kenosha Unified School District shows that Kenosha officer Shawn Guetschow, who was working as a security guard at the school, intervening in a fight on March 4 by placing his knee on the girl's neck for half a minute to subdue her, NBC reported on Tuesday.

Jerrel Perez, the girl's father, has called for criminal charges against Guetschow for using a type of restraint that was banned for Wisconsin law enforcement officers last year. Perez said his daughter is in therapy and seeing a neurologist for her injuries.

Guetschow resigned from his security guard post with the school on Tuesday, but remains employed by the city police force, Kenosha Police Department tweeted. 


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BEIJING, March 22 (Xinhua) -- Boeing China said Tuesday that it is cooperating with China Eastern Airlines and will provide support after a Boeing 737 passenger plane crashed Monday afternoon.

The company is keeping in contact with the National Transportation Safety Board in the United States, said Boeing China, adding that its technical experts are ready to aid the Civil Aviation Administration of China in conducting the investigation.

A passenger plane with 132 people aboard crashed in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region on Monday afternoon.

The China Eastern Airlines Boeing 737 aircraft, which departed from Kunming and was bound for Guangzhou, crashed into a mountainous area near the Molang village in Tengxian County in the city of Wuzhou at 2:38 p.m., causing a mountain fire. 
ISLAMABAD, March 22 (Xinhua) -- Visiting Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi held talks here Monday, and both sides have agreed to enhance pragmatic cooperation in various fields.

During the meeting, Wang said that China is willing to work with Pakistan to further synergize their development strategies, conduct systematic exchanges on governance experience and improve long-term cooperation plans.

Noting that the Pakistan-China relations are at their best in history, Qureshi said during the meeting that Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan's recent visit to China was very successful, and the leaders of the two countries have reached a large number of important consensus.

The Pakistan-China friendship is the cornerstone of Pakistan's foreign policy, he said, adding that as all-weather strategic partners, Pakistan and China have stood together through thick and thin, helped and supported each other, as well as stood firmly together at critical moments.

The Pakistani side stands ready to work with China to implement the consensus reached between the leaders of the two countries, and expand practical cooperation in various fields including agriculture, economy and trade, finance and information technology, Qureshi said while calling for increased investment from China to help push Pakistan's industrialization process.

Wang said that the Pakistan-China All-Weather Strategic Cooperative Partnership is unique and time-tested, and the two countries have become good neighbors, good friends, good partners and good brothers who trust each other.

The traditional friendship between China and Pakistan is rock-solid, which is a precious treasure for both sides, he added.

China hopes that Pakistan will get more deeply involved in China's new development landscape with a further convergence of interests, Wang said.

China is willing to expand imports from Pakistan and support Chinese enterprises in investing in Pakistan, so as to help Pakistan enhance its capacity of independent development.

Qureshi welcomed Wang to come over to attend the 48th session of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), saying that the first time participation by a Chinese foreign minister in the meeting is of historical significance, which shows China's support for Pakistan and that China attaches great importance to Islamic countries.

As an OIC founding member, Pakistan is willing to push the OIC to deepen its friendly ties with China, he said.

Wang congratulated Pakistan on its hosting the OIC foreign ministers' meeting, saying that this shows Pakistan's role of bridge between the Islamic world and the oriental civilization. Chinese foreign minister's presence at the meeting at invitation demonstrates that China has high-level exchanges with the Islamic world and that it highly values strengthening relations with Islamic countries.

Under the current circumstances, it is of vital importance that Islamic countries enhance solidarity and collaboration, Wang said, adding that China is willing to play a constructive role in it.

Both sides spoke highly of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) program, saying that it helps in Pakistan's economic growth and transition. The two sides agreed to strengthen cooperation on energy, transportation and infrastructure, among others, and promote the CPEC's healthy, comprehensive, sustainable and high-quality development, so that the CPEC can become an important engine for Pakistan's economic advances.

The two sides agreed to enhance counter-terrorism cooperation, and firmly combat terrorist organizations such as the Eastern Turkistan Islamic Movement, and establish new and upgraded security cooperation mechanisms using the handling of the Dasu terrorist attack case as an opportunity.

Qureshi said that Pakistan gives priority to protecting the Chinese projects and personnel in the country, and will bring all perpetrators in the Dasu attack to justice and prevent such things from happening again.

Both sides agreed to enhance multilateral coordination, mutual support and cooperation on major international issues, strengthen the consensuses on global development, safeguard the common interests of developing countries and uphold the basic norms governing international relations, as well as equality and justice in the international arena.

They stressed the importance of the mechanism of coordination and cooperation among Afghanistan's neighboring countries, and pledged efforts towards more consensuses and results from the mechanism.

On the Ukraine issue, they expressed concerns about the spillover effect of unilateral sanctions, and the belief that the international law and the purposes and principles of the UN Charter should be observed, and called for a cease-fire realized through diplomatic dialogues.

The two sides expected the parties concerned to find a solution to the Ukraine issue based on the principle of indivisible security and set up a balanced, effective and sustainable security architecture in Europe.

After their talks, the two foreign ministers witnessed the signing of cooperation documents on agriculture, education and technology, and attended a joint press conference.

Wang arrived in the Pakistani capital on Monday to attend the 48th session of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) held in Islamabad, and for a visit to Pakistan. 
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As time goes on, I become more convinced that we are witnessing one of the most historical times in human history. It could be said that we're witnessing a controlled demolition of everything that has been built upon lies for alot longer than most could ever imagine. The only problem with this is that, to sum it up on a real perspective; we've been screwed over and fed bullshit by those who, for years, we thought were doing the best for the community based off of what we were told.

I, personally, have seen one of the biggest alleged supporters of Unca D (President Trump) turn out to be a script-reading and hypothetical proboscis-taking asshole fronting for someone who thinks they descended from humanoids......I'm not making this up. This particular person is a member of the NC House and claims to be conservative as well as a grassroots supporter. I've even disclosed some of this information within a couple of my recent writings here on BCN. There seems to be a recurring series of patterns that some are completely oblivious to or are ignoring. The Akkadian-Phoenician (you'll hopefully come to understand) Democrats, for the sake of conversation, know that they're up shit-o creek but they project the image of somehow conjuring up a landslide victory.....based on the fact that the party's credibility is forever shot to hell. On the other side of the same known universe, Republicans (Uniparty autocratic Akkadian- Phoenicians the same as the democrats) and patriots, many without discernment, have the same strategy as the opposition.....a failed and defeated entity. They believe what they're being told because they choose to believe it. They're rejecting a natural instinct given to us in times such as these.

To quote "Unca" Lin Wood: "Stay with me here. Woah there watch out comin' atcha now, son!" He doesn't really say all that but he could and it would be hilarious..... especially if he did it native ENC-style and did it like my Uncle, G. Jr The Great.

Anyway, (turns the Led Zeppelin down) the saddest part in all of this is that if the democrats cheated then your can bet your ass-o the Reptocrat Republicans did too.....and they don't want you to know. They want you to stupidly vote using machines that are still rigged with a preset algorithm that will not be overridden by a somehow massive turnout during a midterm! This is insanity and like a bad experience while watching "Heavy Metal" in Ridgewood down on River Road! How many times do things have to happen before it's mathematically impossible to be coincidence?

In closing, I want to bring up the fact, unknown to me until last week, that we have a program, established by Beaufort County Health Department and funded by John Q. Taxpayer, where those addicted to injection narcotics can get fresh needles for injecting the crap the Reptocrats put out on the street. Don't worry though, it's going to cut down on Hepatitis C and HIV. We have "addiction centers", they say. Let's use some common sense and critical thinking one more time as we drop this last quarter into the pinball machine, shall we? Who voted in favor of or against the county allocating money to the health department for this program? Are they familiar with the definition of "genocide" and what it actually means to commit a crime against humanity? Are they so desperate for control that they'll run the ship into the ground and make money while doing it?

I would like to again state that I'm not instructing people to not vote. I'm simply saying that both sides have been caught cheating. They both used the same systems....even in local races. The biggest opposition against the Patrioto movements of truth and actual freedom through knowledge and guidance comes from those who claim to be on our side. People who've been in office for too long tend to play these games. We are in the Quantum era of the Republic's long and arduous journey in fighting an ancient enemy. Fixing 2020 and everything that goes with it means more than you think!

Before I forget, Germany and Chy-na (not the warrior Republic who fights the same An...deep state that we do) too had government programs that allegedly fought Hepatitis C and HIV. They also had facilities where addicts could to inject government-furnished narcotics with government-furnished needles. Don't we have similar facilities giving out government approved narcotic substitutes at pain management clinics? Reptocrats and Iguana Democrats as well as other illusionary party officials throughout this planet continually push these types of evil because they've been allowed to do so.

Guess what.....you might have to come to terms with the possibility the entire game of perception of their world is over. Everything is a lie except the truth shown to us by the Good Lord,...even if they've tried to his creations beneath the soil, so to say.

It's now being said the fenced in former U.S. Capital building is much older than the Akkadian Saturn worshipping Godless iguanas want us to believe......

Wolfie out........

https://www.wnct.com/local-news/improving-the-health-of-people-using-injection-drugs/

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17883935/
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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.

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Woburn, MA (01801)

Today

Mostly sunny. High 68F. Winds NNW at 5 to 10 mph..

Tonight

Mainly cloudy. Low 46F. Winds NW at 5 to 10 mph.
Woburn, MA (01801)

Today

Mostly sunny. High 68F. Winds NNW at 5 to 10 mph..

Tonight

Mainly cloudy. Low 46F. Winds NW at 5 to 10 mph.
Recent Democratic presidential administrations have been all over the place when it comes to gun dealer licensing. In the early 1990s, President Bill Clinton went to great efforts to eliminate as many Federal Firearms Licensees (FFLs or gun dealers) as he could. President Barack Obama reversed course and demanded that those marginally engaged in the business of gun selling acquire an FFL. Now President Joe Bidens administration has the government running the Clinton playbook again  operating a zero tolerance policy that is shuttering FFLs over trivial violations. This sort of schizophrenic policy-making could give the impression that this strategy has been motivated by anti-gun politics rather than concerns about violent crime.

It was an article of faith among gun control organizations in the early-1990s that there were just too many gun dealers in the country. Back in the pre-District of Columbia v. Heller days, gun control supporters were more honest about their goals and anything that made guns more obtainable, like a healthy supply of gun dealers, was something they openly opposed.

Never mind the fact that FFLs were, and are, subject to significant federal regulation and help to carry out the federal firearm tracing scheme that gun control proponents contend is vital to public safety. Moreover, this campaign neglected ATFs history of forcing low-volume gun dealers into the federal licensing scheme. In the 1980s for example, there was evidence of ATF revoking the FFL of a person because he only sold three guns during the year, while simultaneously prosecuting another person for selling three guns that year without a license.

In December 1992, the handgun prohibitionists at the Violence Policy Center published a report titled More Gun Dealers Than Gas Stations. The authors whined that there was a bloated, unmanageable universe of illegitimate FFL holders. VPC took particular aim at small-scale FFLs they termed kitchen-table gun dealers. .....
Press Release

March 21, 2022 BIR, PAGCOR fail to withhold taxes from e-sabong winnings - Tolentino MANILA - Senator Francis 'Tol' N. Tolentino called out various agencies over the supposed failure of the government to withhold taxes from e-sabong winnings. Tolentino stressed that the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) and the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) failed to withheld the 20-percent tax from the winning profits of online sabong operations since the virtual cockfighting industry began sometime during the second quarter of 2020, unlike those being collected from other number games like sweepstakes, horse racing, and lotto. Tolentino noted that government earnings from e-sabong operations only came from the regulatory fee being collected by PAGCOR from license operators every match. A regulatory fee tantamount to only P12,500 per match or sultada. "So ang lumalabas ngayon, walang buwis pa na tinatanggap ang pamahalaan buhat sa e-sabong... unlike, pakinggan mo BIR, sweepstakes winnings. Lotto--binabawas agad yun (kapag) nanalo ka, diba? Horse racing, may bawas yun. Sa e-sabong wala pa, bakit ganun?" Tolentino said during Monday's inquiry in the Senate Committee on Public Order and Dangerous Drugs in connection with the mysterious disappearances of 34 cockfighting aficionados. Gambling tycoon Charlie 'Atong' Ang during the said Senate probe disclosed that his e-sabong firm, Pitmasters Live has been remitting to PAGCOR just barely P112.5-million worth of regulator fees every 30 days, despite admitting earlier that the said company earns roughly P3-billion monthly. Under the National Internal Revenue Code, legal gambling entities are supposed to remit to the national government a big chunk of their earnings "We are in a state of disarray by letting go of a big amount that should have gone to the coffers of government and used as 'ayuda' for drivers, farmers and fisherfolks," Tolentino added. Atty. Sixto Dy Jr., chief-of-staff of the BIR's Office of the Deputy Commissioner for Operations to members of the Senate panel that winnings from e-sabong above P10,000 are subjected to 20-percent withholding tax. Tolentino explained that the complexity in the dynamics surrounding online sabong industry should be blamed once and for all, to the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Office of the Solicitor General's (SolGen) erroneous interpretations of Republic Act No. 9487--the New PAGCOR Charter--and has enabled the questionable authority of the country's gambling regulatory agency in regulating e-sabong.
Press Release

March 22, 2022 De Lima proud of her surrogates, reps; netizens all praises on them during sorties Re-electionist Senator Leila M. de Lima heaped praises on her surrogates or proxies for excellently representing her and communicating her advocacies and platforms to the people during campaign sorties. De Lima, who is running under the Robredo-Pangilinan ticket, has nothing but good words for Atty. Fhillip "Petong" Sawali, Atty. Dino De Leon, Rep. Tom Villarin, Prof. Socorro Reyes, Comm. Heidi Mendoza, Atty. Aleta Tolentino, Ms. Zena Bernardo, and her brother Vicboy de Lima. "So proud of my surrogates at the rallies - Petong, Dino, Cong. Tom, Prof. Soc, Comm. Heidi, Atty. Aleta, Ms. Zena. And my brother Vicboy. High energy. Fired up. Gung ho. They know and feel, first hand, the intensity of my struggles and spirit to endure and overcome. They simply cannot fake and suppress their passion, on stage," she said. De Lima, who cannot physically attend campaign rallies, earlier shared that aside from releasing regular "Dispatches from Crame", she relies heavily on her surrogates to mount a strong campaign from detention. Through her campaign team, De Lima shared that they reached out and reconnected with friends and supporters who helped them in the 2016 elections, to help them reach out to base voters. De Lima's surrogates have consistently received great feedback for their outstanding representation of De Lima during campaign sorties, the recent of which was during the PasigLaban para sa Tropa People's Rally along Emerald Avenue, Pasig City last March 20 attended by De Leon. Notably, people took to Twitter to express their admiration for De Leon, who is also De Lima's spokesperson and one of her legal counsels. "Atty. Dino de Leon, representing Sen. Leila de Lima, IMHO, delivered the best speech of the night. And TBH, I would have wanted to hear more speeches like this from other candidates esp those whose experiences are advocacy-driven..." one said. "Ang powerful ng speech ni Dino De Leon in behalf of Leila [d]e Lima," another added. "... ANG SOLID NI DINO DE LEON... TINDIG BALAHIBO FROM EJK TO WPS TO MARCOS DICTATORSHIP!!! THIS IS WHAT AN OPPOSITION SPEECH SHOULD SOUND LIKE!!!" another netizen chimed in. The most notable line during De Leon's speech, which was heavily quoted by netizens, was when he said that "Ang sigaw ni Leila de Lima, HUSTISYA! Para sa malawakang patayan sa ilalim ni Duterte... Para sa lahat ng mga pang-aapi sa mga Lumad at pambabastos sa mga kababaihan, HUSTISYA!" Netizens also lauded Sawali, De Lima's Chief of Staff and Deputy Campaign Manager, during the Robredo-Pangilinan tandem's rally in Bacolod, Negros Occidental via Tweet: "Effective na public speaker si Atty. Sawali on behalf of Sen. Leila de Lima. Ang lakas at buo ng boses; hindi ka aantukin. #BacolodIsPink." "Leila de Lima's Chief of Staff is such as effective speaker and rabble-rouser. Sana he gets more opportunity to speak on behalf of @SenLeiladeLima", posted by another netizen. Despite her continued unjust detention that prevents her from physically attending rallies, De Lima has already filed 692 bills and resolutions since being elected in office in 2016. Some of those De Lima had authored which have been enacted into law include the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) Institutionalization Act, Magna Carta of the Poor Act and the National Commission of Senior Citizens Act.
What Does the Consecration to Mary of Russia and Ukraine Really Mean?

Fatima expert and author available for comment on historic event



NEWS PROVIDED BY

Carmel Communications

March 22, 2022



SAN FRANCISCO, March 22, 2022 /Christian Newswire/ -- Pope Francis has invited all bishops, priests, and Catholics all over the world to join him in consecrating Russia and Ukraine to the Immaculate Heart of Mary on Friday, March 25, 2022. Russia has been consecrated to Mary before, as per the specific request of Our Lady at the Marian apparitions at Fatima in Portugal. Yet misconceptions persist in this act of consecration: Wasn't Russia already consecrated to Mary? Did previous popes not follow Our Lady's direction in consecrating Russia to Mary? What did the last surviving Fatima visionary, Sr. Lucia, say about previous consecrations to Mary?



Paul Senz answers these and many other questions about the Marian apparitions of Fatima in his book, FATIMA: 100 QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS ABOUT THE MARIAN APPARITIONS (Ignatius Press 2020), which was released in conjunction with the feature film "Fatima" in 2020.



Senz, who has his Master of Arts in Pastoral Ministry from the University of Portland, utilizes a question-and-answer format to explore the context of these apparitions that occurred in Fatima, why they were so engrossing at the time, what they have meant to the Church and the world in the century since they happened, and why the requests of Our Lady are so important today, including the consecration to Russia.



"A clear, concise guide, and a much-needed resource that unpacks the history, message and meaning of Our Lady of Fatima for people today," said Edward Sri, Ph.D., author of Rethinking Mary in the New Testament, and Marian expert himself. "Paul Senz has done the Church a great service by writing this book."



Paul Senz is available to discuss:

Why this consecration is important



How the consecration will work on March 25th, the Solemnity of the Annunciation



The circumstances surrounding the previous consecrations and what Our Lady asked during the apparitions of Fatima



What Sr. Lucia said about the specific consecration of Pope John Paul II.



To schedule an interview with Paul Senz, please contact Kevin Wandra (404-788-1276 or KWandra@CarmelCommunications.com) of Carmel Communications.



SOURCE Carmel Communications



CONTACT: Kevin Wandra, 404-788-1276, KWandra@CarmelCommunications.com


Press Release

March 22, 2022 Economic recovery to get a big boost from Drilon's twin economic laws

Drilon says these laws will help the next administration in leading the recovery of the Philippine economy The country's much-needed economic recovery will get a significant boost from the signing into law of Republic Act 11659, according to Senate Minority Leader Franklin M. Drilon, principal author of the newly-signed law that amends the 86-year-old Public Service Act. "I laud the timely passage of the Amended Public Service Act. By opening up our public services to competition, this will compel the current players to shape up and boost our foreign direct investments, and provide our people with better choices," Drilon said. "I am proud of shepherding its passage in the Senate both as a principal author and as a co-sponsor together with Senator Grace Poe. I am happy that after years of efforts, we now have an amended Public Service Act that is truly reflective of the present needs of our country and our people," he added. Drilon first filed the measure in the 17th Congress. Together with the Amended Retail Trade Law and the Revised Corporation Code that he authored, Drilon believes that the country is in a better position to tackle the economic slump due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Drilon said "these laws will help the next administration in leading the recovery of the Philippine economy." Drilon explained that the Amended Public Service Act, which was enacted in 1936, provides a clearer definition of public utilities, as he pointed out how the interchangeable use of "public utility" and "public service" has effectively barred foreign entry into the market. The law limits the term "public utility" to just six services: distribution of electricity, transmission of electricity, petroleum and petroleum products pipeline transmission systems, and water pipeline distribution systems and waste water pipeline systems, including sewerage pipeline systems, seaports and public utility vehicles. Foreign ownership to these public utilities will remain restricted to a maximum of forty percent, pursuant to Section 11, Article 12 of the Constitution. By virtue of the passage of this law, all other "public services" will no longer have foreign ownership restrictions. Drilon, however, clarified that RA 11659 does not translate to the deregulation of public services, as he underscored that all public services, including public utilities, are still subject to existing regulatory rules. "These laws will stimulate the economy, promote competition in business, enhance the ease of doing business, and generate more jobs," Drilon said. While foreign direct investments (FDIs) to the country have seen an improvement in recent months, Drilon said that the country remains among the least attractive to foreign investors. In October 2021, think tank Oxford Economics placed the Philippines second to the last among 14 Asia-Pacific economies in terms of attractiveness to foreign direct investment. "Through RA 11659, together with the Amended Retail Trade Liberalization Act, we can address these so-called economic roadblocks that have prevented us from reaching our economic potential. We will see further rise of FDIs in the coming months and an improvement in our economy," Drilon said. Even if he is part of the opposition, Drilon led the chamber in pushing for the two economic measures that are part of the Duterte administration's legislative agenda, namely the amended Public Service Act and the amended Retail Trade Liberalization Law. Before the Senate adjourned session in February, Senate leaders led by Senate President Vicente Sotto and Majority Leader Miguel Zubiri cited the excellent performance of Drilon as minority leader and his contributions in the passage of several landmark measures. Drilon is ending his fourth term as senator on June 30 leaving as legacy a number of economic reform laws which helped lay the foundations for a healthy economy. These include the Philippine Competition Act, which outlaws and penalizes anti-competitive agreements; the Cabotage Law to lower the cost of domestic shipping; amendments to the Foreign Investment Negative List, which liberalizes the ownership of lending, adjustment and financing companies; Tax Incentives Monitoring and Transparency Act (TIMTA); the Go Negosyo Law; the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act; and amendments to the Philippine Deposit Insurance Corporation. He is also the author of the GOCC Governance Act.
Press Release

March 22, 2022 Zubiri on Laguna Hazing: Perpetrators Should Rot Behind Bars Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri is calling for the strict enforcement of the Anti-Hazing Act of 2018 against members of the Tau Gamma Phi fraternity from Kalayaan, Laguna, which is coming under fire for the death of an 18-year-old student, after allegedly undergoing hazing. "It is absolutely infuriating how some fraternities are still upholding these barbaric hazing rituals," Zubiri said. "Walang puso. That kind of violence is not brotherhood. That's torture, and everyone with a hand in it has blood on their hands and should rot behind bars." The victim, identified as Reymarc Rabutazo, was found drowned in a river with bruising on his legs. In 2018, Zubiri authored the strengthened Anti-Hazing Law in the wake of the death of Horacio "Atio" Castillo III, a freshman law student at the University of Santo Tomas. The new Anti-Hazing Act mandates stronger penalties against perpetrators of hazing, including reclusion perpetua and a fine of Php3 million. The new law also prohibits any form of hazing or violence to an applicant, whether physical or psychological, in any fraternity, sorority, or similar organizations. Universities also face penalties should they fail to monitor initiation rites. Zubiri dedicated the law to Castillo. "After Atio, pinalakas talaga namin ang Anti-Hazing Act para hindi maulit ang ganitong karahasan. Wala na dapat ang mga ganitong klaseng initiation rites," he said. "So many young people have already died from hazing, and so many families have been upturned by their loss. And what's worse is that their deaths have been so completely senseless. These are kids looking for brotherhood and friendship, and this is what they get in return?" "Lalong nakakagalit itong pagkamatay ni Reymarc kasi, pagkatapos ng pagkamatay nina Atio at Darwin Dormitorio, parang hindi pa natatauhan ang mga ganitong organisasyon. Dapat talagang maparusahan sila--to serve justice, and to serve as a loud reminder that the law works, and no one can get away with this kind of violence ever again."
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These initiatives are part of the following projects: La Zanja, based in Cajamarca, which has pledged an investment of US$114 million; as well as Las Defensas, based in La Libertad, which requires an investment of US$69 million.





The aforementioned mining projects are operated by Buenaventura and La Poderosa mining companies, respectively.





Minem states that exploration is essential for the development of mining. Therefore, it is the first link in the most important economic activity in Peru, making it possible to find new deposits and to extend the useful life of the mines that are currently in operation, which expands the attraction of domestic and foreign investment in favor of the country.





Next in line are copper projects. The current Portfolio includes 20 projects of this type with a combined investment of US$211 million, representing 36.1% of the nationwide investment.





The projects that stand out in this group include Ancash-based Soledad, with an investment of US$47 million; Pampa Negra, based in Moquegua, which entails a US$45 million investment; and Chapitos, based in Arequipa, a project requiring a US$41 million investment.





These three mining exploration projects are operated by Chakana Copper, Nexa Resources, and Camino Minerals, respectively.





It should be noted that copper is the main metal exported by Peru and one of the largest revenue generators for the national exchequer.





(END) NDP/CNA/JJN/RMB/MVB

The Ministry of Energy and Mines (Minem) on Tuesday reported that, according to the 2022 Portfolio of Mining Exploration Projects , there are 23 gold projects nationwide thus ranking first in the portfolio which together add up to an investment of US$254 million and account for 43.4% of the nationwide exploration budget.Publicado: 22/3/2022
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"Today, we are here because of the democratic cry from authorities nationwide; I announce from this space that on Saturday, March 26, we will hold the National Agreement (session), the National Agreement Assembly, to which you are invited in a disciplined, orderly, and organic manner to participate," Mr. Castillo expressed on the occasion.

The top official indicated that this meeting will enable the Government to assess the country's needs, as it is important to put Peru first.

"We accept this democratic cry; during my speech before Congress we have said that we are turning the page on confrontation, on useless bickering, because we can't inherit any more issues which harm the country," he stated.

Nota de prensa | El premier Anibal Torres sostuvo una reunion con el secretario ejecutivo del Acuerdo Nacional, Max Hernandez, y representantes de diversos sectores miembros para coordinar respecto a la sesion convocada por el presidente @PedroCastilloTe. pic.twitter.com/Z5OMeJX9zy

El Peru manifiesta su profunda solidaridad con el Gobierno y pueblo de China por la lamentable perdida de vidas humanas ocasionada por el accidente aereo de "China Eastern Airlines" y expresa sus sentidas condolencias a los familiares de las victimas. @ChinaEmbPeru
" " An estimated one in 2 million lobsters are blue. Gary Lewis/Getty Images/Buzz60

How rare is it to find a blue lobster? For one lobsterman, his lucky day came on Monday, Aug. 8, when he pulled one out from a trap laid in the waters off Plymouth, Massachusetts.

The blue color, which is a liability in the ocean (since it doesn't allow the lobster to blend in with its surroundings) is a benefit on land, as the lobsterman, Wayne Nickerson, hopes to donate it to the New England Aquarium in Boston. That will save it from ending up on someone's dinner plate.

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The blue hue, according to the Lobster Institute at the University of Maine comes from a genetic defect that causes the lobster to make excessive amounts of the protein that creates the color. There's approximately a one in 2 million chance of finding a blue lobster. But, surprisingly, these are not the rarest color of lobster.

The Lobster Institute estimates there's a one in 10 million chance of coming across a red lobster  one that's red before being cooked, that is, and a one in 30 million chance of seeing a yellow lobster or a calico lobster. (A calico lobster is one that's orange but mottled with black shells.) And the rarest lobster of all? An albino or crystal lobster  that's one with no color at all. Odds of finding this one are one in 100 million.

All of this makes the blue lobster seem pretty common by comparison. Indeed, Nickerson said he found another blue one in 1990.

Some experts dispute the one-in-2-million odds for blue lobsters. A researcher at England's National Hatchery thinks it could be as low as one in a few hundred thousand. But a zoology expert at Oxford University supports the one-in-2-million odds. Even Rob Bayer, executive director at the Lobster Institute which quotes the higher figure, admitted that it's just a guess. "The chances of this happening nobody really knows," he told the BBC.

Now That's Cool Two fishermen off the coast of Nova Scotia, Canada, caught two blue lobsters three days and 92 miles (150 kilometers) apart back in May 2016.
YEREVAN, MARCH 22, ARMENPRESS. Human Rights Defender of Armenia Kristinne Grigoryan and her staffers visited on March 21 the Central Military Hospital of the Defense Ministry, her Office said in a news release.

The Ombudswoman toured the hospital, got acquainted with the medical services provided to servicemen, talked to the soldiers receiving treatment.

The treatment course and methods were discussed with the medical staff.

The Ombudswoman and her staffers explained the servicemen about the opportunities of exercising their rights. The soldiers presented their health problems, treatment process and daily service life to the Human Rights Defender.

Kristinne Grigoryan in her remarks said that the heroic work of military doctors and the whole medical staff deserves special praise. She added that the protection of rights of servicemen and their family members will remain under the direct spotlight of the Human Rights Defender.
YEREVAN, MARCH 22, ARMENPRESS. There is quite a big flow of IT specialists to Armenia during the current sanctions on Russia and Belarus, Deputy Minister of High Technological Industry Davit Sahakyan said in an interview to ARMENPRESS, stating that their task is to create such conditions so that these specialists will not leave Armenia when these sanctions are lifted.

There is that inflow, but it is mainly from Russia. There is also an inflow from Belarus, and less from Ukraine. There are cases when IT companies completely come here. There was a demand for the specialists of the field in Armenia. This is a good situation to fill that gap of specialists. The salaries in the labor market are high based on demand-supply disproportionate. But they may decline as a result of this flow, he said.

According to the deputy minister, each agency has a work to do for providing these specialists with proper conditions. He says in order to increase the flow of specialists to Armenia, first of all a necessary number of apartments, schools and kindergartens, as well as a service sector talking with their language are needed. If the ministry, he says, takes steps to bring them to Armenia, other problems will emerge. But actions are also being taken for solving these problems.

The big flow of specialists to Armenia was an experience for the ministry. Amendments will be made to the Law on State Assistance for Information Technologies. We saw what kind of problems could emerge that we need to involve them in this process which will enter into force from January 1 already at an institutional level, he said.

The deputy minister noted that their ministry is also engaged in creating such conditions for the IT companies who came to Armenia from abroad that will enable them to create and develop.

He said they do what is being done for the Armenian companies, they are showing the same attitude both to the foreign and Armenian companies.

Many foreign companies have come and been registered in Armenia. The law enables the foreign companies to come and be registered in Armenia, he said.

Asked why IT specialists prefer Armenia, the deputy minister said Armenia has great advantages for the development of high-tech companies.

Armenia could be a very good springboard to enter the global market and do global business. Our ecosystem, our legislative field, and the reforms being held at an international level contributed to their visits to Armenia. These are being done to make Armenias technology system in accordance with the international standards, so that startups do not leave Armenia to attract investments, but investments come to Armenia. Now we are at the stage of selling these attractions, Mr. Sahakyan said.

This process, he said, is a bilateral cooperation. He emphasizes that the ministrys task is to hold IT specialists and companies in Armenia.

If Armenia manages to keep a certain part of specialists and companies here, I would consider that our system has succeeded. We can show to the whole world that look, they came here, saw and stayed, you also can come, see and stay. We already know what our next step will be to make the services of our ecosystem available everywhere, he added.

Interview by Karine Terteryan

Photos by Mkhitar Khachatryan
YEREVAN, MARCH 22, ARMENPRESS. Members of Parliament held a moment of silence in honor of the memory of the victims of the 1920 Shushi pogroms, where thousands of Armenians were killed.

I suggest that we hold a moment of silence to honor the memory of the victims of the pogroms committed by Turkish-Azerbaijani groups in Shushi in 1920, MP Hayk Mamijanyan from Pativ Unem bloc said at the plenary session.

Around 20,000 of our compatriots died as a result of the pogroms which lasted 4-5 days. I think that in the context of the present-day developments and the signals coming from Artsakh yesterday, it is necessary for the world to see that we remember our history very well, Mamijanyan said.

In 1920, Armed units of the first republic of Azerbaijan attempted to resolve the Karabakh issue which had been already on the international agenda, by using force and mass killing of the civilian population.

As a result, the Armenian town of Shushi, a major economic, spiritual and cultural center of the region, was set on a fire and destroyed. This atrocity, committed by unprecedented cruelty, was led by Khosrov bey Sultanov, who later, during World War II, actively participated in the formation of Azerbaijani legion in the ranks of the Nazi troops.
YEREVAN, MARCH 22, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan sent a letter of condolences to Premier of China Li Keqiang on the occasion of the crash of an aircraft in Guangxi province, the Armenian PMs Office said.

On behalf of the government of Armenia and myself personally I express condolences to you, the government of the Peoples Republic of China and the good people of China on the occasion of the crash of the China Eastern Airlines aircraft in Guangxi province.

I wish patience to the families and relatives of the victims for surviving this heavy loss, the Armenian PM said in his letter.
YEREVAN, MARCH 22, ARMENPRESS. The Human Rights Defender of Armenia Kristinne Grigoryan and the Human Rights Defender of Artsakh Gegham Stepanyan issued a joint statement, calling on international human rights organizations to pressure Azerbaijan and eliminate its gross and continuous human rights violations against the Armenians of Artsakh.

An instrument of petty revenge has been discovered for the Azerbaijani policy of ethnic cleansing of Armenians of Artsakh.

Yesterday at night, yet again the Azerbaijani side deliberately stopped the operation of the only gas pipeline supplying gas from Armenia to Artsakh. The gas supply of Artsakh was disrupted for the first time on March 8, due to an alleged accident, Afterwards, the Azerbaijani side did not allow experts from Artsakh to approach the area of the accident, which was located under their (Azerbaijani) control. From that moment on it has become obvious that the state policy of Armenophobia of Azerbaijan had discovered yet another method to pressure the Armenians of Artsakh.

The analysis of reliable facts reveals that during the reconstruction works or under their guise, the Azerbaijani side has installed a valve on the gas pipeline to terrorize the peaceful population of Artsakh and to leave them without heating, hot water, and other basic conditions necessary especially during cold weather conditions, by closing it at any given time.

The gas supply that was restored on March 18 lasted less than 3 days. In these severe winter weather conditions, children, older persons, the sick and displaced persons of Artsakh are deprived of heating. People are facing undefinable difficulties. The humanitarian crisis in Artsakh is ongoing.

It is beyond doubt for us that the Azerbaijani side is deliberately continuing the state policy of terrorizing and pressuring the population of Artsakh. The goal is the same - annihilation and ethnic cleansing of Artsakh from its indigenous Armenian population.

This shameful "revenge" towards more than 100,000 Armenians is unacceptable. This state policy best describes the false and empty essence of the theses of tolerance declared by Azerbaijan.

We strongly condemn this ongoing practice of ethnic hatred and revenge by Azerbaijan towards the people of Artsakh.

We call on international human rights organizations and actors to put pressure on the Azerbaijani side in order to eliminate this gross and continuous human rights violation," reads the statement.
YEREVAN, MARCH 22, ARMENPRESS. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Armenia issued a statement on Azerbaijan's actions aimed at creating a humanitarian crisis in Artsakh, noting that it considers inadmissible this outrageous policy of systematic violence against the Armenians of Artsakh, ARMENPRESS was informed from the MFA Armenia.

"With the obvious intervention of the Azerbaijani side, the supply of natural gas from Armenia to Nagorno Karabakh was again disrupted near the city of Shushi, in the area under Azerbaijani control. Thus, in the conditions of unprecedented snowfall and unprecedented cold weather, about 120,000 people of Nagorno Karabakh have been deprived of the necessary gas supply," the statement reads.

Only a few days ago, Azerbaijan did not allow to carry out works for 8 days for repairing the gas pipeline that had crashed in the same area under unknown circumstances.

According to the MFA Armenia, in addition to its ongoing actions of exerting psychological pressure on the people of Nagorno Karabakh, preventing the entry of international humanitarian organizations into Nagorno-Karabakh, Azerbaijan deliberately disrupts the normal operation of vital infrastructure in Nagorno-Karabakh, which obviously leads to humanitarian crisis in Nagorno Karabakh. "We consider this outrageous policy of systematic violence against the Armenians of Artsakh inadmissible.

"The current situation makes urgent the clear response of the international community to prevent a humanitarian crisis, as well as the immediate and unhindered involvement of international humanitarian organizations in Nagorno Karabakh," the Foreign Ministry of Armenia said.
Phoenix TV: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken released a statement on March 21 saying the US is imposing visa restrictions on Chinese officials for their involvement in human rights violations such as repressive acts against members of ethnic and religious minority groups, dissidents and others inside and outside of Chinas borders, including within the US. Do you have any comment?

Wang Wenbin: The US statement, full of ideological bias and political lies, maligns and smears China and wantonly imposes restrictions on Chinese officials. It contravenes international law and basic norms governing international relations and grossly interferes in Chinas internal affairs. We firmly reject it.

The Chinese people can tell better than anyone else how Chinas human rights conditions are. The US is in no position to pass judgement. The Chinese government follows a people-centered human rights philosophy and implements the constitutional principle of respecting and protecting human rights. We take the rights to subsistence and development as the primary basic human rights, make coordinated efforts to promote all peoples economic, political, social, cultural and environmental rights, strive to uphold social equity and justice, and promote the well-rounded development of each individual. China has successfully blazed a trail of human rights development that is in keeping with the trend of the times and its national realities. Thanks to this, Chinas human rights cause has made historic achievement and the 1.4 billion Chinese peoples sense of fulfillment, happiness and security in human rights protection has continuously improved. As the international community can see, Chinas human rights conditions have never been better.

The worst human rights violations in the world were committed by no other than the US. Throughout its history, the US physically slaughtered, geographically expelled and culturally assimilated Native Americans, committing systemic human rights abuses. These crimes are more than enough to constitute de facto genocide. The US conducted systemic ethnic cleansing against Native Americans over more than a century after the country was founded. The population of Native Americans nosedived from 5 million at the end of the 15th century to 250,000 at the beginning of the 20th century. The US government also adopted cultural assimilation policies, leading to cultural genocide against Native Americans.

The tribulations of Native Americans are far from being the full story of the US poor human rights record. The US botched response to COVID-19 has led to the death of over 970,000 Americans, and the persistent and systemic racial discrimination is so deeply entrenched that people like George Floyd cannot breathe. The US aggression overseas violates human rights of people in other countries, inflicting untold sufferings. The US even flagrantly seized the $7 billion frozen assets of the Afghan central bank. By robbing the Afghan people of their life-saving money, it has aggravated the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan. Yet, such a country has been clamoring for pressure and sanctions on other countries in the name of protecting human rights. Such tricks are doomed to fail.

We urge the US to earnestly reflect upon and rectify its numerous crimes of human rights violations. In the meantime, it should view Chinas human rights situation in an objective and just manner, stop denigrating and suppressing the Chinese side and immediately revoke its so-called sanctions against Chinese officials. Otherwise, the Chinese side shall take reciprocal countermeasures in response.

Bloomberg: The US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has appointed a senior investigator to work with China on the probe into the China Eastern Airlines Flight crash. That investigator will be helped by representatives from the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the companies Boeing and CFM. So my question is, will China allow these people into the country? If so, will they have to undertake any sort of COVID quarantine restrictions? Will they get a shortened quarantine to facilitate the investigation into the crash?

Wang Wenbin: We are deeply grieved by the crash of the China Eastern Airlines airplane. The competent Chinese authorities are making all-out search and rescue efforts and will identify the cause of the accident as soon as possible to ensure the absolute safety of civil aviation operations. Relevant Chinese authorities have released information about the situation. Id like to refer you to them for more specifics.

RIA Novosti: The Russian Foreign Ministry said on Monday that Moscow, in response to Japanese sanctions, is refusing to negotiate a peace treaty with Japan and withdrawing from joint economic projects with Japan. Whats Chinas comment?

Wang Wenbin: We have noted relevant reports. We hope Russia and Japan will properly handle relevant issues.

Reuters: State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi is on a visit to Pakistan. Which other countries will he visit?

Wang Wenbin: The information will be released in due course.

Prasar Bharati: This is regarding the return of international students to China. Students from Thailand have returned to China. Students from Solomon Islands have returned to China. China has issued visas to Pakistani students. My question is, when is China planning to issue visas to Indian students to return?

Wang Wenbin: The Chinese government attaches high importance to the issue of foreign students returning to China to pursue their studies. On the basis of ensuring sound epidemic prevention and control, it is coordinating arrangement for a small number of foreign students with actual needs to return to China in light of the changing international epidemic situation and the characteristics of the students majors.

Reuters: According to the Pakistani Foreign Ministry, Foreign Minister Qureshi briefed State Councilor Wang Yi on Indias so-called human rights violation in India-occupied areas of Jammu and Kashmir and on a recent firing of missile from India into Pakistan. What does Pakistan hope China can do about this? And will State Councilor Wang discuss this with his Indian counterpart?

Wang Wenbin: I believe you must have seen the readout on State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yis visit to Pakistan. During his visit, the two sides had extensive and in-depth talks, which cemented the traditional friendship, enhanced strategic coordination, and promoted practical cooperation between China and Pakistan. The two sides agreed that in the face of the profound changes in the international landscape and turbulence and challenges in the world, China and Pakistan need to strengthen strategic communication, jointly build a closer China-Pakistan community with a shared future in the new era, act as a source of stability to underpin regional peace and prosperity, and contribute to global development and progress.

Global Times: According to reports, the Houthis in Yemen launched drone strikes on oil facilities including Aramcos oil refinery in Yanbu, Saudi Arabia, on March 20. The attacks didnt cause any casualty, but led to a temporary drop in production capacity. Does China have any comment?

Wang Wenbin: China condemns the attacks on oil facilities including the Yanbu refinery. We consistently oppose attacks targeting civil facilities such as oil fields, support Saudi Arabias efforts to safeguard its security and stability, and urge relevant sides to refrain from taking actions that will escalate regional tensions.

Bloomberg: The Russian Confucius Culture Promotion Association said on its official WeChat account that Ambassador Zhang Hanhui met with Chinese business representatives in Moscow on Sunday. What view does the foreign ministry take on the role of small- and medium-sized Chinese businesses in Russia?

Wang Wenbin: I would like to reiterate that China and Russia conduct normal economic and trade cooperation on the basis of mutual respect, equality and mutual benefit.

Beijing Youth Daily: In his speech delivered recently at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken once again accused the Chinese government of continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against predominantly Muslim Uyghurs and other minority groups in Xinjiang. Do you have any comment?

Wang Wenbin: The more the US repeats lies related to Xinjiang, the more it exposes its hypocrisy in claiming to be a defender of human rights.

As millions of Native Americans died from genocide, the US should sincerely repent for its crimes, rather than smear and denigrate others.

As nearly one million American lives were lost to COVID-19, over 40,000 people fall victim to gun violence every year in the US and thousands to racial discrimination, the US should reflect soberly on its own human rights deficit, rather than wantonly criticize others.

As US-waged wars in Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan and other places have caused 330,000 civilian deaths and turned over 26 million people into refugees, the US should sincerely beseech the international community to forgive it, rather than lecture others on human rights in a condescending manner.

We urge the US to face squarely and address its own systemic and persistent human rights problems instead of scribbling prescriptions for others when it is sick itself, and more importantly, stop undermining human rights in other countries in the name of defending it. If the US can quit its old habit of lecturing others on human rights, the human rights situation in the world will be much better.

AFP: Is State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi planning a visit to India? And also, could you please confirm whether there were any foreign nationals among those on the plane that crashed?

Wang Wenbin: On your first question, I have no information to offer at this moment.

On your second question, according to preliminary verification, there were no foreigners on board the China Eastern flight that crashed. Competent Chinese authorities will further verify the situation in accordance with relevant information later on.

Kyodo News: According to reports, the US Indo-Pacific commander claimed in an interview that China has fully militarized three islands in the South China Sea. Does China have any comment?

Wang Wenbin: A sovereign country is naturally entitled to deploy necessary defense facilities on its own territory. It is consistent with international law and beyond reproach for China to do so.

I need to point out that the US has been enhancing military deployment around the South China Sea in recent years and has frequently sent warships and military aircraft on a large scale for provocative purposes, which gravely threatens the sovereignty and security of littoral countries and undermines the sound order and navigation safety in these waters. We hope the US will stop sowing discord on related issues and flexing muscles in the South China Sea, and play a constructive role in maintaining regional peace and stability.

Reuters: I noticed you are wearing a black tie today. Is there any special meaning?

Wang Wenbin: I dont see the need to go into that.
President of Ukraine Vladimir Zelensky said he would be ready to discuss the issues of Crimea and the recognition of the Donetsk and Lugansk Peoples Republics with Russia after the Ukrainian side receives security guarantees, Tass informs.

March 22, 2022, 09:34 Ukraine would discuss Crimea, Donbass with Russia after security guarantees  president

STEPANAKERT, MARCH 22, ARTSAKHPRESS: "This is a very difficult situation for everyone. For Crimea, Donbass, and for everyone. In order to find a way out, you have to take this first step, which I have mentioned: security guarantees, the end of the war," he said in an interview with TV companies from European countries and from Ukraine.

According to Zelensky, he is ready to discuss these issues at a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. "I am ready to raise these issues at the first meeting with the President of Russia, they are relevant, they are important for us," he said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said in a televised address on February 24 that in response to a request by the heads of the Donbass republics he had made a decision to carry out a special military operation in order to protect people "who have been suffering from abuse and genocide by the Kiev regime for eight years." The Russian leader stressed that Moscow had no plans of occupying Ukrainian territories.
Russia and Ukraine exchanged the first prisoners of war, nine Russian servicemen were released, according to Human Rights Commissioner in Russia Tatyana Moskalkova, Tass informs.

March 22, 2022, 11:06 Russia announced first prisoner exchange between Russia and Ukraine

STEPANAKERT, MARCH 22, ARTSAKHPRESS: "The first exchange happened. We returned nine of our boys," she said in an interview with RT, confirming that Russian servicemen were exchanged for the mayor of Melitopol.

Earlier, media reported on the exchange of nine Russian servicemen for the mayor of Melitopol, Ivan Fedorov, citing the Office of the President of Ukraine.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said in a televised address on February 24 that in response to a request by the heads of the Donbass republics he had decided to carry out a special military operation in order to protect people "who have been suffering from abuse and genocide by the Kiev regime for eight years." The Russian leader stressed that Moscow had no plans to occupy Ukrainian territories.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Artsakh issued a statement on the 102nd anniversary of the Shushi pogroms, where tens of thousands of Armenians became the victims of the Azeri-perpetrated massacre.

March 22, 2022, 12:21 Impossible to destroy Armenian spirit of Shushi, it was revived in May 1992, will be revived again  Artsakh MFA

STEPANAKERT, MARCH 21, ARTSAKHPRESS: Today we bow our heads before the memory of the innocent victims of the Genocide of the Armenian population of the city of Shushi, carried out by the authorities of the artificially created Azerbaijan Democratic Republic 102 years ago, from March 22 to March 26, 1920. Tens of thousands of people became victims of this monstrous crime caused by Azerbaijan's expansionist aspirations - many of them were brutally murdered, the survivors were expelled from their homes. Most of the city, which was not only the capital, but also the historical and cultural center of Artsakh, was completely destroyed and lay in ruins for several decades until it was demolished by the Azerbaijani authorities in the middle of the twentieth century.

The Shoushi massacres, in which Turkish officers and emissaries took an active part, was aimed at transferring the Armenian Genocide to Eastern Armenia in the context of the implementation of pan-Turkic ideology.

This tragedy, horrifying in its cruelty, outlined the true goals of the Azerbaijani authorities in relation to Artsakh and the Armenian people and not only changed the demography of Shoushi, but also left an indelible mark on the atmosphere of the city and predetermined the subsequent processes.

After almost 70 years, the Azerbaijani authorities again resorted to a proven tool in their arsenal - the massacre and deportation of the innocent Armenian population, organizing mass killings and pogroms in Sumgait, Baku, Gandzak (Kirovabad) and other settlements of the former Azerbaijani SSR.

In 2020, the tragedy was repeated again. Having occupied the city of Shoushi during the 44-day aggression against the Republic of Artsakh, Azerbaijan again expelled the Armenian population of the city.

Both in 1920 and 2020, Azerbaijan sought not only to annihilate the Armenian population of the town of Shoushi and Artsakh as a whole, but also to erase its history, culture and spirit. Azerbaijan continues to adhere to this strategy to this day.

However, it is impossible to destroy the Armenian spirit of Shoushi, which is inextricably linked with Artsakh. It was revived in May 1992 and will be revived again, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Artsakh said.
President of Armenia Vahagn Khachaturyan received today Ambassador of China to Armenia Fan Yong, the Presidential Office said.

March 22, 2022, 13:01 Armenian President, Chinese Ambassador discuss opportunities of expanding mutual partnership

STEPANAKERT, MARCH 22, ARTSAKHPRESS-ARMENPRESS: The Chinese Ambassador congratulated Vahagn Khachaturyan on assuming office and wished a joint productive work for the benefit of the strengthening and deepening of the Armenian-Chinese relations.

The agenda of the bilateral relations, the prospective cooperation directions and the opportunities of expanding the mutual partnership in different areas were touched upon during the meeting.
US President Joe Biden on Monday held discussions with European leaders on Russia's "brutal" tactics in Ukraine and humanitarian assistance to the millions of Ukrainians who have fled the violence, ANI reported.

March 22, 2022, 16:52 Biden, European leaders discuss Russias 'brutal' tactics in Ukraine

STEPANAKERT, MARCH 22, ARTSAKHPRESS: Biden spoke with France President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi and UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson where the leaders underscored their continued support for Ukraine, including security assistance to the war-torn country.

"The leaders discussed their serious concerns about Russia's brutal tactics in Ukraine, including its attacks on civilians. They underscored their continued support for Ukraine, including by providing security assistance to the brave Ukrainians who are defending their country from Russian aggression, and humanitarian assistance to the millions of Ukrainians who have fled the violence," read a White House press release.

Moreover, the leaders also reviewed recent diplomatic efforts in support of Ukraine's effort to reach a ceasefire, as per the release.
According to Medvedev, it was obvious that Russia and Japan would never reach a consensus regarding the dispute. "Both sides knew it before. The negotiations regarding the Kurils have always had a ritual nature," he said.

Medvedev noted that the amended Russian constitution "directly stipulates that the territories of our country are not subject to alienation". "This is a closed issue," he stressed.

Following Americas example, the Japanese wanted to act like proud independent samurais and imposed sanctions on Russia, thus indicating with whom they would negotiate the hypothetical text of a peace treaty, Medvedev said. "The talks no longer make sense. And that's fine," the post read.

The politician said it was much more important to address the development of the Kuril Islands. He said that in recent years, Russia had breathed new life into the territories, adding that he had visited the islands multiple times, had taken steps to support them, and seen real improvements, including schools, roads and airports. "And, most importantly, the local people see it too. That is how it will be in the future, too!" Medvedev said.
There are certain events that take place each year in South Jersey that serve as a sort of preview to the fun, carefree summer season, and one
When help cant wait, the American Red Cross of Western New York is there. This Red Cross Month especially, we are focused on celebrating those selfless men and women who deliver our mission each and every day, and whose work would not be possible without the generous support of people like you.

Whether it's fires, floods, blood drives, supporting military veterans and their families, or lifesaving training services, the more than 2,100 volunteers who make up 90% of our workforce are there to deliver help and hope in some of the darkest hours within Cayuga County and across our 27-county footprint.

From March 27 until April 2, you can help to support your local Red Cross and the community support programming we offer right here in Cayuga County and the surrounding communities by taking part in our very first regional online auction: March Mission Madness. This exciting event features items provided by our caring and generous sponsors and includes vacation packages, round-trip airline tickets, five 5,500-watt portable generators powered by Briggs & Stratton engines, a boat tour of Keuka Lake, Buffalo Sabres tickets, gift cards and certificates to restaurants, fine jewelers and other establishments, and more.

Without the support of our community, our volunteers cannot continue to provide the levels of support that those we serve in their most difficult hours have come to expect. It is our sincere hope that we will raise the necessary support needed to continue to bring those essential services to those in need through the generosity of people like you.

Participating is easy and registration is free. Simply visit redcross.org/fireandice to sign up. Doing so not only gives you the opportunity to win some great items, but more importantly youll be supporting the mission of the Red Cross and the people we are proud to serve here at home.

Meg Rossman is regional communications manager for the American Red Cross Western New York Region. For more information, call (315) 234-2200 or visit redcross.org.

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Auburn police are asking for the public's help in finding whom they call "a person of interest" in the fatal shooting on Perrine Street last week.

John Wesley Smith III, 37, of Syracuse, was found dead in front of Swifty's Tavern after reports of shots-fired around 1:40 a.m. on March 15. Officers said they found Smith lying outside of the bar, dead from a gunshot wound, and that numerous potential witnesses had fled the scene when officers arrived.

APD had not publicly released any updates on the case until issuing a press release on Monday. Police said they are looking to speak to Shameek Marie Copes, 28, who is from Auburn. Her last know address is 1 Jefferson St., Apt. 1.

Police said Copes also goes by the names of Skrizzy, Scrappy or Sckrap, and has ties to individuals in the North Carolina, Texas and Atlanta areas.

If anyone knows the whereabouts of Shameek Copes and/or any additional information relative to this investigation, they are asked to contact the Auburn Police Department at (315) 253-3231 or email communitywatch@auburnny.gov. They can also contact lead Detective Sean DeRosa at (315) 255-4706 or email sderosa@auburnny.gov or any other APD detective. Callers are reminded that they can remain anonymous.

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Charges are pending in connection with a natural gas tank explosion Saturday night in Throop, the state Department of Environmental Conservation said Monday.

DEC police are investigating what the agency said was an "illegal fire" that ignited one of two 100-gallon compressed natural gas tanks that were being stored nearby on property used by Dirt Works of Auburn LLC, a construction and excavation company. The company has a garage at the end of Whitehead Lane, which is off Beech Tree Road.

The explosion could be felt from several miles away, with social media reports of it being heard from places as far away as Solvay. Throop Fire Department Chief Patrick Burns said there were no injuries from the blast, which did not cause major property damage.

DEC said the fire that sparked the explosion contained prohibited materials, including construction and demolition debris, household garbage, plastic toys and a 55-gallon drum filled with used oil filters.

The compressed natural gas tanks are used to fuel heavy equipment vehicles, Throop Assistant Fire Chief Brian Dahl said.

DEC said charges and site cleanup is pending, and the case remains under investigation. Dirt Works could not be reached for comment on Monday.

Throop and Port Byron fire departments were initially dispatched at 9:41 p.m. Saturday to investigate 911 calls about a possible explosion, but the exact location was not initially known, Burns said. Crews eventually narrowed it down to an area behind a garage used by excavation company Dirt Works on Whitehead Lane, which is off Beech Tree Road.

The Cayuga County Sheriff's Office, New York State Police and Throop's code enforcement and fire investigation team assisted at the scene, Burns said.

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The International Space Station is hosting 10 individuals after the Soyuz MS-21 crew ship arrived Friday carrying three new crew members.

As the new crewmates adjust to life on the station, the rest of the Expedition 66 crew is getting ready for a spacewalk and continuing microgravity research this week.

The station's three newest crew members are getting used to life on orbit as they begin a six-and-a-half-month mission in Earth orbit. Cosmonauts Oleg Artemyev, Sergey Korsakov, and Denis Matveev docked to the station's Prichal module on Friday less than three-and-a-half hours after launching from Kazakhstan. Artemyev is starting his third mission at the orbiting lab having last visited in 2018 when he was an Expedition 55-56 Flight Engineer. Korsakov and Matveev are on their first space flight and will spend the next few days getting up to speed with station systems and safety procedures.

Two astronauts are getting ready for a spacewalk set to begin on Wednesday at 8:50 a.m. EDT. NASA astronaut Raja Chari and ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Matthias Maurer will spend about six-and-a-half hours installing new thermal system and electronics components on the station's U.S. segment. The duo spent Monday organizing their spacewalk tools and attaching checklists to their U.S. spacesuit cuffs.

NASA Flight Engineers Mark Vande Hei and Kayla Barron were on science duty on Monday working on a pair of different experiments. Vande Hei explored how microbes grow in space to keeps crews healthy and spacecraft systems safe. Barron serviced samples for the Hicari crystal growth study that seeks to improve the development of solar cells and semiconductor-based electronics.

NASA astronaut Tom Marshburn spent the day on a variety of orbital plumbing and life support maintenance tasks. He also joined Chari for a conference with mission controllers as they plan to return to Earth with Barron and Maurer aboard the SpaceX Crew Dragon Endurance next month.

Commander Anton Shkaplerov and Flight Engineer Pyotr Dubrov continued evaluating a specialized suit, the lower body negative pressure suit, for its ability to counteract the effects of weightlessness on the human body. Doctors are studying the suit's ability to offset space-caused head and eye pressure by drawing fluids toward the legs and feet while expanding veins and tissues.

On-Orbit Status Report

Payloads:

Acoustic Diagnostics: The crew participated in an Acoustic Diagnostics session. This activity captures both sound level data every second as well as an audio recording for the duration of the measurement. The crew then completed a questionnaire. The Acoustic Upgraded Diagnostics In-Orbit (AUDIO) (Acoustic Diagnostics) investigation tests the hearing of ISS crew members before, during, and after flight. This study assesses the possible adverse effects of noise and the microgravity environment aboard the ISS on human hearing. The investigation compares the relationship between the detection of otoacoustic emissions, sounds naturally generated from within the inner ear, and hearing loss levels when exposed to noisy environments.

EXPRESS Rack (EXpedite the PRocessing of Experiments for Space Station Racks) 11B: The crew disconnected USB Serial Port Adapter and RS232 cable connections between ER11B and the EXPRESS-6 laptop. ER11B Health & Status (H&S) was lost on GMT 070 and these cable connections were made as a temporary fix. Further troubleshooting successfully restored H&S, and the cables are no longer needed. The EXPRESS Racks support science experiments in any discipline by providing structural interfaces, power, data, cooling, water, and other items needed to operate science experiments in space.

Hicari-2: The Hicari-2 sample cartridges were loaded into the Gradient Heating Furnace (GHF) sample holder. The materials science investigation, Growth of Homogeneous SiGe Crystals in Microgravity by the Travelling Liquidous Zone (TLZ) Method (Hicari), aims to verify the crystal-growth by the TLZ method and to produce high-quality crystals of Silicon-Germanium (SiGe) semiconductor using the JEM-GHF. Once this method is established, it is expected to be applied for developing more efficient solar cells and semiconductor-based electronics.

ISS HAM: The crew participated in an ISS Ham pass with Students from Toyonaka High School, Toyonaka, Japan. The school is designated as one of the Global Leader's High Schools (GLHS) and is also one of the Super Science High Schools. ISS HAM Radio provides opportunities to engage and educate students, teachers, parents and other members of the community in science, technology, engineering and math by providing a means to communicate between astronauts and the ground HAM radio units.

Neutron Star Interior Composition Explorer (NICER): The crew connected cables to ExPRESS Laptop Computer 5 (ELC5) in support of future Orbiting High-energy Monitor Alert Network (OHMAN) payload operations and then photographed the installed cables. OHMAN uses an application loaded on ELC5 to communicate live x-ray pointing data from JAXA's Monitor of All sky X-ray Image (MAXI) payload to NASA's NICER payload. Operations are planned to begin no earlier than next week. The NICER payload studies the extraordinary physics of stars, providing new insights into their nature and behavior.

Space Biofilms: The last of the three fixation activities for the Space Biofilms-2 experiment was performed by the crew. Fixation refers to a group of techniques which are used to preserve various aspects of the samples for later analysis. The Characterization of Biofilm Formation, Growth, and Gene Expression on Different Materials and Environmental Conditions in Microgravity (Space Biofilms) investigation characterizes the mass, thickness, structure, and associated gene expression of biofilms (molds) that form in space by analyzing a fungal species grown on different materials. Biofilm formation can cause equipment malfunction and human illnesses and could be a serious problem on future long-term human space missions.

Sampling Quadrangle Assemblages Research Experiment (SQuARE): The crew photographed each of the six photo locations in the COL, JEM, NODE1, NODE2, NODE3, and LAB. ISS Archaeological Project - SQuARE focuses on different kinds of material culture - objects and built spaces together with their symbolic and social meanings. Results could help define the significance of material culture in a space habitat and ultimately help space agencies understand how different objects and spaces are used over time.

Standard Measures: The crew collected body and fecal samples and set up for tomorrow's saliva collections. The aim of the investigation is to ensure consistent capture of an optimized, minimal set of measures from crewmembers until the end of the ISS Program in order to characterize the adaptive responses to and risks of living in space. Among other things, the ground teams perform analyses for metabolic and chemistry panels, immune function, microbiome, etc. These measures populate a data repository to enable high-level monitoring of countermeasure effectiveness and meaningful interpretation of health and performance outcomes and support future research on planetary missions.

Space Tango - Cubelab Satellite Demo: The TangoLab CubeLab Satellite Activation and Checkout was performed by removing one CubeLab Satellite from TangoLab, thereby activating it. The crew then reattached the CubeLab Satellite to its card and placed it back into the TangoLab for charging. Space Tango - Cubelab Satellite Demonstrator tests a new attitude-control technology for small satellites, which is an integral part of future space missions as conventional attitude control systems for large satellites are not suited for small satellites. The new technology is energy efficient, lightweight, and not subject to friction wear and could enhance the attitude maneuvering capabilities of small satellites.

Touching Surfaces: The crew performed the weekly surface touching event. Previous space research conducted during short-term flight experiments and long-term environmental monitoring on board orbiting space stations (such as MIR or the ISS) suggests that the relationship between humans and microbes is altered in the crewed habitat in space. This interdisciplinary project Touching Surfaces aims to investigate novel, laser-structured antimicrobial surfaces onboard the ISS. The realistic testing of the tailor-made nanostructured antimicrobial surface in space allows for the determination of the most suitable design for antimicrobial surfaces for terrestrial applications such as public transportation and clinical settings, as well as future human space mission and habitation design.

Systems:

Potable Water Dispenser (PWD) Filter Remove & Replace (R&R): The crew replaced the PWD's Orbital Replacement Unit (ORU) water filter and cleaned the exhaust fan outlets on the rear of the PWD. Both the fan cleaning and filter R&R are regularly scheduled preventive maintenance required to keep the PWD functioning nominally.

Regenerative Environmental Control and Life Support System (ECLSS) Recycle Tank Drain/Fill: Today, the crew set up the recycle tank to drain via the Urine Processor Assembly (UPA) Fill Drain Valve into the Brine Processor using the Urine Transfer System (UTS). Following the setup, the ground performed the tank drain using the UTS. Once the ground specialists completed the transfer, the crew verified the recycle tank was empty, terminated the drain, and repositioned the fill/drain valve to force fill the recycle tank using UTS. The crew also swapped the  in the offload  spot of the UTS.

Extravehicular Activity (EVA) Preparation Activities: Activities continued in preparation for Wednesday's Radiator Beam Valve Module (RBVM) Jumper Install EVA. The crew set up the D5 EVA Camera configuration and completed the EVA NASA Zero-Gravity Lever (NZGL) Familiarization Review. The crew also printed the EVA Cuff Checklist and configured EVA Tools. The Cuff Checklist is a small book with an elastic band to allow EV crew to wear it on their wrist. The book always contains a set of pages for EVA Mobility Unit (EMU) contingency responses and pages for task-specific information to be printed and taped.

Environmental Health System (EHS) Total Organic Carbon Analyzer (TOCA) Water Recovery System (WRS) Sample Analysis & Data Record: The crew performed an analysis of the WRS using the TOCA. The TOCA unit oxidizes organic carbon species present in the water to carbon dioxide gas and measures the concentration using nondispersive infrared spectroscopy. Analysis of the potable water using the TOCA occurs on a weekly basis. The crew also replaced the TOCA Waste Water Bag (WWB) to preclude any overfill prior to the next run.

In Flight Maintenance (IFM) Brine Processor (BPA) Filter R&R: As part of regularly scheduled preventive maintenance, the crew replaced the BPA Exhaust Filter prior to the next process cycle. The filter scrubs the odor from the air leaving the Brine Processor.

Completed Task List Activities:

Crew-3 Dragon Undock Review

Treadmill 2 Isolator Taping

Today's Ground Activities:

All activities are complete unless otherwise noted.

STP-H8 Payload Developer Commanding

JEM GHF File Uplink/Downlink

JEM Airlock and ACDU-RC Activation

JEM Airlock VB-RC Activation

JEM Airlock Depressurization and vent

Look Ahead Plan

Tuesday, March 22 (GMT 81)

Payloads:

Cell Biology Experiment Facility (CBEF) Plant Experiment Unit Micro-G Installation

ISS HAM Kenwood Radio Power Down in Columbus & Service Module

HRF Generic Saliva Collection 10 Minutes & HRF Generic MELFI Sample Insertion Operations

HRF Rack 1 PC 1 USB Software Load Installation Preparation/Conclude

Intelligent Glass Optics Sample Exchange

Rodent Research Inventory Audit Part1

SQuARES Photo Location Removal

Systems:

PGT Battery Install

E-LK Prep

EVA Tool Config/Audit

EVA Procedure Review/Conference

POC DOUG Setup

Wednesday, March 23 (GMT 82)

Payloads:

Cell Biology Experiment Facility (CBEF) Plant Experiment Unit 1G Installation

Cell Biology Experiment Facility (CBEF) Plant Experiment Unit Micro-G Removal

Food Acceptability Survey

HRF Generic Saliva Collection 10 Minutes & HRF Generic MELFI Sample Retrieval and Insertion Operations

NanoRacks Mainframe Alpha Module Removal, Polar Insertion, Photography

Rodent Research Inventory Audit Part 2

Systems:

RBVM Jumper Install EVA

IFM WHC UR and IF R&R

WRS Waste Tank/Condensate Sample

Crew Departure Prep

Thursday, March 24 (GMT 83)

Payloads:

COLUMBUS Bay 1, 2, 3 clean-up

ISS HAM Kenwood Radio Power Up

Experiment Laptop Terminal 2 Close Out

EML High Speed Camera Lens Switch

EML Reprogramming Cable installation/removal

Food Physiology Crew Diet Briefing

HRF Generic MELFI Sample Insertion Operations

HRF Generic MELFI Sample Retrieval and Insertion Operations

HRF Generic Saliva Collection 10 Minutes

Confocal Space Microscopy (Microscope) and Payload Laptop Terminal 5 (PLT5) Setup

JEMRMS Small Satellite Deployment Observation

Light Ions Detector Move 2

Polar Desiccant Swap

Saibo Rack CO2 QD Removal

Standard Measures Body Sampling Collection, Fecal Collection, Stow, & Survey

Systems:

EVA Debrief

RWS Teardown

EMU Water Recharge

PAM Familiarization BPW Review

EVA GoPro Downlink and Stow

COL Bay Cleanup

Crew Departure Prep

PAM Familiarization Conference

HECA Terminate

Today's Planned Activities:

All activities are complete unless otherwise noted.

Standard Measures Body Sampling Survey

Standard Measures Body Sampling Collection

Standard Measures Body Sampling Stow

Potable Water Dispenser (PWD) Filter Remove and Replace (R&R)

Acoustic Monitor Setup for Crew Worn Measurements

ISS HAM Columbus Pass Kenwood

Standard Measures Fecal Collection

ISS HAM Kenwood Radio Power Down in Columbus

Acoustic Diagnostics Operations - Calibration and Measurement

HRF Generic MELFI Sample Insertion Operations

ISS HAM Kenwood Radio Power Up

Acoustic Diagnostics Data Copy

Acoustic Diagnostics Instrument Deinstallation and Stowage

Regenerative Environmental Control and Life Support System (ECLSS) Recycle Tank Drain

Acoustic Monitor Data Transfer and Stow

LSG Work Volume Deploy/Stow

Acoustic Diagnostics EveryWear Questionnaire

Photo TV Extra Vehicular Activity (EVA) Camera Turnaround

COL Payload Laptop ZBooks Replug

SOKOL leak check prior redocking

Touching Event for the Touching Surfaces experiment

Wireless Compose SD Card Data Transfer

Cold Atom Lab MTL Jumper Leak Check

EXPRESS-11 Cable Remove

Environmental Health System (EHS) Total Organic Carbon Analyzer (TOCA) Water Recovery System (WRS) Sample Analysis

Neutron Star Interior Composition Explorer OHMAN Setup

Extravehicular Activity (EVA) NASA Zero-Gravity Lever (NZGL) Familiarization

Gradient Heating Furnace (GHF) HICARI2 Cartridge Ops

Emergency Roles and Responsibilities Review

LSG Primary Crew Restraint Unfold/Fold

Robotic Workstation (RWS) Setup

TangoLab CubeLab Satellite Activation and Checkout

Space Biofilms Fixation 3 Ops

Dragon Pre-Departure Conference

EVA Cuff Checklist Print

Urine Transfer System Offload EDV Swap

In Flight Maintenance (IFM) SM Transfer Tunnel () Strain Gauge Protective Layer Install

Environmental Health System (EHS) Total Organic Carbon Analyzer (TOCA) Sample Data Record

[deferred] Photo TV GoPro Setup

Public Affairs Office (PAO) Event in Columbus

In Flight Maintenance (IFM) Brine Processor (BPA) Filter Remove and Replace (R&R)

ISS Crew Orientation

Countermeasures System (CMS) T2 Inspection

Extravehicular Activity (EVA) Tool Configuring

ISS Crew departure preparation

Space Biofilms MELFI Sample Insertion Operations Session 3

Space Biofilms Iceberg Sample Removal/Insert

Increment 66 Safety Video Follow-Up

SQuARES Flexible Daily Imagery

HRF Generic Saliva Collection

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A national voting rights political action committee is taking sides in the seven-way Democratic primary for the 22nd Congressional District seat.

Defend the Vote, which advocates for voting rights laws, endorsed Josh Riley over his six opponents in the crowded field. Brian Lemek, the group's executive director, said in a statement that Riley "will be a fierce defender of voting rights" if he is elected to Congress.

"With his deep roots in upstate New York, Josh is ready to take on the fight for working class families and restore faith in our democracy by ensuring everyone has a voice," Lemek added.

Defend the Vote highlighted Riley's experience, including his time as counsel on the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee in the aftermath of the Supreme Court's ruling that found a key section of the federal Voting Rights Act was unconstitutional. That section dealt with how state and local governments needed to seek preclearance from the federal government to ensure they don't discriminate against voters.

While Riley was counsel, the committee introduced legislation to restore the provision. There were other bills introduced during that time, including legislation to overturn the Supreme Court's Citizens United decision.

Riley also has volunteered as voter protection counsel on three occasions, notably in Ohio for former President Barack Obama's campaign in 2008.

In February, Riley wrote an op-ed outlining reforms he supports to protect voter rights and improve the campaign finance system. He wants to update the Electoral Count Act, a law he says former President Donald Trump "exploited ambiguities in" when he pushed for overturning the 2020 election results.

Riley also supports restoring the Voting Rights Act, making Election Day a federal holiday, allowing same-day voter registration and absentee voting by mail. He also believes individuals who are convicted of crimes should get their voting rights back after they have served their sentences.

He also wants a constitutional amendment to reverse the effects of the Citizens United decision, which he says "opened the floodgates" for dark money in elections. Other measures he supports include eliminating corporate PAC donations, improving disclosure requirements and preventing candidates from using campaign funds to pay their businesses or family members.

Riley thinks redistricting reform should be part of the package. He supports ending partisan gerrymandering.

"We cannot meet big challenges together when our politics are built to tear us apart," he wrote, "but that's exactly what partisan gerrymandering does."

The 22nd district, which Riley seeks to represent, is an example of partisan gerrymandering. Democrats in the state Legislature redrew the map to give Democrats a 50,000-vote advantage over Republicans. The district covers eight counties, including all of Onondaga and Tompkins, along with parts of Cayuga, Cortland, Madison, Ontario, Schuyler and Seneca.

Defend the Vote's endorsement is the latest for Riley, who has been backed by the state Working Families Party, the Cortland County Democratic Committee and Dana Balter, who was the Democratic nominee for the Syracuse-area congressional seat in the 2018 and 2020 elections.

"Over a year since Jan. 6, 2021, our democracy remains under threat by forces that seek to exploit fear, sow division and weaken the franchise," Riley said. "In Congress, I will work every day to protect our democracy and the rule of law. This is a top priority. If we're ever able to do the hard work of solving big challenges with a shared purpose, we must strengthen our democracy and restore faith in it."

Riley, an Endicott native, moved to Ithaca to run in the 22nd district after his initial plan  running against U.S. Rep. Claudia Tenney  fell through due to redistricting. He is vying for the Democratic nomination along with Francis Conole, Vanessa Fajans-Turner, Steven Holden, Sarah Klee Hood, Chol Majok and Sam Roberts.

The candidates are circulating petitions to qualify for the June 28 primary election. To be eligible for the primary, they must collect 1,250 valid signatures.

Politics reporter Robert Harding can be reached at (315) 282-2220 or robert.harding@lee.net. Follow him on Twitter @robertharding.

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The long-awaited final approvals for the Interstate 81 project should come "within weeks," Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said in Syracuse on Monday.

Schumer, D-N.Y., revealed that he had a recent phone conversation with U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, who informed him that the environmental impact statement for the I-81 project will be released soon. The EIS will contain, among other items, an assessment of the plan to replace the elevated highway with a street-level community grid.

Once the EIS is released, there will be a 30-day public comment period. After comments are accepted, the Federal Highway Administration  an agency within the U.S. Department of Transportation  will issue a record of decision to finalize the project.

"Syracuse: Put on your hard hats and get ready because we are in the homestretch for the transformation of I-81 to finally begin," Schumer said. "The feds are hitting the gas on this project with a now imminent green light and federal dollars close behind."

The record of decision is the final step necessary to allow construction to move forward after years of debate over the direction of the project. There have been several ideas floated, from maintaining the elevated highway to building a tunnel or "iconic bridge."

But there was strong support for the community grid, which would replace the viaduct that runs through the city. Interstate 481, a highway that bypasses the city, will be redesignated as I-81. A new business loop will be created for vehicle traffic passing through Syracuse.

The project is estimated to cost about $2 billion. The federal government will cover a bulk of the construction costs.

Schumer noted that the I-81 project will benefit from provisions in the bipartisan infrastructure law that was signed by President Joe Biden last fall. New York state received $11.5 billion in highway funding and the law established a new $7.5 billion grant program to support infrastructure projects. I-81 will be eligible for both programs.

The project could also receive funding through the Reconnecting Communities Program, which was inspired by I-81's impact on Syracuse. When the highway was built, it cut through a predominantly Black neighborhood.

Schumer said once the record of decision is issued, "the jobs can start flowing and so can the federal funds because we made key programs more robust in the bipartisan infrastructure bill, like Reconnecting Communities and the Highway Trust Fund, with Syracuse in mind."

Politics reporter Robert Harding can be reached at (315) 282-2220 or robert.harding@lee.net. Follow him on Twitter @robertharding.

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Suzuki Motor Corp and flying car firm SkyDrive Inc on Tuesday signed a deal to work, research, develop and market electric, vertical takeoff and landing aircraft. Suzuki with SkyDrive in a joint statement said it will work together to open new markets with an initial focus on India. And with this new deal, the Japanese automaker ventures into a fourth mobility business n addition to automobiles, motorcycles and outboard motors.

Flying car company SkyDrive is currently in the process of developing a compact, two-seating electric-powered flying car. It also has plans for its full-scale production. However, the statement did not specify if Suzuki will be working with the company on this model. The former is aiming to launch a 'flying car' service in Osaka in 2025 when the Japanese city will host the World Expo.

(Also read | 2022 Maruti Suzuki Baleno gets 50,000 bookings in a month since launch)

Suzuki recently announced an investment of $1.37 billion in its India factory to produce electric vehicles and batteries. The report mentioned Suzuki Motor may establish India as a base for electric vehicles whose demands may see a rise in coming years. A past report had stated the sales of EVs tripled in the country last year. India has aimed to attain zero emission by 2070, is stressing faster development of local electric vehicles and supply chains.

(Also read | Maruti Suzuki rolls out new package to cover unforeseen engine failure)

With the Indian market being its initial focal point to bring in flying cars, Suzuki is trying to push and diversify its electric vehicle goals. A previous report had also stated the market of air taxis is expected to grow by $1,700 trillion in 2040. The Urban Air Mobility infrastructure by the South Korean government is being touted as one of the next-generation technologies that will reduce traffic on roads as well as improve the movement of vehicles.

(With inputs from Reuters)

First Published Date:
With Gasgoo Daily, we will offer daily important automotive news in China. For those we have reported, the title of the piece will include a hyperlink, which will provide detailed information.

XPeng's fifth model exposed, code name F30



According to Chinas automotive supplier Bomin Electronics, the company has struck a deal with EV startup, XPeng for auto parts procurement. Bomin Electronics will supply corresponding auto parts for XPengs F30 and E38 models for a five-year period, with a trade sum of RMB250 million to RMB300 million. The E38 model is also known as the G9 to consumers, while the F30 is a new model that remains under wraps so far.

Photo credit: XPeng



New Ford Explorer said to hit Chinese market in May



The newest Ford Explorer model will officially make debut on March 23rd. Presale of the vehicle is likely to start during the Auto China 2022 in Beijing. The model will be available on the China market in May.

Photo credit: Ford



BYD sets up insurance company

On March 21st, Chongqing Denza Auto Sales Co., Ltd. was established with an RMB2 million registered capital. The company is authorized to operate in car rental, auto inspection, and insurance agent service. The new company is indirectly wholly-owned by BYD Auto Industry Co., Ltd., according to the corporate database, Qichacha.

Wandas auto subsidiaries now cover 11 Chinese cities

According to Chinas corporate database Qichacha, local real-estate conglomerate, Wanda Group, has registered another auto-related company, namely Hangzhou Wanda Auto Technology Service Co., Ltd, on March 22nd. After the new company, the conglomerate now has auto subsidiaries in 11 cities domestically.

Century Huatong Automotive secures growing orders from Tesla, NIO, BYD

Century Huatong disclosed that the companys auto parts business unit had landed growing orders from Tesla, NIO, XPeng, BYD, WM Motor for new energy vehicle parts.

China to push domestic NEV sales to 20% by 2025

According to a government-issued 14th five-year plan on the modern energy system, China aims to actively push the application of new energy vehicles in city transportation. The authorities set a goal to have new energy vehicle sales account for 20% of the total market by 2025. Moreover, charging infrastructure and pilot demonstrations are also encouraged by the government.

GAC Group plans to build energy subsidiary for power, battery recycling ecosystem

China's state-run auto group GAC Group announced on Mar. 22 its board of directors has approved the plan to build an energy subsidiary, as part of efforts to strengthen the building of EV power network and ultimately achieve carbon neutrality.

Ambarella partners with Shenzhen-based ADAS developer Autocruis

Chinas autonomous driving developer Autocruis has formed a profound partnership with world-leading AI chip enterprise Ambarella for intelligent cockpit development, Ambarella announced on March 21st.

NIO Capital closes Eve ONE Fund II at about $400 million

NIO Capital, a Chinese investment firm sponsored by NIO, announced on Mar. 20 the final closing of its flagship fund, Eve ONE Fund II L.P. (the Fund II), at around $400 million.
Shanghai (Gasgoo)- NIO Capital, a Chinese investment firm sponsored by NIO, announced on Mar. 20 the final closing of its flagship fund, Eve ONE Fund II L.P. (the Fund II), at around $400 million.



Photo credit: NIO Capital



The Fund II has nearly doubled the capital commitments of its predecessor fund, NIO Capital Eve ONE Fund L.P., which was closed in 2019. It attracted investors including a mix of sovereign wealth funds, insurance companies, multilateral financial institutions, funds of funds (FoF), family offices, pension funds and foundations from the United States, Europe, Middle East, China, South-East Asia and Africa. For some new investors, the Fund II was their first investment into a China-focused strategy.

NIO Capital said the Fund II is established to continue its successful investment strategy for driving digitalization and decarbonization transformation in such industries as the mobility, energy and logistics.

Founded in 2016, NIO Capital is a professional investment firm focusing on energy, automobiles, and deep technology sectors. NIO Capital Fund I (RMB, growth stage), co-managed by NIO Capital, Sequoia China and Hillhouse Capital, completed its first closing in 2017. NIO Capital Fund II (USD, early stage) completed its first closing in 2018.

Up until now, NIO Capital has invested in multiple companies including CATL, Ronbay Technology, United Winners, Momenta, Inceptio Technology, Pony.ai, Innovusion, Black Sesame Technologies, etc.

Notably, William Bin Li, founder, chairman, and CEO of the EV startup NIO, was one of the three managing partners of NIO Capital.
VEENDAM, The NetherlandsEDC Wholesale has introduced a neutral strap-on brand dubbed No-Parts, which the company says is "designed with the thought to bring a comfortable, affordable, and neutral strap-on harness."

The No-Parts harnesses are sturdy yet comfortable and are easy to adjust so that they fit perfectly to almost every size and type of body. In addition, all No-Parts products can be combined with each other, making it easy to change attachments.

No-Parts is not limited to a certain gender or sexuality and can be used by anyone, in any form of relationship, and by people with or without a penis. Strap-ons can be used as an addition to the penis, instead of the penis, or in order to add a penis.



No-Parts is now available for retailers to order at EDC Wholesale. For more information, visit EDCWholesale.com or email [email protected].
ESPN spent Tuesday morning sharing a Twitter thread to show solidarity with the LGBTQIA+ community, joining multiple divisions of the Walt Disney Company in condemning anti-LGBTQ legislation known as the Dont Say Gay bill.

ESPN believes in inclusivity and denounces legislation and actions across the United States that infringe on any human rights. We stand with our LGBTQIA+ colleagues, friends, families, and fans, the network tweeted. Well continue to partner with organizations that support the LGBTQIA+ community, be accountable where we fall short of expectations, and never stop telling stories about LGBTQIA+ athletes, like the ones that well be sharing in this thread.

ESPN believes in inclusivity and denounces legislation and actions across the United States that infringe on any human rights. We stand with our LGBTQIA+ colleagues, friends, families, and fans.  ESPN (@espn) March 22, 2022

The thread continued by sharing past articles published by ESPN, featuring LGBTQIA+ stories that are related to sports. In addition to ESPN, Disney, Disney+, and Hulu shared statements against the anti-LGBTQ legislation on social media Tuesday morning.

Disney Parks on Instagram  pic.twitter.com/HUzBlYj6il  Lauren St. Germain (@LaurenWFTS) March 22, 2022

Here is a statement from Disney+ that was posted to its Instagram account today pic.twitter.com/7BnA7o8z3U  Amanda Dukes (@AmandaDukesWESH) March 22, 2022

We stand with our LGBTQIA+ colleagues, storytellers, families, friends, and fans who are targeted by laws that marginalize and diminish their identities and lives. We remain committed to telling inclusive stories that unite us and celebrate the diverse LGBTQIA+ community.  Hulu (@hulu) March 22, 2022

ESPNs initiative comes as employees from Disney are threatening a walkout Tuesday afternoon to protest CEO Bob Chapeks slow response to Florida legislation that critics have called the Dont Say Gay bill.

Floridas Parental Rights in Education bill attempts to ban all discussion of gender identity in grades kindergarten through third grade. Critics have cited terminology in the bill which also bans such classroom instruction in a manner that is not age-appropriate or developmentally appropriate for students, claiming the restriction could extend to all grades.

Last week, ESPN broadcasters Courtney Lyle and Carolyn Peck went silent for two minutes during the networks coverage of the NCAA Womens Tournament as a way of protesting the legislation. A threat to any human rights is a threat to all human rights, said Peck. They were joined by Elle Duncan, who spoke out against the legislation during ESPNs studio coverage of the NCAA Womens Tournament Friday afternoon.

[ESPN]
The horrors of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the astounding heroism of the Ukrainian people have naturally created a groundswell of sympathy. Many call for escalation of Western assistance to Ukraine, either by creating a no-fly zone, initiating airstrikes or even using NATO ground forces. We are profoundly sympathetic to Ukraine but fear that these scenarios will unleash an unmanageable escalation leading to the use of nuclear weapons. It is important that President Joe Biden hold this line at the upcoming NATO summit.

Russias stock of tactical nuclear weapons includes short-range missiles, nuclear artillery, nuclear landmines and more. Russian President Vladimir Putins ordering of Russian nuclear forces to high alert should be taken seriously. The lowest level of use, tactical weapons, opens the gateway to escalation. James Mattis, defense secretary under President Donald Trump, testified to Congress that there is not any such thing as a tactical nuclear weapon. Any nuclear weapon used any time is a strategic game-changer.

Mattis point is key: Tactical nuclear weapons introduce a qualitatively different level of uncertainty in understanding how each side will behave. The potential result of this uncertainty is preemption: One side moves to strategic nuclear war in anticipation of the other side doing the same.

We believe that the threshold for escalation to tactical nuclear weapons is reached in situations in which NATO forces kill Russians and Russians kill Americans; on the ground from the introduction of NATO soldiers or in the air by the enforcement of a no-fly zone. Since the 1950s, the U.S. and Soviet Union and then Russia have confronted one another in proxy wars across the globe. But in all this time, there has been no confrontation of troops. NATO forces on the ground or in the air would change that.

Any advocate for escalation to direct military conflict with Russia must be willing to accept the risks, including how the conflict will escalate. Throughout the Cold War, game theory was deployed in the analysis of the strategic situation. Game theoretic analysis, however, requires sufficient information to make probabilistic assessments of the likelihood of different outcomes.

While in the Cold War, both sides were usually able to successfully signal their intentions and predict how the other side would respond, the war in Ukraine is different. It is characterized by ambiguity  an inability for each side to make any kind of sharp likelihood assessment. Crossing the tactical nuclear threshold would change the already-unprecedented level of ambiguity present for each side in assessing the behavior of the other.

The Cold War did not lead to nuclear Armageddon largely because the two sides developed ways of communicating intentions and limits, thereby coordinating their behaviors and reducing ambiguity. This was possible because of formal exchanges such as treaties, strategic signaling and international norms of conduct. Coordination is fundamental to successful navigation of the threat of nuclear weapons. Putins claim that sanctions are themselves an act of war has no resonance because no such common understanding of sanctions exists.

Strategic coordination is tricky business. One lesson from the Cuban missile crisis is the fragility of control. At several points, the world was saved only by accident from the presence of what Donald Rumsfeld as secretary of defense called unknown unknowns. Decades after the crisis, it was revealed that tactical nuclear weapons were operational in Cuba, so that any U.S. invasion would have led to crossing the nuclear threshold. And it was only the heroic action of Soviet naval officer Vasili Arkhipovthat prevented a Russian submarine from launching a nuclear torpedo after a prolonged radio silence when confronted by U.S. Navy destroyers.

We are not suggesting a no-fly zone would directly produce an all-out nuclear exchange. However, it could unleash a sequence of escalation that ends so. Will Russia respond by attacking bases from which NATO planes are launched or try to interdict arms shipments on Polish soil? Will Putin conclude that the U.S. will escalate at each stage until regime change occurs in Russia? Will strategic nuclear weapons be used by either side? Once this norm in rules of engagement is broken, strategic ambiguities will multiply, and escalation that neither side wants may follow.

There are circumstances where NATO military intervention is appropriate: any Russian use of nuclear, chemical or biological weapons against civilian targets, for example. Such a step would itself violate norms of engagement and require an unprecedented response. Our judgment, however, is that actions such as a no-fly zone introduce a qualitative enhancement of the ambiguity associated with the U.S.-Russia conflict that can only further destabilize the situation, making what happens in response difficult and frightening to predict.

To avoid further destabilization, Biden should make explicit how the U.S. will respond if Russia uses nuclear or chemical weapons. This will reduce ambiguity about the consequences of use for both sides and their allies. If Russia crosses the nuclear or chemical threshold against civilians despite the clear signals the U.S. will have sent, only then would the establishment of a no-fly zone and introduction of Patriot defense systems, which require American operators, or the deployment of troops to set humanitarian zones, be justified.

Each of these actions would signal that civilian targeting is unacceptable, but leave in place another red line  no attacks on missile sites or air bases in Russia  to help minimize additional uncertainty that could lead to the kind of devastating escalation where there are no winners.

Steven Durlauf is the Steans Professor in Educational Policy at the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy. Lawrence Blume is a distinguished professor of arts and sciences in economics at Cornell University.

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Coconino Community Colleges (CCC) district governing board has called an election, to be held May 17. A reset of the colleges primary property tax rate will be on the ballot, which, if approved, would mean increases in both Coconino County property taxes and CCC funding.

Proposition 438, as the initiative is known, requests voter authorization to reset the primary property tax rate for the college to 0.7419 cents per $100 of limited property value, according to CCCs website. The current rate is 0.4394.

CCC intends to use the funding from this reset for expanding scholarships, career and technical education programs, developing new veteran training for civilian job programs and enhancing educational services throughout Coconino County, with Page, Tuba City and Williams given as examples.

Career and technical education programs that were formed with one-time funding and would expand if this measure were to pass include CDL, HVAC, early childhood education, Google IT support professional and assisted living caregiver certifications. The college would also increase the number of students in its nursing program and add healthcare programs for ultrasound/sonography, anesthesia and surgical technicians, as well as respiratory therapists.

The college may also add other programs as appropriate.

"Local pressure is ever increasing for new areas of workforce training and advanced general education," district governing board chair Nat White was quoted as saying on the Supporters for a Thriving CCC PAC's website. "The new rate would still remain the lowest in the state and yet provide dependable funding to fulfill the college's mission."

This funding would come from an increase in property taxes in Coconino County. A chart on their website shows that monthly CCC property taxes for a home with a limited property value of $100,000, currently $3.66, would increase to $6.18. Homes with a limited property value of $500,000 would see a monthly CCC property tax increase from $18.31 to $30.91.

The proposed increase is nearly double CCCs current primary property tax rate, though the rate will still be lower than other districts statewide. In fiscal year 2022 CCCs district's primary property tax rate (0.4394) is currently the lowest of the ten Arizona districts and almost three times lower than the closest rate (Maricopa, 1.1112).

The current tax rate was set at CCCs founding, 30 years ago.

The colleges total revenue, according to a pamphlet on the initiative, is currently $26,304,308. This is lower than the two smallest northern Arizona community colleges: Northland Pioneers revenue is $39,969,093 and Mohaves is $46,493,524. If the increase is approved, CCCs revenue would increase to $32,304,308.

I have seen firsthand the social and economic impact of CCC throughout Coconino County. It provides communities access to lifelong learning and job opportunities, which increases the quality of life for all county residents, district one county supervisor Patrice Horstman said in the arguments for section of the pamphlet. ... This rate has not been reset for over 30 years and now renders CCC at the bottom of community college spending in Arizona. CCC cannot continue to provide quality job and career training and certification programs without resetting this tax rate.

No arguments against Prop 438 were submitted, according to the pamphlet.

The election will take place May 17. More can be found at coconino.edu/prop-438.

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Mission managers have given the go for two astronauts to exit the International Space Station on Wednesday for a six-and-a-half-hour spacewalk.

Meanwhile, three Expedition 66 crew members are getting ready for their return to Earth at the end of the month.

Flight Engineers Raja Chari of NASA and Matthias Maurer of ESA (European Space Agency) began Tuesday morning with standard medical checkups the day before their spacewalk. The duo had an ear exam and measured heart and breathing rate, blood pressure, and temperature. Afterward, Chari and Maurer staged their U.S. spacesuits and readied their spacewalking tools inside the U.S. Quest airlock.

During the afternoon, the spacewalking pair were joined by NASA astronauts Kayla Barron and Tom Marshburn for a procedures review with engineers on the ground. Barron and Marshburn will also be on robotics duty commanding the Canadarm2 robotics arm to assist the spacewalkers during Wednesday's excursion. Chari and Maurer set their spacesuits to battery power at 8:50 a.m. EDT signifying the start of their spacewalk. Their main objective is to install thermal system and electronics components on the outside of the space station. Live NASA TV coverage begins at 7:30 a.m. on NASA Television, the NASA app and the agency's website.

The next major event at the orbital lab will be on March 30 when NASA Flight Engineer Mark Vande Hei returns to Earth with Roscosmos cosmonauts Anton Shkaplerov and Pyotr Dubrov. The trio will undock from the Rassvet module inside the Soyuz MS-19 crew ship and parachute to a landing in Kazakhstan about three-and-a-half hours later. The two cosmonauts practiced Soyuz descent procedures and loaded cargo and personal items inside the vehicle. Vande Hei, who will land with a NASA-record breaking 355 continuous days in space, focused mainly on science today studying space archeology and glass optics.

The station's three newest crew members are in their first full week on the orbiting lab and continue their station familiarization activities. Cosmonaut Oleg Artemyev, on his third space station mission, and first time space-flyers Sergey Korsakov and Denis Matveev will spend the next few days getting used to life on orbit.

On-Orbit Status Report

Payloads:

Cell Biology Experiment Facility (CBEF): Six Plant Experiment Units were installed in the CBEF Micro-G Sample Tray. CBEF is a Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) subrack facility; it is an incubator with an artificial gravity generator. CBEF is housed in the Saibo (living cell) Experiment Rack with the Clean Bench (CB).

Rodent Research Facility: A crewmember performed an audit of Rodent Research supplies and hardware and trashed some items. The Rodent Research Facility provides rodent housing on board the ISS. Animal research is essential for understanding the impacts of spaceflight on the systems of the human body, and for development of potential therapies that will ease harmful responses to space flight. The advisory panel for Animal and Human Biology appointed by the Committee for the Decadal Survey on Biological and Physical Sciences in Space was unanimous in its recommendation that an animal habitat be incorporated as soon as possible into the ISS.

Sampling Quadrangle Assemblages Research Experiment (SQuARE): All six photo locations in the COL, JEM, NODE1, NODE2, NODE3 and LAB were removed. This completes the 60-day experiment run. ISS Archaeological Project - SQuARE focuses on different kinds of material culture - objects and built spaces together with their symbolic and social meanings. Results could help define the significance of material culture in a space habitat and ultimately help space agencies understand how different objects and spaces are used over time.

Universal Intelligent Glass Optics (UNIGLO): The spool and preform sample was installed and the ground initiated a run which was followed by a sample (spool and preform) exchange. UNIGLO tests the effects of microgravity on a glass optics module capable of processing various types of complex glasses. The module uses artificial intelligence (AI) to help adapt materials processing techniques to the microgravity environment and a sensor based on laser-Doppler interferometry to measure the effects of microgravity on processing complex glasses for a variety of applications in space and on Earth.

Systems:

Extravehicular Activity (EVA) Preparation: Today, the USOS crew continued preparations for the upcoming Radiator Beam Valve Module (RBVM) Jumper Install EVA, which will re-install two refurbished RBVM Jumpers and the Port Aft Red-Green-Blue (RGB) T-Handles, and Remove and Replace (R&R) an External High Definition Camera (EHDC) on Camera Port 8 (CP8). Final preparations included installation of the EVA Pistol Grip Tool (PGT) Battery, an EVA Tool Configuration and Audit, and Equipment Lock (E-LK) Prep to prepare the EVA Mobility Unit (EMU) and Airlock for tomorrow's EVA and suit donning. The crew also set up the Portable Onboard Computers (POC) Dynamic Onboard Ubiquitous Graphics (DOUG) and reviewed procedures and conducted a conference with ground specialists. US EVA #80 is scheduled for Wednesday, March 23rd with Joint Airlock Egress occurring at ~8:10am CT.

Brine Processor Configuration Check: The Brine Processor Fill Slider Assembly configuration was reviewed by the crew to check for leakage and whether the slider is still mated to the bladder quick disconnect (QD). The slider was found to have been engaged and the crew disengaged the slider.

Completed Task List Activities:

None

Today's Ground Activities:

All activities are complete unless otherwise noted.

LSR Check-Out Actvities in MCM Mode following Operative System Update

BCDU Preemptive Refresh

MSS Hover Maneuver

Dragon Prop ISO Close

Look Ahead Plan

Wednesday, March 23 (GMT 82)

Payloads:

Cell Biology Experiment Facility (CBEF) Plant Experiment Unit 1G Installation (JAXA)

Cell Biology Experiment Facility (CBEF) Plant Experiment Unit Micro-G Removal (JAXA)

Food Acceptability Survey (NASA)

NanoRacks Mainframe Alpha Module-102 Removal, Polar Insertion, Photography (NASA)

Rodent Research Inventory Audit Part 2 (NASA)

Standard Measures Saliva collection (NASA)

Systems:

RBVM Jumper Install EVA

IFM WHC UR and IF R&R

WRS Waste Tank/Condensate Sample

EDV Build

Urine Transfer System Backup EDV Swap

Crew Departure Prep

EVA Glove Photo Setup

Thursday, March 24 (GMT 83)

Payloads:

Actiwatch setup (NASA)

CBEF Payload Experiment Unit 1g Retrieval (JAXA)

Confocal Space Microscopy (Microscope) and Payload Laptop Terminal 5 (PLT5) Setup

Food Physiology Crew Diet Briefing (NASA)

ISS HAM Kenwood Radio Power Up (COL) (NASA)

J-SSOD-21 Deploys (JAXA)

Light Ions Detector (LIDAL) Move 2 (NASA)

Plant Habitat-05 photo (NASA)

SAIBO CO2 QD demate (JAXA)

Standard Measures Saliva, body and fecal collect (NASA)

Systems:

Return SSC 12

PAM Familiarization BPW Review

EVA Debrief

Relocate PBAs

RWS Teardown

EMU Water Recharge

EVA GoPro Downlink and Stow

Crew Arrival Prep

Crew Departure Prep

PAM Familiarization Conference

HECA Terminate

Friday, March 25 (GMT 84)

Payloads:

CAL MTL Jumper Lk check (NASA)

CBEF-Slide rail remove (JAXA)

EasyMotion Data d/l (ESA)

GRIP seated ops (ESA)

Standard Measures saliva, body and fecal collect, cognition test(NASA)

TOUCHS deinstall (ESA)

Systems:

Crew Departure Prep

EVA Airlock Deconfiguration

EVA Battery Ops

EVA Camera Disassembly

IFM CQ Starboard Cleaning

T2 Weekly Inspect

EVA Tool Stow

Crew Dragon Tablet Sync/Stow

IMS Conference

OBT ISS Emergency HW Familiarization

SSC 10 and 22 Swap

Today's Planned Activities:

All activities are complete unless otherwise noted.

Standard Measures Body Sampling Survey

Standard Measures Body Sampling Collection

Standard Measures Body Sampling Stow

Health Maintenance System (HMS) Periodic Health Status (PHS) Pre EVA Examination - Subject

PGT Battery Install

Health Maintenance System (HMS) Periodic Health Status (PHS) Pre EVA Examination - Crew Medical Officer (CMO)

Health Maintenance System (HMS) Pre-EVA Periodic Health Status Examination - Stow

Equipment Lock (E-LK) Preparation

Standard Measures Collection

HRF Generic MELFI Sample Insertion Operations

Brine Processor Configuration Check

Extravehicular Activity (EVA) Tool Configuring

Robotics Procedure Print

SQuARES Photo Location Removal

Extravehicular Activity (EVA) Tool Audit

Intelligent Glass Optics Sample Exchange

Extravehicular Activity (EVA) Procedure Review

Move SSC (Station Support Computer) 12 to RWS area to support EVA viewing for crew awareness

Cell Biology Experiment Facility (CBEF) Plant Experiment Unit Micro-G Installation

EVA Procedure Review

Rodent Research Inventory Audit

Extravehicular Activity (EVA) Procedure Conference

Onboard Training (OBT) Robotics On-board Trainer (ROBoT) Conference

Public Affairs Office (PAO) Event in Columbus

Extravehicular Activity (EVA) iPad Contingency Procedures preparation

Portable Onboard Computers (POC) Dynamic Onboard Ubiquitous Graphics (DOUG) Setup

iPad 67S Deploy

HRF Rack 1 PC 1 USB Software Load Installation

EVERYWEAR-LOGS-EXPORT

ISS HAM Kenwood Radio Power Down in Columbus

LSG Hardware Audit Part 2

IMS updates

ISS HAM Radio Power Down in Service Module

Countermeasures System (CMS) T2 Inspection

HRF Generic Saliva Collection 10 Minutes

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If people take a close look at the Western coverage on the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict, they can easily see racial prejudice and double standards -- practices that Western media have often scoffed at.

"These are not refugees from Syria, these are refugees from Ukraine ... They're Christian, they're white, they're very similar (to us)," Kelly Cobiella, an NBC News correspondent based in London, recently said on video.

Since the onset of the conflict, such remarks of a racist nature have been circulating on Western media.

When numerous journalists have focused on the look, skin color, race and religion of Ukranian evacuees, and made a comparison between them and refugees from the Middle East and North Africa, their unspoken implication is that the former are superior to the latter and have less reason to suffer from any plight.

Behind the double-standard coverage is the condescending mindset and the penetration of Western-centrism in their journalism industry, which views the Western countries "more civilized" than the rest of the world.

Obsessed with preaching others on human rights and civil rights, and chanting such slogans as "all men are created equal," the United States and its allies, however, have long been holding double standards and racist bias.

A basic rule of journalism is to be sensitive to victims' feeling when reporting on any tragedy, but in fact, some in the West just associate the need of comfort to people's race.

As Andrew Mitrovica, an Al Jazeera columnist who had previously worked at several Western news organizations, has criticized, "editorial staff shaped institution-wide editorial policies that, in effect, established who and what kind of 'victims' warrant sympathy and attention and who and what kind of 'victims' do not."

"While the invasion of Iraq by the United States was considered a liberation, the operation taken by Russia is seen as a cut-throat invasion in the eyes of the Western media," Egyptian professor and writer Azza Radwan Sedky wrote in an article published on Ahram Online, the English news website of Egypt's Al-Ahram newspaper.

Moreover, while the Russia-Ukraine conflict is under the spotlight, the sufferings of people in such countries as Iraq and Afghanistan, both invaded by the United States, are receiving less coverage by Western media.

Joy Reid, an MSNBC political analyst and host, criticized the Western coverage of Ukraine, saying Americans only care about the war because Ukrainians are "white and largely Christian."

"We should also care this much for refugees and those facing occupation and war in the Middle East and Asia and Africa, too," Reid said. "But we haven't witnessed the same type of solidarity for the Yemenis as we do for the Ukranians."

Obviously, Western media have been posting contradictory narratives on similar situations, with the difference hinging on their own interest and calculation, rather than professional ethics or responsibilities. That's why they have called the U.S.-launched wars in Iraq and Afghanistan as "a liberation" and an "anti-terror" fight.

Facing a conflict, media outlets are expected to play a role in bridging understanding gaps and promoting peace, in addition to providing information and documenting what is going on.

Unfortunately, some Western media's deeds have run counter to these aims, which only tarnished their reputation and credibility, and exposed their hypocrisy and racist bias.
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A domestic flight of Boeing 737-800 jetliner with 132 people aboard crashed into a mountainous area in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region at about 2:38 p.m. BJT on Monday. All-out rescue operations are underway, and casualties are still unknown as none of the people onboard the aircraft at the time of the accident have not been found so far.





Here are some facts about the Boeing 737-800 jetliner and its operator China Eastern Airlines.

The Boeing 737-800 is part of the 737 family, the world's most-flown commercial aircraft series. It was developed in the 1960s to serve short- or medium-range routes.

The 737-800 is part of the 737 NG (Next-Generation) family, which has a strong safety record after nearly three decades of flights. More than 7,000 of the series have been delivered since 1993. The 162- to 189-seat 737-800 was launched on September 5, 1994.

The NG is the predecessor to the 737 MAX that was grounded worldwide for 20 months after two fatal crashes killed 346 people. It remains grounded in China.

The jetliner involved in the China Eastern accident en route from Kunming, capital of southwest China's Yunnan Province, to Guangzhou, capital of southern Guangdong Province, has been in service for six years, according to Flightradar24, a global flight tracking service.

In the United States, American Airlines has the most 737-800s in operation with 265, followed by Southwest Airlines with 205 and United Airlines with 136, according to Cirium data.

The last fatal 737-800 crash occurred in August 2020 when an Air India Express plane overshot the table-top runway and crashed while landing at Calicut International Airport in the southern state of Kerala in heavy rain, killing 21. A government report cited pilot error as the probable cause.

source: CGTN
Josh Lederman

BRUSSELS  The nearly monthlong Russian war in Ukraine is on the verge of entering a stalemate, a senior NATO intelligence official said Monday, with Ukrainian forces preventing Russia from making progress but Russian President Vladimir Putin showing no willingness to back down.

If were not in a stalemate, we are rapidly approaching one, said the NATO official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive military assessments. The reality is that neither side has a superiority over the other.

Belarus, a close Russian ally, may soon attack Ukraine itself and is preparing to potentially let Russia position nuclear weapons on Belarusian soil, the official said. Belarus has already allowed Russias military to use its territory to invade Ukraine.

The ominous assessment comes as President Joe Biden and world leaders prepare for a NATO major summit on Thursday here in Belgium and other high-level meetings focused on Russias war in Ukraine.

The U.S. and NATO allies have been heartened by Ukraines surprisingly strong resistance and Russias lackluster military performance. But Western leaders have also warned that Putin appears unserious about diplomatic negotiations to end the war, predicting a protracted conflict with devastating consequences for Ukrainian civilians.

The NATO official said that despite making no significant progress in the past two weeks, Putin appears dug in and unwilling to admit failure, likely foreclosing the possibility he will back down.

The Ukrainians, too, have made very clear they will not give up, the official said, adding that Russia would likely find it very difficult to maintain control over territory its captured in the face of whats likely to be a persistent and significant Ukrainian insurgency.

So what happens when you have these two forces then grinding on each other in this way? The loss of life and the damage is going to be quite severe, the NATO official said. Neither side here can win. Neither side will capitulate.

It remains unclear to NATO whether Putin intends to pursue a maximalist strategy to capture all or most of Ukraine, the official said, but asserted that Russia had clearly expanded its set of targets in recent days, including by hitting sites in Western Ukraine that had gone mostly untouched in the early days of the war.
Oil leases on state land netted Montana $1.1 million in March. Those leases were approved Monday by the Montana Land Board.

The sale, which ran online from Feb. 22 to March 1, produced the highest prices for state land since the Bakken oil boom went bust in October 2014. The Land Board is comprised of the five elected statewide officials, all of whom are Republican.

From what I understand this is the largest weve seen in eight years, which is impressive, said Montana State Auditor Troy Downing.

Leases on acres in northeastern Montana west of the North Dakota border, namely Roosevelt County, sold for $110 to $285 an acre, the highest price in sale. Rosebud County in southeast Montana accounted for 13,862 of the 18,579 lease acres sold.

Half of the acres leased for $2 or less.

The highest per-acre bid came out of northeastern Roosevelt County. This is right in my backyard, in the neighborhood of McCabe somewhere north of Danville," said Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen. "...This indicates to me as a guy who used to do oil and gas law in that neighborhood, we're probably going to see more of this. I think the Bakken is going to take back off. We're going to be seeing more of this $285 an acre.

Gov. Greg Gianforte credited an increase in competitive oil and gas bids to the state running its lease sale online, which it has done twice and plans to continue.

The state sales come as federal lease sales through the U.S. Bureau of Land Management have been paused for 15 months. That pause started with an executive order by President Joe Biden on Jan. 27, 2021, as the new administration reviewed climate impacts of fossil fuels from public lands.

What followed was a legal dispute in which 14 states with Republican governments, Montana included, sued the federal government. The Biden administration responded by not proceeding with sales until it retooled the way it considered climate change impacts related to fossil fuels extracted from federal land. The BLM announced March 18 that it intended to begin lease sales later this year. Oil and natural gas from federal land accounts for about 8% of all U.S. production, according to the BLM.

Oil prices have trended steadily upward following a first-quarter 2020 crash in demand triggered by early pandemic lockdowns. As consumer demand increased and outpaced global production, oil prices crept over $85 a barrel for the first time since Oct 2014, according to U.S. Energy Information Administration. The Russian invasion of Ukraine and ensuing sanctions against Russian oil then pushed the price over $100 a barrel for the first time in nearly eight years.

It remains to be seen whether a return to Bakken boom-era prices translates to an increase in oil production, particularly on the Montana side of the shale formation where drilling was less than a sure bet. The Baker Hughes drilling rig count for Montana has rarely ticked above one rig per month for several years and was at one again for March and February.

The Montana Board of Oil and Gas Conservation reports that state oil production has steadily declined from 29.6 million barrels a year in 2014 to 18.9 million barrels in 2020.

In North Dakota, a top regulator in February said oil companies are describing the Bakken as mature, and no longer the kind of oil play that will ramp up production quickly in response to high prices.

Oil producers last week told the Associated Press that a shortage in workers, coupled with banks leery of lending for new production following the bust of the Bakken boom, has made it hard for drillers to put the pedal to the metal.

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Billings Catholic Schools announced the hiring of a new president Tuesday.

Andrew McDonald was chosen by the schools' board to replace Shaun Harrington who retired in January. Harrington stayed six months later than he had originally planned because of a fragmented and lengthy search process, which the Gazette reported in February.

McDonald brings more than 20 years experience in Catholic education as a teacher and administrator, the schools said in a statement.

He most recently served as principal of Our Lady of Loretto Catholic School in Foxfield, Colorado.

Under [McDonalds] leadership the school grew enrollment, expanded staffing, opened a new preschool program, and maintained strong financial performance, the press release stated.

As president, he will oversee administration, strategic planning, and implement policies for the private school system.

McDonald was unable to be reached for comment, and it is unclear when he will start the job in Billings.

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Billings police are investigating an armed robbery that occurred Sunday night and ended with one suspect in custody and another at large.

The two women walked into the Magic Diamond Casino on Main Street at 8 p.m. During the robbery, one of the two suspects fired a gun into the air before the two fled in a blue car, BPD tweeted Monday at 8:46 a.m.

Billings police responded to the call and spotted the fleeing car speeding away the other direction. Police pursued the vehicle which was travelling at a high rate of speed. After briefly losing the car in traffic, law enforcement found the vehicle with the help of Yellowstone County Sheriffs deputies near Ponderosa School on Billings South Side at about 8:10 p.m.

One of the suspects was seen running from the abandoned vehicle. After a foot chase police arrested the woman, who was allegedly identified as Makyla Fetter, at 8:17 p.m. The other suspect had not been arrested as of Monday afternoon. Billings Police Lt. Matthew Lennick said the only information available to the public on the other suspect is that she is described as a Native American woman. Police are still investigating the robbery.

Fetter was booked at the Yellowstone County Detention Facility and charged with robbery, according to Lennick. The county jail roster indicated she also faces charges of criminal endangerment and tampering with or fabricating physical evidence. She also had earlier warrants and tickets for failure to appear, shoplifting and unauthorized use of a vehicle. She has not yet been arraigned or given an opportunity to enter a plea to the new charges.

Gun violence has been on the rise in Billings over the last two years. Cases of assault with a weapon in Billings for 2021 increased by over 76% over the previous year, according to BPD data. Assaults with a weapon totaled 393 separate reports last year. The increase in assaults contributed to an overall rise in violent crime in the city since the beginning of 2020.

Gun violence has claimed the lives of at least five people in Billings so far in 2022, and police have responded to over eight shootings, according to statements posted to social media by BPD.

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BOZEMAN  Montana State University Extension will collaborate with AARP-Montana for a three-part webinar estate planning series in April, May and June. The series, Wednesday Wisdom, will run from 10 to 11 a.m. on April 6, May 11 and June 8. The series will be presented by Marsha Goetting, MSU Extension family economics specialist and professor at MSU.

Goetting said that, for some Montanans, estate planning can be one of the most important and challenging decisions of their lives. It raises questions about personal legacy and how to assure the right people receive ones property after death.

Over the past two years Goetting has presented more than 100 virtual educational sessions reaching more than 8,500 Montanans with estate and legacy planning information. She also provided a study at home course that had more than 200 participants. Goetting has received state, regional and national awards for her programs and has authored 50 MontGuide fact sheets that cover estate planning topics.

To register for the webinars, visit https://states.aarp.org/montana/wednesdaywisdom

Topics to be covered include:

* April 6: Is Your Will Worth the Paper Its Written On? When property titles, Montanas law of interstate succession and a written will are combined, there can be surprises. Goetting will discuss how wording on accounts, titles or deeds is an important factor in determining who receives them upon the owners death. She will also explain when a will can have no impact.

* May 11: Avoiding Probate  Are You Sure You Want to Do That?" Some Montanans may be unaware of tools made available by the Montana Legislature that allow individuals to avoid probate on assets after dying. Yet, one of the tools offers unintended consequences for heirs.

* June 8: Whats New In 22. What changes did the Montana Legislature make that influence estate planning? What changes have occurred at the federal level that you should know about?

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After surviving a horrific aircraft crash at the Stevensville airport in 2017, no one would have thought anything less if Michael Burks decided to never pilot another airplane in his life.

But the fact that he climbed back aboard has turned into a godsend for dozens of families facing some of the most difficult times in their lives.

A month after the crash, Burks flew his first mission for Angel Flight West.

The program connects volunteer pilots with people needing to travel long distances for medical appointments at no cost to the passenger. Burks has just eclipsed his 300 mission mark. In the last two years, he offered free flights 182 times.

Burks hopes that other pilots will join him in helping people in their time of need.

Obviously, passengers and patients are so gracious for what you do, Burks said in an interview at the Hamilton airport where he learned to fly. In return, you find yourself saying thank you for showing you how amazing life is and how strong you are. Its contagious. You get that you have to fight for everything attitude in the two hours you spend in the air with them.

You sit next to a mother of a sick child who tells you her story and you realize just how blessed your life has been, he said. You dont know anything until you talk with a mother who is fighting for the life of her child and what theyve had to give up  For me to be able to alleviate one small aspect of that horrific journey; you just need to tell me where to be.

Angel Flight Wests Montana Wing Leader was recently selected as one of three volunteer pilots to receive the 8th annual AFW Endeavor Award that honors pilots who go above and beyond to serve their communities through donated flights. In 2021, he was selected by the National Aeronautics Association for its Public Benefit Flying Award for Distinguished Volunteer Pilot of 2021.

Burks is a well-known Missoula businessman who helped found the Missoula Maulers in 2005, ran a Christian bookstore for 13 years, and now owns Fuel Fitness gymnasiums in Montana and Idaho.

Burks spent three years working with local filmmaker, Joe McNeal, to produce a 12-minute documentary that they hope will encourage other pilots across the country and the world to volunteer to help.

The documentary, Angels Do Fly West, focuses on the relationship between Burks and Mya Toone and her mother, Carly Brown. Burks flew the family to Seattle nearly 20 times for medical appointments for Toone.

In the video, Brown said her daughter has been through at least 20 surgeries to address a myriad of medical issues. Long drives in a car are painful for her, but for whatever reason, Toone falls asleep soon after takeoff in Burks airplane.

Mya is in so much pain and is so uncomfortable while in a car, Brown said. It means a lot to me to be able to see her relax for a second and not be uncomfortable and be able to get home faster. Its huge. She goes through so much already.

I just dont think that people understand the depth of what families go through and what kids go through and the toll it takes on families, she said. I think if people could step back and see what thing, one flight could do and how it benefits and helps, I think a lot more people would do it.

Burks hopes that other pilots will give it a try.

You have no idea how amazing it feels to bless someone, a kid, a parent or whoever is involved in this program by doing something that you love, Burks said. Doing one mission a month. Spending two or three hours a month. Flying a patient of any age is the most rewarding thing youll ever do. If every pilot in this country did 12 flights a year, there would not be one person left behind. No one would ever have to drive.

McNeal isnt a pilot but hes seen the difference this program can make to anyone that it touches.

When he started working on the documentary, he reached out to other professionals for help. Once they learned about the program, they all offered their services for free.

McNeal attended an Angel Flight West retreat in California with Burks. His crew interviewed about 20 pilots involved in the program.

They were people from all different walks of life, McNeal said. Everyone was there for one reason and one reason only. They wanted to help people. And they were all there to encourage each other to keep doing it.

Burks said that retreat in 2019 was an experience that hell not soon forget.

Things in the world were getting a little rough at that time with people yelling and screaming at one another, Burks said. When we walked into that retreat, there were about 200 people. All the hate, disgust and division was gone. You walk into this room where everyone is high-fiving each other.

All you want to do is be able to bring that to the outside, he said. You want to try to bring that feeling of unity with people who all want the same thing. People can understand that there is a way in this crazy world that people can be happy. It comes from helping others.

To see the documentary, go to go.ravallirepublic.com/AngelsFlyWest

Learn more about Angels Flight West at https://www.angelflightwest.org/

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UNESCO launches free online film-making training course in Vietnam

The United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) is hosting a free online film-making training course for Vietnamese filmmakers, entitled On The Reel Film Lab 2022, from March 21 to 23.













The course is part of the E-MOTIONS project to promote connectivity and creativity among film-makers. It was launched in 2020 by the UNESCO in coordination with the Centre for Assistance and Development of Movie Talents (TPD), the Wallonie-Bruxelles delegation in Vietnam, HK Film, WallSound, Hanoi Grapevine, and Colab Vietnam.



The course includes three sessions conducted via Zoom webinars, featuring the participation of internationally acclaimed guest speakers Sarah Schlussel from Berlinales Short Form Station, Delphine Jeanneret from Locarno International Film Festival and Internationale Kurzfilmtage Winterthur, and filmmaker-author Clarissa Jacobson.



The first session, hosted by filmmaker-author Clarissa Jacobson, will dive deep into her film-making journey, film promotion, and submitting films to festivals. It will focus on how to have a successful run and create buzz for a film, from how to get the film out into the festival circuit to getting reviews, handling rejections, promoting on social media, and handling the networking.



During the second session, German cultural manager Sarah Schlussel will share her insightful and interesting observations into the changes of submitted and selected films over time. Additionally, she also will help the participating filmmakers get to know other resources at film festivals such as Berlinale Short Form Station and Berlinale Talents.



The last session will present film curator and educator, Delphine Jeanneret, who will dissect the opportunities and challenges for both filmmakers and audiences recently seen at offline, online and hybrid film festivals and events during the pandemic.
#ESA's @Astro_Alex with Nanoracks Nanolabs modules (ARISE) Module-75: Pump Application using Pulsed Electromagnets for Liquid reLocation (PAPELL); Module-76 : Experimental Chondrule Formation at #ISS (EXCISS); and Module-77. Experiments are shown in Kibo on 21 Nov 2018 CREDIT NASA

Research conducted aboard the International Space Station is helping scientists answer questions about the formation of the universe and origins of life on Earth.



During its 21 years of operation, the orbiting lab has hosted more than 3,000 scientific experiments aimed at helping improve life back on Earth and enabling exploration farther into the solar system. Thousands of scientific papers have been published from this work. Several recent publications shed light on early formation of planets, expand our understanding of black holes, and demonstrate that early forms of life could have survived space travel.

Learn more about these studies and why they matter:

Zapping dust particles to study early planet formation

What we learned: Electrostatic forces affect how particles aggregate or clump together in microgravity.

Why it matters: These observations provide insights into the early stages of how stardust became intermediate-sized particles that eventually aggregated into planets, moons, and other objects in our solar system.

Details: Chondrules are tiny, sphere-like particles found in meteorites and asteroids. One theory for how they formed is that in the early nebula or interstellar cloud that eventually became our solar system, lightning agitated dust particles and provided the energy needed for them to clump into chondrules. EXCISS, sponsored by the ISS U.S. National Lab, simulated the electrical and environmental conditions of the early solar system to test this theory. Researchers exposed aggregations of free-floating particles to electric fields and low- and high-energy electric discharges. A published paper reports that nearly all the particles formed compact aggregates during increased electric field strengths. Electric fields also led to reduced porosity or fewer open spaces in the aggregates, an important process in the evolution of the precursors to planet formation.

ARISE NanoLab - Studying Planet Formation - A DreamUp & DLR "Uberflieger" Experiment

Taking the measure of a black hole

What we learned: Models for determining the spin and mass of black holes underestimated spin and overestimated mass for an observed black hole.

Why it matters: Black holes are a critical part of the formation and evolution of galaxies and learning about them helps researchers better understand our universe.

Details: Neutron stars, the glowing cinders left behind when massive stars explode as supernovas, emit X-ray radiation that scientists can use to examine their structure, dynamics, and energetics. However, these X-rays do not penetrate the Earth's atmosphere. NASA's NICER is a telescope mounted on the outside of the space station to capture X-ray radiation and provide new insights into the nature and behavior of neutron stars. Scientists used data from NICER to chart the environment around a black hole, MAXI J1820+070, first observed by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) MAXI telescope on the space station in 2018. Their paper uses these data to determine the black hole's radius and spin and explains the data in context of the Relativistic Precession Model (RPM). The RPM is used for determining spin and mass for a black hole and may need refining based on these findings.

The earliest space travelers

What we learned: Complex amino acid precursors of life can withstand the harsh conditions of space.

Why it matters: This finding supports panspermia, a theory that life originated on Earth when microorganisms or chemical precursors of life hitched interplanetary rides here on dust particles or micrometeorites.

Details: Amino acids are molecules that combine to form proteins, the building blocks of life. Complex amino acids have been discovered in molecular clouds, nearby young stars, and inside meteorites and cosmic dust, which supports the panspermia theory. But the theory only holds if these life forms could survive in space long enough to reach Earth. The Tanpopo study from JAXA exposed several types of amino acids to space on the outside of station to see how they handled the harsh environment.

According to a paper published by the researchers, complex amino acid precursors may have been more robust than simple precursors and could have survived a space trip to primitive Earth. JAXA followed up with Tanpopo 2, which exposed additional microbes and organic compounds to the space environment and captured microparticles from space. Results from that investigation have yet to be published.

Astrobiology, Nanoracks, DreamUp

Please follow SpaceRef on Twitter and Like us on Facebook.
Following a recent trip to Poland and Germany, U.S. Sen. Steve Daines is urging the Biden administration to do whats necessary to transfer Polish MiG fighter jets to Ukraine.

Daines, who traveled over the weekend with 10 senators, met with Germany's parliament and the deputy foreign minister of Germany, as well as representatives from Ukraine. Daines said that more lethal weapons were needed. Citing the missiles the United States has already supplied Ukraine to fight the invading Russian Army, Daines, a Republican, said getting the Polish fighter jets to Ukraine wasnt an escalation. He called the Biden administration timid for not delivering the MiG 29 fighters it originally indicated it was willing to do.

Remember, we have provided the Javelins, the Stingers, a long list of lethal aid already to the Ukrainians that allowed them to destroy Russian tanks. And, the Ukrainians have been very successful in doing that, Daines said. And so I'm not quite sure what the argument is with the MiG 29 being different from the other lethal aid we have provided. This is about peace through strength.

The United States had sought MiG 29 fighters from Poland and other NATO countries to transfer to Ukraine because Ukrainian pilots are familiar with the Russian-built jets. The arrangement fell apart when Poland announced that it wouldnt transfer the MiGs directly to Ukraine, but would deliver the jets to a U.S. Air Force base in Germany. The United States said transfer of the jets from a U.S. Air Force base to Ukraine fighter pilots was too direct of a confrontation between the United States and Russia.

Daines said German officials who met with the senators likened Russias invasion of Ukraine to the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States.

In Germany, I heard from several, as well as other Europeans, who said that Feb. 24, when Vladimir Putin launched his invasion into Ukraine, was their 9/11, Daines said. By the way, I do not think it was a coincidence that Vladimir Putin waited until the Beijing Olympics were over on Feb. 20. It seems as if the Chinese sent a save-the-date card to Putin, to make sure that they knew they should not start the invasion prior to the end of the Beijing Olympics. I don't think it's a coincidence it happened four days right after the Beijing Olympics had their closing ceremonies.

There is a very big difference in the expected NATO response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the 9/11 attacks on the United States. Because the United States is a NATO member, the organization invoked Article 5, meaning that the members recognized the attack on the United States as an attack on all NATO members. They joined the United States in war, something NATO members havent done for Ukraine, which isnt a member.

Daines also said the Russian invasion proved that Germany made a mistake in transitioning away from coal and nuclear energy and toward natural gas-fired power plants fueled by Russian natural gas.

"What's happening with energy, I think, is a wake-up call for Germany, a wake-up call for the United States, a wake-up call for the EU." Daines said. "We must reverse this anti-fossil fuel energy course," Daines said. "And we need to be thinking about renewable sources of energy as additive to our energy portfolio, not replacing our energy portfolio."

Germany is bringing coal-fired power plants out of mothball in case the energy is needed. It continues its planned exit from nuclear power. It plans to expedite construction of two liquid natural gas terminals to reduce its dependence on Russian natural gas delivered by pipeline. The Associated Press reported Tuesday that Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Germany isn't ready to fully boycott Russian oil and gas, but would diversify its energy supply enough over time to do without Russian fuels.

It would be incorrect to describe Germany's energy "wake-up call" as a pivot back to fossil fuels. Scholz, addressing the Bundestag on Feb. 27, said the security threat posed by Russia's invasion of Ukraine meant Germany must accelerate its pivot away from fossil fuels.

"After all, the events of recent days and weeks have shown us that responsible, forward-looking energy policy is not just crucial for our economy and our climate. It is also crucial for our security," Scholz said in prepared remarks published by the German federal government. "This means that the faster we make progress with the development of renewable energies, the better. And we are on the right track. We are an industrialized country aiming to become carbon-neutral by 2045."

The trip to Poland and Germany was led by Iowa Republican Joni Ernst. In the days ahead of the trip, Ernest lobbied 41 senators to put their names to a letter calling on President Joe Biden to facilitate the transfer of MiG 29 fighters to Ukraine. Six of the senators on the trip, including Daines, signed onto the letter.

The other members of the traveling delegation were Susan Collins, R-Maine; John Cornyn, R-Texas; Kirsten Gillibrand, D-New York; Jerry Moran, R-Kansas; Angus King I-Maine; Shelley Moore Capito, R-West Virginia; Jacky Rosen, D-Nevada; and Roger Marshall, R-Kansas.

Concerning the $13.6 billion aid package to Ukraine passed by Congress earlier this month, Daines and Marshall were the only senators on the trip to vote against it. The aid for Ukraine was tucked into a $1.5 trillion omnibus bill to fund the federal government through September. Daines opposed the omnibus and voted no on the package after joining a few Republican lawmakers in attempting the put the Ukraine aid to stand-alone vote.

Democrats presented the priorities of the Ukraine representatives differently. Gillibrand said the representatives asked for four things, the first being increased sanctions, particularly on people closest to Russian President Vladimir Putin. The second priority was an increase in the number of weapons as well as the lethality of the weapons. A third request was that Putin and his military leaders be declared war criminals. The fourth request was that the Senate talk about what it will do for Ukraine, not what it won't do.

Republican Senator Collins said the United States needed to allow Ukraine refuges temporary protective status in the United States if refugees had family already here.

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Four Casper police officers exchanged gunfire with the man who barricaded himself in an Evansville home for 18 hours on Friday and Saturday, the agency reported Monday.

Police said the man, identified as Blaine Clutter, fired his gun multiple times during the standoff. Early on Saturday, he fired at officers and they shot back, according to a press release from the Casper Police Department.

Officers entered the badly damaged home at 11 a.m. on Saturday and found the man dead. The cause of his death has not yet been determined.

The four Casper officers who exchanged gunfire with Clutter have been placed on paid administrative leave, the department said.

"This action has been taken out of an abundance of caution, pending a full investigation," the agency wrote. "This protocol is in place to ensure the integrity of the investigation as well as to safeguard the mental health of the officers after a traumatic event."

Casper police were one of multiple agencies who responded to the standoff, which occurred near Evansville Elementary. It is unclear whether officers from other agencies also exchanged gunfire with Clutter.

No officers were injured during the standoff. Nor were any other members of the public.

The matter is now being investigated by the Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation.

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Editor's note: Valley Credit Union and The Billings Gazette are featuring 32 seniors throughout the 2021-2022 school year. We want to help students who are not typically eligible for scholarships and financial aid awarded to those attending a 4-year program. At the end of the year, Valley will award one $5,000 grant to a deserving student.

To be considered for the grant, students must show a clear career path for their future after high school in the form of an industry certification, technical associates degree, City College, trade school or apprenticeship. Students are nominated by a teacher, counselor, or principal from their high school.

Jenna Strobel

Billings Senior High School

What are your plans after high school?

I have been accepted and plan to attend Gallatin College in Bozeman, Montana for an Associate's Degree in Interior Design. After the two years to obtain that degree, I would like to potentially pursue education in business management and marketing.

What is your favorite class in school and why?

In my junior year, I had the opportunity to take a College Intro to Interior Design class through the Billings Career Center. A year-long class, it combined the basics of design and drafting with the experience of designing and building an actual house. This was my favorite in-school class of my high school career. Since August, I have spent my afternoons as an intern at Pierce Flooring and Cabinet Design. This internship is the best part of my day, and of my four years of high school. For school credit, I have had the opportunity to explore my potential future, gain workplace experience, and create so many friendships. Through Pierce, I have learned exponentially more than I would ever have learned in a classroom. It has made me more excited about my future than any class ever could.

Who inspires you and why?

Two people that inspire me are a couple who created a nonprofit to serve women who have come out of human trafficking. Through the HER Campaign, this couple has been able to help women become healthy, independent, and purposeful. I am inspired because these two, upon discovering a need, devoted their lives to the people they serve. I would like to do the same. There are many people in need, but only a few who are willing to give up their own comfort and opportunity to help. I would like to do more than make things pretty. I want to do it for a purpose. For one person, that reason may be healing and stability, for another, beauty and belonging. Reasons can change. Purpose does not. These same values are expressed so clearly in this couple; this is why they inspire me.

What are some things you enjoy outside of school?

I enjoy music in all forms. Though I had to quit my music classes in school, I continue to sing in extracurricular events, play cello and piano, and learn new instruments. I am very close to my family, and spend much of my time in various activities with them. I like the outdoors: everything from camping and hunting to helping on my familys ranches. I also love travel. Road trips, photography, food, and culture have always been exciting to me as well. Lastly, I have always like to bake. I learned from my mom and sisters when I was a kid, and it continues to be something I enjoy both by myself and with others.

What would make you feel successful in your career/work after school?

I would like to use my passion and my skills to pour into the community around me. My dream job would be to work for a nonprofit with housing needs. For me, success is not to have my designs on magazine covers. It is not to work for high-profile clients and get the high-paying projects. While these things are rewarding to some extent, they are still transient. Success, in my eyes, is to have given homes to those who thought they might never have one. Whether it is the homeless, refugees, trafficking victims, or another group entirely, I want to change individual lives.

If you win the $5,000 grant, how will you use the money to help you reach your goals?

If I win, this grant will allow me to pursue higher education. Because I come from a large family, I will have to pay for much of my schooling myself. Knowing this, I have put a lot of effort into keeping my grades up and taking dual credit and AP classes in preparation for college. This grant would allow me to pursue interior design and possibly education in business management and marketing.

If you were stranded on a desert island and could only bring three things, what three things would you bring and why?

The first item I would bring would be a water filter, for obvious reasons. If I can find fresh water, I can survive. Even if I have to distill seawater, all that effort is for nothing if it makes me sick. The second item I would bring is a satellite phone, to call for help. However, as help may take time to respond, I would also bring a Swiss army knife. With that, I could provide for all the other basic needs: shelter, warmth, and food.

Do you have personal motto or inspirational saying that motivates you that you would like to share?

I recently heard the words people who never make mistakes generally dont make anything at all. These words have held very true for me in the last few years. It is the times that I struggled, the hardest concepts to learn, the most work-intensive classes that I remember best. As I look forward to my future, both in college and beyond, I have come to realize that life without mistakes is a dismal existence. Errors are a sort of erosion that shape an idea, a cause, or even a person into its optimal form. Without the chisel, there is no statue. Without the potters hands, there is only shapeless mud. So, I have learned to live in the present in spite of the mistakes I make, knowing that they will make me a better person tomorrow.

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On March 22, Montana FWP convened the first meeting of a new Elk Citizens Advisory Group which is being assembled to collaboratively develop new and creative ideas and recommendations for issues surrounding elk management in Montana to balance hunter and landowner interests. We applaud this effort in advance of a long-overdue update of the 2005 Elk Management Plan. As evidenced by the contentious bills in the 2021 legislative session and the recent season-setting process, we collectively have some work to do to improve elk management in Montana.

At the end of 2020, the three of us were a part of the previous Elk Citizens Group, a diverse group of 14 Montanans tasked with "identifying and articulating issues with current elk management and defining durable and overarching principles regarding the future of elk management in Montana." Collectively, we put in 525 hours of volunteer time over five meetings to provide recommendations to guide the development of a new elk plan. Our meetings were public and facilitated by department staff, including FWP's current Chief of Staff, Quentin Kujala. We worked hard to craft six consensus Guiding Principles that were adopted by the FWP Commission in June 2021 to direct future efforts to create the new Elk Management Plan.

In announcing the new group, FWP Director Hank Worsech tasked them with figuring out the most equitable, reasonable, and effective ways to reconcile public wildlife and private property rights regarding elk, elk hunting, and elk management." In other words, this group is to pick up where we left off. Based on the overwhelming involvement in the most recent season setting process and the hundreds of applicants for this advisory group, interest in Montanas elk management is at an all time high.

While we're genuinely excited to see the new group take the baton for advising the department on elk management, it's troubling to see that FWPs Guiding Principles  or any mention of our recent work on this issue  were absent from the Director's announcement of this new group, the supporting documents for the first meeting, or the press release from FWP. With that in mind we thought it would be worth reminding everyone engaged in the process of the guiding principles that we agreed on at the end of 2020:

1) Maximize local and public input in setting elk objectives

2) Maintain hunting as the primary tool for elk management, maximize hunter access to elk and satisfaction with elk distribution, and minimize prevalence and spread of CWD in Montana, while improving partnerships between private landowners, land management agencies, and FWP

3) Minimize impacts on agricultural production, private rangeland, and infrastructure

4) Maintain over-the-counter opportunity to hunt elk and use of the general rifle season as a primary elk management tool, reducing the need for additional hunts (remembering the tools we already have for addressing problem elk, things like the hunt roster damage hunts), while also minimizing impacts of hunter crowding and maintaining limited-draw quality hunt opportunities.

5) Incentivize collaboration for landowners providing habitat and/or access

6) Promote programs that encourage ethical hunter behavior and maintain fair-chase principles for hunting by regulating new technologies

Our group also identified several additional recommendations for things that FWP should do, no matter what including; maximize collaborative opportunities for stakeholders to be involved in the decision making process; maximize the integration of the best available science into the elk management decision making; maximize coordination between predator and elk management plans; maintain public trust management of elk; maintain FWPs primary role in the management of elk; and ensure regular review and update of management and population objectives.

We look to this new advisory group to follow these guiding principles that we helped develop.

To the members of this new advisory group, congrats on being selected, thank you for your volunteer time, and please let us know if we can be of any assistance. Montanans are expecting a transparent process and we look forward to equitable solutions using the principles above as your guide.

Justin Schaaf, Glasgow; Mark Schwomeyer, Lewistown and Casey Hackathorn, Missoula were members of the 2020 Elk Management Plan Initial Guidance Citizens Group.

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After two years without volunteers due to the pandemic, Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks is seeking the public's help with its spring walleye spawning operation at Fort Peck Reservoir.

We wouldnt be able to set all the trap nets, collect fish, and spawn them on a daily basis unless we had help, said Heath Headley, reservoir biologist. Volunteers are the main reason this has been so successful over the years.

Warmer temperatures are forecast in the upcoming weeks, which means the walleye spawning operation will soon be underway.

FWP staff has been in the process of preparing spawning barges, holding pens and trap nets so they are ready to deploy once the ice is off the Big Dry Arm.

The activities of fish are very dependent on water temperatures, and you never know what is going to happen with spring weather in eastern Montana, Headley said.

Walleye spawning activity on Fort Peck Reservoir usually doesnt pick up until the second or third week of April, once the ice is gone and the water temperatures reach 40 to 50 degrees.

Once the spawning starts, Headley is hoping to reach a goal of 60 million eggs.

Prospective volunteers who contact Headley at 406-526-3471, Ext. 206, will receive an information packet containing a self-addressed envelope and volunteer form, which must be completed and signed. Parents or guardians must sign the form for minors.

Folks are asked to supply their preferred dates to volunteer, so they should list the dates they desire, Headley said. We will call to confirm the dates, so its important for volunteers to provide us with phone numbers where they can be reached both day and night. It should be noted that most weekends fill quickly.

Staff will try to accommodate as many folks as possible, but prospective volunteers should know that space is sometimes limited.

FWP will supply waders and raincoats, but volunteers should bring: warm clothing, preferably in layers; food for cold lunches; and camera equipment (if desired).

Each day of the operation starts at 8 a.m. in the conference room at the Fort Peck Hatchery. FWP will provide transportation from the hatchery to the spawning sites and back.

For those folks not able to volunteer, but who still want to keep up with the spawning activity, there is another avenue of outreach. Marc Kloker, Region 6 communication and education program manager, will be posting frequent updates from Headley about the walleye spawn to the Region 6 Facebook page. Updates will include current efforts and status, data on fish and eggs collected and photos and videos.

This is a wonderful way to keep the public updated on our walleye egg-collecting efforts on a weekly basis, Kloker said. Providing photos and videos of the fish, volunteers, and the operation in general will give everyone a virtual first-hand experience."

Like and follow by going to the Region 6 Facebook page at facebook.com/MontanaFWP.R6.

FWP fisheries and hatchery staff, along with other department personnel, collected 74 million eggs in 2021 thanks to favorable water temperatures and good numbers of healthy female walleye. A total of 21.1 million fry and 2.1 million fingerlings were stocked back into Fort Peck Reservoir. Other walleye waters in Montana were also stocked in 2021 because of this annual egg-taking effort.

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An Arizona man who pleaded guilty to luring someone he thought was a teenage girl and traveling to Mandan to meet her has been sentenced to five years on probation.

Christopher Sweeney, 32, must also pay $775 in fines and fees, court records show.

Mandan police alleged Sweeney had a number of conversations of a sexual nature with an officer posing online as a 14-year-old girl in 2021. Sweeney eventually came to Mandan and was arrested when he went to a local park for a prearranged meeting, according to an affidavit.

South Central District Judge James Hill ordered a deferred imposition of sentence, which means the felony luring charge wont go on Sweeneys record if he abides by the terms of probation. Sex offender and chemical evaluation and treatment are part of the terms.

Hill ordered a simultaneous two-year probation term on a misdemeanor charge of criminal attempt, court records show. Sweeney could face a year in jail on that charge if he miscues while on probation.

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Mandan police have identified a 77-year-old city resident they say was struck and killed by a hit-and-run driver who was later arrested on several charges including murder, and prosecutors have begun filing formal charges against the suspect.

Erwin Geigle was at the Mandan High School complex to pick up a relative when he was killed Monday morning, according to Deputy Police Chief Lori Flaten. He died at the scene in the parking lot of the All Seasons Arena on Ninth Street Northwest shortly before 7:30 a.m. after being struck by a Ford F250 pickup, authorities said.

Police did not immediately comment Tuesday on a possible motive. Flaten on Monday had said police did not think Geigle and the suspect knew one another.

Suspect Wade Bison, 39, of Bismarck, was taken into custody by Bismarck police later in the morning after a crash on State Street that sent the stolen pickup he allegedly was driving and a stolen SUV he was towing down an embankment and into a chain-link fence outside Motel 6.

Bison was taken to a hospital for treatment of injuries and later booked into the Burleigh Morton Detention Center. Formal charges against him in Morton County in connection with the Mandan death were still pending Tuesday afternoon.

Formal charges were filed against Bison in Burleigh County on Tuesday: two felony theft counts, fleeing a police officer with risk of death or serious injury, and felony possession of drug paraphernalia, along with misdemeanor driving under suspension.

Bismarck Patrol Officer Brandon Rosen said in an affidavit that Bison is a known methamphetamine user and had two used syringes in his pants pocket when he was arrested.

The most serious Burleigh County charge against Bison carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. Court documents did not list an attorney for him. He was to make his initial court appearance Tuesday afternoon, but the hearing was rescheduled for Wednesday morning.

Bismarck police had first encountered Bison about half an hour before the hit-and-run, in the parking lot of the Bismarck Police Department. It wasn't clear why he was there, and it wasn't clear why he fled and went to the school complex in Mandan.

Bismarck police about an hour after the Mandan incident made contact with Bison again at the Dan's Supermarket on Turnpike Avenue. Bison fled again and officers pursued him at speeds up to 50 mph. Bison eventually crashed with a UPS truck coming off the eastbound Interstate 94 exit ramp onto State Street.

Some students witnessed Geigle's death, according to police. The school kept a normal schedule on Monday but made counselors available to students and staff.

The school tweeted Tuesday that students in the construction program made a temporary memorial -- a cross with U.S. flag colors and stripes -- that was placed outside the All Seasons Arena.

"Mandan Public Schools sends our heartfelt condolences to all that knew and loved Mr. Geigle," the tweet said.

Police are trying to further trace the movement of the pickup Monday morning. Anyone who might have seen it is asked to call the department at 701-667-3250.

The truck is described as likely being a 2015 or newer model, white in color with a black front grill guard and a large black toolbox in the pickup box. It has what is commonly called a headache rack," a protective utility accessory behind the cab of the truck. It had a North Dakota Pioneer license plate on the back, which police believe was stolen, Flaten said.

Rosen's affidavit says the pickup was reported stolen in Williams County, and the SUV was stolen from the Dan's parking lot.

North Dakota court records show Bison has a lengthy history of alcohol, drug and driving convictions dating to 2003, including incidents last year. During one of those incidents, he told Mandan police that his name was Rico Havoc.

Reach Blake Nicholson at 701-250-8266 or blake.nicholson@bismarcktribune.com.

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Mandan police have identified a 77-year-old city resident they say was struck and killed by a hit-and-run driver who was later arrested on several charges including murder, and prosecutors have begun filing formal charges against the suspect.

Erwin Geigle was at the Mandan High School complex to pick up a relative when he was killed Monday morning, according to Deputy Police Chief Lori Flaten. He died at the scene in the parking lot of the All Seasons Arena on Ninth Street Northwest shortly before 7:30 a.m. after being struck by a Ford F250 pickup, authorities said.

Police did not immediately comment Tuesday on a possible motive. Flaten on Monday had said police did not think Geigle and the suspect knew one another.

Suspect Wade Bison, 39, of Bismarck, was taken into custody by Bismarck police later in the morning after a crash on State Street that sent the stolen pickup he allegedly was driving and a stolen SUV he was towing down an embankment and into a chain-link fence outside Motel 6.

Bison was taken to a hospital for treatment of injuries and later booked into the Burleigh Morton Detention Center. Formal charges against him in Morton County in connection with the Mandan death were still pending Tuesday afternoon.

Formal charges were filed against Bison in Burleigh County on Tuesday: two felony theft counts, fleeing a police officer with risk of death or serious injury, and felony possession of drug paraphernalia, along with misdemeanor driving under suspension.

Bismarck Patrol Officer Brandon Rosen said in an affidavit that Bison is a known methamphetamine user and had two used syringes in his pants pocket when he was arrested.

The most serious Burleigh County charge against Bison carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. Court documents did not list an attorney for him. He was to make his initial court appearance Tuesday afternoon, but the hearing was rescheduled for Wednesday morning.

Bismarck police had first encountered Bison about half an hour before the hit-and-run, in the parking lot of the Bismarck Police Department. It wasn't clear why he was there, and it wasn't clear why he fled and went to the school complex in Mandan.

Bismarck police about an hour after the Mandan incident made contact with Bison again at the Dan's Supermarket on Turnpike Avenue. Bison fled again and officers pursued him at speeds up to 50 mph. Bison eventually crashed with a UPS truck coming off the eastbound Interstate 94 exit ramp onto State Street.

Some students witnessed Geigle's death, according to police. The school kept a normal schedule on Monday but made counselors available to students and staff.

The school tweeted Tuesday that students in the construction program made a temporary memorial -- a cross with U.S. flag colors and stripes -- that was placed outside the All Seasons Arena.

"Mandan Public Schools sends our heartfelt condolences to all that knew and loved Mr. Geigle," the tweet said.

Police are trying to further trace the movement of the pickup Monday morning. Anyone who might have seen it is asked to call the department at 701-667-3250.

The truck is described as likely being a 2015 or newer model, white in color with a black front grill guard and a large black toolbox in the pickup box. It has what is commonly called a headache rack," a protective utility accessory behind the cab of the truck. It had a North Dakota Pioneer license plate on the back, which police believe was stolen, Flaten said.

Rosen's affidavit says the pickup was reported stolen in Williams County, and the SUV was stolen from the Dan's parking lot.

North Dakota court records show Bison has a lengthy history of alcohol, drug and driving convictions dating to 2003, including incidents last year. During one of those incidents, he told Mandan police that his name was Rico Havoc.

Reach Blake Nicholson at 701-250-8266 or blake.nicholson@bismarcktribune.com.

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Authorities have identified a 22-year-old University of Mary student whose body was found in a channel off the Missouri River over the weekend.

Isaac Bohaty, of Lincoln, died of accidental drowning, according to initial results of an autopsy conducted by the State Medical Examiner, Mandan Deputy Police Chief Lori Flaten said Tuesday.

The circumstances of Bohaty's death are unclear. There were no witnesses, Flaten told the Tribune.

"Just found in the water. Mostly ice. One area with some open water," she said. "He hadn't been seen and his friends reported him missing."

Mandan police received the missing person report for Bohaty on Sunday afternoon. Items believed to belong to him were located on the ice of a river channel near where he was last seen Saturday evening, in the area of South Bay Drive and 40th Avenue Southeast in Mandan.

Dive teams from the Morton County and Burleigh County sheriffs offices later found his body in an area of open water in the channel.

Bohaty was a student at the University of Mary in Bismarck, and had competed on the school's track team until fall 2020, according to university spokesman Tom Ackerman.

The school hosted Catholic Vespers and Mass for Bohaty on Monday evening. About 500, faculty, students and staff attended, Ackerman said. Priests were available to counsel anyone who requested it.

Reach Blake Nicholson at 701-250-8266 or blake.nicholson@bismarcktribune.com.

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North Dakota's top election official will report alleged violations of state law related to signatures gathered for a proposed ballot measure for term limits on the governor and state lawmakers.

The proposed measure will not go on the November general election ballot, Secretary of State Al Jaeger said Tuesday.

Measure supporters last month submitted petitions to prompt a public vote on term limits. They needed 31,164 signatures of qualified North Dakota electors; they submitted 46,315 signatures.

Jaeger on Tuesday accepted about 17,000 signatures and rejected about 29,000. He notified measure chairman Jared Hendrix, a Minot-area Republican district chairman, of his review.

"Based on a review of the petitions by my office and an investigation by the Attorney General's Bureau of Criminal Investigation, the petitions do not have a sufficient number of valid signatures," Jaeger wrote.

"Additionally ... I must report all violations to the Attorney General," he wrote.

Attorney General Drew Wrigley told the Tribune, "Under the circumstances, all I can add is that: 'The BCI's investigation of this matter continues.'"

Hendrix in a statement expressed disappointment with Jaeger's "decision to exercise unprecedented and unconstitutional discretion to dismiss the signatures of thousands of North Dakotans who support term limits."

"We will pursue every legal avenue for challenging this decision out of respect to the wide swath of North Dakotans who want term limits, and to protect the integrity of our initiated measure process," he told the Tribune.

Jaeger's letter cited five points for excluding petitions:

Several signatures of petition circulators were likely forged on affidavits in the presence of a notary public, meaning all affidavits attached to 751 petitions including 15,740 signatures weren't counted.

Some circulators were neither North Dakota qualified electors nor U.S. citizens.

A sampling of the 87 circulators indicated several were offered or paid bonuses based on the number of signatures they gathered, which is against state law.

Petitions included a significant number of signatures from residents of other states, which violates state law.

Thousands of signatures did not meet requirements of having a printed name, affixed signature and complete address witnessed by the circulator.

Jaeger said his office found the alleged violations as part of its regular review of the petitions.

"We found discrepancies, and went from there," he told the Tribune.

Some of the alleged violations "might be" criminal, he said.

Jaeger said "we have found fraud before," in 1994 with a proposed term limits measure, but he stopped short of saying the newly alleged violations are fraud.

State Rep. Jeff Magrum, R-Hazelton, a member of the measure's sponsoring committee who was present when supporters turned in their petitions to Jaeger in mid-February, said the alleged violations surprised and disappointed him.

"Sure is news to me," said Magrum, who confirmed he participated in gathering "quite a few" signatures.

He added, "I don't mind BCI having another set of eyes on (the petitions), but I surely didn't expect any mischief, but I didn't go through them all myself, obviously."

The proposed measure would add a new article to the state constitution, effective Jan. 1, 2023, imposing term limits of eight cumulative years each in the House and Senate. The governor, who serves four-year terms, could not be elected more than twice.

Supporters of term limits say they bring in fresh ideas and reduce corruption. Opponents say term limits force out expertise and take power away from voters.

Term limits under the proposed measure would not be retroactive -- meaning the service of current officeholders would not count against them.

The measure's language also would bar the Legislature from proposing amendments to alter or repeal the term limits; only citizens would be able to do so.

The measure's 42-member sponsoring committee includes several state lawmakers linked to the ultraconservative Bastiat Caucus, as well as multiple GOP district chairmen who came on last year.

North Dakota's dominant Republican Party has seen infighting between ultraconservative and establishment members, notably in the party censures of several state lawmakers and a walkout from a party meeting last year.

North Dakota has no term limits for state elected officials or lawmakers. The governor and lawmakers each serve four-year terms. More than 60 sitting lawmakers have served eight or more years in their respective chamber.

Fifteen state legislatures, including Montana and South Dakota, have term limits.

Reach Jack Dura at 701-250-8225 or jack.dura@bismarcktribune.com.

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North Dakota's top election official will report alleged violations of state law related to signatures gathered for a proposed ballot measure for term limits on the governor and state lawmakers.

The proposed measure will not go on the November general election ballot, Secretary of State Al Jaeger said Tuesday.

Measure supporters last month submitted petitions to prompt a public vote on term limits. They needed 31,164 signatures of qualified North Dakota electors; they submitted 46,315 signatures.

Jaeger on Tuesday accepted about 17,000 signatures and rejected about 29,000. He notified measure chairman Jared Hendrix, a Minot-area Republican district chairman, of his review.

"Based on a review of the petitions by my office and an investigation by the Attorney General's Bureau of Criminal Investigation, the petitions do not have a sufficient number of valid signatures," Jaeger wrote.

"Additionally ... I must report all violations to the Attorney General," he wrote.

Attorney General Drew Wrigley told the Tribune, "Under the circumstances, all I can add is that: 'The BCI's investigation of this matter continues.'"

Hendrix in a statement expressed disappointment with Jaeger's "decision to exercise unprecedented and unconstitutional discretion to dismiss the signatures of thousands of North Dakotans who support term limits."

"We will pursue every legal avenue for challenging this decision out of respect to the wide swath of North Dakotans who want term limits, and to protect the integrity of our initiated measure process," he told the Tribune.

Jaeger's letter cited five points for excluding petitions:

Several signatures of petition circulators were likely forged on affidavits in the presence of a notary public, meaning all affidavits attached to 751 petitions including 15,740 signatures weren't counted.

Some circulators were neither North Dakota qualified electors nor U.S. citizens.

A sampling of the 87 circulators indicated several were offered or paid bonuses based on the number of signatures they gathered, which is against state law.

Petitions included a significant number of signatures from residents of other states, which violates state law.

Thousands of signatures did not meet requirements of having a printed name, affixed signature and complete address witnessed by the circulator.

Jaeger said his office found the alleged violations as part of its regular review of the petitions.

"We found discrepancies, and went from there," he told the Tribune.

Some of the alleged violations "might be" criminal, he said.

Jaeger said "we have found fraud before," in 1994 with a proposed term limits measure, but he stopped short of saying the newly alleged violations are fraud.

State Rep. Jeff Magrum, R-Hazelton, a member of the measure's sponsoring committee who was present when supporters turned in their petitions to Jaeger in mid-February, said the alleged violations surprised and disappointed him.

"Sure is news to me," said Magrum, who confirmed he participated in gathering "quite a few" signatures.

He added, "I don't mind BCI having another set of eyes on (the petitions), but I surely didn't expect any mischief, but I didn't go through them all myself, obviously."

The proposed measure would add a new article to the state constitution, effective Jan. 1, 2023, imposing term limits of eight cumulative years each in the House and Senate. The governor, who serves four-year terms, could not be elected more than twice.

Supporters of term limits say they bring in fresh ideas and reduce corruption. Opponents say term limits force out expertise and take power away from voters.

Term limits under the proposed measure would not be retroactive -- meaning the service of current officeholders would not count against them.

The measure's language also would bar the Legislature from proposing amendments to alter or repeal the term limits; only citizens would be able to do so.

The measure's 42-member sponsoring committee includes several state lawmakers linked to the ultraconservative Bastiat Caucus, as well as multiple GOP district chairmen who came on last year.

North Dakota's dominant Republican Party has seen infighting between ultraconservative and establishment members, notably in the party censures of several state lawmakers and a walkout from a party meeting last year.

North Dakota has no term limits for state elected officials or lawmakers. The governor and lawmakers each serve four-year terms. More than 60 sitting lawmakers have served eight or more years in their respective chamber.

Fifteen state legislatures, including Montana and South Dakota, have term limits.

Reach Jack Dura at 701-250-8225 or jack.dura@bismarcktribune.com.

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Russia and individual Russians have been hard hit by sanctions imposed by nations around the world, all intended to deter Vladimir Putin from pursuing his illegal war in Ukraine. But what moral principles should guide our decisions about whether to impose sanctions and the form they take? []

Are economic sanctions morally permissible? That question has been asked by many people since Russias invasion of Ukraine and the imposition of a range of economic sanctions on Russian entities and individuals by the United States, most European nations, and many other countries.

Peoples answers, I have discovered, dont neatly track right-left divisions. I have met conservatives and progressives who fiercely oppose the use of economic sanctions in principle or in particular cases, as well as progressives and conservatives who favor them in specific instances.

In this short reflection, I dont propose to address the question of whether a particular set of economic sanctions on a given country in the past or present was or is morally acceptable. Instead, Id like to propose some key criteria by which we can assess the ethical status of a given choice to use economic sanctions.

To be clear about what we are discussing: Economic sanctions are the legally authorized and politically directed interdiction of normal trade, economic, or financial relations with a particular individual, organization (such as a business), or sovereign state. They are imposed to realize specific foreign policy ends and/or as a means of enforcing international law and/or to deter distinct entities from acting in certain ways. Examples of goals for which sanctions have been imposed in the more recent past by some Western governments include the ending of apartheid in South Africa, pushing the Polish Communist regime to lift the state of martial law imposed upon Poland in 1981, and seeking to deter North Korea from developing nuclear weapons.

Sometimes sanctions are comprehensive and attempt to prohibit most or all economic exchanges with a given individual, organization, country, or set of countries. More commonly, sanctions are specifically targeted. Examples might be the prohibition of selling weapons to the government of a particular country, the targeting of an industry upon which a country is especially dependent, or denying specific individuals (government officials, individuals close to a regimes leadership, etc.) the capacity to engage in economic exchanges with foreign entities.

Who Suffers?

Sanctions are, however, a complicated business. In some cases, sanctions disproportionately impact individuals or groups who are not responsible for the decisions of governments. In apartheid South Africa, for instance, black South Africans were not responsible for the regimes racial policies. Indeed, they were the primary victims. But economic sanctions also hurt black South Africans more than, say, white South Africans because the former were generally far poorer than the latter. This was one reason why Margaret Thatcherwho firmly opposed apartheidquestioned the wisdom of imposing sanctions on South Africa. She also worried that sanctions might harden resistance to dismantling apartheid among segments of the white South African population.

Yet it has also been argued that sanctions played a particular role in reducing foreign capital investment in South Africa and helped trigger a capital flight from the country. This, the argument goes, incentivized some in the white South African business community to put pressure on the government to start dismantling the apartheid systemthereby helping to end many of the intrinsic justices being perpetuated against black South Africans.

Of course, we will never know precisely how much of a role sanctions played in bringing down apartheid in proportion to other factors. These range from the end of the Cold War (which removed the rationale that South Africa, for all the awfulness of the regime, helped check the advance of some Marxist guerilla movements backed by Communist Cuba and Eastern Bloc nations in the southern African cone) to changing attitudes among some white South Africans on racial questions.

But while these were important pieces of information that needed to be worked into the moral calculus, none in themselves could definitively determine the justice or injustice of the use of sanctions. For these types of judgments, we need principles grounded in reason. And one possible way of determining whether an instance of sanctions is just or unjust could be to deploy some of the criteria commonly associated with just war theory. Obviously war and economic sanctions are different things. Both, however, involve the use of coercion by governments to realize specific ends in the sphere of international relations.

Grounded in Christian moral reflection and extensively developed in the natural law tradition from the 12th century onward, the term just war theory is widely used to describe two sets of principles. First, it denotes the criteria needed to determine whether the decision to go to war is just (ius ad bellum). Second, it describes principles that help guide how a country wages a war (ius in bello).

Defining Justice

Concerning the ius ad bellum principles, contemporary just war theorists would broadly agree that they involve all or most of the following:

The cause must be just (e.g., self-defense).

The war must be declared by a legitimate authority (i.e., a sovereign state headed by a legitimate government).

The decision must embody right intention (the object intended by the government is justice, not, for instance, vengeance).

There must be some reasonable probability of realizing the goal.

All other means of trying to address the problem must have been used and failed.

With the exception of the last principle (sanctions are, by definition, not a last resort), these criteria are helpful for thinking through the decision to impose sanctions. They indicate that the imposition of sanctions cannot be about a state engaging in, for example, self-aggrandizement. Likewise, if there is no reasonable probability of sanctions shifting the needle toward realization of the intended goals, this would suggest that sanctions are not a just or reasonable option. Conversely, if there is a strong likelihood of sanctions achieving their objective, their use may be just and reasonable.

But should these criteria be met, they do not tell us what government can and cannot do once they decide to impose sanctions. Here, some of the ius in bello principles that guide how war is waged may also be helpful.

One such principle is that of discrimination. This means that you may act only against those who are legitimate targets in war (military bases, soldiers plainly intent upon fighting, key communications facilities needed to wage war, etc.). By contrast, civilians and noncombatants may not be intentionally targeted. In war, its inevitable that civilians and noncombatants get hurt. But what matters is whether they are intentionally targeted. Defining what reasonably falls within the scope of intentionality is a related question that must also be addressed.

A second principle is called proportionality. This concerns how much force is morally appropriate to realize the goal. You must deploy only that force judged sufficient to realize the goal and no more. This is not simply about minimizing destruction and casualties. It is also about acting justly by not acting out of all proportion to the problem you are trying to address. The use of weapons, for example, should not facilitate evils more serious than the evil the war seeks to eliminate.

Again, these principles seem applicable to the question of sanctions. Imposing a total all-encompassing embargo of all economic exchanges with a country and all its businesses and citizens because its government is oppressing a particular minoritys religious freedom would appear to violate both the principles of proportionality and discrimination. Conversely, targeting those political leaders, government officials, and agencies responsible for the violations of religious liberty would be a proportionate response that involves proper discrimination.

The Politics of Prudence

Whats evident, however, when we consider these principles is that applying them to a given situation requires considerable prudence. By prudence I dont have in mind realpolitik, pragmatism, or cautiousness. Rather, I mean the virtue of using our reason to identify 1) what is the good (or goods) to be realized and 2) what are just means for realizing such goods. Moreover, as the word virtue suggests, prudence is a moral habit that, like all habits, has to be consciously developed over time.

Its also the case that prudent individuals applying these principles to a given situation could conceivably come to different conclusions about whether to impose sanctions, the type of sanctions deployed, and the precise targets of these sanctions. This is not a matter of indulging moral relativism. Rather it reflects the fact that answering manythough not allmoral questions often involves making judgments about facts and probabilities that are in reasonable dispute among reasonable people. No one can know definitively in advance, for example, whether a set of economic sanctions will deter a regime from acting in a particular way. In many cases, rational people can also disagree about whether targeting particular individuals or, alternatively, specific industries is likely to be more effective at realizing the goal.

In a way, however, this is beside the point. What matters about a governments decision to impose sanctions and the form taken by those sanctions is that those making such choices do so in a manner consistent with the demands of right reason. For therein is the essence of morality, the demands of which are equally obliging upon everyoneincluding those making decisions about whether to apply sanctions and the form they might take. Once we abandon such an understanding of morality, the possibility that arbitrariness or outright barbarism will take center stage suddenly becomes much more real.
John Joseph Mearsheimer ( ; born December 14, 1947) is an American political scientist and international relations scholar, who belongs to the realist school of thought. He is the R. Wendell Harrison Distinguished Service Professor at the University of Chicago. He has been described as the most influential realist of his generation.[3]

Mearsheimer is best known for developing the theory of offensive realism, which describes the interaction between great powers as being primarily driven by the rational desire to achieve regional hegemony in an anarchic international system. In accordance with his theory, Mearsheimer believes that China's growing power will likely bring it into conflict with the United States.

In 2007 book The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy Mearsheimer argues that the Israeli lobby wields disproportionate influence over US foreign policy.
The trucker-led protest against COVID-19 restrictions in Canada is spreading  and American political observers of all stripes believe something similar is bound to take hold in the United States.

If that happens, it will add one more fractious clash to the American debate over COVID-19, which is already so bitter and polarized.

It will also come at a point when President Biden is in a tricky political spot.

entative plans are taking shape for an American equivalent to the Canadian Freedom Convoy that was initially centered on Ottawa but has expanded to three border crossings.

The most prominent American plan, though still unconfirmed, is for a Peoples Convoy that would travel from California to Washington, perhaps in early March.

The Canadian protest began as a reaction to a requirement for truckers to be vaccinated in order to cross the U.S. border. But it has grown into a much larger cause, pushing back against COVID-19 restrictions writ large.
A spokesman for Gov. Kathy Hochul said that a staffer will not attend a meeting of a citizen group that opposes a giant solar power project in Cambria and Pendleton.

The group, Cambria Opponents of Industrial Solar, sent notices advertising the presence of a Hochul representative at a meeting set for 6:30 p.m. Wednesday in the Cambria Fire Company hall.

The Buffalo News asked Hochul's office to confirm the information and inquired whether it meant Hochul was taking a position on the project or opposing the renewable energy law signed by former Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo.

A Hochul spokesman replied that the governor's staff had decided not to send anyone to the meeting . The reason given was "pending litigation."

Cambria Opponents of Industrial Solar, along with the Town of Cambria and other towns and citizen groups across the state, filed suit last year seeking to invalidate the state law that created a special agency to review solar and wind energy projects.

The suit argued that the law was unconstitutional and the regulations created by the new Office of Renewable Energy Siting should be invalidated.

In October, a judge in Albany ruled in favor of the state in the lawsuit over the solar law, but an appeal was filed, although it hasn't been formally completed so far.

That's why the Hochul administration was able to cite the litigation as a reason for not sending someone to the Cambria meeting.

Cambria Supervisor Wright H. Ellis said a notice of appeal was filed in November.

"They're working on it right now and they intend to get it in shortly," he said.

As for the decision by Hochul's office, Ellis said "it's disappointing" that no representative will attend the citizen group meeting.

"We certainly did not expect a commitment," Ellis said. "We were hoping to have an audience and be able to present directly to her, the governor, our concerns."

The law that Cambria and others challenged in court calls for automatic approval one year after a company's application for a renewable energy project is deemed complete, unless the new agency approves or rejects it in less than a year.

Cypress Creek Renewables, the California company proposing Bear Ridge Solar, has filed an application to use that law to try to win a permit for its planned 100-megawatt, 937-acre project.

According to a map filed with the application, the solar panels are to be spread across 11 noncontiguous parcels of open farmland, with 81% of the affected acreage in Cambria and 19% in Pendleton.

Tuesday, Cypress Creek submitted a revised application, comprising 113 separate documents, to the Office of Renewable Energy Siting, which on Jan. 31 had declared the company's first application incomplete. The agency sent the company 20 pages of questions and gave Cypress Creek until May 2 to respond.

Gov. Hochul is taking bold, nation-leading actions to confront climate change head-on, and is committed to pursuing clean, renewable solar, wind, and hydroelectric power opportunities while also ensuring the protection of the environment and consideration of all pertinent social, economic, and environmental factors in permitting of such facilities," a Hochul spokesman said in an email to The News.

"New Yorks transition to clean energy won't just help us respond to climate change and lower utility costs, it will supercharge our economic recovery and create good jobs. New York State and the Office of Renewable Energy Siting value input from all local governments and host communities and will work closely with all stakeholders to ensure renewable energy development is done responsibly as we continue towards a cleaner, greener future," the statement said.

Meanwhile, under terms of the solar law, ORES has allotted money to Cambria Opponents of Industrial Solar, as well as to the towns themselves, for use in opposing the project.

Cambria received $51,000, Pendleton $34,000 and the citizen group $15,000. The money came from Cypress Creek's application fee.

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The images from 4,500 miles away shock the conscience, yet they're depressingly familiar. Women and children from Ukraine crowd into makeshift shelters in Poland and elsewhere in Europe, safe from war but anguished over the homes they've lost, at least for now.

They're the sort of people Buffalo has welcomed for generations, so it's only natural to ask the question: Will some of these Ukrainian refugees find new homes in Western New York?

Blinken defends U.S. response to Ukraine invasion  and boasts of a broad international vision Amid the greatest international crisis in years, Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with a handful of Washington reporters for local news outlets last week to deliver a message larger, even, than the Ukraine War: that there is no way to shield America from the wider world.

The answer is: probably  yet it's far too soon to know when, or how many. And it may not be a huge number, simply because Ukrainian refugees have options closer to home.

In less than a month, the Russian invasion of Ukraine has pushed more than 3 million people westward in the world's biggest refugee exodus in this century. And while the vast majority of those people want to go home or settle in Europe, an undetermined number will likely end up settling in the U.S., government officials and refugee resettlement experts said.

"Given the numbers that we're looking at, there is almost certainly going to be an interest, a demand on countries far from Europe  including the United States  to take people in," Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in response to a question from The Buffalo News last week.

Saying the U.S. is particularly interested in helping families reunite, Blinken added: "I expect that we'll have more to say about that in the coming days as we really plunge into this, but we're determined to do our part in showing that we're a place of refuge and welcome as well  and particularly because there are such strong Ukrainian-American communities here. I know that people would be very welcoming."

One of those places, of course, is metro Buffalo. According to Emil Bandriwsky, president of the Dnipro Ukrainian Cultural Center on Genesee Street, about 20,000 people of Ukrainian descent live in the Buffalo area. Home to several Ukrainian churches as well as two such cultural centers, Buffalo will be a welcoming place for Ukrainian refugees who choose to come to America, he said.

The Dnipro cultural center had a meeting last week on the refugee issue and 40 people showed up, all of them with relatives who may want to resettle in the U.S., he said.

"In Buffalo, our team has already identified several hundred refugees, potentially," Bandriwsky said.

What's more, Gov. Kathy Hochul, Erie County Executive Mark C. Poloncarz and Mayor Byron W. Brown all have visited the cultural center to stress that Buffalo welcomes refugees, he said.

"And as we know, the City of Buffalo for the first time in 70 years just had a population increase, and it's primarily because of refugees," Bandriwsky said.

But those refugees  primarily from Burma and several troubled African nations  stand as living proof that it may be a while before large numbers of Ukrainians settle in Buffalo.

They came to America legally under a 42-year-old federal program in which a United Nations agency first deems refugees eligible for resettlement before the U.S. vets them for any health or security concerns. For virtually every refugee, that process takes years.

At this point, Ukrainian refugees don't look like a good fit for that program, especially given the fact that the European Union has granted them the right to live and work in the EU for the next three years, no questions asked.

All those fleeing Putins bombs are welcome in Europe," the EU president, Ursula von der Leyen, said in a statement. "We will provide protection to those seeking shelter and we will help those looking for a safe way home.

Blinken said most Ukrainian refugees will want to stay in Europe, given that the vast majority are women and children whose husbands and fathers are fighting the invading Russians.

"They want to stay if they can as close as possible in the hopes that they can be quickly reunited and in the hopes that the war will end quickly and they can go home," he said. "Second, many Ukrainians have family relatives in Europe, and once you're in Europe, you have a fair bit of freedom of movement."

The exception to that, of course, might be Ukrainian refugees who want to reunite with family in America. Some of them may already be in the United States: in fact, the Biden administration recently gave 18-month temporary protected status to 75,000 Ukrainians who were already in the country when the war started.

There's also a longstanding federal resettlement program for persecuted religious minorities to resettle with family in the U.S., and some Ukrainians may be able to come to America under that effort, said Molly Short Carr, CEO of Jewish Family Services of Buffalo and Erie County, one of the region's four refugee resettlement agencies.

"But if they don't have any connection to the United States, they weren't already in the process, and they can stay in Europe safely and work and take care of themselves and potentially go back home, that is the better option for them," she said.

Karen Andolina Scott, executive director of Journey's End Refugee Services in Buffalo, agreed.

"Permanent resettlement is almost always the last choice," she said. "Certainly repatriation, or people being able to go home, is what everybody wants. And so I think it's a little early to tell if permanent resettlement is the way to go here. Now it won't be surprising if it is, of course. But I don't think we're quite there yet."

Carr stressed that the Ukrainian refugees are in a far different spot than the Afghans who came to America last summer as U.S. troops withdrew from Afghanistan. Those were people who worked closely with U.S. forces and were in danger as the Taliban took over the country. And the Afghans had nowhere else to go, whereas the Ukrainians have more options.

"There are a lot of safe places, thankfully, for this group of refugees, said Melanie Nezer, senior vice president of global public affairs, at HIAS, a Jewish international refugee resettlement agency that recently held a briefing call on the Ukrainian refugee crisis. I wish that were true for everybody. The U.S. will be an appropriate option for some of them, but not for all of them.

The Buffalo News: Good Morning, Buffalo The smart way to start your day. We sift through all the news to give you a concise, informative look at the top headlines and must-read stories every weekday. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy.
Williamsville Mayor Deb Rogers' allies have made a split decision about seeking re-election to their Village Board seats: One is in and one is out.

Deputy Mayor Dave Sherman, at the center of a highly public debate over Covid-19 rules, said he will run.

But Trustee Matt Carson, named to a vacancy created when a Rogers critic abruptly resigned from the board in January, has decided to leave at the end of June.

"I look forward to finishing out my term and giving back to the village that I love. But I have a young family and time goes too fast," Carson said in an email.

Two former Williamsville mayors, Mary Lowther and Dan DeLano, previously declared they plan to run for the two seats, both of which have a year remaining on their terms.

Rogers appointed Sherman and Carson to their seats and both have served during a period when Village Board meetings grew contentious as the mayor and other attendees defied the state mask mandate.

Sherman, the retired managing editor of the Bee Newspapers and the former Amherst town historian, took the place of Trustee Al Yates in April.

He drew considerable attention after Erie County fined the village $300 because Rogers and others attending the Jan. 10 Village Board meeting did not wear face masks. Sherman initially joined Rogers and Carson in voting to hire attorney Todd Aldinger to fight the fine, raising the possibility of costly legal fees.

After some village residents protested that decision, Sherman switched sides and joined Trustees Eileen Torre and Christine Hunt in voting to pay the fine.

"I know there's been some turbulent waters, if you want to call it that," Sherman said in an interview.

But he said he decided to run for the remaining year on his term out of a sense of obligation to finish what he started.

"I didn't expect to fill that job for a few months and then disappear," Sherman said.

Carson, for his part, told The Buffalo News that family considerations drove his decision to opt out of the June 21 election. Rogers named him in January to take the place of Matthew Etu, a trustee and deputy mayor who resigned after blasting Rogers for her public campaign against Covid-related restrictions.

"The time commitment is the only reason why I didn't want to run in the election," said Carson, an IT programmer for Life Storage. "I'm also happy others are running. If no one else was interested, I might have signed up for another year to help the village out until the normal four-year term was up."

It's unclear whether Carson's decision will prompt any other candidates to come forward. Sherman said he hasn't thought about whether to run as a ticket with another candidate for the two board seats.

Lowther and DeLano are campaigning together with the backing of the Community First Party, the same ballot line on which Torre and Hunt ran. In announcing their candidacies last month, Lowther and DeLano said they wanted to use their experience in village government to refocus the board on what matters to Williamsville residents.

Both said the race isn't personal, and Sherman agreed with the former mayors.

"We're friends and we always will be," he said.

The Buffalo News: Good Morning, Buffalo The smart way to start your day. We sift through all the news to give you a concise, informative look at the top headlines and must-read stories every weekday. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy.
Brussels, 21 March 2022 (SPS) - The Polisario Front representative to the European Union (EU) and Europe Oubi Bouchraya Bachir affirmed that the sudden position of Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez is a serious gaffe likely to fuel tensions and endanger the chances of a political settlement to the conflict in Western Sahara.

Spain which, in accordance with the international law, still remains the administering power of its former colony (Western Sahara), cant unilaterally abdicate its responsibilities and commitments imposed by its unique relation with the region and its inhabitants, said Oubi Bouchraya in a statement to APS.



The Sahrawi diplomat underlined that the Spanish governments position led to condemnation, rejection and denunciation campaigns conducted by most of the political forces in Spain, adding that more than 11 parties required the appearance, as soon as possible, of the Spanish Prime minister before the parliament to be heard about the reasons of this unjustified reversal.



Madrids new position, which totally contradicts the positions of successive Spanish governments, is in contrast with the neutrality principle and adopts the Moroccan proposal on the so-called autonomy plan which imposes the colonial reality and gives the sovereignty to Morocco, in violation of the Sahrawi peoples right to determine the final status of this non-self-governing territory, he added.



While pointing out that the announcement of Madrids new position comes within the framework of the restoration of relations between Spain and Morocco after more than three years of tension, the Polisario Fronts representative regrets the fact that this decision is a form of barter and a condition laid down by Makhzen which uses the migratory map as a means of pressure on Spain to push it to recognize its alleged sovereignty over Western Sahara.



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Tarpon are magnificent fish and ferocious predators. They grow to almost 2m (6 feet) in length and a whopping 165kg (275lb). This scuba diver in Belize was returning to the boat after an afternoon dive. As she cruised over the coral in the shallows, she was confronted by a school of tarpon that were drifting past in front of his face. Tarpon this size have no predators except large sharks and they have little fear as they meet up with this clumsy human. A very unique thing about tarpon is that they have a specialized swim bladder. This can also function as an accessory respiratory organ, allowing them to breathe air from the surface so that they can survive in water with very low oxygen saturation. They are also able to swim much faster than other fish in the same environment because of their increased oxygen uptake. This makes them formidable predators. They have voracious appetites, inhaling their food whole. For a scuba diver, a school tarpon so close up is a very interesting sight!
A Memphis jury found Billy Ray Turner guilty of first-degree murder on Monday in the 2010 slaying of longtime NBA player Lorenzen Wright.

Turner was also found guilty on charges of conspiracy to commit murder and criminal intent to commit murder. Judge Lee Coffee sentenced Turner to 60 years in prison on the murder charge, ABC 24 in Memphis reports. The jury spent less than three hours in deliberation to reach its verdict after Monday's closing arguments.

Wright starred at the University of Memphis from 1994-96 before joining the NBA as the No. 7 pick in the 1996 draft by the Los Angeles Clippers. He went on to play 13 seasons in the NBA before retiring in 2009.

Lorenzen Wright, seen here in 2001 as a member of the Atlanta Hawks, was murdered in 2010 in Memphis. (Sporting News via Getty Images)

Wright's 2010 murder, investigation

Wright's decomposing body was found in an East Memphis field in July 2010, 10 days after he'd been reported missing. He'd been shot multiple times. The case went cold before new evidence prompted investigators to look into Wright's ex-wife, Sherra Wright, years later. She was arrested in 2017 on multiple charges, including first-degree murder.

She pleaded guilty to facilitation of murder in 2019 and was sentenced to 30 years in prison. She has since filed and subsequently withdrawn an effort to have her plea overturned. She received a $1 million life insurance settlement 14 months after Wright's death.

Turner was charged with pulling the trigger in Wright's murder in a conspiracy alongside Sherra Wright. Prosecutors argued that Sherra Wright recruited Turner and another man, Jimmie Martin, to help murder Wright. Martin is Sherra Wright's cousin and is serving time for a second-degree murder conviction in the death of his girlfriend.

Martin testified that Sherra Wright told him that she lured Wright to the Memphis field where she and Turner shot him multiple times and left his body. He also testified that he later helped Turner dispose of the murder weapon in a North Mississippi lake. He said that he told detectives where it was located. FBI divers later found it.

Martin received immunity in Wright's death in exchange for his testimony, ABC 24 reports. Turner's defense unsuccessfully attempted to invalidate Martin's testimony at trial.

Per ABC 24, Turner could see his sentenced reduced to 51 years with good behavior, meaning he would be 102 years old for his earliest possible release.
Research

Equity-Minded Communications Boost Effectiveness of Early Alerts

Use of early alerts  flagging at-risk students for intervention from advisers  increased by 22% in the first year of the pandemic, according to data from higher education advisory EAB. Not only are students experiencing increased emotional, social and academic needs, EAB said, but faculty are also becoming more comfortable in using early-alert systems to flag students in need of support. Yet those flags don't always lead to successful interventions. In fact, only 51% of alerts result in an adviser reaching out to the at-risk student, EAB found. And out of those communications, 23% fail to elicit a student response.

A new white paper from EAB, "Missed Connections: Recommendations to Improve the Success of Early Alerts Through Equity Based Communications," explores ways advisers can better communicate with students and improve their engagement with the intervention process. The key to more effective interventions, the company asserted: bridging equity gaps, communicating with empathy and building trust.

At many institutions, students of color receive a disproportionate share of early alerts, EAB said. A comparison of data from a private liberal arts college and a regional public institution in the Midwest, for example, found that students of color received up to twice as many alerts as their white peers. And while the alerts may reflect the true struggles and needs of those students, advising messages must to take into account different student identities and experiences in order to support equitable outcomes.

"Students of color are more likely than white students to be discouraged by negative feedback on academic performance," the report explained. "Faced with an often-unwelcoming campus environment, an early alert can feel like just another microaggression telling the student that they cannot succeed and do not belong in college."

EAB offered three recommendations for more equity-minded communications with at-risk students:

1) Build rapport. Advisers should reach out to students and establish a relationship early. Making a personal connection can "create a space for students to open up about their challenges and frustrations," EAB said.

2) Explain alerts in course materials. "Students are more likely to respond to alert outreach  and less likely to feel stigmatized  if they understand what an alert means and how it is intended to help them succeed," EAB said. By including explanatory information in course syllabi and learning management system pages, instructors can explain the purpose of early alert technology, communicate when and how alerts may be raised, and share available support resources for students. At Cal Poly Pomona and University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, for example, these additions to course materials "have led to an increase in class conversations about grades, normalizing of self-advocacy and help-seeking behaviors, and increased trust between faculty members and students," EAB shared.

3) Adopt "asset-based language" in communications. As EAB defines it, "asset-based language focuses on strength and potential by emphasizing the student and avoiding harmful characteristics and code words such as 'underprepared' or 'unmotivated.'" Communications should be personalized, normalize challenges, and acknowledge the student's potential to succeed. At Campbell University in North Carolina, for example, making "small but significant changes" to e-mail wording generated a 32% improvement in the student response rate, EAB said.

The full report is available on the EAB site (registration required).
Revolutionizing Superfecta Supreme Femmes-Brea Miles, HeeSun Lee, Mahogany Jones, and Pristavia are Showcasing Why as Women 'We Grind Different' Delivers Rest, Recovery, & Restoration Ending Women's History Month Strong

"Reaching the Millennial Generation through Music & Reality Television with a message of Resilience & Faith and Stopping the cycle of abuse by providing permanent housing, transportation and culinary training to Survivors"







NEWS PROVIDED BY

KSE

March 22, 2022



CHARLOTTE, N.C., March 22, 2022 /Standard Newswire/ -- For the first time in history a culturally and ethnically diverse group of Christian Hip-Hop women are joining forces in cooperation with Blessings From My Heart To Your Table, a 501 C-3 Non Profit Organization made up of a team of Domestic Violence Survivors.



This exceptional cast has come together to develop, 'We Grind Different,' a Music and Reality Outreach Project acting as a signature women's empowerment event for Young Adult Domestic Violence Survivors. 'We Grind Different,' will follow award winning castmates; Brea Miles, HeeSun Lee, Mahogany Jones and Pristavia, on their journey to create a rock-solid EP. The group plans to move into a home together for one week in Atlanta, to create an extended play recording that will unite, empower and propel women forward into purpose while bringing awareness to the National Domestic Violence crisis against women and children. The cast will also be joined by National TV Host & comedian Kiana Dancie. The non-profit organization helps to secure sustainable housing and gainful employment through teaching survivors culinary skill sets.



The group will create 4 songs to be debuted on a nationally syndicated television network. The title song, "Me," scheduled to be released March 31, 2022, with an accompanying music video.



The show is scheduled to premiere in 2022.



The goal is to deliver awareness even amidst the rise in domestic violence, a powerful message on the importance of self-respect, female empowerment and most of all the joy in having a relationship with Christ.



According to National Resource Center on Domestic violence;

Women between the ages of 18-24 are most commonly abused by an intimate partner.



Between 21-60% of victims of intimate partner violence lose their jobs due to reasons stemming from the abuse.



1 in 15 children are exposed to intimate partner violence each year, and 90% of these children are eyewitnesses to this violence.

For additional information, to become a sponsor or to schedule an interview, please visit : https://www.itstopsnow.net/ or contact Donna Miles at RequestBrea@gmail.com.



SOURCE KSE



CONTACT: Donna Miles, RequestBrea@gmail.com


When one is in a warzone, the comforts of home seem very distant, figuratively and literally.

The Quilts of Valor Foundation has spent the last 18 years trying to bring those comforts closer by awarding handmade quilts to present and former service members. First Sgt. Steven Jenny, a National Guardsman from Columbus, was recently awarded one of those quilts.

Jennys story started 22 years ago, when he enlisted. By 2004, he was a team leader for the 1075th Transportation Company in Operation Iraqi Freedom. He would go on to amass 10,000 miles and 15 missions in the same operation. In 2016 and 2017, Jenny trained Czech soldiers and received extraordinary performance accommodation for such. He also worked as a medic and medic instructor during that time. Then, from 2017 to 2019, Jenny worked with the 1-376th Aviation battalion as a first sergeant, with a team in Canada during Exercise Maple Resolve 2019. He also advocated for and promoted a suicide prevention service for service members during this time.

I just feel extremely honored. I think its a great thing that they do. I feel very blessed, Jenny said.

The quilts are a civilian award, started in Delaware by Catherine Roberts when her son was deployed in 2003, according to the Quilts of Valor Foundations website. She got the idea from a dream, in which she saw a young serviceman comforted by a quilt. The organization has been awarding quilts to service members as a comforting reminder that people support and care for them ever since. The quilts are presented with a short speech about the recipients career.

A lot of people, when they come back from the war, they feel unappreciated, and kind of isolated and alone. I think this (the quilt) lets you wrap up in it and realize youre not alone, there are people out there who do care, Jenny said.

Ken Kildare, another Columbus resident who served 39 years in the National Guard himself across Vietnam, Afghanistan, Iraq and many other campaigns, was awarded the same honor earlier this year. He also said these kinds of awards mean a lot more to service members than just a quilt.

We joined because we wanted to, we werent forced to. We went because that was where we were needed. Its a nice thing these ladies do to say thank you for what youve done, said Kildare.

Kildare and Jenny agreed that the support behind these awards mean a lot, because service members and their families give up a lot being in the military.

Many of these soldiers deploy two, three, four times. Its a strain on them but its also a bigger strain on their family. The service member knew what they had to do and they did it, like it or not, Kildare said.

The quilt was made by a local 4-H participant, Rebecca Wacker and her mother, Joelle Wacker of Stars, Stripes, and Stitches. The design won a purple ribbon at the state fair for superior quality and standards.

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In 2011, the Nebraska Department of Correctional Services wrote a bill that would allow well-behaved prisoners the chance to shorten their time behind bars.

Eleven years later, that same department is applying the resulting law in a way neither the state senator who sponsored the bill nor the then-director of Nebraskas prisons intended.

Prison officials now shorten a prisoners final release date, but never change the day that prisoner becomes eligible for parole.

The result: Thousands of prisoners sentenced under the law have potentially stayed in prison for days, weeks or months longer than the laws authors intended.

The debate over the meaning of three dozen words buried in a state law has made its way to the Nebraska Supreme Court, whose decision could shorten the stays of thousands of people in the states chronically overcrowded prisons.

The Flatwater Free Press, in partnership with The World-Herald, looked at the case in light of the debate over how Nebraska should address its prison overcrowding and whether it should build a new prison.

On one side: The Corrections Department argues that its properly following the 11-year-old law when it comes to calculating when a prisoner is eligible for parole. If theres a flaw, its in the language of the law itself, state lawyers have argued in court.

On the other: Robert Heist II, who has been imprisoned since 2016, argues that the department is misreading the law and delaying parole eligibility.

In some cases, prisoners end up being released with no supervision  jamming out in prison-speak  before they even become parole eligible.

When you become parole eligible after youre done with your sentence, it doesnt make any sense. Thats just ridiculous, Heist said in an interview. And it is contributing to overcrowding, because if you postpone peoples parole eligibility, theyre just sitting around longer.

Nebraskas prison good time calculations are complex. The law has gone through several makeovers during its half-century on the books.

Legislative Bill 191 was meant to add to the states already existing good time  day-for-day credit prisoners earn for behaving, which effectively cuts many sentences in half. The change proposed by prison administrators in 2011 allowed prisoners to earn an additional three days of good time each month if they avoided certain disciplinary offenses after being imprisoned for a year.

The bill, written by Corrections officials and sponsored by then-Sen. Brenda Council, was expected to save the state at least $1.08 million over a decade.

This provision has the potential to lower the prison population, and, therefore, reduce costs, Bob Houston, former corrections director, said at a 2011 legislative hearing. It also rewards good behavior within the prison system.

But the states interpretation of the law  correct or not  quietly contributes to the states ongoing struggle with overcrowded prisons. It keeps the thousands of parole-eligible prisoners sentenced since 2011 from earning up to 36 days per year toward their parole eligibility date.

Nebraska continues to grapple with one of the most crowded prison systems in the country, reaching 152% of the systems design capacity as of December. The state has sought advice from outside consultants like the Boston-based Crime and Justice Institute on how to tackle the issue.

But little attention has been paid to the states interpretation of the LB191 law. Heist first filed a grievance of the parole calculation in June 2019. So far, no one in the Ricketts administration or the Legislature has pushed to change the wording of the law so that its meaning can be clarified.

Getting prisoners in front of the Parole Board sooner is a good thing as it relates to overcrowding, said Sen. Steve Lathrop, chair of the Legislatures Judiciary Committee, who has grappled with prison overcrowding for years. Anything we can do that gets someone parole eligible sooner, I think is beneficial.

The question now before the Nebraska Supreme Court: Should the three days a month earned for good behavior be applied to the date when a prisoner first becomes eligible for parole?

The state senator who sponsored the bill and the former head of prisons say yes.

Making prisoners parole eligible sooner was an intended result of the bill, both Council and Houston told the Flatwater Free Press.

I introduced this bill as a means of providing additional ways to reduce the prison population and get people parole eligible, Council said in an interview.

The days were meant to apply to both a persons parole eligibility date and jam date, she said.

If theyre not calculating it that way, theyre calculating it wrong, Council said.

The bill was meant to save the department money, Houston said. Getting people in front of the Parole Board sooner would have played a major role in those cost savings.

I would have definitely been in favor of affecting the minimum as well as the maximum so that peoples parole eligibility date could come sooner, said Houston, who retired from Corrections in 2013 and is now a criminal justice instructor at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. Even though the maximum is coming down, the real effect of reducing the population is their ability to parole sooner.

But the state is simply following the letter of the law, state lawyers have argued to the Nebraska Supreme Court. As written, they say, that law doesnt allow for the extra good time days to go toward parole eligibility.

Corrections doesnt dispute what Council and Houston said about the intentions of good time in 2011 legislative hearings, according to court records. But the department argues its irrelevant.

Parts of Heists claim are outside the courts jurisdiction, the state argued during oral arguments in September. State law outlines that every committed offender shall be eligible for parole when the offender has served one half of the minimum term of his or her sentence and that good time shall be deducted from the maximum term.

This interpretation of the law has potentially affected thousands of prisoners who could have had at least a little time shaved off their sentences. But the most egregious cases are those prisoners who jam out before even becoming parole eligible.

In 2019, the department told Heist that 62 prisoners at the time had tentative release dates that preceded their parole eligibility because of their earned good time.

As of March 2022, the prisons roster listed as many as 306 individuals sentenced since 2011 who were released before they became eligible for parole.

Those prisoners  whose sentences should have included a shot at parole  become guaranteed jam outs, Heist said.

Under questioning at the Nebraska Supreme Court, the states lawyers didnt dispute that inverted sentences  when mandatory release actually comes before parole eligibility  can and do happen.

Yes, it is possible that (inverted sentences) can occur, Scott Straus, assistant attorney general for the state, said during oral arguments. However, the plain language of the statute does not let us even get to whether that result is absurd or not.

Is it an absurd result to have inverted sentences? one justice then asked Straus. Or is that just a byproduct of the statutory language created by the Legislature, which, whether they intended to or not, was what happened?

Yes, your honor, Straus said. I believe it is simply a byproduct of it.

Six months later, the court has yet to issue an opinion.

The Nebraska Department of Correctional Services would not respond to questions about ongoing litigation, spokeswoman Laura Strimple said in an email.

The legal issue at play isnt clear cut, according to a longtime Douglas County judge.

After reading the states good time laws, Douglas County District Judge Peter Bataillon said he could see how applying those extra three days a month to parole eligibility could be argued either way.

Thank God thats up to the Supreme Court to make those big decisions, Bataillon said. But the Legislature could very easily change that law if they wanted to.

The good time law, as currently applied, removes parole as an option for some prisoners  even though parole is generally regarded as a better way to reacclimate prisoners to society.

Parolees have required check-ins with their parole officer, and must line up a job and a place to live. The board often requires them to complete certain clinical programming like substance abuse treatment and violence reduction programs before being released.

Not applying good time days toward parole eligibility removes an incentive for good behavior, the very thing the additional good time days were meant to encourage, said Doug Koebernick, inspector general of the Nebraska Correctional System.

That parole eligibility date is a carrot, Koebernick said. Thats a really great incentive to get your act together, to get things done, do what the Board of Parole wants you to do.

In the recent report by a state-led working group reviewing criminal justice policies, all committee members, including both Republicans and Democrats in the Nebraska Legislature, agreed that its preferable that prisoners are released with some form of supervision, either parole or probation.

You dont just want someone walking out of a maximum security prison  theyre not ready for it, said Spike Eickholt, government liaison for the Nebraska ACLU. Youre setting them up to fail. Society is better off having that supervision.

Its unclear what would come of a Supreme Court decision. And it isnt the first time the departments calculations have resulted in a jam date that comes before parole eligibility.

In 2014, a World-Herald investigation led the department to realize it was using a flawed formula to calculate sentences, releasing more than 200 people too early. Those miscalculations also resulted in more than 100 prisoners being released before they were eligible for parole.

In that case, the department hadnt acted on a Nebraska Supreme Court ruling from 2013 detailing the proper way to calculate sentences with mandatory minimums. Houston, the director at the time, told The World-Herald that he hadnt been aware of the ruling until informed by the newspaper.

The Flatwater Free Press is Nebraskas first independent, nonprofit newsroom focused on investigations and feature stories that matter.

The Flatwater Free Press is Nebraskas first independent, nonprofit newsroom focused on investigations and feature stories that matter.

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The U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force on Tuesday arrested two men in different states in connection with a double homicide in Southampton Township in February.

U.S. Marshal Martin Pane announced the arrest of Cordaryl Burns and Larry Burns in connection with the deaths of two people whose bodies were found after a house fire in the 100 block of Neil Road in Southampton Township on Feb. 23. The identities of the victims have not been released.

Pennsylvania State Police had been investigating the deaths and had only announced earlier that they were determined to be homicides.

Police and the U.S. Marshals did not release any further details about the Feb. 23 incident.

Cumberland County District Attorney Sean McCormack said in a release that all records on the arrest warrants and investigation have been sealed.

The task force said police obtained arrest warrants for both Burns on March 16 that include charges of homicide and lesser offenses. Police learned that both men fled the state, and the marshals were tasked with apprehending them.

In a coordinated move, one group of task force marshals arrested Cordaryl Burns in Detroit, Michigan, at 8 a.m., while another group of marshals at the same time arrested Larry Burns in Lumberton, North Carolina. Both men were turned over to local police pending extradition to Pennsylvania.

Email Naomi Creason at ncreason@cumberlink.com or follow her on Twitter @SentinelCreason

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A student group at Carlisle High School seeks outdoor wall space on which to paint a mural as a community service project this spring.

Carlisle SHINES is a grief and loss support group made up of students who have experienced the death of a family member or friend. The name is an acronym for the groups guiding principles of Support, Hope, Included, Non-Judgmental, Encouraging and Strength.

The group signed on recently to create the next Charles Bruce Foundation mural, CBF spokesperson Pat LaMarche said. Seth Roper, faculty adviser to SHINES, has offered to work with Bonnie Tweedy Shaw, an artist associated with the foundation, LaMarche said.

Roper had seen the mural that Shaw had painted with Ivy Rose inside the B&L Caribbean Restaurant in downtown Carlisle. The restaurant mural drew attention to the foundations desire to produce more murals that highlight the arts and give joy to passersby, LaMarche said.

Shaw has offered to mentor the students through every step in the process including design, preparing the wall for the mural and painting the mural. We have a short deadline on this project, Shaw said. We want to get it done this spring so that the graduating seniors can participate before leaving their high school experiences behind. That means we need that public space now.

The mural requires at least 100 square feet of outdoor wall space in public view somewhere within the Carlisle Area School District, LaMarche said. Those interested in offering space can contact her by email at Epicjourney10@gmail.com.

A social studies teacher, Roper started Carlisle SHINES in 2009 after taking group facilitator training offered by TeenLine, an outreach program that supports teen mental health and overall wellbeing.

As a club, we meet for 10 weeks in the spring in a support group setting, Roper said. We work through ways to deal with the loss and the feelings associated with it. We deal with the grief cycle.

Group members close out each school year with a community service project. In the past, the students have volunteered at nursing homes, participated in reading projects at elementary schools and planted trees in memory of their loved ones.

In 2019, the students painted a mural inside in the second-floor hallway of the high schools McGowan building that featured Hope the Butterfly, a symbol of Childrens Grief Awareness Day.

This year, group members wanted to branch out and create an outdoor mural for the general public, Roper said. The [indoor] mural they created was amazing, but once the students graduate, their access to it will be limited or removed. I want them to have a place outside of school that they can get connected to and visit even if its just driving by and seeing it from the road.

Shaw has already met with the students to work on a design for the mural.

Once Mr. Roper reached out to us, we knew this would be our next mural project, foundation board president Chad Bruce said. Our only stumbling block is that we dont have public space for the mural yet.

The foundation issued a news release last week that quoted Bailey Greeger, a past SHINES member. The grief and loss group helped me feel as though I was never alone, Greeger said. Without this group, I wouldnt have learned the skills and tools to navigate through my grief. The group helped shape the way I handle grief in my adult life.

Email Joseph Cress at jcress@cumberlink.com.

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Trader Joes will open its Lower Allen Township location on March 31 with a ribbon-cutting before doors open at 8 a.m.

The company said in a news release that the store at 3545 Gettysburg Road will be open from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily.

The new store will be the ninth Trader Joes in Pennsylvania. The 12,550-square-foot store will feature artwork of the Market Street bridge, as well as state themes of white-tailed deer, ruffed grouse, hemlock trees and the Nittany Lion.

Store Captain Jamie Brown, a 14-year veteran of the company, will welcome customers with the stores employees, who are hired locally, with hiring efforts still underway.

The company also said that through its Neighborhood Shares Program, the store will donate 100% of its unsold products that are still fit for consumption to nonprofit and community-based organizations seven days a week.

Also in the same development, the Good Feet store opened Monday in the same building as Trader Joes, and Lower Allen Township Assistant Manager Erin Trone expects Sports Clips to open in mid-April.

New developments

Trone said the last unit in the Trader Joes building has not yet been leased, but there is movement on developing two other buildings in Lower Allen Commons.

The Lower Allen planning commission received development plans for a Chick-Fil-A in one of the buildings, as well as for two tenant spaces in another building, which could be a coffee shop with a drive-thru along with a fast-food restaurant without a drive-thru.

Trone said the planning commission recommended both development plans for approval, and those plans head to the township board of commissioners for consideration. Trone said the developer for both buildings will need to finalize the sale with the Lower Allen Township Development Authority before the development can move forward.

Lower Allen Commons already houses Burger King, Texas Roadhouse and Bonefish Grill, and construction continues on a 124-room Spring Hill Suites by Marriot, which is scheduled to open this year.

The land was purchased by Lower Allen Township in an effort to revitalize the property, which lost both Borders and Bon-Ton. According to the township, its development authority purchased the site in 2019 upon Bon-Ton going bankrupt. The redevelopment of Lower Allen Commons is something the township hopes will bring residents and travelers off Route 15 to shop, dine and stay in the township.

Email Naomi Creason at ncreason@cumberlink.com or follow her on Twitter @SentinelCreason

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The U.S. is sending Ukraine some Soviet-made air defense equipment that Washington took charge of decades ago through a secret program, The Wall Street Journal reported on Monday.

The systems, to include the SA-8 short-range surface-to-air missile system, were obtained by the U.S. for the purposes of examining Russian military technology and helping train American troops, U.S. officials told the outlet.

The weapons are useful to Ukrainian forces, as their military already knows how to use Soviet systems.

Both the National Security Council and Pentagon declined to comment on what specific weapons the U.S. has sent to Ukraine to help the country beat back a violent Russian invasion that began Feb. 24.

"Operational security matters to the Ukrainians, right now," press secretary John Kirby told reporters Monday.

"They're fighting for their country, and the Pentagon is not going to be detailing publicly the tools with which they are doing that," he added.

The Biden administration has approved more than $1 billion in military aid to Ukraine in the past month, including an $800 million package announced last week.

But the U.S. government has been hesitant to detail exactly what is being sent in so as not to tip off or draw the ire of Moscow. The Kremlin has publicly stated that any Western country that provides certain weapons to Ukraine, including aircraft and missile defense systems, could be seen as entering the fight.

The U.S. has a small number of Soviet missile defense systems it acquired in the past 30 years as part of a secret, $100 million project that first gained notice in 1994, a former official involved in the mission told the Journal.

Among the weapons the U.S. received - some of which have been kept at Redstone Arsenal, Ala. - is the SA-8, which can be easily moved with ground forces and provide cover from aircraft and helicopters.

Also in the U.S. stockpile is the S-300 long-range air defense system. The system is meant to protect larger areas and is already owned and operated by the Ukrainians. That weapon, however, will not be sent to Ukraine, according to one official.

Story continues

The administration is authorized to transfer such equipment under the new annual government spending bill President Biden signed into law last week. The legislation approves a $13.6 billion aid package for Ukraine, of which about $3.5 billion will go to the Pentagon to backfill equipment being sent from the U.S. to Ukraine.

Also under the law, the U.S. can transfer lethal aid to NATO allies that is already overseas or in existing stockpiles.

The U.S. has already sought to have Slovakia provide its S-300 to Ukraine, but the NATO ally wants a guarantee it will get a "proper replacement" and soon. There has yet to be an agreement between the two countries.

Biden will now travel to Brussels this week for a NATO summit to discuss ways to help Ukraine, according to the White House.

"We are continuing to work with our allies and key partners to surge new assistance, including Soviet- or Russian-origin antiaircraft systems and the necessary ammunition to employ them, every day to Ukraine," a U.S. official told the Journal.
Last week, President Joe Biden described Russian President Vladimir Putin as a war criminal for ordering attacks on innocent civilians in Ukraine. For Syrians, Bidens comments are welcome but about seven years too late, considering that the Russian military has been committing war crimes there (in collaboration with Bashar al-Assads regime) since 2015. Perhaps if the world had held Putin accountable then, he wouldnt be committing war crimes in Ukraine now.

Bidens response to a reporters shouted question last Thursday came after administration officials spent weeks dancing around the term war criminal, pending a formal legal review. But Biden was just acknowledging what everyone could see: Russian forces are committing blatant and deliberate attacks on civilians all over Ukraine. In his speech to the Israeli parliament on Sunday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky compared the Russian attacks on Ukraine to the Holocaust.

Survivors of both the Holocaust and Assads torture chambers spoke at a Capitol Hill event last week to honor the 11th anniversary of the Syrian revolution. Alongside several lawmakers, Syrian activists and war crimes experts, they argued that the ongoing war crimes in Ukraine are the result of the worlds failure to stop the Syrian atrocities.

The world has watched in horror as Putin has committed war crimes in Ukraine, and the parallels to Syria are absolutely chilling, said Rep. Michael McCaul of Texas, the ranking Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

Syrians are already all too familiar with the atrocities that Russia has been committing in Ukraine: the attacks on hospitals and schools, the use of banned munitions against civilians, the wielding of starvation as a weapon of war. Russian hasnt yet used chemical weapons, but that could be just a matter of time. I would not be surprised if we saw that happen soon in Ukraine, McCaul said.

Rep. Brendan Boyle, D-Pa., said Putin is using the Aleppo playbook in Ukraine, referring to the multiyear campaign of large-scale bombing and sieges that Assad, Russia and Iran used to subdue Syrias second-largest city, which fell to the regime in 2016.

I firmly believe that if the world had reacted to Syria as they are now, there never would have been a Ukrainian invasion to begin with, Boyle said. We should use this as an opportunity to recognize the reality that Putin will keep doing this in other places if hes not stopped.

Stephen Rapp, who served as the State Departments ambassador-at-large for war crimes during the Obama administration, said that if the international norms against mass atrocities, war crimes and crimes against humanity are allowed to erode further, mass atrocities will continue to proliferate.

This is not just about Syria; this is about the whole world, Rapp said.

Eleven years into the Syrian crisis, efforts to hold the Assad regime and its partners accountable for war crimes in Syria are just now showing results. In January, a German court sentenced a Syrian colonel to life in prison after convicting him for his role in the torture and abuse of more than 4,000 innocent people. These efforts could inform the drive to hold Putin accountable for his war crimes in Ukraine.

German prosecutors based their case on the principle of universal jurisdiction, which allows for the perpetrators of crimes against humanity to be charged even when they have committed the acts in question in other countries. While the International Criminal Court has promised to open an investigation into Russian war crimes in Ukraine, Moscow does not recognize the ICCs jurisdiction. Universal jurisdiction could offer a crucial alternative to Ukrainians seeking justice.

Meanwhile, new evidence of the mass atrocities committed by Assad and his Russian and Iranian partners in Syria continues to emerge. One of the speakers at the Syria event on Capitol Hill was a former Syrian government contractor who was forced to dig and fill mass graves for several years. Calling himself the Gravedigger, he has been helping to expose where Assad buried thousands of the civilians he murdered. This man lamented that there are also now mass graves in Ukraine.

When the international community turns a blind eye to crimes against humanity, genocidal massacres, the bombing of hospitals and schools, and forced disappearances and detention, criminal regimes will continue to push the limits unhindered, he said.

Western societies have long been reluctant to intervene in the persecution of those who come from other cultures or religions or races, such as the Uyghur Muslims in China or the Rohingya in Myanmar, who the Biden administration now says are victims of genocide. In Ukraine, the West has done more to protect civilians, although not enough. But the Ukraine example shows that ignoring atrocities anywhere is both morally and strategically bankrupt.

The Syrian and Ukrainian crises are directly linked, because Putin is committing similar war crimes in both places. Now that the U.S. president has called out Putin as a war criminal, human rights defendersworking to uphold the post-1945 promise of never againhope they will be able to hold the Russian president accountable for all of his crimesalong with the Assad regime.

As we focus on Ukraine, as we should, we must also remain as focused and clear-eyed about the realities of what is happening in Syria, said Naomi Kikoler, director of the Simon-Skjodt Center for the Prevention of Genocide at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum. For the Syrian people, their suffering continues.

Josh Rogin is a columnist for the Global Opinions section of The Washington Post. He writes about foreign policy and national security. Rogin is also a political analyst for CNN.
Three months of heavy snow, rain and resulting debris plugged and filled a derelict Fluvanna County dam slated for removal, forcing county and state officials to start pumping water out of it before the dam collapses.

State officials were notified by an agent of the property owners on Monday that the dam, built around 1969 and which had long ago leaked its 11-acre basin, had refilled in the past few months. With the dams structural issues, officials are concerned the dam could burst and send millions of gallons of water downstream.

For the last couple of decades, the dam has not held water, said Justin Deel, regional engineer for dam safety with the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation. The family members, who do not live in the area, have been making plans to dismantle the dam, but in the meantime something occurred that plugged up the dam and it began to hold water again.

As with many dams on private property, there is little information available with regards to size, volume and construction details. Deel estimated that the dam reservoir is now near its capacity at 192 acre feet of water.

That equals about 62.5 million gallons.

The state received the required approval from the governors office late Monday to allow the county to enter private property and begin pumping water out of the dam. The pumping is expected to continue through Tuesday until the water level can be lowered to where the dam wall can be safely dismantled.

Deel said the dam was built with corrugated metal drainage structure that, over time, rusted and collapsed. Water leaking around the structure is what caused the dam reservoir to originally drain over time.

The concern now is that whatever debris has clogged the leak will give loose under the pressure of the freshly filled reservoir behind it.

Fluvanna County got a pump out there [Monday] night and it has gone down a few inches since then, Deel said. Theyre going to bring out some more pumps today. Ultimately, were going to breach the dam, but we have to get pumped down to a safe level first.

Kelly Belanger Harris, Fluvanna County Assistant Administrator, said that the county sheriffs office has notified homeowners in the area, even though the Department of Conservation and Recreation found no homes in the inundation area should the dam collapse.

The Virginia Department of Transportation closed Route 656/Bremo Road from the intersection with Route 657/Bremo Bluff Road to the 1400 block of Bremo Road in case the dam breaks before it can pumped and dismantled.

Holman Creek runs near the dam and through wooded areas toward the James River. Maps indicate few residences in the area, but the creek crosses Bremo Bluff Road and runs near the decommissioned power units of the Bremo Bluff Power Station.

A large ash pond that was once on the property has been drained and the ash buried as part of a Virginia Department of Environmental Quality action.

We are monitoring the situation with the McIver Lake dam in Fluvanna County and are working closely with the county and state agencies, Dominion officials said in prepared statement. Safety is always our top priority, and we are taking the necessary precautions at Bremo Power Station and with other infrastructure to protect people and the environment.

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When Kim Grover of Charlottesville decided to hike the Appalachian Trail, she knew she wanted to hike for more than just herself.

Ive been aware for a while how fortunate I feel to be able to hop in a warm shower and to go home where its warm when its raining outside, whereas some people just dont have that option, Grover said.

Grover sets off on the Appalachian Trail on Friday for a six-month mission to raise money for Habitat for Humanity of Greater Charlottesville and The Haven, a shelter to end homelessness in downtown Charlottesville.

Its all about housing. The Haven is doing its best to help people who are in a state of not having homes and to get them into homes and the kind of resources they can get. Habitat for Humanity gives people actual home ownership and in Charlottesville thats a difficult thing to achieve, Grover said.

Grover is asking people to pledge as little as a penny or a nickel for each mile of the approximately 2,193 mile journey. While Grover doesnt have a set fundraising goal, she said shed like to raise at least $10,000 and thinks this is easily achievable based on pledges shes already received.

While shes walking outdoors so others may live indoors, theres something in the long walk for Grover, too. She has dreamed of hiking the Appalachian Trail since she was a kid.

When I was a little girl, we used to have an Appalachian Trail coffee table book and we would look through the photos. We went camping a lot when I was a kid and just always loved being outside, she recalled.

A couple of years ago, a friend of mine hiked the trail. And I realized real people do it. It just never struck me that I could actually plan and go myself until somebody I knew did. So thats what I did, she said.

Grover decided now is the time to make the trek since her children have graduated high school and college. She said her kids and husband are very supportive of her trip.

I went through a phase where I was like, What am I doing? I cant go, this is crazy. I wont be home, I love my bed. But Im definitely getting more and more excited about it and love waking up outside. I love being outside, Grover said. I think its going to be really exciting meeting the whole group of people that chose to hike the trail this year.

Grover will start the hike in Amicalola Falls, Georgia, eight miles south of the southern terminus of the trail in Springer Mountain, Georgia. The journey will take her back through parts of Central Virginia including McAfee Knob, and she will finish the trail at Mount Katahdin, Maine.

Grovers an experienced hiker, but preparing for the six month journey has required her to do a lot of research and planning into packing judiciously and where shell stop for breaks. While its been a little intimidating, her love of the outdoors and her passion for the fundraiser is what she knows will keep her going.

Raising funds for Habitat and The Haven is a big motivator. And on some level I knew that I could quite possibly get out there and it could get a little difficult Id hang it up, but if Ive got other people sort of depending on me, I wont, Grover said.

Pledges can be made by visiting tinyurl.com/2yxjjn6t. Grover plans to post updates on her journey on her Instagram page @hiking_for_homes_apptrail22.

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What Does the Consecration to Mary of Russia and Ukraine Really Mean?

Fatima expert and author available for comment on historic event



NEWS PROVIDED BY

Carmel Communications

March 22, 2022



SAN FRANCISCO, March 22, 2022 /Standard Newswire/ -- Pope Francis has invited all bishops, priests, and Catholics all over the world to join him in consecrating Russia and Ukraine to the Immaculate Heart of Mary on Friday, March 25, 2022. Russia has been consecrated to Mary before, as per the specific request of Our Lady at the Marian apparitions at Fatima in Portugal. Yet misconceptions persist in this act of consecration: Wasn't Russia already consecrated to Mary? Did previous popes not follow Our Lady's direction in consecrating Russia to Mary? What did the last surviving Fatima visionary, Sr. Lucia, say about previous consecrations to Mary?



Paul Senz answers these and many other questions about the Marian apparitions of Fatima in his book, FATIMA: 100 QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS ABOUT THE MARIAN APPARITIONS (Ignatius Press 2020), which was released in conjunction with the feature film "Fatima" in 2020.



Senz, who has his Master of Arts in Pastoral Ministry from the University of Portland, utilizes a question-and-answer format to explore the context of these apparitions that occurred in Fatima, why they were so engrossing at the time, what they have meant to the Church and the world in the century since they happened, and why the requests of Our Lady are so important today, including the consecration to Russia.



"A clear, concise guide, and a much-needed resource that unpacks the history, message and meaning of Our Lady of Fatima for people today," said Edward Sri, Ph.D., author of Rethinking Mary in the New Testament, and Marian expert himself. "Paul Senz has done the Church a great service by writing this book."



Paul Senz is available to discuss:

Why this consecration is important



How the consecration will work on March 25th, the Solemnity of the Annunciation



The circumstances surrounding the previous consecrations and what Our Lady asked during the apparitions of Fatima



What Sr. Lucia said about the specific consecration of Pope John Paul II.



To schedule an interview with Paul Senz, please contact Kevin Wandra (404-788-1276 or KWandra@CarmelCommunications.com) of Carmel Communications.



SOURCE Carmel Communications



CONTACT: Kevin Wandra, 404-788-1276, KWandra@CarmelCommunications.com


Frys Springs residents and Charlottesville police have few answers to a lot of questions in the aftermath of a Sunday morning shootout at the Frys Spring Beach Club that left two men hospitalized with gunshot wounds.

Charlottesville Police officials estimated that that about 120 spent shells from shots fired were found in the parking lot of the club, along with one firearm. The shells were in five different calibers, including 27 rifle casings. That indicates five different weapons were used in the melee that occurred around 2:20 a.m. Sunday morning.

The two wounded men had non-life-threatening injuries and are in stable condition, according to police.

Much remains unclear following Sundays incident, including how many people were involved in the incident and whether charges will be filed as well as what those charges may be.

Representatives for the Charlottesville Police Department have remained tight-lipped, citing a desire to sort through a large amount of evidence.

Police scanner chatter on Sunday described abandoned vehicles riddled with bullet holes and blood and casings scattered around the Frys Spring Beach Club parking lot.

The shootout occurred after a fundraising event held at the beach club to support a nonprofit organization, Peace in the Streets, which promotes nonviolent means of solving disputes between individuals.

Peace in the Streets has been an active part of local efforts to curb gun violence in the Charlottesville community. Efforts were expanded last year following an increase in shots fired incidents and a string of murders in 2020.

Peace in the Streets received $50,000 in funding from the Charlottesville City Council last summer. According to the groups website and social media, they currently offer a variety of assistance initiatives intended to feed the food insecure and assist in intervention programs to curb gun violence before it begins.

In a Facebook post Sunday, Peace in the Streets said the incident took place after their event had ended and thanked the Frys Spring community for the fundraiser.

Although [Sunday morning] incidents took place after the fundraiser was packed up and well over, we heavily value the safety of our community and it saddens us to hear of individuals being injured by methods that we vowed to change in our community, that we have changed in our community, organization officials said in the social media post.

However, this incident also shines a light on the growing concerns of public safety issues in under-resourced neighborhoods and the importance of the work we do. We hope that this senseless act of violence doesnt diffuse the trust from our community. We will always promote peace! the organization wrote.

Some residents of Frys Spring expressed concern Monday that the incident is part of a broader trend in the community.

Diana Salmon, 73, a 47-year resident of Frys Spring who heard the shots, recalled incidents in the past two years in the community in which someone was shot.

I feel like were living in a war zone after Sunday morning, she said.

Salmon said she is concerned about the rapidity of the shots she heard and the finding of rifle shell casings.

It really raises the alarm, if they were assault weapons, she said. Weve risen to a new level.

Theres been an increase in the sound of gunfire, said another resident who admitted she did not hear Sundays gunshots. Theres been more thefts and more drug deals [in the community]. Theres a sense of a loss of control and of being unsafe. Its not OK to have gunshots up and down your street, especially when we have kids playing in the driveway.

Charlottesville Police Captain Tony Newberry of the city police said that the department could not say that gun violence in the community is trending upward based on one incident.

According to the departments crime data website, violent crime in the Frys Spring area, particularly shots fired incidents, are not showing an increase. In the past six months, there have no reports of shots fired in the area and fewer than 10 simple assaults reported.

The investigation into Sundays incident is ongoing and those with information are asked to call Crime Stoppers at 434-977-4000.

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Local radio talk show host Rob Schillings federal lawsuit claiming his voting rights were violated during an election day face mask dispute, has survived a dismissal attempt by the elections officials named in the case.

Schilling filed the suit in June in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia claiming he was briefly prevented from voting during the June 8 Democratic primary election in Albemarle County, due to a face mask dispute.

Albemarle County Registrar Jake Washburne was initially named as a defendant alongside Election Officer Leo Mallek and two then-unnamed poll workers, but Washburne was later dropped from the suit.

According to Schillings lawsuit, he did not wear a mask when he went to vote at the Woodbrook precinct in Albemarle County on June 8. Per the lawsuit, Washburne previously had told Schilling that masks were not required in polling locations.

The loosened mask requirements were the result of changes in state mask mandates in the wake of COVID-19 vaccinations.

When Schilling went to vote, he claims that Mallek asked him to wear a mask. After Schilling refused, he claims in the lawsuit that two poll workers placed their hands on his arms or shoulders or both and tried to convince him to leave.

According to the lawsuit, Schilling was able to cast his ballot after a poll worker not named in the lawsuit placed a call to Washburne. The whole altercation is alleged to have lasted six minutes.

From the time Schilling entered the precinct until he was finally permitted to vote, approximately six minutes elapsed, the initial lawsuit reads. Had Mr. Schilling been permitted to vote without hindrance as described herein, he would have spent less time at the polling location.

The conservative radio host and the last Republican to serve on Charlottesville City Council, filmed the interaction during his attempt to vote during the state Democratic primary, later posting the footage on his website.

Schilling claims his right to vote was violated, that he was the subject of voter intimidation and that he was the victim of assault, battery and false imprisonment at the hands of the two unnamed poll workers.

In July, lawyers for Washburne and Mallek filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit, arguing that the defendants cannot be found liable under the doctrine of respondeat superior  which holds that an employer or principal lis egally responsible for the wrongful acts of an employee  and that the actions described do not establish a violation of Schillings statutory or constitutional rights.

Last week, U.S. District Judge Norman K. Moon issued a memorandum opinion, largely denying Malleks attempt to dismiss the lawsuit. Mallek argued that even should Schillings allegations prove true, Mallek did not commit a federal rights violation or a tort.

Moon did grant a dismissal of Schillings putative Voting Rights Act claim because the provision Schilling invokes does not create a private cause of action, meaning Schilling as an individual is without the legal right to raise the issue on his own behalf.

As is the standard for legal actions during this part of the process, Moon wrote that the facts alleged in Schillings amended complaint are assumed true for purposes of resolving the motion to dismiss.

Much of Moons reasoning revolved around an argument made by Schilling that the delay to his voting was caused by Malleks dislike of Schillings politics and views of the defendants wife, Ann Mallek, a Democratic member of the Albemarle County Board of Supervisors.

As a threshold matter, Moon wrote that the allegation that Mallek and his co-defendants acted with ulterior motives is itself an inference that should not be credited unless adequately supported by factual allegations.

While this is a close case, the court concludes that Schilling has [pleaded] sufficient facts to satisfy the liberal standards applicable to this motion and render plausible his allegation of subterfuge, Moon wrote.

Moon said he arrived at the decision based on three factual allegations: that there was, in actuality, no applicable mask requirement; that Schilling is a well-known critic of Malleks wife; and that Mallek removed his own mask while purportedly attempting to enforce a masking requirement.

If Schillings allegations are true, as we must assume they are, it is not open to doubt that Mallek infringed Schillings constitutional right to vote, he wrote. The attempt to remove Schilling was surely a severe burden on his right.

Additionally, Moon wrote that Malleks acquiescence to the actions of his co-defendants is sufficient to raise a plausible inference that he had a common design or purpose with his co-defendants to commit the claimed torts.

In a news release following the memorandum opinion, Schillings attorney Matthew Hardin said that the case will now proceed to trial on allegations that Schillings right to vote was temporarily denied to him on unlawful grounds, and on charges that he was assaulted, battered and falsely imprisoned by Albemarle County poll workers.

I am gratified that the judge saw what really happened to me, Schilling said in the release. No voter should be subjected to a physical assault at the polls.

A trial date has not been set.

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This week marks the two-year anniversary of former Virginia Gov. Ralph Northams decision to impose restrictions to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Vaccine and mask mandates and limits on indoor activities and crowded outdoor venues saved lives. It is important for public officials like current Gov. Glenn Youngkin to acknowledge that as they lead the state back to normal life. We would not be here without the mandates and lockdowns we endured.

Fully vaccinated people can largely survive infections caused by COVID-19, although a new variant sweeping Europe and heading this way might change that. At this point, though, the unvaccinated make up the vast majority of COVID fatalities. So members of the personal freedom lobby are at this point killing themselves.

The governor has yet to explain this. He still acts as if vaccine and mask mandates were at best optional and at worst unnecessary government impositions. Youngkin knows better. In fact, having led the charge to outlaw vaccine mandates, the governor, who himself is vaccinated and boosted against COIVD-19, has now embarked on a program to encourage vaccinations.

We see nothing to explain this contradictory behavior other than a continuing attempt to exploit the sympathies of the anti-vaccination, antigovernment faction of his Republican political base.

In other words, he still feeds ignorance and mistrust that might save votes for his thinly veiled ambition of a presidential run, but wont save lives.

Last week, he threatened to take action against private employers who failed to lift vaccine and mask mandates. We wonder how that squares with the personal freedom of those job creators.

More importantly, we remain miffed at the governors reluctance to explain how pandemic restrictions were something besides optional inconveniences.

The truth that the governor seems incapable of admitting is that he can now find scientific support to ban mask mandates and restrictions on indoor gatherings because vaccination and mask mandates helped control the pandemic at critical points. His promotion of the notion that vaccinations should be discretionary was also effectivedeadly effective.

Rockingham County is just across the Blue Ridge from Charlottesville and the University of Virginia. It surrounds James Madison University. The county has 82,000 people spread over 853 square miles. The city of Alexandria, just outside Washington DC, has 158,000 people packed into 40 square miles.

Only 43% of Rockinghams population is fully vaccinated, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention compiled by the New York Times. More than 74% of Alexandrias population is fully vaccinated.

COVID-19 has thus far killed 227 people in Rockingham. It has killed 185 in Alexandria, which has nearly twice the population and is 20 times more crowded.

This is not an outlier statistic. Culpeper County has less than half the population of Albemarle County, but roughly the same number of COVID deaths. The difference? Less than half the population (48%) of Culpeper County is fully vaccinated against COVID. Two out of three people in Albemarle are.

The list of counties in this area where more than half the population has chosen not to be not fully vaccinated should shock anyone who thinks they live in an area enlightened by knowledge rather than deadly misinformation. Besides Culpeper and Rockingham, here is a list from the New York Times Vaccine Tracker of nearby counties with less than 50% full vaccination rates: Greene (46%), Orange (43%), Spotsylvania (47%), Louisa (41%), Buckingham (39%).

Those leaders, like Youngkin, who chose and still choose to feed fear and attack science, left a trail of bodies in their wake over the past two years. Hundredsand likely thousandsof Virginians died needlessly in the past two years because their leaders placed politics ahead of public health. Now, they act as if nothing would be different today if the lockdowns and mandates had not taken place.

Glenn Youngkin is a smart man. He fully understands the value of vaccinations and science in protecting public health. Yet he refuses to fess up to his own knowledge. Virginians deserve honesty, not politically expedient lies of omission.

Admit it, Governor, mandates and lockdowns saved Virginians lives.
Jake Matthews helps catch bad guys on TV as a high-tech crime fighter and he's running for Congress to build a high-tech Oregon for the 21st Century.

The co-star of CBS's "Wisdom of the Crowd" might be a familiar face for fans of "Bosch," "Legends" and "NCIS: Los Angeles."

His real life role is running to replace retiring U.S. Rep. Peter DeFazio, one of the longest-serving Oregonians on Capitol Hill representing House District 4.

Born and raised in Northborough, Massachusetts, Matthews, studied economics and government at Boston University and came to Corvallis, where he attended flight school, about two years ago. He believes he can best serve on the national stage.

There are eight Democrats and one Republican running to replace DeFazio, who is retiring after 18 terms in office and winning reelection by five points in 2020. DeFazio, 74, is a co-founder of the U.S. House Progressive Caucus and a longtime advocate for education funding, health care expansion and transportation.

Will eschew most of the salary

The communities spanning U.S. House District 4  parts of Lane, Jackson and Benton counties  are among the poorest in Oregon. Combined, their average household income amounts to around $24,000, based on U.S. Census Bureau data.

That $24,000 per capita rate is what Matthews promises he take as pay while representing House District 4 in Congress. The rest of his $174,000 congressional salary, he said, will go toward helping Afghan refugees.

"We are not getting any richer," Matthews said. "But the rich are definitely getting richer."

Matthews believes those figures are proof DeFazio has been ineffective in bringing jobs to his own district and that's something he wants to change.

Futuristic-focused

At the core of Matthews campaign is his goal of building a city of the future in House District 4. The project would see Congress award contracts to companies with the best ideas for renewable cities where incomes would be adjusted by algorithms for cost of living and other factors.

Matthews, 34, wears many hats on and offscreen as an author, producer and community organizer. A Democrat, he's campaigned for President Barack Obama, Hilary Clinton and Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick.

This year, he's running to dismantle the political machine churning out what he calls cookie-cutter politicians who lack new ideas.

The son of Indian immigrants, Matthews wants to be defined by his passion and ideas, not his race.

"I know more about JFK than I do about Mahatma Gandhi," Matthews said. "I think we can get to a place where we just stop talking about race."

Addressing divisiveness

Matthews believes racial inequalities are real and wrapped up in economics. The solutions, for him, are creating more jobs for more people.

As a Sunday school teacher, Matthews recalls an instance in which his white students could name hundreds of jobs they imagined doing when they grew up. Black students, he remembers, named only two or three.

Biased journalism, according to Matthews, is what's fueling extremism across the political spectrum. To that end, he wants to revive some or most of the Fairness Doctrine, a former federal rule which required TV broadcasters to air issues of public importance, offering equal time to differing opinions.

For Matthews, Democrats needs to be more open about bridging America's divides in the age of Black Lives Matter, not less.

"I feel like the left thinks they can't support cops," Matthews said. "There is a future solution to all these things that isn't just so black and white."

The Republican Party, according to Matthews, no longer deserves bipartisan good will from across the political aisle. Its general ambivalence to the Jan. 6 insurrection, he said, is proof the party has failed its voters.

"Who are we reaching across the aisle to?" Matthews said. "This is not a respectable party anymore."

For Matthews, this House race is about raising the bar for what people want from their government.

"Expect more from your congressmen, expect more from your politicians," Matthews said. "Watch where your money's going, make sure that you get your money up, care about the economics."

Tim Gruver covers the city of Albany and Linn County. He can be contacted at 541-812-6114 or Tim.Gruver@lee.net. Follow him on Twitter via @T_TimeForce.

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A Corvallis woman won $1 million playing the Raffle for the first time using the Oregon Lottery app, according to lotto officials.

Janelle Visaya bought her winning ticket, number 089715, at the Corvallis Fred Meyer in early February, and the company will receive $10,000 for selling her the ticket.

My boyfriend told me about the Raffle, and so I bought a ticket a week; I think I had seven tickets. I didnt mention I was buying them though, Visaya said in an Oregon Lottery news release. On the day of the drawing, I was scanning them, and one said I won, so I set it aside and kept scanning. When I went back to see what I had won I was like, Oh oh I won!

She said she plans to use the prize money to put a down payment on her house and pay off some bills, investing it in the future.

The Oregon Lottery recommends signing the back of tickets each time you play, and to consult a financial adviser in the event of winning a jackpot, like Visaya did.

To check the winning Raffle numbers, players can use the Oregon Lottery app or go to www.oregonlottery.org/raffle/winning-numbers/check/ or visit a participating Oregon Lottery retail location.

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The Lebanon Police Department has arrested a Prineville man for allegedly assaulting his wife and driving while under the influence of intoxicants.

According to Linn County Circuit Court documents, Ronald Jay Rich, 58, allegedly caused serious physical injury to his wife on or around Sunday, March 20. The document also alleges Rich drove while intoxicated with liquor the same night.

The Linn County Jail website lists Rich as being arrested on suspicion of second-degree assault and DUII. According to the booking information, Richs blood alcohol concentration was between 0.15 and 0.19.

Lebanon police call logs show Rich was the suspect in a domestic disturbance call that came in around 6:39 p.m. Sunday at Franklin Street. According to the call log, the reporting party said her husband had pushed her when she was going outside and she fell on the concrete. She reportedly told police she thought her hip was injured. The suspect allegedly left in a vehicle.

Medics were dispatched, according to the call log, and when police asked the woman for details about her husband, she allegedly said Just let him go, I dont even want to report this.

Medics transported the woman.

Officers then started looking for the suspect, later identified as Rich. Police were searching for a man driving a green Chevy Avalanche. Officers eventually located Rich at an apartment complex, according to the call log.

Quality journalism doesn't happen without your help Support local news coverage and the people who report it by subscribing to the Lebanon Express.

Rich has another DUII on his record from a 2020 incident in Crook County, according to Oregons online court database. He has also been convicted of harassment in multiple cases as well as fourth-degree assault in a 2020 case.

Rich was arraigned in Linn County Circuit Court Monday, March 21 on the same charges he was arrested on suspicion of.

Maddie Pfeifer covers public safety for Mid-Valley Media. She can be contacted at 541-812-6091 or Madison.Pfeifer@lee.net. Follow her on Twitter via @maddiepfeifer_

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Tina Kotek and Tobias Read differed little on the issues brought forth during their first joint appearance for their partys nomination for governor.

But the most widely known of the 17 Democratic candidates offered differing experience to achieve similar goals in front of a mostly friendly audience Friday night, March 18, at the Oregon AFL-CIOs annual convention in Portland.

No other candidate in this race  has delivered more results for working Oregonians, said Kotek, who just ended 15 years in the Oregon House from a district in north and northeast Portland and a record nine years as its speaker. Among the bills passed during her tenure were paid sick leave (2015), advance job scheduling (2017, with a full 14-day notice taking effect in 2020) and paid family and medical leave (2019, scheduled to take effect in 2023).

Whether it is homelessness and housing, recovery from the coronavirus pandemic or a response to climate change, she said, I am not going to play games or make promises I cannot deliver on. My door will always be open to make sure the voices of workers are heard and listened to.

Read spent 10 years representing Beaverton in the Oregon House, including two legislative cycles as majority whip, before he was elected state treasurer in 2016. He said his recent position gives him the edge if he is elected governor.

What we need is executive experience and the ability to deliver on promises, he said.

Weve got to be clear  about the fact that what we are doing right now is not working. But weve also got enormous potential in droves. If we are willing to focus on execution to try to match our good intentions and follow through, we can rebuild confidence in government and in ourselves.

Oregons largest labor federation has made no endorsement in for the May 17 primary, although according to a survey published Feb. 18 by the Northwest Labor Press, Kotek has amassed support from a dozen unions that have  including Local 503 of Service Employees International Union, which represents the largest group of state workers.

President Graham Trainor told the audience that only Kotek and Read responded to a lengthy questionnaire from the federation, plus a request for how they plan to win this year, so they were the only candidates invited on stage at the Hyatt Regency/Oregon Convention Center.

Working people have a high set of expectations for Oregons next governor with a rigged economic system that is leaving too many workers behind, Trainor said afterward. We are looking hard at all the candidates to ensure that working people are front and center on the next governors agenda.

Democratic incumbent Kate Brown is barred by term limits from running again after having served almost two full terms, succeeding John Kitzhaber in February 2015. Democrats have held the governorship for 36 years, a state record; Vic Atiyehs re-election in 1982 was the most recent victory by a Republican.

A test for both

Kotek and Read are the only two of the 17 Democrats in the field who have held state elected office.

For Kotek, 55, it will be a test of whether one of the Legislatures former presiding officers can win Oregons top executive office. The only one in recent years to have done so was Democrat Kitzhaber, who led the Oregon Senate for eight years as president  but was out of office  when he was elected governor for the first time in 1994.

For Read, 46, it will be a test of whether a state treasurer can be elected governor. The most recent one to do so was Democrat Bob Straub, who was elected in 1974  two years out of office  after losing to Tom McCall in 1966 and 1970. Two others were elected treasurer after losing bids for governor: Republican Clay Myers in 1976 and Democrat Ben Westlund in 2008. Democrat Jim Hill made two losing bids in 2002 and 2006 after his eight years as treasurer.

Both candidates responded to written questions put forth by a panel, and then from the audience.

Both offered similar approaches to homelessness and housing. Both supported greater efforts to find shelter and services, but also more construction, particularly housing for all incomes.

We have a humanitarian crisis, Kotek said. I see it here in Portland, and anywhere you live around this state, we have people who dont have homes. We need to fix that.

She referred to the 111,000-unit gap in housing units that has occurred in the past decade  half of them sought by households earning less than the areas median income  and that it will take an annual average of 36,000 for the next decade to catch up. (Current housing production in Oregon averages 20,000 to 25,000 units, according to the Oregon Office of Economic Analysis.)

We havent been doing very well at that lately, Read said. We are losing confidence among voters who have supported money mechanisms. we have got to do more to cut through the delays and reduce costs. That is the difference between passing legislation and execution.

Black Lives Matter

Asked what Black Lives Matter means to them, both said Oregon must confront a legacy of injustice to Black residents and other racial and ethnic minorities that re-emerged during protests in 2020 after the murder of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer.

We have to have a hard conversation in this state about the history of racism in our country and what that means for how people of color feel and are treated by law enforcement, how they experience our schools. For me, it means making sure how we truly live up to our values as Americans, Kotek said.

Im not sure I have a lot to add to that, Read said. We are long overdue for a conversation about unfinished business that exists in Oregon. We are not making sure that Black Oregonians have the same opportunities that other people have and everyone should.

Essential workers

Both said they would work to improve conditions for essential workers  defined as those in education and health care, plus farms and retail trades  who often bore the brunt of exposure during the coronavirus pandemic of the past two years.

Beyond pay, benefits and working conditions, Read said, we need to make sure that people are treated with the respect they deserve and that young people see the work as a career that is attractive to them for the life they want.

Kotek said that in addition to direct state aid for health care, housing and other programs, she worked to make it easier for such workers to obtain workers compensation benefits during the pandemic. (A state agency rule makes benefits easier to obtain by some health care workers with direct care or indirect support of patients. However, 2021 session bills died that would have shifted the presumption for COVID-19 coronavirus illnesses onto employers.)

But there are more challenges ahead, Kotek said. I want you to know, no matter what those challenges are, I will continue to be on your side and every Oregonian should have a path to opportunity and success.

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Tuesday, March 22, 2022 at 12:20PM

Team Experience is discussing the various Oscar categories. Here's Claudio Alves, Gabriel Mayora, and Nathaniel Rogers to discuss the Best Costume Design and Best Makeup & Hairstyling races.

NATHANIEL ROGERS: Hello Claudio and Gabriel. Ready to get dressed up? Picture me speaking to you in Stanton Carlisle tux and blindfold from Nightmare Alley and tell me what you're wearing. So many outfits from the five Oscar-nominated films are fully visible to me even with my eyes closed they were so memorable. In short, I think this is a strong Oscar list, even if my own ballot only overlaps by two pictures. The Costume Design Guild Awards were held last week and Cruella, Dune, and Coming 2 America emerged as the winners for Period, Sci-Fi/Fantasy, and Contemporary respectively. Since Oscar rarely honors contemporary work only the prior two are nominated at the big show on March 27th. They're up against Cyrano, Nightmare Alley, and West Side Story. Though I am constitutionally opposed to the all too common internet and pundit trend of handing out Oscars before all the films have been screened in any given year, I will admit that this was a rare case when I did. At least inside my own head. As soon as Cruella reached its garbage-dress reveal, my jaw-dropped and I thought 'game over. Engrave the Oscar' while sitting in the theater. Way back in May...

Claudio, did you feel the same? And did any other costume from these five pictures punch you in the face this year with its sheer "FYC" ready splendor?

CLAUDIO ALVES: You may settle for the tasteful elegance of Stanton's tuxedo, but I want a more extravagant (mayhap deranged) outfit. Indeed, I'm pilfering parts from all the nominees to make up my look. From Dune, I want Thufir Hawat's formal Atreides uniform. I shall accessorize with Dr. Ritter's embroidered evening cape, barely glimpsed in Nightmare Alley, a pair of pseudo-Rococo red-bottoms from the closet of Cyrano's De Guiche, and a nod to West Side Story's Maria in the form of a red belt. Finally, top it all off with one of the Baroness's turbans and stylish sunglasses from Cruella, and I'm ready for the red carpet. Like you, I think this is a strong lineup, full of covetable fashions, and I want them all.

That being said, I'm happy that Cruella is positioning itself as the one to beat. Not only is Jenny Beavan a brilliant artist who deserves all the accolades she gets, but Cruella will become the first 1970s-set period film to win the Best Costume Design Oscar. Discounting contemporary works, the most recent chapter in fashion history to be honored as period costuming by the Academy is Phantom Thread. From mid-50s haute couture to late-70s punk glamour. Curiously enough, both films focus on the workings of a fashion house at the heart of London.

Regarding your last question, that garbage dress truly screams "Oscar!" I'm not sure any of the other nominees features such an obvious show-stopper, but other garments did take my breath away. I'm thinking, specifically, of Anita's "America" costume. The combo of a yellow dress with red petticoats is eye-catching, but the piece's construction was what made me stand up and notice. The character's expressed desire to have her own business as a dressmaker is beautifully expressed in that outfit's over-complicated seaming. Through the costume, one feels her artistry, a lived-in sense of personal passion expressed by sartorial means.

Also, she looks terrific.



GABRIEL MAYORA: Okay, I am finally all dressed up and ready to talk Best Costumes while doing my best to pull off the fishnet mask, giant headpiece combo that Charlotte Rampling's Gaius Helen Mohiam wears like a second skin. It is the kind of costume that feels immediately iconic as soon as it appears on screen without ever taking the audience out of the movie. It instead draws you further into the dark, mysterious, thrilling world that Jacqueline West, Villenueve, and the entire Dune design team build. This is the costume from that movie that I could recall even when I had only seen the movie once. This is what it must have been like watching Star Wars: A New Hope, one of the great winners in the history of the category.

But let's be real: It is all about the garbage dress. I have to say going into Cruella, the last thing I expected was to be legitimately surprised by any development. The garbage dress is a work of art on its own, yes--it also is central to the one of the best scenes in the movie. I love costumes that are central to a story, character, or scene in exciting ways that go beyond "morally dubious character wears a lot of black." That the garbage dress manages to be its own setpiece while revealing the brilliance of Estella's designs and creating a truly surprising moment in a film that had no right to be this cool, fun, or exciting makes Beavan's designs exactly the kind of work that should be rewarded in this category.

And while it was hard for me to get over Anita not wearing the iconic lilac dress in "America" the first time I saw it, the more I continue to watch the film, the more I am blown away by it. Claudio, I hadn't thought about the connections between the design of the dress and what it reveals about Anita. As a huge fan of Spielberg's film and DeBose's performance, I loved reading you describe the "America" dress in such a way. Speaking of "America," everything about David Alvarez's outfit during that number is spectacular.

Nathaniel, what is the piece of costume from one of the nominated films in the category you can't stop thinking about?

NATHANIEL: Emma's garbage dress, Anita's yellow frock, and Rampling's torture box getup are showstoppers but they've already been claimed. The only other look I have thought about semi-regularly from these movies is also in Cruella, the sabotaging moth dress. If Cruella hadn't already left audience jaws on the floor with the garbage dress, people might have left the movie talking about the other statement piece, which is also its own setpiece.

Normally I'd feel gross about giving a Costume award to a Disney live-action riff; their endless capacity to regurgitate and dilute previously successful IP is maddening BUT... chez Nathaniel we worship Jenny Beavan for good reason. Therefore, I will happily bestow my Film Bitch gold medal and cheer on that third Oscar for one of the best designers in cinema. She really is a master.

Having gushed about the nominees, a nitpick. The costumes in Cyrano and Nightmare Alley are beautiful, no doubt, but I didn't find either particularly memorable or character-revealing which is why I sat firmly in the 'admire a lot but dont quite love' camp (in regards to this category). I was much more taken with the costumes of The Green Knight, Spencer, and The Tragedy of Macbeth (that androgynous sleek column outfit for Ross was the single costume I was most obsessed with outside of the nominated five). And I loved what was happening in the contemporary films Zola, In the Heights, and The Lost Daughter in terms of the costumes contributing to the overall mood of the films and to the specificity of characterizations though I never hold out much hope that contemporary triumphs will be honored by the industry.

But I suppose it's a bit late for 'what should have been nominated!' grievances! I can't imagine Cruella losing this one so I dont think there's much to say predictively. And sadly I must share that Gabriel is suddenly under the weather. Perhaps it was Rampling's torture box to blame? So we must continue without him. Before we move on to makeup any final costume thoughts, Claudio?

CLAUDIO: It's curious that you mention dissatisfaction towards the costumes of Cyrano and Nightmare Alley since I think the former is the best of the nominees, and the latter would get my vote. Allow me to explain myself. That second one is purely a matter of patriotic pride and a desire to see the Portuguese diaspora recognized at the Oscars. Moreover, I feel that Luis Sequeira's costumes for the color noir are very character-focused despite their sense of shallow spectacle.

Willem Dafoe is a voracious beast in shiny black leather, Toni Collette an apparition of faded gold in costumes that nod towards the forgotten 1920s and the character's long-gone heyday. Rooney Mara appears to us as a beating heart in light-eating velvet and scarlet, a bloody streak across the screen long before she smears red paint over her ghostly disguise. Blanchett is all expensive silks and black, greed and shadows, a femme fatale distilled to primordial iconography. As for Cooper, his character is all about surface-level dazzlement. I love his first foray into stage costume, wearing a ratty t-shirt with a shirtfront crudely stitched to it, just enough to give the illusion of formality, decency, confidence.

As for Cyrano, I love those designs beyond reason. After watching so many films, it's hard to feel genuine surprise. Well, Massimo Cantini Parrini and Jacqueline Durran surprised me quite a lot, so I must applaud this joyous rarity.

Cyrano is a contemporary musical adapted from stage production based on a 19th-century play fictionalizing the life of a real 17th-century man. Its connection to history is tenuous, the film utterly divorced from reality. It chooses romantic derangement over reason, a philosophy reflected throughout its design, costumes included. Parrini and Durran have moved the setting from Baroque Paris to a Rococo dreamscape. Every construction choice and fabric selection further emphasize this, materializing a pseudo-past in diaphanous frippery, flowy and weightless, like confetti.

Traditional gender expectations are set aside, as the clothes repudiate strict masculinity. Everyone wears pinks and peaches, and some men even complement their ensembles with corsets worn as outer garments. The choreography draws attention to full sleeves fluttering all wing-like, dopey expressions of emotion over any sense of logic. I also can't help but love the Old Hollywood energy in having a separate costumier for the leading lady. What's more, I love that both Parrini and Durran chose to dress their actors in white for the drama's finale. It feels like an intentional life-affirming subversion of the original Cyrano de Bergerac scene, a legendary passage of French theater commonly dressed in mourning black.

Honestly, I wish Cyrano had been recognized for its makeup, too. However, these are the Oscars, so that category must be forever reserved for biopic prosthetics.

NATHANIEL: Did you guys know that the Golden Horse Awards, Taiwan's awards, combine the two categories: Best Makeup and Costume Design. I've always found the interesting even though I wouldn't do the same. They are connected in a way, though, both braided in with the actor's look to form the full visual characterization trifecta.

The Oscars don't see it that way though. Only Dune and Cruella represent both categories this year. The other makeup nominees are Coming 2 America, The Eyes of Tammy Faye (which won the BAFTA) and House of Gucci.

CLAUDIO: While I understand why organizations like the Golden Horse Awards combine these honors, I don't agree with them. They are two distinct disciplines, often designed and executed by different teams within a film's production. For all that the Oscars do wrong, they're on the right here. I'm happy they keep these categories separate.

Moreover, we can see that they are ruled by different tastes, as far as nominations are concerned. Or, better put, their shared love for excess manifests in dissimilar ways. As you well point out, this year, they only overlap in two titles  a Disney extravaganza and an opulent sci-fi epic. Beyond those commonalities, the costume branch went with noir glamour and two period musicals. In contrast, the makeup branch filled their three vacant slots with a pair of prosthetic-heavy biopics and a wild comedy sequel that's just as full of latex sculpture.

I don't share either branch's equation of "most" with "best." While the nominees' technical virtues are undeniable, their artistic value is less apparent. At the very least, I wish the makeup branch didn't gravitate so much towards celebrity biopics and grotesque mimesis. I could do with fewer fat suits, too, to be honest.

This brings me to a bizarre pronouncement  while I wouldn't vote for Cruella in Best Costume Design, I think it's my Best Makeup pick by default. So who's your pick from the nominees?

NATHANIEL: My own Film Bitch Award for Makeup went to Dune though my other two favourites (The Green Knight and Titane) weren't nominated so Cruella would be my runner up among Oscar's selections. It's smart resourceful work and it's also intrinsic to the appeal of the movie given the already existent visual iconography around the anti-heroine. I'd be fine with it winning because it's not just Emma Stone. There's a lot of visible good work including the Baroness.

But speaking of Barons, my vote is with Dune. It's not just for Stellan Skarsgard's creepy-as-fuck Baron Harkonnen (one of the best fat suits ever in a movie...though yes, fewer fatsuits would be great. Why not just hire larger actors?!). Someone was arguing with me on twitter that everyone in Dune looked too glamorous to be on a desert planet but I reject that sci-fi / fantasy movies or movies in general should have realism as a goal. Dune starts with a line about dreams and the characters have superpowers so it should be slightly surreal and not grounded.

And besides, I want my movie stars to look like movie stars whenever possible and I thought Donald Mowat and his team did a superb job making everyone look sensational (all that windswept hair) but also like they fit into a space fantasy given the strange details like the hyper blue eyes, the faded tattoos, etcetera. And of course the Harkonnens in general were memorable given that they are completely hairless. Is it genetic or does everyone just do it because the Baron likes his people to look like his clones? I loved the little black lip detail on David Dastmalchian's Piter De Vries, too.

So my preference is Dune. I know that The Eyes of Tammy Faye has been winning the prizes thus far but I really feel unsure as to what to predict. I could see Cruella or Dune taking this out from under the televangelist's prosthetic cheeks. Who do you think is going to win?

CLAUDIO: One of the best parts of these Oscar volleys has been re-evaluating achievements I took for granted. Reading a fan articulate why they love a particular film element can be illuminating. In other words, you persuasively make the case for Dune. Indeed, I can see why it won the Film Bitch gold medal and why it might go on to win the Oscar.

Still, I believe that this year will present us with an Iron Lady situation. Like that 2011 biopic, The Eyes of Tammy Faye is only nominated for Actress and Makeup  two efforts centered around a controversial celebrity with an iconic, much-parodied look. Unlike last time, though, I'm not especially enamored by the makeup. To be precise, I love how the filmmaking team embrace extravagant cosmetics, the hairspray indulgence, and sheer tackiness. However, the special effects work felt inconsistent, and, at times, it almost got in the way of the performance. While Chastain's facial structure is radically different from Tammy Faye's, I don't think the absence of those cheek and jaw prosthetics would have disrupted the illusion too much. You paint that eye-makeup and plop those wigs on anyone, and the viewer's mind automatically goes to the televangelist. Add the actress' pitch-perfect vocals, and the latex can't help but come off as an extraneous affectation.

But of course, none of those objections matter to the picture's potential awards success. I feel like it'll win, though a Dune victory wouldn't surprise me. Nevertheless, I shall keep on rooting for Cruella. That Sylkie Nutmeg Ganache anal beads wig they put on Emma Thompson is nothing if not Oscar-worthy.

What about you, dear reader? What are YOU rooting for in these two categories, and what do you think will win?

RELATED:

Oscar Volleys: Best Animated Feature, Best Editing, Best Cinematography, Best Screenplays, Best Director, Best Documentary, Best Actor, Best Picture

Oscar Charts for the Visual Categories

Nathaniel's Medalists
Country

United States of America US Virgin Islands United States Minor Outlying Islands Canada Mexico, United Mexican States Bahamas, Commonwealth of the Cuba, Republic of Dominican Republic Haiti, Republic of Jamaica Afghanistan Albania, People's Socialist Republic of Algeria, People's Democratic Republic of American Samoa Andorra, Principality of Angola, Republic of Anguilla Antarctica (the territory South of 60 deg S) Antigua and Barbuda Argentina, Argentine Republic Armenia Aruba Australia, Commonwealth of Austria, Republic of Azerbaijan, Republic of Bahrain, Kingdom of Bangladesh, People's Republic of Barbados Belarus Belgium, Kingdom of Belize Benin, People's Republic of Bermuda Bhutan, Kingdom of Bolivia, Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana, Republic of Bouvet Island (Bouvetoya) Brazil, Federative Republic of British Indian Ocean Territory (Chagos Archipelago) British Virgin Islands Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria, People's Republic of Burkina Faso Burundi, Republic of Cambodia, Kingdom of Cameroon, United Republic of Cape Verde, Republic of Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad, Republic of Chile, Republic of China, People's Republic of Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia, Republic of Comoros, Union of the Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, People's Republic of Cook Islands Costa Rica, Republic of Cote D'Ivoire, Ivory Coast, Republic of the Cyprus, Republic of Czech Republic Denmark, Kingdom of Djibouti, Republic of Dominica, Commonwealth of Ecuador, Republic of Egypt, Arab Republic of El Salvador, Republic of Equatorial Guinea, Republic of Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Faeroe Islands Falkland Islands (Malvinas) Fiji, Republic of the Fiji Islands Finland, Republic of France, French Republic French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories Gabon, Gabonese Republic Gambia, Republic of the Georgia Germany Ghana, Republic of Gibraltar Greece, Hellenic Republic Greenland Grenada Guadaloupe Guam Guatemala, Republic of Guinea, Revolutionary People's Rep'c of Guinea-Bissau, Republic of Guyana, Republic of Heard and McDonald Islands Holy See (Vatican City State) Honduras, Republic of Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region of China Hrvatska (Croatia) Hungary, Hungarian People's Republic Iceland, Republic of India, Republic of Indonesia, Republic of Iran, Islamic Republic of Iraq, Republic of Ireland Israel, State of Italy, Italian Republic Japan Jordan, Hashemite Kingdom of Kazakhstan, Republic of Kenya, Republic of Kiribati, Republic of Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Republic of Kuwait, State of Kyrgyz Republic Lao People's Democratic Republic Latvia Lebanon, Lebanese Republic Lesotho, Kingdom of Liberia, Republic of Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Liechtenstein, Principality of Lithuania Luxembourg, Grand Duchy of Macao, Special Administrative Region of China Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Madagascar, Republic of Malawi, Republic of Malaysia Maldives, Republic of Mali, Republic of Malta, Republic of Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania, Islamic Republic of Mauritius Mayotte Micronesia, Federated States of Moldova, Republic of Monaco, Principality of Mongolia, Mongolian People's Republic Montserrat Morocco, Kingdom of Mozambique, People's Republic of Myanmar Namibia Nauru, Republic of Nepal, Kingdom of Netherlands Antilles Netherlands, Kingdom of the New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua, Republic of Niger, Republic of the Nigeria, Federal Republic of Niue, Republic of Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Norway, Kingdom of Oman, Sultanate of Pakistan, Islamic Republic of Palau Palestinian Territory, Occupied Panama, Republic of Papua New Guinea Paraguay, Republic of Peru, Republic of Philippines, Republic of the Pitcairn Island Poland, Polish People's Republic Portugal, Portuguese Republic Puerto Rico Qatar, State of Reunion Romania, Socialist Republic of Russian Federation Rwanda, Rwandese Republic Samoa, Independent State of San Marino, Republic of Sao Tome and Principe, Democratic Republic of Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of Senegal, Republic of Serbia and Montenegro Seychelles, Republic of Sierra Leone, Republic of Singapore, Republic of Slovakia (Slovak Republic) Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia, Somali Republic South Africa, Republic of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Spain, Spanish State Sri Lanka, Democratic Socialist Republic of St. Helena St. Kitts and Nevis St. Lucia St. Pierre and Miquelon St. Vincent and the Grenadines Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Suriname, Republic of Svalbard & Jan Mayen Islands Swaziland, Kingdom of Sweden, Kingdom of Switzerland, Swiss Confederation Syrian Arab Republic Taiwan, Province of China Tajikistan Tanzania, United Republic of Thailand, Kingdom of Timor-Leste, Democratic Republic of Togo, Togolese Republic Tokelau (Tokelau Islands) Tonga, Kingdom of Trinidad and Tobago, Republic of Tunisia, Republic of Turkey, Republic of Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda, Republic of Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom of Great Britain & N. Ireland Uruguay, Eastern Republic of Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Viet Nam, Socialist Republic of Wallis and Futuna Islands Western Sahara Yemen Zambia, Republic of Zimbabwe
Country

United States of America US Virgin Islands United States Minor Outlying Islands Canada Mexico, United Mexican States Bahamas, Commonwealth of the Cuba, Republic of Dominican Republic Haiti, Republic of Jamaica Afghanistan Albania, People's Socialist Republic of Algeria, People's Democratic Republic of American Samoa Andorra, Principality of Angola, Republic of Anguilla Antarctica (the territory South of 60 deg S) Antigua and Barbuda Argentina, Argentine Republic Armenia Aruba Australia, Commonwealth of Austria, Republic of Azerbaijan, Republic of Bahrain, Kingdom of Bangladesh, People's Republic of Barbados Belarus Belgium, Kingdom of Belize Benin, People's Republic of Bermuda Bhutan, Kingdom of Bolivia, Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana, Republic of Bouvet Island (Bouvetoya) Brazil, Federative Republic of British Indian Ocean Territory (Chagos Archipelago) British Virgin Islands Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria, People's Republic of Burkina Faso Burundi, Republic of Cambodia, Kingdom of Cameroon, United Republic of Cape Verde, Republic of Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad, Republic of Chile, Republic of China, People's Republic of Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia, Republic of Comoros, Union of the Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, People's Republic of Cook Islands Costa Rica, Republic of Cote D'Ivoire, Ivory Coast, Republic of the Cyprus, Republic of Czech Republic Denmark, Kingdom of Djibouti, Republic of Dominica, Commonwealth of Ecuador, Republic of Egypt, Arab Republic of El Salvador, Republic of Equatorial Guinea, Republic of Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Faeroe Islands Falkland Islands (Malvinas) Fiji, Republic of the Fiji Islands Finland, Republic of France, French Republic French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories Gabon, Gabonese Republic Gambia, Republic of the Georgia Germany Ghana, Republic of Gibraltar Greece, Hellenic Republic Greenland Grenada Guadaloupe Guam Guatemala, Republic of Guinea, Revolutionary People's Rep'c of Guinea-Bissau, Republic of Guyana, Republic of Heard and McDonald Islands Holy See (Vatican City State) Honduras, Republic of Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region of China Hrvatska (Croatia) Hungary, Hungarian People's Republic Iceland, Republic of India, Republic of Indonesia, Republic of Iran, Islamic Republic of Iraq, Republic of Ireland Israel, State of Italy, Italian Republic Japan Jordan, Hashemite Kingdom of Kazakhstan, Republic of Kenya, Republic of Kiribati, Republic of Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Republic of Kuwait, State of Kyrgyz Republic Lao People's Democratic Republic Latvia Lebanon, Lebanese Republic Lesotho, Kingdom of Liberia, Republic of Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Liechtenstein, Principality of Lithuania Luxembourg, Grand Duchy of Macao, Special Administrative Region of China Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Madagascar, Republic of Malawi, Republic of Malaysia Maldives, Republic of Mali, Republic of Malta, Republic of Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania, Islamic Republic of Mauritius Mayotte Micronesia, Federated States of Moldova, Republic of Monaco, Principality of Mongolia, Mongolian People's Republic Montserrat Morocco, Kingdom of Mozambique, People's Republic of Myanmar Namibia Nauru, Republic of Nepal, Kingdom of Netherlands Antilles Netherlands, Kingdom of the New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua, Republic of Niger, Republic of the Nigeria, Federal Republic of Niue, Republic of Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Norway, Kingdom of Oman, Sultanate of Pakistan, Islamic Republic of Palau Palestinian Territory, Occupied Panama, Republic of Papua New Guinea Paraguay, Republic of Peru, Republic of Philippines, Republic of the Pitcairn Island Poland, Polish People's Republic Portugal, Portuguese Republic Puerto Rico Qatar, State of Reunion Romania, Socialist Republic of Russian Federation Rwanda, Rwandese Republic Samoa, Independent State of San Marino, Republic of Sao Tome and Principe, Democratic Republic of Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of Senegal, Republic of Serbia and Montenegro Seychelles, Republic of Sierra Leone, Republic of Singapore, Republic of Slovakia (Slovak Republic) Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia, Somali Republic South Africa, Republic of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Spain, Spanish State Sri Lanka, Democratic Socialist Republic of St. Helena St. Kitts and Nevis St. Lucia St. Pierre and Miquelon St. Vincent and the Grenadines Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Suriname, Republic of Svalbard & Jan Mayen Islands Swaziland, Kingdom of Sweden, Kingdom of Switzerland, Swiss Confederation Syrian Arab Republic Taiwan, Province of China Tajikistan Tanzania, United Republic of Thailand, Kingdom of Timor-Leste, Democratic Republic of Togo, Togolese Republic Tokelau (Tokelau Islands) Tonga, Kingdom of Trinidad and Tobago, Republic of Tunisia, Republic of Turkey, Republic of Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda, Republic of Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom of Great Britain & N. Ireland Uruguay, Eastern Republic of Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Viet Nam, Socialist Republic of Wallis and Futuna Islands Western Sahara Yemen Zambia, Republic of Zimbabwe
It is expected to be windy again in the Denver area on Tuesday, with gusting up to 33 mph, according to the National Weather Service in Boulder.
Converge ICT, the telecommunication service provider in the Philippines, and ZTE plan to launch commercial 10-Gigabit-capable symmetric passive optical network (XGS-PON) infrastructure in South Luzon and the Visayas regions in the archipelagic country by May.

Converge is the first operator to provide residential XGS-PON services in the Philippines. ZTE will cooperate with Converge to expand the commercial range of XGS-PON in the coming years. Currently, ZTE ranks first globally in terms of market share in the customer premises equipment (CPE) segment, according to IHS.

According to a media release, ZTE employed multiple XGS-PON devices with ultra-high bandwidth, such as F8648P and Flex PON technologies, for a smooth evolution from GPON to XGS-PON.

In addition, ZTE has begun its tests on its WiFi 6 ONT and Mesh WiFi products and will provide high-quality and comprehensive XGS PON solutions and products. ZTEs ONT has a 10 GE downlink port to satisfy users' high-speed access requirements.

"In the future, we will continue to work with ZTE to build a stable and efficient network in the Philippines, said Ronald G. Brusola, Chief Technology Officer at Converge. The next few years will be a window period for 10GPON development. We hope to work with ZTE to build a fixed broadband network that everyone can afford.

With our 10GPON connectivity up and running, we expect faster and greater things for businesses that utilise this technology, Jesus Romero, Chief Operations Officer at Converge said. With our continued partnership with ZTE, we are confident in providing our clients that competitive advantage.
Zain has chosen Huawei to accelerate its upgrade from 4G to 5G and advance into so-called 5.5G across its markets with plans to develop new use cases, as the two signed a memorandum of understanding.

In a statement announcing the MoU (signed during MWC) with Huawei, Zain said the vendor will aid the group in optimising network architecture and extend 5G capabilities to support technologies such as IoT, ultra-reliable low latency communications. Real-time broadband communication harmonised communication and sensing.

Zain Group CTO Nawaf AlGharabally said the operator is aiming for a seamless experience for customers on 5G.

Therefore, Huawei's network technologies will play a big part in user migration, 5.5G innovation, and intelligent network development fast-tracking the introduction of new digital services. Zain Group will work closely with Huawei to provide the required technologies that enables us to further advance AI and digital solutions that could immensely benefit our customers across multiple markets."

Huawei president of wireless product line Yangchaobin added: In the future, 5G needs to support multi-dimensional services such as AR/VR, cloud gaming, passive IoT, autonomous driving, and so on. Therefore, both parties will need to pursue even deeper collaboration.
Its been only a matter of days since Equinix announced plans to expand into Chile and Peru through its acquisition of four data centres from Entel for US$705 million. Now the digital infrastructure company is growing its presence in India.

Equinix has reportedly invested $9 million to acquire about 5.5 acres of land in Chennai, South India, for data centre development on what is described as a long-term leasehold basis for expansion in the country.

The land parcel is located in the State Industries Promotion Corporation of Tamil Nadu Ltd (SIPCOT) IT Park. The company says it is strategically located in the Siruseri area, also known as the IT Corridor of Chennai.

In August last year we reported that Equinix had announced its expansion into India through the acquisition of the Indian operations of GPX Global Systems, a provider of next-generation, Tier 4 design, carrier-neutral data centres to developing global markets.

Then, in November, Equinix announced the opening of its Global Centre of Excellence (GCoE) in Bengaluru, the capital of India's southern state Karnataka. The GCoE will, it says, contribute to the development of innovative, automated and scalable digital technologies to improve the digital infrastructure resilience of its customers and employees.

The latest initiatives clearly underline the attractiveness of India, which has been further boosted since data centre development was made easier. Chennai in particular is an attractive area, offering a strategic location, access to subsea cable landing stations, stable power supply and thriving IT infrastructure.

Or, as Manoj Paul, MD, Equinix India, says, quoted in Indias Economic Times: With the infrastructure status for data centres recently announced by the Indian government, India is well positioned to grow as one of the most important data centre hubs in South Asia. There is a lot of momentum and interest from large global players to establish and expand their footprint in India.
Moscow, ID (83843)

Today

Rain likely. High 57F. Winds WNW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall around a quarter of an inch..

Tonight

Cloudy with showers. Low 43F. Winds WSW at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 50%.
Moscow, ID (83843)

Today

Rain likely. High 57F. Winds WNW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall around a quarter of an inch..

Tonight

Cloudy with showers. Low 43F. Winds WSW at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 50%.
Moscow, ID (83843)

Today

Rain likely. High 57F. Winds WNW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall around a quarter of an inch..

Tonight

Cloudy with showers. Low 43F. Winds WSW at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 50%.
Moscow, ID (83843)

Today

Rain likely. High 57F. Winds WNW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall around a quarter of an inch..

Tonight

Cloudy with showers. Low 43F. Winds WSW at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 50%.
President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev expressed condolences to President of the People's Republic of China Xi Jinping.

"We were shocked by the news of heavy casualties as a result of the crash of a passenger plane of China Eastern Airlines in the south of China, the message said.

"I share your grief in these difficult times, and on the occasion of this tragedy, on my own behalf and on behalf of the people of Azerbaijan, I extend my deepest condolences to you, families and loved ones of those who died and the friendly people of China."




Moscow, ID (83843)

Today

Rain likely. High 57F. Winds WNW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall around a quarter of an inch..

Tonight

Cloudy with showers. Low 43F. Winds WSW at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 50%.
Moscow, ID (83843)

Today

Rain likely. High 57F. Winds WNW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall around a quarter of an inch..

Tonight

Cloudy with showers. Low 43F. Winds WSW at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 50%.
Invasive Species Control Proposal Solicitation

Main_Content





 The Maryland Department of Natural Resources Invasive Species Matrix Team requests proposals that engage a local community in the removal of invasive species from local communities in Maryland. Any Maryland resident is eligible to be a principal investigator, submit a proposal and receive funding. The proposal submission must:





Background

An invasive species is a non-native species whose introduction does or is likely to cause economic or environmental harm or harm to human health. While many aquatic species may be introduced to a water body, very few become established, and fewer are regarded as invasive. In the Chesapeake Bay watershed, there are 120 introduced and established aquatic species (mostly fishes). Eighteen percent of these are regarded as invasive. Current initiatives to prevent future introductions have included outreach and passage of laws and regulation. Control of existing invasive species proves more costly and time-consuming. The control of aquatic invasive species that are established in Marylands waterways has included harvest and/or herbicides. To engage the public and partners in control efforts, as well as remove biomass of aquatic invasive species, the department developed this Request for Proposals from Marylanders. The objectives of a proposal should address: 1) engagement of a local community of Marylanders; and 2) removal of an aquatic invasive species from Maryland waters.





How do I apply?



Visit our AISC Proposal Solicitation Form and submit the information. You will be asked for contact information, proposal objectives, a map or description of the project site, proposal methods, expected impact and a budget. The expected impact should be an estimate of how much of the invasive species will be removed.





Applicants may contact the departments Invasive Species Matrix Team with questions during their proposal development. Initial contact can be made by emailing: joseph.love@maryland.gov









Program Timeline



Grant proposals will be reviewed with existing literature and risk assessments by staff of Maryland Department of Natural Resources who are members of the departments Invasive Species Matrix Team and a member of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Grants will be issued in the form of contracts to the principal investigator. Proposals will be evaluated and discussed to determine which will be funded and at what level. Effort will be made to fund all selected proposals to the requested level.









What is the review process?



Proposal Due

April 15, 2022 Principal Investigator Notified

May 15, 2022

Notice of Award and Contract

May 31, 2022 Project May Begin

June 1, 2022 Interim Report Due

August 1, 2022 Invoice Due (if needed)

August 1, 2022

Final Report Due

November 30, 2022

All Invoices Due (if needed)

November 30, 2022











Project Deliverables



Expenses will be paid by the principal investigator. The principal investigator will then send receipts and invoices to the department ( joseph.love@maryland.gov ) for reimbursement. Receipts must reflect the charges identified in the approved budget of the proposal. Reimbursements typically take one month.



Interim and Final reports will be submitted by deadline to Interim and Final reports will be submitted by deadline to joseph.love@maryland.gov . Reports will convey progress toward objectives up to the date of submittal.



Invoices and reports must be submitted by the deadline specified in the timeline. Reports should reflect progress toward objectives, as well as convey any challenges or problems with meeting the objectives.









Project Duration



Projects may start June 1, 2022 and last one day, or multiple days. Projects should be completed by November 30, 2022.













Eligible Aquatic Invasive Species



Invasive species listed in Marylands Aquatic Nuisance Species Plan include those below. The proposal should focus on one or more of these high priority species. At the end of the year, the level of harvest or removal of the aquatic invasive species will be reported online, along with the cost of the project and the grantee.







Blue Catfish (Ictalurus furcatus)

Northern Snakehead (Channa argus)

Brazilian elodea (Egeria densa)

Nutria (Myocaster coypus)

Chinese Mitten Crab (Eriocheir sinensis)

Parrot Feather (Myriophyllum aquaticum)

Common Reed (Phragmitis australis)

Purple Loosestrife (Lythrum salacaria)

Didymo (Didymosphenia geminata)

Red Swamp Crayfish (Procambrus clarkia)

Eurasian milfoil (Myriophyllum spicatum)

Rusty Crayfish (Orconectes rusticus)

Flathead Catfish (Pylodictus olivaris)

Virile Crayfish (Orconectes virilis)

Green Crab (Carcinus maenas)

Water Chestnut (Trapa natans)

Hydrilla (Hydrilla verticillata)

Whirling Disease (Myxobolus cerebralis)

Japanese Shore Crab (Hemigrapsus sanguineus)

Yellow Iris (Iris pseudacorus)

Marsh Dayflower (Murdannia keisak)

Zebra Mussel (Dreissena polymorpha)

Mute Swan (Cygnus olor)









Funds Available



Principal investigators, or the people organizing the removal effort and writing the proposal, can ask for a minimum of $500 and up to $10,000. Categories that can be funded are: Personnel; Travel; Supplies; and Equipment. A budget narrative describing how funds will be fund in one or all categories will be submitted with the proposal. Examples of funding include (but are not limited to): travel to field sites; gift cards; gloves; harvesting tools; printing costs for outreach materials.







Match is not required, but is encouraged.







Funding cannot be used for lobbying or for paying a person to lobby. Lobbying is influencing or attempting to influence an officer or employee of any U.S. agency, a Member of the U.S. Congress, or an officer or employee of the U.S. Congress, or an employee of a Member of the U.S. Congress connection with the award.





Miscellaneous Information



for fish (/fisheries/Pages/scientific-collection-permit.aspx)

or for wildlife (https://dnr.maryland.gov/wildlife/Pages/Licenses/scicoll.aspx). The principal investigator is responsible for acquiring all necessary permits and permissions to carryout their proposed project.

A permit may be required for work in public waters. For more information, please visit:The principal investigator is responsible for acquiring all necessary permits and permissions to carryout their proposed project.




Florida Power and Light threw a party to mark the powering-up of its 400-acre solar field off Americus Road in Jackson County, Blue Springs Solar Center. Its one of three FPL solar fields here, the third still under construction.

It is capable of generating enough energy to power 15,000 homes, according to FPL spokesperson Kimberly Blair.

Its first, Blue Indigo Solar Energy Center near Jacob City, became operational in spring of 2020 and FPLs Apalachee Solar Energy Center is under construction off Reddoch and Hollister roads.

Several small local businesses had booths at the party. Some were giving away product and promotional items under arrangement with FPL, and letting the crowd find out more about them and their operations. Lazy Acres Family Farms was there, Panhandle Produce, Martins Harvest were among them.

The Marianna K-8 FFA was there, along with other organizations.

FPL brought some drones to display and a bright yellow robotic dog to demonstrate informally from time to time as the crowd arrived. The robot is used to monitor, and sometimes take pictures of, certain assets in the field and relay information.

Jackson County has supported our solar development and the community BBQ was way to celebrate the commissioning of the Blue Indigo Solar Energy Center and say thank to the neighbors of all three of our projects, and to thank the community as FPL brings a cleaner, more sustainable energy future to Northwest Florida., Blair said.
The Jackson County Chamber of Commerce co-hosted an After Hours gathering last Thursday to celebrate the 60th business anniversary of First Federal Bank, which has two branches in Marianna, at 4701 U.S. 90 and at 4215 Lafayette Street.

The event was held, though, at Mariannas Historic First National Bank Multi-use Cultural Facility on Caledonia Street.

The first local branch was established in 2016, more than a half-century after the bank was founded in 1962 by a group of businessmen as First Federal Savings and Loan Association of Live Oak. It provided home loans and savings accounts to their neighbors, according to the company website.

As it grew through the 1960s, according to the site, First Federal expanded into Hamilton and Lafayette counties and, in the 1980s, moved in to Columbia County and offered its first checking account.

By 2010, it had also expanded and opened the John S. Flood Financial Center (Operations), and new branches in Nassau and Baker counties, then into the Florida Panhandle serving Holmes, Jackson, and Washington counties, and Bay County. In 2018, it acquired branches in Nassau and Marion counties in Florida, branches in Beaufort County, South Carolina, and opened a branch in Gainesville.

The mutual bank serves over 70,000 customers from 25 community banking branches, mortgage lending offices in Florida, the Southeast and Midwest, and SBA and USDA lending offices in the Southeast, the site states. Over the last five years, it has increased business lines to include a mortgage processing company, wholesale lending, specialty commercial financing, warehouse lending, consumer direct lending, and a manufactured housing lending division.
Alabamas Black Belt region suffers from a gap in educational attainment with the rest of the state, and experts at the University of Alabama think a lottery might help fix the problem.

We favor a scholarship program funded by a lottery, said Dr. Stephen Katsinas, head of the Education Policy Center at the University of Alabama, which hosted a briefing on the subject of educational attainment in the Black Belt - one of the poorest regions in the nation - on Monday.

The best longterm economic development strategy for Alabama is to have the best educated workforce it can possibly have. The challenge is, we dont invest enough. So we get what we pay for, Katsinas said. Persistent poverty counties deserve more investment for their students to be able to go onto college.

The briefing was part of Black Belt 2022, an ongoing series tackling issues facing the 25-county Black Belt region.

Weve been proposing a lottery for the past 15 years, Dr. Ahmad Ijaz, director of the Center for Business & Economic Research at the University of Alabama, said at the briefing. The state just doesnt have enough money The way to do that would be to either increase taxes or bring a lottery or gambling money. Thats up to the state legislature.

Residents in the Black Belt are less likely to attend college and less likely to earn a degree than residents in other part of the state. In 2020, more than half of high school graduates in the Black Belt didnt go on to enroll in a two-year or four-year college. That was slightly higher than the statewide rate, and up from before the pandemic.

And Black Belt residents 25 or older are less likely to be highly educated, with a larger percentage than the rest of the state having a high school or equivalent degree as their highest level of educational attainment.

The lack of higher educational attainment for Black Belt residents is a big issue in a state like Alabama where an estimated 60% of jobs will require some kind of degree by 2025, researchers at the Education Policy Center said.

All of the data that weve seen shows that the jobs of the future are going to require some post-secondary education, Katsinas said. 90%-plus of all the jobs created since the Great Recession required some post-secondary education.

The Education Policy Center also showed data on Pell grants and their relationship with college enrollment. The federal government cut Pell grants in 2012, and Alabama enrollment at nearly all community and regional colleges and universities fell in the years following. Pell is Alabamas form of public student aid, Katsinas said. Basically, he said, if you can provide the money for people to go to college, theyll go.

Thats where the lottery comes in.

Katsinas and the Education Policy Center called on the Alabama Legislature to create a lottery and use the funds to help pay for scholarships to make community college free for Alabama residents, especially in the Black Belt region, which is home to several community college campuses.

But there are steps outside of a lottery that could help.

One important step is ensuring students in the Black Belt get help filling out the Free Application for Student Aid, known as the FAFSA, which is critical for students looking to earn scholarships to go to college.

Katsinas also mentioned that because of changes to Alabamas education trust fund more than 10 years ago, funding for the states education system is less boom or bust than it used to be. For that reason, there is some money that can be spent in Alabama already.

Now we can start to think about targeted investments in persistent poverty schools, Katsinas said. This state has not done much of that. And its time for us to start doing some of that.

Ijaz also mentioned that big manufacturing companies are already doing some of the work that could help teach residents in these communities about the jobs of the future, and said spreading those outreach programs farther into the Black Belt could help.

Alabama has one of the best workforce development programs in the country, he said. There are a lot of manufacturers working with community colleges to match the skills they will need two years from now or three years from now. We need to expand those programs to reach these Black Belt counties.

Theres also the issue that residents in the Black Belt may not think college is an attainable goal. Thats where FAFSA and Pell grants are key, making the prospect of college more realistic.

We have to create a lot more hope in the Black Belt than what we have, Katsinas said.
Over the years, I have discussed my observations and concepts of the two different roles or routes taken by a U.S. senator or congressman during their tenure in Washington.

One clearly chooses one of two postures in their representation of you in Washington. Our delegates to D.C. are either benefactors or ideologues.

The role of benefactor is much better for any state, especially Alabama. This public figure is not only a benefactor but also a facilitator and a statesman. In other words, this person is interested and diligent in bringing home federal dollars to our state.

The perfect example of a benefactor, facilitator and a statesman senator is our current U.S. Sen. Richard Shelby. No senator in Alabama history has brought home more federal dollars to our state than Shelby.

The second role is ideologue. This politician sees his role as a zealot on issues. The ideologue is more interested in advocating for popular social and non-economic issues with no regard for the states financial interests.

Beginning in the 1930s and extending for 30 years through the 1960s, we had two of the greatest U.S. senators. Lister Hill and John Sparkman were giants in Washington and were erudite diplomats for our state. They can aptly be described as benefactors, facilitators and statesmen for Alabama.

During the 1970s and 1980s, we had two well-respected and effective senators in Judge Howell Heflin and Shelby.

Upon arrival of Jeff Sessions in 1996, as the states first true blue Republican, we witnessed the portrayal of our first true ideologue. Sessions was the most right-wing, reactionary Republican in the Senate. However, he was not a demagogue, he was a true believer and one of the most honest and gentlemanly men I have ever observed in the public arena. He was also well qualified and prepared to be a U.S. senator having been a U.S. attorney and attorney general of Alabama.

Alabama cannot afford to have the ultimate demagogic ideologue, Mo Brooks, follow Shelby. It would literally be like exchanging the most effective U.S. senator in Alabama history with the least effective senator. We would go from having the number one, most powerful senator to the last place number 100th effectiveness for their state.

A large portion of Alabamas federal largesse dollars go to the Huntsville area, part of Brooks district. He has done nothing towards federal and economic growth in the Huntsville-Tennessee Valley area. Brooks has been an obstacle. He prefers being a bomb-thrower to being an effective representative.

Brooks laissez faire attitude towards government and his allegiance and loyalty to the right-wing clandestine Club for Growth is toxic for Alabama and our dependence on defense dollars. Brooks is an irrelevant, right-wing gadfly whom people just laugh at like a crazy uncle they keep locked in a closet. He has become a national poster boy for crazy theatrics. The image he gives to Alabama hurts us immensely in Washington. He is a pariah for Alabamas future.

If Brooks is elected as our senator to replace Shelby, you can expect Redstone Arsenals growth to stop and you can kiss the space command headquarters coming to Alabama goodbye.

Furthermore, those of you who live in the Montgomery River Region area or in the Wiregrass and have depended on Maxwell-Gunter and Fort Rucker as your economic engines for generations, better grab hold of your wallet. With Brooks as Alabamas senator, you may very well see these mega military economic meccas moved to California.

Steve Flowers is Alabamas leading political columnist. His weekly column appears in over 60 Alabama newspapers. He served 16 years in the state legislature. He can be reached at: www.steveflowers.us.
Malaysia has recognized Vietnam's Covid-19 vaccination certificate to boost tourism activities between the two countries, the Malaysian PM said while visiting Hanoi, Bernama reported.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob said this is because Vietnam used vaccines approved by the World Health Organization (WHO) and had already recognized Malaysia's vaccination, the Malaysian National News Agency reported Tuesday.

"During my meeting with the Vietnamese Prime Minister (Pham Minh Chinh), I informed him that Malaysia has agreed to recognize Vietnam's vaccination certificate," Ismail Sabri was quoted as saying at a press conference for Malaysian journalists.

The Malaysian PM paid Vietnam a two-day visit on Sunday, marking the first time he has officially visited the country since taking office in August 2021.

Vietnam's Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced Monday that Vietnamese vaccine certificates had been accepted by 17 countries as of March 17.

They are Australia, Belarus, Cambodia, Egypt, India, Japan, Maldives, New Zealand, Palestine, the Philippines, Saint Lucia, Singapore, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Turkey, the U.K. and U.S.

People coming to Vietnam from these countries with vaccine certificates, and vice versa, will be treated as if they were vaccinated in the countries they enter.

Vietnam accepts vaccinations done in 79 countries and territories.

The national vaccine passport entails personal information like the types of vaccine given and the number of shots taken. They are encoded and encrypted into a QR code, which would expire after 12 months since creation.
A tiger is lured into a cage before being transported to the Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park in Quang Binh. Photo by VnExpress/Hai Binh

Seven endangered tigers previously trafficked were transferred to a national park in the central province of Quang Binh Tuesday.

Vo Cong Anh Tuan, head of Science and International Cooperation of the Pu Mat National Park in Nghe An, said personnel have been luring the tigers into cages for half a month so they could get used to them before being transported to Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park in Quang Binh, around six-hour car drive to the south.

Making them accustomed to the cages, they will not need to be sedated, which would be better for their health, said Tuan.

The cages were loaded onto a truck which began its journey Tuesday morning.

Nguyen Van Thai, director of the Save Vietnam's Wildlife (SVW) nonprofit, said the tigers would be released into a semi-wild environment and contribute to ecological tourism efforts.

The tigers, then cubs, were first found by Nghe An police in Dien Chau District in August last year when they were trafficked in a seven-seat car heading towards Nghe An. They were then handed over to Pu Mat National Park to be raised. Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park later stated they wanted to raise the tigers and received approval from Quang Binh authorities.

Tigers are endangered animals listed on the IUCN Red List. Their population is threatened by poaching for illegal wildlife trade.

As of last year, there were around 360 tigers licensed to be raised in Vietnam, according to data from the IUCN.
Vietnam's air quality improves but has not met WHO standard

Smog in Hanoi's Cau Giay District on November 16, 2021. Photo by VnExpress/Ngoc Thanh

Air quality in Vietnam improved in 2021 but still failed to meet the World Health Organization's annual average PM2.5 concentration guidelines.

The decline in the annual average PM2.5 concentration continued in 2021, falling to 24.7 g/m3 after peaking in 2019 at 34.1, the World Air Quality Report by Swiss technology and monitoring company IQAir said.

The report, released Tuesday, contains PM2.5 air pollution data from ground-based monitoring stations in 6,475 cities in 117 countries, regions and territories.

The figure for Hanoi decreased by 4.5 percent to 36.2.

HCMC did much better, with the PM2.5 concentration falling from 22 to 19.4.

However, despite declining concentrations, none of the 13 Vietnamese cities included in the report met the annual average WHO PM2.5 air quality guideline concentration of 5 g/m3, IQAir said.

The 13 cities are distributed all over the country from Thai Nguyen, Hanoi and others in the northern plains to Long Xuyen in the Mekong Delta in the south.

Thai Nguyen in the eponymous province was the most polluted at 40.8 g/m3, while at the other end Ha Long was a relatively clean 10.7.

Among capital cities sorted in descending order Hanoi was in 15th place out of 107.

HCMC ranked 1,179th globally, and 109th out of 227 in Southeast Asia.

In the country ranking, Vietnam was in 36th place of the 117, and New Caledonia was in 117th with 3.8.

In Southeast Asia there was a slight overall reduction in PM2.5 levels of around 5 percent.

Two of the region's 10 most populated cities, Jakarta in Indonesia and Hanoi, had PM2.5 levels that were seven times higher than recommended by the WHO guidelines.

Jakarta had the highest number in the region of 39.2.

In September 2021 WHO released an update to its global air quality guidelines, 15 years after its last one in 2006.

Acknowledging the significant impact of air pollution on global health, it cut the recommended annual PM2.5 limit by half to 5 g/m3 with the ultimate goal of preventing millions of deaths.

It is estimated that last year the deaths of 40,000 children under the age of five were directly linked to PM2.5 air pollution.

Besides, researchers have found evidence that exposure to PM2.5 increases both the risk of contracting Covid-19 and of suffering more severe symptoms when infected, including death, the report said.

IQAir said Vietnam's usage of fossil fuels for power generation is a primary cause of air pollution, along with exhaust from cars and motorbikes and factory emissions.

As manufacturing activity increased, the country's economy has grown over the past decade, increasing the demand for electricity.

In 2020 half of all electricity was generated by coal-fired plants.

Vietnam promised to reach carbon neutrality by 2050 at last year's U.N. COP26 conference, the report pointed out.

"With the largest solar power infrastructure in Southeast Asia and the addition of offshore and onshore wind farms, Vietnam is poised for a transition away from the use of fossil fuels to power its growing economy.

"Actions to achieve carbon neutrality will also have the co-benefit of improving air quality by reducing the use of fossil fuels, the country's major source of air pollution."

At a regional level, the report said rapid population growth and the accompanying economic development have been significant factors in increasing air pollution.

Oil and coal are the biggest sources of fuel in the power sector, and with the demand for electricity growing at around 6 percent a year, the combustion of fossil fuels is a primary contributor to PM2.5 concentrations.

Globally, Delhi in India, Dhaka (Bangladesh) and N'Djamena (Chad) had the worst air quality in 2021, while Noumea (New Caledonia), Charlotte Amalie (U.S. Virgin Islands) and San Juan (Puerto Rico) were the cleanest.

Only 3 percent of cities and no country met the WHO guidelines.

Frank Hammes, CEO of IQAir, called the finding "shocking," and said the report underscores just how much work remains to be done.

"The time for action is now."
By Vafa Ismayilova

Azerbaijani Defence Minister Zakir Hasanov and Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan have discussed the current state of military cooperation and friendly ties between the two countries, the Defence Ministry reported on March 21.

The discussions took place within the framework of Hasanov's official visit to Pakistan.

At the meeting, it was emphasized that sincere friendly relations between the two countries' leaders play an important role in the development of the countries' ties.

Col-Gen Hasanov noted that Azerbaijani-Pakistani military cooperation is developing steadily, and thanked the Pakistani leadership and nation for supporting Azerbaijan's fair position at all levels, as well as within the international organizations.

At the end of the meeting, the sides expressed satisfaction with the development of bilateral relations in various areas, including military cooperation, and exchanged views on other issues of mutual interest.

The delegation led by Hasanov, who is on an official visit to Pakistan, visited the Azerbaijani embassy in Pakistan, the ministry said.

During the visit, flowers were laid at the bust of national leader Heydar Aliyev in the embassy's administrative building, and his blessed memory was honored.

Later, Hasanov met with the Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee of this country, General Nadeem Raza.

An official welcoming ceremony was held before the meeting. The national anthems of both countries were performed, and Zakir Hasanov passed along the guard of honor.

Welcoming the guests, General Raza noted that Azerbaijani-Pakistani friendly relations have developed significantly and entered a new stage.

The sides discussed military, military-technical, and military-educational cooperation between Azerbaijan and Pakistan, issues of combating terrorism and security, as well as other issues.

As part of the visit, Hasanov is expected to meet a number of state and military figures, as well as take part in a military parade dedicated to Pakistan's National Day as a guest of honor.

During the 44-day war with Armenia in 2020, Pakistan was among the first countries voicing political support for Azerbaijan. Pakistan also supports Azerbaijan in the restoration of the country's liberated territories.

In September 2021, the Azerbaijani, Turkish and Pakistani special forces conducted Three Brothers - 2021 joint international drills in Baku.

Under the drills plan, the special forces units carried out practical shootings using small arms and grenade launchers, the report added.

The drills aim to improve the coordination among the special forces units of friendly and partner countries during combat operations, prepare for operations in peacetime and wartime, exchange knowledge and experience.

In the winter of 2014, during the fifth meeting of the working group on military cooperation between Azerbaijan and Pakistan in the city of Islamabad, the countries signed an agreement on mutual military cooperation.

Over the past decade, Pakistani military experts trained about a hundred Azerbaijani military units.

Azerbaijan is holding talks with Pakistan to purchase JF-17 Thunder multirole fighter aircraft. In October 2016 President Aliyev and PM Sharif confirmed plans to carry out joint military exercises.

Furthermore, the parliaments of Azerbaijan, Turkey and Pakistan have signed the Baku Declaration on cooperation. The document was signed following the trilateral meeting held by speakers of the three countries parliaments on July 27, 2021.
March 16 marked the 34th anniversary of one of the most heinous crimes against humanity on record: the murder by poison gas of Iraqi civilians by their own leader, Saddam Hussein.



In 1988, Saddam Hussein initiated the al-Anfal campaign and charged his cousin, Ali Hassan al-Majid, with executing it. Al-Anfal was a scorched earth policy designed to put down a rebellion in northern Iraq-- the local response to a 5-year crackdown on ethnic minorities.



On the evening of March 16, after a day of shelling that broke windows and doors across the Kurdish town of Halabja, Iraqi helicopters and planes began to pepper the city with canisters of chemical weapons. Heavier than air, the toxic chemicals sank to the ground and seeped into the damaged buildings, killing civilians sheltering in cellars.



Around 3,500 to 5,000 people died that day in Halabja. It was the first time in modern history that a government attacked its own people with chemical weapons.



In the course of one year, the al-Anfal campaign cost the lives of about 100,000 people, most of them civilians. Ali Hassan al-Majid, known from then on as Chemical Ali, went on to commit more atrocities, including a bloody suppression of a 1991 uprising of Shia Muslims.



When the regime of Saddam Hussein toppled, Chemical Ali was captured, tried and found guilty of committing genocide and crimes against humanity. For these crimes, Ali Hassan al-Majid was executed.



The war crimes trials held after the Second World War resulted in closer scrutiny of the conduct of warring parties and their leaders, particularly their treatment of civilians. Since then, once fighting is over, those who committed war crimes or crimes against humanity are identified, hunted down, brought to trial before an international court and sentenced to long prison terms. Such was the fate of war criminals from the dissolution of Yugoslavia, the Rwandan genocide, and the Cambodian genocide.
Over one year ago, Burmas military launched a coup that slammed the door shut on Burmas recent democratic opening. Today, we see a Burma that is unrecognizable from the country we knew one year ago. said Craig Hart, USAID Deputy Administrator for Asia, in recent Congressional testimony. Despite significant obstacles, the people of Burma have not given up, and we stand with them in support of democracy.

Following the coup, USAID shifted $42.4 million in assistance from activities that would have benefited the government to direct support of the people of Burma. This includes providing life-saving services for those fighting COVID-19, HIV/AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis. USAID also provides urgent humanitarian assistance to hundreds of thousands of conflict-affected and displaced people across Burma, a difficult challenge given the regimes severe restrictions on access for impartial humanitarian organizations.

Since the coup, the regime has killed over 1,600 people  among them children, journalists, and aid workers  and arrested thousands more. Violence is escalating, and the polarization between the regime and the diverse groups opposing the coup and the regime is intensifying, warned Deputy Administrator Hart.

The restoration of the path to democracy is USAIDs overarching priority in Burma. USAID partners with democratic stakeholders to build a common vision for an inclusive, multiparty democracy. These partners include the pro-democracy movement, ethnic organizations, civil society organizations, non-governmental organizations, both secular and religious; and like-minded members of the private sector.

To preserve what little democratic space remains, USAID provides grants to independent media houses and journalists to help maintain the free flow of information despite a deteriorating media environment.

USAID partners are working closely with local communities to equip pro-democracy activists, human rights defenders, journalists and ethnic minorities to strengthen their peaceful struggle for a democratic future. USAID is providing support to human rights defenders and pro-democracy groups. Through this work, USAID is helping equip civil society with the tools they need to respond to human rights violations and prevent future mass atrocities.

USAID joins the global chorus condemning the coup, military violence, and unjust detentions of people from all walks of life who have protested the brutal repression of Burmas military. USAID will continue to look for new opportunities to support the people of Burma as they work to regain their freedoms.
Nevada Exploration Inc. and Astro Resources NL have announced they signed a Letter of Intent to leverage Nevada Explorations extensive exploration database to generate and advance epithermal gold projects in a million-acre area of interest in northern Nevada.

Under the Letter of Intent, Nevada Exploration (NGE) will contribute its exploration data within the area of interest and grant Astro a first right to use this data to acquire current and future exploration targets for two years, based upon a standard earn-in agreement. In exchange Astro will commit to spending $1.4 million on the resulting projects  $600,000 in the first year and $800,000 in the second year.

Being based in Australia, where our industry has had no choice but to advance new undercover exploration tools to explore in the 80% of the country where the bedrock is covered, our team recognizes the incredible opportunities globally for first movers applying new technology to open up covered search spaces, said Astro Chairman Jacob Khouri. Were very pleased to partner with Nevada Exploration, a recognized leader in undercover exploration, to employ the same strategies being used in Australia to participate in exploring for what we believe to be one of the biggest prizes in our industry, the second, undercover, half of Nevadas gold endowment.

With a 15-year head start, NGE has used the latest exploration technology to build a database of new exploration targets under cover, which we can now use to develop a meaningful portfolio of new projects. We have begun our review of NGEs database and expect to make further announcements soon.

A press release from Nevada Exploration and Astro Resources said that while Nevada is often touted as a global leader in terms of gold production per area, the reality is that the 4.6 million ounces Nevada produced in 2020 is only half of what the state produced in 1998.

Like in other mature districts, continued exploration of Nevadas now well-explored exposed settings is generating fewer discoveries despite record exploration expenditures, Nevada Exploration said. The future of mining globally is tied to the transition to undercover exploration, which in Nevada, means exploring in the more than 50% of the state where the prospective bedrock is hidden beneath its valley basins.

Nevadas exposed terrains have historically produced more than 200 million ounces of gold, and experts agree, there is likely another 200 million ounces waiting to be discovered beneath Nevadas valleys. To unlock this globally significant residual gold endowment, NGE is the first company to bring the latest undercover exploration technologies to Nevada. Most significantly, NGE has spent more than 15 years integrating new hydrogeochemistry (groundwater chemistry) and low-cost drilling technology to build an industry-leading, geochemistry-focused toolkit to explore for new undercover gold deposits.

According to Nevada Exploration, the company has used its technology to complete the worlds largest groundwater sampling program for gold exploration, which also represents the largest regional-scale geochemistry-based generative exploration program in Nevada since the successful stream-sediment sampling programs in the 1980s.

Nevada Explorations generative program involved aggregating more than 50,000 historic water sampling records, then collecting more than 6,000 new groundwater samples, predominantly from purpose-drilled boreholes, each of which was analyzed directly for gold and related pathfinders using the latest laboratory technology.

Based on the results of its statewide sampling program, NGE has developed a proprietary database of new undercover exploration targets. Under the proposed two-year Strategic Alliance, Astro and NGE plan to work together to leverage NGEs technology, data, and expertise to identify, acquire, and advance a portfolio of projects in an area of Nevada known for epithermal-style gold deposits.

If Astro completes a JORC inferred resource exceeding 750,000 ounces at a designated property, Astro and NGE will form a joint-venture limited-liability company to advance the property

Nevada Exploration, which has offices in Sparks and in Vancouver, British Columbia, is advancing a portfolio of new gold exploration projects, primarily focused on three gold projects which it classifies as district-scale and Carlin-type, including its flagship South Grass Valley project about 30 miles south-southwest of the Nevada Gold Mines Cortez complex.

Nevada Exploration originally generated the project based on elevated concentrations of gold and Carlin-style trace element geochemistry in groundwater identified as part of its basin-scale exploration program across the larger Grass Valley. Drilling is currently taking place at the site.

Astro Resources current projects include the Needles Gold project about 60 miles southeast of the Kinross Round Mountain mine in central Nevada. Astro will continue its drilling program at the Needles Gold project in 2022.

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Nevada Gold Mines recently donated $320,000 to Communities In Schools of Nevada, the nations leading evidence-based dropout prevention organization. The donation, an annual monetary commitment to CIS, brings the total donations from NGM and Barrick to more than $3.3 million over the past 12 years.

The goal of the donations is to help students and deliver economic benefits to Nevada by helping to maintain and expand CIS Integrated Student Supports, the nonprofits evidence-based holistic approach to promoting academic success.

NGMs donation will support 10 of CIS middle, junior high, and high schools across Elko, Humboldt and Clark counties, serving over 10,000 students.

Corporate partners like Nevada Gold Mines are invaluable to the evidence-based programs and services we offer at CIS of Nevada, said Tami Hance-Lehr, CIS of Nevada CEO and state director. This gift continues to subsidize our Integrated Student Supports, the foundational backbone of CIS that has been proven to positively impact our children. With this investment from Nevada Gold Mines, we can focus on what matters most  connecting kids with caring site coordinators and resources to enable them to succeed in school and life.

A portion of the funds also supports The PRACTICE Mental Health Clinic, a partnership between CIS and UNLV that offers free tele-counseling to students in northeastern Nevada. The free program provided more than 50 students ages 12 and older with nearly 400 on-site mental health sessions during the 2020-2021 school year.

NGM is thrilled to be partnering again with Communities In Schools of Nevada, said Alissa Wood, NGM head of communities and corporate affairs. Long-term relationships such as this are incredibly valuable to the communities that they serve and are the types of partnerships that NGM strives for. The positive impact that CIS makes on at-risk students is clear, and we are proud to be able to support that impact. Every student deserves the opportunity to succeed in school and life, and CIS is an excellent example of an organization that effectively eliminates barriers, ensuring that this potential is realized.

Team members from NGM also assist CIS of Northeastern Nevada with winter coat and clothing drives, donating school supplies, Thanksgiving meal distributions, employee giving campaigns, and student sponsorships during holiday gift campaigns.

For over a decade Nevada Gold Mines has been a crucial piece to the success, sustainability, and growth of CIS of Northeastern Nevada, said Sarah Goicoechea, executive director of CIS of Northeastern Nevada. They support our mission and share our all in for kids mentality and we are so grateful to have their continued support.

Currently, CIS Nevada operates in 81 high-needs schools across four rural and urban school districts throughout Nevada, which is nearly one in five Title I or high-needs schools. The organization places full-time site coordinators in enrolled schools to support more than 80,000 students considered at high risk for dropout. CIS long-term vision is for every child enrolled in a Title I school to have access to a site coordinator and an Integrated Student Support, otherwise known as wraparound services.

According to CIS of Nevada, since 2004 the organization has demonstrated measurable success in student outcomes. For the 2020-2021 school year, the graduation rate for CIS case-managed high school seniors in Nevada was 92 percent, 13 points higher than the Nevada statewide graduation rate of 79 percent for students on free or reduced lunch, as released by the Nevada Department of Education.

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Russian invasion of Ukraine headlines

- Ukrainian authorities claims more than 2,300 children have been kidnapped by Russian forces in Donetsk and Luhansk

- Reports suggest the Russian military has just three days' worth of supplies left

- President Biden will set off for his European tour later this week, visiting Poland on the Ukrainian border

- White House says that Russia could be planning a cyber attack on US critical infrastructure.

- Authorities in Mariupol rejectthe Russian order of surrender

- Military experts believe that Russia and Ukraine will enter a stalemate which could lead to more aerial strikes on the part of the Russians.

- In speech to Israeli Knesset, President Zelensky urges lawmakers to take a stronger stand against Russias actions

- Russia reportedly bombs Mariupol art school sheltering 400 civilians and confirms the use of hypersonic missiles

Russia - Ukraine conflict information

- Putin and many others who support the war in Ukraine have made accusations that the country is full of Nazis. Where do these accusations stem from?

- Can families in the US sponsor Ukrainian refugees?

- Internet access has dropped by 15% in Ukraine. How has Starlink helped?

- What are the key dates for Russia to pay its state bonds?

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The protein galectin-1 has become a key ally in the battle against developing vascular diseases. This has been demonstrated through new research by Spanish scientists from the Jimenez Diaz Foundation Institute for Health Research, together with researchers from the National Scientific and Technical Research Council of Argentina.

The study, published in the journal 'Science', has demonstrated the presence of this protein in healthy aortas. In addition to its capacity to prevent the development of plaques in the arteries it staves off the development of atherosclerosis and abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA). The research, which was carried out on mice, showed that those mice that did not have this protein developed a greater number of plaques, compared to others that did have this protein.

Also see:

Galectin-1 prevents absorption of cholesterol by cells

Raquel Roldan-Montero, one of the main authors of this study and researcher at the Jimenez Diaz Foundation - Autonomous University of Madrid, pointed out the importance of the presence of this protein saying "The data suggest that loss of galectin-1 is associated with the development of vascular disease." The scientists verified through in vitro studies how a type of white blood cell that along with performing essential immune system tasks by killing invasive microorganisms removes dead cells, known as macrophages, that are deficient in galectin-1, absorb more cholesterol, while treatment with this protein prevented cholesterol uptake.

Both AAA and atherosclerosis are characterized by the accumulation of cholesterol and inflammation of cells in the aortic wall. The rupture of atherosclerotic plaques, with the consequent release of their contents, can lead to blood clotting and the formation of thrombi that obstruct blood circulation. According to the authors, pathological vascular remodeling is the main cause of the two aforementioned vascular diseases.

The discovery of this protein represents another step forward for science and medicine in the fight against the development of the most serious cardiovascular diseases, such as heart attack or stroke. Currently, the main indicators for controlling risk factors are high cholesterol or blood glucose levels, arterial hypertension and smoking, among others.

Chest pain, shortness of breath, and palpitations. Even if you have no symptoms, you may still be at risk for #HeartDisease . Learn the potential warning signs and the steps you can take to prevent heart disease: https://t.co/TbygOmzGWB. #HeartHealthy #AmericanHeartMonth pic.twitter.com/IYba1DoNxp  HHS.gov (@HHSGov) February 23, 2022

Galectin-1, characterized by its anti-inflammatory effect

Another of the most outstanding characteristics of this protein is its anti-inflammatory effect in various forms of chronic inflammation, such as multiple sclerosis.

In order to avoid cardiovascular diseases and high cholesterol levels professionals recommend regular physical exercise, limiting the intake of saturated fats, not smoking and a balanced diet.

Cardiovascular diseases are one of the most frequent causes of death in the world, with an average of up to 17.5 million deaths per year. Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States, accounting for one in every four deaths each year.
In the face of profound challenges rarely seen in a century, the international community is struggling to maintain development while tackling deficits in peace and governance.

Guided by "Xiconomics," the economic philosophy of Chinese President Xi Jinping, China is committed to following a development path with distinct Chinese characteristics and pursuing win-win cooperation worldwide. Featuring common prosperity, joint contribution with other nations and a shared future, Xi's vision of development and governance will help bolster global confidence and rally support to address threats and challenges.

Common prosperity

Poverty eradication is one of the greatest global challenges facing the development of the world. It also tests the resolve and capability of China, a country with a population of more than 1.4 billion.

Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, has pointed out that eliminating poverty, improving people's livelihood and achieving common prosperity are essential requirements of socialism.

A moderately prosperous society in all respects "is a society to be enjoyed by each and every one of us; on the march toward common prosperity, no one must be left behind," Xi said when he and other members of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee met reporters in 2017.

By the end of 2020, China had lifted out of poverty all rural residents living below the current poverty line and met the poverty eradication target set out in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development 10 years ahead of schedule -- unprecedented progress in the history of human development.

Koh King Kee, president of Center for New Inclusive Asia, a non-government Malaysian think tank, said poverty reduction is the only way to achieve common prosperity, and China has laid the foundation for it.

Promoting social equity and justice and gradually realizing common prosperity for all are essential parts of Xi's economic thought, said the expert.

Ronnie Lins, director of the China-Brazil Center for Research and Business, said China's actions to create more significant economic and social benefits are mainly reflected in its sincere political will to act in the interests of the poorest.

China's experience in poverty reduction has become a valuable asset in global poverty reduction cooperation.

Richard A. Black, a representative of the Schiller Institute at the United Nations in New York, said China's achievement in poverty alleviation is a "quiet model and powerful inspiration" to the people in Africa, Latin America and much of Asia.

There are currently ongoing catastrophes of mass deaths by war, starvation and economic strangulation by Western sanctions, Black said, adding that "China has proven -- by its actions, not by its words -- an alternative pathway" in terms of poverty reduction.

"We must take a people-centered approach and make global development more equitable, effective and inclusive so that no country will be left behind," President Xi stressed at the 16th G20 Leaders' Summit via video link in 2021.

Xi, at the CPC and World Political Parties Summit via video link last year, also called for particular attention and care for underdeveloped countries and regions and impoverished people.

"Only when countries develop together can there be true development, and only when countries prosper together can there be true prosperity," said Xi, while addressing via video link the opening ceremony of the Second UN Global Sustainable Transport Conference.

Xi has outlined an ambitious blueprint to promote common development, fairness and inclusiveness. In countries and regions eager to lift themselves out of poverty, China-championed economic cooperation has turned forgotten places into hopeful fields.

China has promoted a project to connect 10,000 African villages to a satellite TV network, helping locals access the world outside. China has built railways, highways, airports and ports to help Asian countries accelerate their development. Chinese e-commerce enterprises have been taking root in Latin America and other regions, promoting local digital transformation and joining hands with partners for a shared future.

Joint contribution, shared benefits

"Economic globalization is the trend of the times. Though countercurrents are sure to exist in a river, none could stop it from flowing to the sea," Xi said at the 2022 World Economic Forum (WEF) virtual session.

Xi has repeatedly expressed his firm determination to promote common development and build an open world economy in the face of rising unilateralism. "Development is the right of all countries, rather than an exclusive privilege of the few," Xi said at the CPC and World Political Parties Summit in 2021.

China has been committed to helping other developing countries grow their economy, improve livelihoods, and enhance their independent and sustainable development capacity.

The people-centered approach reflects the fundamental difference between socialism with Chinese characteristics and profit-oriented Western capitalism. Today, the vision put forward by the Chinese leader has been translated into the vivid practice of joint efforts and shared benefits.

Sommad Pholsena, vice president of the National Assembly of Laos, said while China was not the first country to express a willingness to build a railway in Laos, it was the only one to turn it into reality. By the end of 2021, the entire China-Laos Railway was put into operation, a dream come true for railway-craving Laos.

Since the launch of the Belt and Road Initiative, China has made solid progress in building the Jakarta-Bandung High-Speed Railway, the Hungary-Serbia Railway, the Mombasa-Nairobi Railway and the Gwadar Port. It has gradually improved trade and investment liberalization and facilitation to boost the global economy and trade.

"Only with openness, inclusiveness and connectivity can countries reinforce each other's efforts and achieve win-win results," Xi said at the opening ceremony of the Second UN Global Sustainable Transport Conference in 2021, highlighting the essence of openness and win-win cooperation.

With a population of more than 1.4 billion and a middle-income group of over 400 million, China imports about 2.5 trillion U.S. dollars of goods and services every year. Thousands of market entities worldwide rely heavily on the Chinese market, and China's opening-up has attracted global attention.

As the world's first import-themed national fair, the China International Import Expo has been held for four consecutive sessions, fortifying China's commitment to opening-up and sharing opportunities with the rest of the world.

China has shared its growth dividend with the world by opening up its market, said Yana Leksyutina, a St. Petersburg State University professor.

Shared future

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has dealt a heavy blow to the global economy. China has stood with other countries to fight COVID-19 and promote economic recovery, demonstrating a sense of responsibility as a major country and a commitment to building a community with a shared future for humankind.

"Facts have shown once again that amidst the raging torrents of a global crisis, countries are not riding separately in some 190 small boats, but are rather all in a giant ship on which our shared destiny hinges," Xi said at the 2022 WEF virtual session, calling for stronger solidarity.

"We must put people and their lives first," Xi said at the Global Health Summit in 2021, adding that "we must stick together and promote solidarity and cooperation," and "we must uphold fairness and equity to close the immunization gap."

With a strong sense of responsibility for the Chinese people and the international community, China quickly brought the epidemic at home under control to revive its economy and restore production. China was the first country to pledge to make its COVID-19 vaccines a global public good and launch a large-scale global humanitarian campaign. With a reliable supply of goods and efficient cross-border logistics networks, China has built a lifeline in the global fight against COVID-19 and protecting supply chains.

"China has always stuck together with the world through thick and thin," said Cambodian government chief spokesman Phay Siphan.

To achieve a balanced, coordinated and inclusive growth worldwide, Xi proposed the Global Development Initiative at the general debate of the 76th session of the UN General Assembly.

"No country can alone face such universal problems as COVID-19 and economic stagnation. All this just confirms Xi's vision for global governance," said former Egyptian Prime Minister Essam Sharaf.

President Xi's economic thinking has opened up a new horizon for strengthening global governance and promoting world development, said Sharaf.
MOSCOW, March 21 (Xinhua) -- The Russian Foreign Ministry said Monday that it will no longer continue peace treaty negotiations with Japan in response to Tokyo's sanctions against Russia over the situation in Ukraine.

Moscow will also cancel visa-free travel for Japanese citizens to the four disputed Pacific islands, which are known as the Southern Kurils in Russia and the Northern Territories in Japan.

The Russian side is withdrawing from the dialogue with Japan on establishing joint economic activities in these islands, the ministry said in a statement.

Russia will block the extension of Japan's status as a sectoral dialogue partner of the Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation, it added.

Along with Western countries, Japan has imposed economic sanctions on Russia for its special military operation in Ukraine.

Russia and Japan have not signed a post-World War II peace treaty due to their rival claims over the four islands.

Editor: ZAD
Photo taken with a mobile phone shows temporary tents set for rescue efforts at the plane crash site in Tengxian County, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, March 22, 2022. A passenger plane with 132 people aboard crashed in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region on Monday afternoon, the regional emergency management department said. The China Eastern Airlines Boeing 737 aircraft, which departed from Kunming and was bound for Guangzhou, crashed into a mountainous area near the Molang village in Tengxian County in the city of Wuzhou at 2:38 p.m., causing a mountain fire, according to the department. The airline said the cause of the accident will be fully investigated. (Xinhua/Zhou Hua)

NANNING, March 21 (Xinhua) -- A passenger plane with 132 people aboard crashed in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region on Monday afternoon, the regional emergency management department said.

The China Eastern Airlines Boeing 737 aircraft, which departed from Kunming and was bound for Guangzhou, crashed into a mountainous area near the Molang village in Tengxian County in the city of Wuzhou at 2:38 p.m., causing a mountain fire, according to the department.

"I heard the roar of a plane on the other side of the hill. A second later, there was an explosion," a worker near the crash site told Xinhua.

There were 123 passengers and nine crew members aboard flight MU5735, the Civil Aviation Administration of China said on its website. The administration said it has initiated an emergency response mechanism and its working team has arrived in Wuzhou.

Chinese President Xi Jinping has ordered the immediate launch of an emergency response, all-out search and rescue efforts and the proper settlement of the aftermath of the crash.

Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, said in his instruction that he was shocked to learn about the accident.

Xi ordered that swift action be taken to identify the cause of the crash and to strengthen the safety overhaul of the civil aviation sector to ensure the absolute safety of both the sector and people's lives.

On behalf of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council, Vice Premier Liu He, also a member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, and State Councilor Wang Yong have led relevant officials to guide rescue work, the settlement of the aftermath and investigation into the cause of the crash, in Wuzhou.

Villager Chen Weihao was working on a farm when he saw the plane nosedived.

"The plane looked to be in one piece when it nosedived. Within seconds, it crashed," said Chen, adding that the crash site was a gap in a mountain where no residents lived.

Flames from the crash have been extinguished and the rescue operation is underway, said Chen Jie, an official from the regional emergency management department.

The Wuzhou fire brigade has sent 117 firefighters with 23 fire trucks to the site. A further 538 firefighters from other parts of Guangxi have been dispatched to join the rescue efforts, the regional fire department said on its Weibo account.

The neighboring Guangdong Province has dispatched 505 firefighters and 97 vehicles to aid the rescue operation, with the first group already at the scene.

"There is some plane wreckage in a gap in the mountain," a rescue worker at the crash site told Xinhua. "There are pieces of the wings, one of them about 2 or 3 meters. There is other debris, with some probably being pieces of clothing."

Villager Shi Fuxiong said he saw a large pit at the crash site and surrounding trees within dozens of meters had been leveled. "There were many pieces of small debris of the plane and baggage, but no large pieces of wreckage," he said.

The Guangxi regional health commission has dispatched 12 medical experts to the site, and over 80 medical workers and 36 ambulances sent by health authorities in the city of Wuzhou have arrived at the scene.

China Eastern Airlines said that it has initiated an emergency response mechanism. It has established nine special working groups for aircraft disposal, accident investigation, family assistance, logistics support, legal support, public relations, security, financial insurance, and cargo disposal.

The airline said the cause of the accident will be fully investigated.

Boeing China said it is aware of the media reports of the crash and is working to gather more information.

Photo taken with a mobile phone shows pieces of a crashed passenger plane's wreckage found at the crash site in Tengxian County, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, March 22, 2022. A passenger plane with 132 people aboard crashed in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region on Monday afternoon, the regional emergency management department said. The China Eastern Airlines Boeing 737 aircraft, which departed from Kunming and was bound for Guangzhou, crashed into a mountainous area near the Molang village in Tengxian County in the city of Wuzhou at 2:38 p.m., causing a mountain fire, according to the department. The airline said the cause of the accident will be fully investigated. (Xinhua/Zhou Hua)

Photo taken with a mobile phone shows pieces of a crashed passenger plane's wreckage found at the crash site in Tengxian County, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, March 22, 2022. A passenger plane with 132 people aboard crashed in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region on Monday afternoon, the regional emergency management department said. The China Eastern Airlines Boeing 737 aircraft, which departed from Kunming and was bound for Guangzhou, crashed into a mountainous area near the Molang village in Tengxian County in the city of Wuzhou at 2:38 p.m., causing a mountain fire, according to the department. The airline said the cause of the accident will be fully investigated. (Xinhua/Zhou Hua)

Photo taken with a mobile phone shows temporary tents set for rescue efforts at the plane crash site in Tengxian County, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, March 22, 2022. A passenger plane with 132 people aboard crashed in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region on Monday afternoon, the regional emergency management department said. The China Eastern Airlines Boeing 737 aircraft, which departed from Kunming and was bound for Guangzhou, crashed into a mountainous area near the Molang village in Tengxian County in the city of Wuzhou at 2:38 p.m., causing a mountain fire, according to the department. The airline said the cause of the accident will be fully investigated. (Xinhua/Zhou Hua)

Photo taken with a mobile phone shows staff members installing electrical equipment at the plane crash site in Tengxian County, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, March 22, 2022. A passenger plane with 132 people aboard crashed in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region on Monday afternoon, the regional emergency management department said. The China Eastern Airlines Boeing 737 aircraft, which departed from Kunming and was bound for Guangzhou, crashed into a mountainous area near the Molang village in Tengxian County in the city of Wuzhou at 2:38 p.m., causing a mountain fire, according to the department. The airline said the cause of the accident will be fully investigated. (Xinhua/Zhou Hua)

Photo taken with a mobile phone shows pieces of a crashed passenger plane's wreckage found at the crash site in Tengxian County, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, March 22, 2022. A passenger plane with 132 people aboard crashed in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region on Monday afternoon, the regional emergency management department said. The China Eastern Airlines Boeing 737 aircraft, which departed from Kunming and was bound for Guangzhou, crashed into a mountainous area near the Molang village in Tengxian County in the city of Wuzhou at 2:38 p.m., causing a mountain fire, according to the department. The airline said the cause of the accident will be fully investigated. (Xinhua/Zhou Hua)

Photo taken with a mobile phone shows pieces of a crashed passenger plane's wreckage found at the crash site in Tengxian County, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, March 21, 2022. A passenger plane with 132 people aboard crashed in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region Monday afternoon, said the regional emergency management department. The Civil Aviation Administration of China said it has initiated the emergency response mechanism and dispatched a working team to the site. (Xinhua)

Rescuers set out to the plane crash site of Tengxian County, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, March 21, 2022. A passenger plane with 132 people aboard crashed in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region Monday afternoon, said the regional emergency management department. (Xinhua)

Photo taken with a mobile phone shows the plane crash site in Tengxian County, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, March 21, 2022. A passenger plane with 132 people aboard crashed in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region Monday afternoon, said the regional emergency management department. (Xinhua)

Photo taken with a mobile phone shows a police officer conducting search and rescue work around the plane crash site in Tengxian County, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, March 21, 2022. A passenger plane with 132 people aboard crashed in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region Monday afternoon, said the regional emergency management department. (Xinhua)

Photo taken with a mobile phone shows rescuers conducting search and rescue work around the plane crash site in Tengxian County, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, March 21, 2022. A passenger plane with 132 people aboard crashed in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region Monday afternoon, said the regional emergency management department. (Xinhua)

Photo taken with a mobile phone shows rescuers conducting search and rescue work around the plane crash site in Tengxian County, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, March 21, 2022. A passenger plane with 132 people aboard crashed in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region Monday afternoon, said the regional emergency management department. (Xinhua)

Editor: WRX
The Azerbaijani office of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) continues to support the efforts of the Azerbaijani government to evacuate citizens in the context of the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, the press service of the IOM Azerbaijan office has said.



Thanks to the well-coordinated work of IOM staff and cooperation with the Azerbaijani government, another 69 Azerbaijani citizens who crossed from Ukraine to the Polish city of Katowice were sent by bus to Bucharest. As soon as they arrive in Bucharest, Azerbaijani officials will organize their evacuation to Baku.

Some 123 people evacuated from Poland with the support of IOM have already returned to their homeland.




BEIJING, March 21 (Xinhua) -- Chinese scientists have discovered that brown carbon released by wildfires has made a bigger contribution to global warming than previously thought, warning that such warming could lead to even more wildfires in the future.

The study published on Saturday in the journal One Earth describes how the carbon caused by burning biomass in the northern hemisphere is accelerating warming in the Arctic.

"Observational analyses and numerical simulations show that the warming effect of brown carbon aerosols over the Arctic is up to about 30 percent of that of black carbon," said the paper's senior author Fu Pingqing, an atmospheric chemist at Tianjin University.

Over the past 50 years, the Arctic has been warming at a rate three times that of the rest of the planet, and it appears that wildfires are helping to drive this discrepancy, the researchers said.

They found that brown carbon from burning biomass was responsible for at least twice as much warming as brown carbon from fossil-fuel burning, according to the study.

In 2017, the Chinese icebreaker vessel Xuelong headed for the Arctic Ocean to examine which aerosols were floating around in the pristine Arctic air and to identify their sources.

The scientists on the vessel investigated how brown carbon was affecting the climate compared to the denser black carbon from high-temperature fossil-fuel burning.

Blazing wildfires are accompanied by vast plumes of brown smoke, made up of particles of brown carbon suspended in the air. Like black carbon and carbon dioxide, brown carbon warms the planet by absorbing solar radiation, according to the study.

"Increased wildfire events will emit more brown carbon aerosols, further heating the earth, thus making wildfires more frequent," said Fu.

"Our findings highlight just how important it is to control wildfires," Fu added.

Editor: ZAD
WASHINGTON, March 22 (Xinhua) -- An off-duty police officer accused of putting his knee on a 12-year-old girl's neck to restrain her amid a lunchtime fight in Kenosha in the Midwest U.S. state of Wisconsin, is under investigation, NBC has reported, citing the city's police department.

The surveillance footage released on Friday by Kenosha Unified School District shows that Kenosha officer Shawn Guetschow, who was working as a security guard at the school, intervening in a fight on March 4 by placing his knee on the girl's neck for half a minute to subdue her, NBC reported on Tuesday.

Jerrel Perez, the girl's father, has called for criminal charges against Guetschow for using a type of restraint that was banned for Wisconsin law enforcement officers last year. Perez said his daughter is in therapy and seeing a neurologist for her injuries.

Guetschow resigned from his security guard post with the school on Tuesday, but remains employed by the city police force, Kenosha Police Department tweeted.

Editor: WPY
SUVA, March 22 (Xinhua) -- New Zealand Minister of Defence Peeni Henare and Fijian Minister for Defence, National Security and Policing Inia Seruiratu met on Tuesday to discuss issues on maritime safety and security in the region.

Henare, who arrived in Fiji on Monday, told a media briefing that New Zealand is keen to work with Fiji in maritime security and there is a need for the forces of the two countries to work together.

Seruiratu noted Henare's visit to Fiji has reaffirmed their shared commitment to improving security in the region, saying human assistance and disaster relief are key components of their discussions.

He added that they also discussed New Zealand's support for Fiji in developing a maritime security strategy.

Henare will visit Australia after leaving Fiji.

Editor: WPY
Ukraine will continue gas transit as long as it is technically possible - Naftogaz head

Ukraine will continue to transit Russian natural gas as long as it is technically possible, but proposes to freeze funds from its sale on escrow accounts until the withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukraine, head of the board of NJSC Naftogaz Ukrainy Yuriy Vitrenko said to Bloomberg.

"At the moment, it has been decided that as long as it is technically possible, we will continue the transit of Russian gas," he said.

Vitrenko noted that he could not disclose the details of political discussions with the president, with Russia, with the European Union, but as the general director of the company, he must ensure uninterrupted transit, as long as there are technical possibilities for this.

He pointed out that Russian troops in Ukraine are very cautious about the transit gas infrastructure, although they do not spare the distribution infrastructure.

"Therefore, it is obvious to us that they do not want to damage their own commercial interests and their commercial relations," Vitrenko stated.

According to him, there were attempts by Russia to interfere in the operation of three compressor stations in eastern Ukraine, but after warning about the risks of such actions for transit, "Russian troops began to behave differently."

"But they are still nearby, so the situation is far from normal," the official said.

He confirmed that the Ukrainian side currently fully controls gas transit, and Gazprom uses the contracted capacity.
The fighting of the Russian army provoked a fire at the production plant Plast-box Ukraine LLC (Chernihiv), owned by Plast-Box S.A., the Polish company for the processing of artificial materials.

"As a result of the fire, the production hall, warehouse and offices were destroyed," the company said on the Warsaw Stock Exchange, where its shares are listed.

Due to the ongoing hostilities in the vicinity of the plant, it is currently not possible to accurately assess the losses, the company said and promises to publish a separate report immediately after determining the size of the losses and their impact on the group's activities.

Earlier, on the very first day of the war started by Russia  February 24, the Polish company announced the temporary cessation of the production activities of the Ukrainian enterprise in Chernihiv and the measures taken to ensure the safety of employees and property of the company.

The revenue of Plast-box Ukraine LLC in January-September 2021 grew by 32.4% compared to the same period last year, to UAH 365.6 million, and net profit doubled to UAH 29.66 million. The company employed about 130 people.

Plast-Box, according to the information on its website, started as a family business and over time has become one of the leading manufacturers of plastic buckets in Europe. It also specializes in providing high quality packaging for the food and chemical industries. The company has three factories  two in Poland and one in Ukraine. Since 2004, its shares have been listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange.
As a result of the war unleashed by the Russian Federation, more than 3 million Ukrainians are forced to leave for European countries, 11-12 million people have become internally displaced persons (IDPs), adviser to the President's Office head Mykhailo Podoliak said.

"3M+ Ukrainians are forced to flee to European countries. In total, 11-12M IDPs are forced to leave their cities being destroyed by Russian artillery. Just be aware of this figure. Russia destroys the lives of millions of people. Is this not a global humanitarian catastrophe yet?" Podoliak said on Twitter on Monday.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky said that a ceasefire, the withdrawal of Russian troops and the provision of security guarantees to Ukraine would be a compromise for all sides.

"People, if they want to end the war: cease fire, withdraw troops. The presidents met, agreed that the troops should be withdrawn, that there are certain security guarantees, that compromises can be found, that there are certain guarantors of our security. They [the guarantors] should say that they take Ukraine into NATO and not play with it anymore or say that they are not taking it now [Ukraine], which is true. And they themselves understand that they do not want to fight with Russia and therefore they us and they do not take it And we need to calm down with this and say: 'Okay, other guarantees," Zelensky said in an interview with public broadcasters in a number of European countries.

"There are NATO member countries that want to be guarantors that cannot provide us with 100% membership in the Alliance, but are ready to do everything that the Alliance would have to do if we were its members. And I believe that It's a normal compromise," he added.

According to the President, such a compromise would be suitable for all parties.

"It is a compromise for everyone. For the West, which does not know what to do with us with regard to NATO, for Ukraine, which wants security guarantees, and for Russia, which does not want to further NATO expansion. And a compromise needs to be found in this, as this will be the point at ending the war," Zelensky said.

At the same time, as the president said, Russia's presentation of ultimatums will lead to nothing.

"There is no need to throw loud phrases to Russia [Ukraine]. They will lead nowhere. They say we [Russia] have an ultimatum, carry it out and then we will end the war. This is wrong and will lead to nothing. The question is not in me. In Ukraine, the people and the authorities are united. We all will not be able to do this [to fulfill ultimatums]... We have lost people. Well, how can you give an ultimatum? We need to destroy us all and then their ultimatum will be automatically fulfilled," he said.

"For example: give us Kharkiv, Mariupol, Kyiv. Neither Kharkiv, nor Mariupol, nor Kyiv, nor the president will be able to do this. And we see this even in the occupied cities - in Melitopol, in Berdiansk. When they [Russians] came, people did not give them back [the land]. They raise the flag, people came to take it off at night... Well, what do you want? We can only fulfill the ultimatum when we are gone. That is, you can automatically capture the city, but you will live there yourself, to work on their own, because people will either leave the city, and those who cannot will fight to the last," Zelensky said.

According to him, "an ultimatum is a bad thing that leads to genocide and the destruction of the Ukrainian people."
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky said the format of a compromise with Russia should be approved in a referendum. In an interview with public broadcasters in a number of European countries on Monday, he said that "in matters of security guarantees, we will talk about constitutional changes, changes in legislation."

"And if we talk about it, it will be decided not only by the president, but by the Verkhovna Rada and the people of Ukraine," Zelensky said.

According to him, "in all these negotiations, when we talk about changes that can be historic, we will not go anywhere, we will come to a referendum." "The people will have to say and give an answer to certain formats of compromises. And what they will be is the result of a conversation between Ukraine and Russia," Zelensky said.

Answering a question about the motives for the compromises, Zelensky said: "At 07.00 I speak with the commander-in-chief and sort out where and whom we have lost, children, soldiers, how many under the rubble. In order to draw conclusions about certain compromises, I want to be in the place of those people who are very ill now, who are in Mariupol or in the basement. If it hurts me as much as they do... the only way I can be adequate, making certain decisions."
Peace and security in Hungary cannot be guaranteed without peace and security in Ukraine, Spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Oleh Nikolenko said in response to a statement by Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto that Hungary would not support EU sanctions against Russia in the energy sector, opposes the no-fly zone over Ukraine and the peacekeeping mission.

"Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto notes the need to avoid the spread of the war over the territory of Ukraine and the direct conflict between NATO and Russia. In his opinion, in order not to provoke Russia, Hungary should not support the closure of the Ukrainian skies and the deployment of a peacekeeping operation, as well as allow transit through the Hungarian territory of military assistance for the Ukrainian army," Nikolenko told Interfax-Ukraine on Tuesday.

He said that "not to provoke Russia" is a common argument when it is necessary to give Russia more space for aggression.

"Surely, we do not wish anyone the grief that the Ukrainians faced because of the Russian war. At the same time, it is a mistake to believe that Hungary, like any other European country, exists in a vacuum. Our state is now actually protecting the eastern border NATO. If Russia manages to achieve its criminal goals in Ukraine, our neighbors will become the next target. Russian ambassadors abroad are now openly talking about this," the Foreign Ministry spokesman said.

According to him, evidence appeared on Monday that the FSB of Russia is trying to undermine the situation in Transcarpathia, using the Hungarian factor.

"Hungary has always positioned itself as a defender of the rights of Hungarians abroad. We call on Hungary to openly condemn this Russian provocation and use its well-developed channels of communication with Moscow to prevent any provocations with the aim of inciting interethnic hatred in Ukraine. It's time to be honest with ourselves. It is useless to hope that that attempts to appease the aggressor will be successful. This is proven by history, including Hungary itself," Nikolenko said.

The spokesperson of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said that, therefore, partners should make sure that Ukraine survives and defeats the Russian evil.

"In order to do this, we need to strengthen European unity. A unity that will allow more severe sanctions against Russia to stop its war machine," Nikolenko said.
Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett has accepted an invitation from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to visit the country on the condition that Kyiv makes significant progress in ceasefire talks with Russia, Israel's Ynet news reported

According to the publication, Bennett has already asked the country's security service to begin preparations for his possible visit to Kyiv.

"In order to advance the negotiations, it is clear that in-person meetings are necessary. And they may happen down the road if negotiations reach a tipping point," a source involved in the talks with the Ukrainians told Ynet.

"However, some security officials have expressed their misgivings about the risks entailed in the prime minister going into an active war zone, especially after a Russian bombing of the city killed at least eight people on Monday," the report says.

"According to sources familiar with the matter, Zelensky and Ukrainian government officials have been pursuing a Bennett visit to Kyiv for the past ten days as they believe the visit would help expedite ceasefire talks with Moscow," according to the edition.

Earlier this month, the Israeli prime minister visited Moscow to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in the Kremlin.
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has sent a letter to U.S. President Joe Biden, Azertag reported on March 22.

"Dear Mr. President,

Thank you very much for your congratulatory letter and kind words on the occasion of Novruz.

As you mentioned, this year we celebrate a significant anniversary  the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the Republic of Azerbaijan and the United States of America. I congratulate you on this occasion and convey my sincerest wishes to the friendly people of America.

I am pleased to note that over the past 30 years, successful bilateral relations have been established between our countries. During this period, our multifaceted fruitful activity has been accompanied by mutual investment and the active involvement of hundreds of companies representing your country in the economic life of Azerbaijan.

The joint efforts of Azerbaijan and the United States to address important issues on a multilateral basis, as well as bilaterally, are truly commendable. In this regard, energy security, international security and the fight against terrorism are among the leading areas that characterize our partnership. We appreciate the consistent support provided by the United States in the development of rich energy resources in the Azerbaijani sector of the Caspian Sea and the implementation of large-scale transnational energy projects, which are of great importance for ensuring global energy security.

Along with the United States, Azerbaijan has proved to be a reliable partner in the fight against international terrorism and its various manifestations. Our country's close cooperation with the United States within the framework of NATO's Resolute Support Mission in Afghanistan is a clear demonstration of our contribution to international peace and security.

Dear Mr. President,

Today, the Republic of Azerbaijan is a state pursuing an independent policy based on the will and interests of its people. The liberation of Azerbaijan's historical lands put an end to almost 30 years of Armenia's military aggression against Azerbaijan, as our country implemented the relevant UN Security Council resolutions that had remained on paper for almost 30 years. As a supporter of peace, we are ready to start negotiations on a peace agreement with Armenia on the basis of fundamental principles of international law, such as the territorial integrity, sovereignty and inviolability of the internationally recognized borders of our country. We do hope that the United States will support Azerbaijan's peace agenda based on a vision for the future.

Post-conflict restoration and reconstruction work is currently underway in our liberated lands. We would be pleased to see US companies involvement in this process.

I believe that as friends and partners, we will continue to make joint efforts to further develop our cooperation in all areas, which has significant potential for the benefit of our countries and the well-being of our peoples.

Taking this opportunity, I wish you the best of health, success in your endeavors, and the friendly people of America lasting peace and prosperity," the letter said.
Russian troops did not enter Dnipropetrovsk region, two settlements on the border with Kherson region were shelled, Head of the regional military administration Valentyn Reznichenko said.

"The night and the morning are alarming. They fired at two settlements on the border with Kherson region. There is destruction. There are no dead. Enemy troops did not enter Dnipropetrovsk region," he said in a Telegram channel.
Over past day, occupiers shell 11 settlements of Donetsk region, there are killed, wounded, including children  National Police

Over the past 24 hours, Russian occupiers shelled 11 settlements in Donetsk region, damaged houses, a school, a kindergarten, a church, there are killed and wounded people, according to the National Police of Ukraine.

"During the day, 11 settlements of Donetsk region were shelled by Russians. As a result of the strikes, at least 43 civilian facilities were damaged, including residential buildings, a school, a kindergarten, a church. There are dead and wounded civilians, including children," the the National Police said in the Telegram channel.

According to the police, Mariupol, Avdiyivka, Maryinka, Krasnohorivka, Slovyansk, Kostantynivka, Pokrovsk, Novhorodske, New York, Hostre, Ocheretyne were under fire from the invaders.

"This morning, March 22, at about 06.30, Russian troops launched a missile attack on Druzhkivka. There are victims," the police said.

The National Police said the enemy was shelling the civilian population from aviation, missile launchers and heavy artillery.

"The police opened criminal proceedings under Article 438 (violation of the laws and customs of war) and Article 110 (encroachment on the territorial integrity and inviolability of Ukraine) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine," the police said.
Russian-occupation forces launched a missile attack on Rivne region on Monday, Head of Rivne regional military administration Vitaliy Koval has said.

"Today, during the seventh air raid in Rivne region, four missile strikes were recorded from the air. Our Armed Forces coped with the missiles. The fourth one... Possible damage, destruction and losses are being specified," Koval said in a video statement in the Telegram channel.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky called on parliamentarians and the people of Italy to support a complete embargo for Russia, including oil.

"The people of Italy! You know the Ukrainians well. Our people, who never wanted to fight, who are as European as you are. You know those who brought war to Ukraine. You clearly know those who order to fight and those who propagate this. Almost all of them use Italy as a holiday destination. So don't be a killer resort. Freeze all their properties, accounts, yachts. Freeze the assets of everyone who has influence - let them use them for peace. Support sanctions against Russia, a complete embargo on trade, starting with oil," Zelensky urged in an address to the Italian parliament.

He also called on Italians to support a ban on Russian ships from entering Italian ports, as well as the imposition of sanctions against Russian banks.

"For them to feel the cost of their aggression. There should be no exceptions from the sanctions regime for any of the Russian banks ... Help us stop the killings and save Ukrainian families. This war must be stopped as soon as possible, peace should be returned and enemy troops removed from Ukraine, it is necessary to carry out demining and rebuild the country. Together with you, together with Italy, together with all of Europe, together in the European Union," the president said.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky and Pope Francis discussed the humanitarian situation and the blocking of "green corridors" by Russian troops, Ukraine would welcome the mediating role of the Holy See in ending human suffering.

"I spoke with Pope Francis. I told His Holiness about the difficult humanitarian situation and the blocking of rescue corridors by Russian troops. We would welcome the mediating role of the Holy See in ending human suffering. I thanked for the prayers for Ukraine and the world," Zelensky wrote on Twitter on Tuesday.
The European Commission has launched the European Research Area for Ukraine (ERA4Ukraine) portal, a single point of information and support services for Ukrainian researchers forced to leave Ukraine because of the war waged by Russia.

The portal brings together initiatives at the level of the EU, countries and non-governmental groups, the European Commission said in a statement released in Brussels on Tuesday. It aims to help affected researchers find housing and employment opportunities, facilitate the recognition of their diplomas and offer other services, the EC detailed.

The announcement also notes that the ERA4Ukraine portal has been launched on the already existing EURAXESS network, which supports researchers by bringing together more than 600 centers and 43 national portals in EU member states and countries associated with Horizon Europe.

All information will soon be available in English and Ukrainian. Each member state and associated country has a national portal where support services are listed in a structured way. There are currently 30 portals available, the press release specified.

"We support Ukrainian scientists and innovators who are facing unprecedented circumstances as a result of the Russian invasion of their country. Ukrainian scientists and researchers have made key contributions to EU research and innovation. Pending the ratification of Ukraine's association with Horizon Europe, we have ensured that successful beneficiaries can already receive funding from EU research and innovation programs. Today's launch of ERA4Ukraine is another important action in support of our Ukrainian colleagues," Mariya Gabriel, the European Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth, said, commenting on the initiative.
Some 18 Canadian companies and organizations, including the National Bank of Canada, Bombardier, Broccolini, KPMG and others, have teamed up to resettle 1,000 families of Ukrainian refugees in the near future, according to a press release from the music and media company Stingray (Montreal, Canada).

"As we watched the conflict unfold and witnessed the forced displacement of millions of Ukrainians, we could not stand by without doing our part. We are impressed by the quick response, active participation of businesses, and interest of all levels of government in making this initiative a reality. Together, we hope to welcome up to 1,000 Ukrainian families, starting in the coming weeks," President, Co-Founder and CEO of Stingray Eric Boyko said.

"These companies have agreed to welcome up to 80 families each, ensuring that they are well looked after throughout the process. While responding to labor needs, these companies are offering newcomers work, access to lodging, and means of subsistence while preserving these families' dignity throughout this challenging ordeal," the report says.
Ukraine's Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for Human Rights Liudmyla Denisova says that women and children are forcibly taken from the temporarily occupied territories of Donetsk and Luhansk regions to Russia.

"From the territories of Donetsk and Luhansk regions temporarily occupied by the enemy, women and children are forcibly taken out to the territory of Russia. In settlements, which include Russian troops, so-called 'humanitarian corridors' are organized for residents to be taken to the aggressor country. Women, children, elderly people are searched, Ukrainian documents, phones are taken away and sent to the border regions of Russia. There they are placed in concentration camps with subsequent transfer to the depressive regions of Russia for settlements," Denisova said in the Telegram channel.

According to her, people were left without means of communication with their relatives, often without food, basic necessities.

"Currently, there is no data on the number of deported persons. The office of the Prosecutor General is conducting a pretrial investigation into the illegal removal of 2,389 children from the occupied territories of Donbas to Russia. But the Russian press, which is prone to distorting reality in the direction of exaggerating the achievements of the invaders, notes 206,000 IDPs from Donbass," she said.

The ombudsman said that attempts by the Russian side to create similar "humanitarian borders" to the occupying country were recorded in Kharkiv, Chernihiv, Sumy and Kyiv regions.

"The fate of the people who were forcibly taken out is unknown," she said.

Denisova said such actions by the aggressor state qualify as kidnapping, which is a war crime and a direct violation of articles 3 and 34 of the Geneva Convention for the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, article 9 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and article 5 of the European Convention on Human Rights person.

"I appeal to the international community to take into account the terrorist activities of the troops of the aggressor state when determining the boundaries of sanctions pressure on the Russian Federation," she said.

The ombudsman also called on the citizens of Ukraine not to trust the occupiers, but to use exclusively agreed humanitarian corridors for evacuation, announced on the pages of the Ukrainian authorities.
Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi said that Italy wants Ukraine to join the European Union.

"In recent weeks, it has been emphasized that the process of joining the European Union is a long one and consists of reforms necessary to ensure a functioning integration. I want to tell President Zelensky that Italy is in this process next to Ukraine. Italy wants Ukraine to join the European Union," Draghi said after a speech by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the Italian Parliament on Tuesday.

He stressed that from the very beginning of the war, Italy admired the courage, determination and patriotism of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and the citizens of Ukraine.

"Today, Ukraine is not just defending itself. It is defending our peace, our freedom, our security. It is defending this multilateral order based on the rules and rights that we painstakingly created after the war. Italy is deeply grateful to you," Draghi said.

According to him, since the beginning of the war, Italy has received more than 60,000 refugees from Ukraine, mostly women and minors. Draghi assured that Italy will continue to do so thanks to the tireless work and high professionalism of the regions, municipalities, civil protection, religious organizations, and all volunteers.
On Tuesday, March 22, Russian troops fired artillery at Brovary (Kyiv region), a shell hit the territory of one of the factories, damaging 7 buses and outbuildings, the Kyiv regional prosecutor's office has reported.

"According to the investigators, on March 22, 2022, the armed forces of the Russian Federation used artillery to shell of the town of Brovary, Kyiv region. A shell hit the territory of one of the factories, damaging 7 buses and outbuildings," the message on Facebook said.

According to preliminary data, no casualties are reported.

The Brovary district prosecutor's office provides procedural guidance for criminal proceedings over violation of rules of the warfare (Article 438 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).
Aviation industry sets target to welcome 43 million passengers

Vietnams aviation industry is targeting about 43 million passengers in 2022, including eight million international tourists, or around 50 percent of pre-pandemic numbers, according to the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam.













Airlines increase flights to welcome back international tourists. (Photo: VNA)

The International Air Transport Association expects global passenger demand to reach 61 per cent of the pre-crisis levels this year.



Bamboo Airways this month launched new routes from Hanoi and HCM City to Melbourne and Hanoi to Frankfurt. The budget carrier plans to expand the number of its international routes to 40 in the future.



It will also launch the Hanoi-London and the HCM City-Sydney routes from today (March 22) with two weekly flights.



In Northeast Asia, Bamboo Airways increased its frequency to two weekly flights on each of the Hanoi-Tokyo, Hanoi-Taipei (Taiwan, China), and Hanoi-Incheon (Republic of Korea) routes.



It will soon open flights between HCM City and Japan, Taipei and the RoK and has begun selling tickets for the HCM City-Bangkok and HCM City-Singapore flights this month.



The national flag carrier Vietnam Airlines said it would operate 97 flights each week from late March, adding it will resume regular services from Singapore to Da Nang with three weekly flights and one weekly flight from tourist beach cities of Phu Quoc and Nha Trang to Singapore each from April 15.



Early July, the carrier will resume its services to China with six flights a week and Indonesia with three.



It also plans to reopen commercial flights connecting Da Nang and Nha Trang, Japan and the RoK, raising the number of international flights to 160.



The Vietnamese Government on March 15 issued a resolution on visa waivers for citizens from 13 countries: Germany, France, Italy, Spain, the UK, Russia, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland, and Belarus.



These citizens will enjoy 15 days of visa-free travel in Vietnam beginning from their entry date regardless of their kind of passport and entry purpose, based on satisfying all conditions as prescribed by Vietnamese law.



The resolution will stay in effect for three years until at least March 14, 2025, with a renewal to be reviewed by authorities.



According to the Ministry of Health, travellers entering Vietnam via air routes (except for children under two years old) only need to present proof of negative SARS-CoV-2 tests done within 72 hours before departure in cases of RT-PCR/RT-LAMP or within 24 hours in cases of rapid antigen tests.



The results must be certified by relevant authorities of the country where the tests are conducted.



Those entering via road, sea, and rail will be subject to the same requirements if their travel time is short.



However, those who plan to make a long trip will need to undergo testing at border gates before entering Vietnam. If the tests are positive, they must follow the guidelines of the health ministry.



No COVID-19 testing and mandatory quarantine is required for air travellers after their arrival. However, they must make a health declaration before departure and install the PC-COVID app./.
Azerbaijani Deputy Foreign Minister Elnur Mammadov and Pakistani Defence Production Minister, Joint Azerbaijan-Pakistan Commission Co-Chair Zobaida Jalal have met as part of Mammadov's visit to Pakistan to attend the 48th Session of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Islamabad, the Foreign Ministry has reported.

Mammadov noted that June 2022 would mark the 30th anniversary of establishing diplomatic relations between Azerbaijan and Pakistan and would see a number of events on this occasion. Speaking of the sincere relations between the two countries, the deputy minister outlined the role of the leadership of both countries in developing relations in all areas.

The importance of further expanding trade and economic ties between the two countries, as well as the activities of the Joint Intergovernmental Commission, meetings of joint working groups and direct flights was addressed.

Speaking on the high-level relations between the two countries, Zobaida Jalal expressed confidence that the ties will continue to expand in all areas.

On the same day, Elnur Mammadov met with Indonesian Deputy Foreign Minister, Director-General for Asian, Pacific and African Affairs, Abdul Kadir Jailani.

During the meeting, Mammadov talked about the Azerbaijan-Indonesia relations and thanked the Indonesian government for supporting Azerbaijan during the 44-day second Karabakh war. He emphasized the significance of further developing bilateral relations in all areas, as well as expanding cooperation within international organizations.

Jailani touched upon relations between the two countries and expressed interest in further expanding relations. Noting that Azerbaijan has successfully chaired the Non-Aligned Movement, the deputy minister has congratulated the Government of Azerbaijan on this occasion.

The sides exchanged views on the celebration of the 30th anniversary of establishing diplomatic relations between the two countries and discussed other issues of mutual interest.




Russian occupiers continue to violate the agreements on the agreed "green corridors."

According to the press service of Kharkiv Regional Military Administration, this was stated by the administration head, Oleh Synehubov, on the air of the telethon, talking about the release from Russian captivity of five drivers and one medical worker who transported humanitarian aid to Vovchansk.

"I want to emphasize that the cars were driving along a previously agreed route  we agreed on a 'green corridor' with the delivery of humanitarian aid to Vovchansk. But our people were stopped in the village of Kutuzovka in the direction of Vovchansk," the press service quotes Synehubov.

According to him, the occupiers seized all cars and humanitarian aid, and people were held captive for about a day at a recreation center where Russian troops are temporarily deployed, after which they were sent on foot towards Kharkiv.

"When the drivers and the medical worker approached the Ukrainian checkpoint, our soldiers recognized them and handed them over to medical workers to provide first aid," Synehubov said.

According to the victims, the invaders accused them of sabotage and forced them to check the humanitarian cargo for signs of poisoning.

"We were in constant communication for days with the President's Office and with Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Reintegration of the Temporarily Occupied Territories of Ukraine Iryna Vereschuk, who was actively involved in the issue. It is impressive that immediately upon their return, all our heroes said as one: they are again ready to go either in the same direction or in any other direction in order to deliver cargo to all those in need," Synehubov said.

As reported, on March 20, a convoy of a humanitarian convoy headed for Vovchansk, Kharkiv region, but contact with the drivers and the medical worker was lost shortly after they entered the temporarily uncontrolled territory. On the morning of March 21, Roman Semenukha, deputy head of Kharkiv Regional Military Administration, said that all six returned "alive and motivated to fight for Ukraine further."
Some 20 residential buildings damaged in heavy artillery shelling of village in Kryvy Rih district, one injured  prosecutor's office

Enemy troops continue shelling Kryvy Rih district of Dnipropetrovsk region, more than 20 residential buildings have been damaged in the morning shelling, one person was hospitalized, the Dnipropetrovsk Regional Prosecutor's Office has reported.

"According to the investigators, on March 22, 2022, the armed forces of the Russian Federation shelled the village of Mala Kostromka, Kryvy Rih district, Dnipropetrovsk region, for an hour using heavy rocket artillery. More than 20 residential houses were damaged in the shelling by the Grad multiple launch rocket system, in one of which there were four children," the Facebook post said.

According to preliminary data, one person was hospitalized with shrapnel wounds.

Full information about the victims and damaged infrastructure is being specified. There are no military installations in this territory.

The Dnipropetrovsk Regional Prosecutor's Office provides procedural guidance for criminal proceedings over violation of the rules of the warfare (Part 1, Article 438 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).
Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi on Tuesday called for Ukraine's entry into the European Union.

"We want to give Ukraine a path towards rapprochement with Europe. I want to tell President Zelensky that Italy supports his country on this path. Italy wants Ukraine to be in the EU," Draghi, whose statement was published on the Italian government's Twitter page, said.

The prime minister promised support to Ukrainian refugees and military assistance to Ukraine.

Earlier on Tuesday, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky, in an address to the Italian Parliament, warned, in particular, of the danger of food shortages in various countries due to Russian aggression against Ukraine. The President of Ukraine also called on parliamentarians and the people of Italy to support a complete embargo on Russia, including oil.
Until the end of martial law, the Government of Ukraine will provide, free of charge, sets of long-term storage food products to the population of regions where active hostilities against Russian invaders are being waged.

The Cabinet of Ministers adopted the corresponding resolution No. 328 at a meeting on March 20.

According to the decree, the Ministry of Economy is authorized to establish the volume of purchases of foodstuffs and packaging for their packaging based on ten million people for subsequent gratuitous distribution to the population. Also, the department will be able to approve the composition and volume of food packages and determine the regional military administrations that will receive the specified food assistance.

The document also instructs the regional military administrations to ensure the processing of grain into flour and cereals at the enterprises of the region with compensation to their owners for the costs incurred, as well as to distribute food kits on their own territory.

"When distributing food products to the population free of charge, ensure the issuance of the established volumes per person, in the volumes specified in the appendix, with a tolerance of +/-20%," the document prescribes.

In turn, the Ministry of Infrastructure of Ukraine, JSC Ukrzaliznytsia and Ukrposhta must deliver the appropriate food rations for the population of the territories from the combat zones free of charge.

As reported, by March 4, already 130 Ukrainian food producers and business representatives have united to produce 1 million food packages for people from vulnerable categories due to the Russian invasion, Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food Roman Leschenko said.

On February 28, the Ministry of Social Policy announced the production by Ukrainian food producers of 1 million food packages for people with disabilities, elderly people living alone, families with many children, persons from low-mobility categories and social institutions.

Regional social services will ensure the collection of needs and the delivery of products to recipients.

The sets consist of a variety of cereals, ready-made dry breakfasts, canned meat, meat and vegetable tinned products, pasta, sugar, condensed milk, butter, and various types of packaged biscuits.
Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias plans to personally accompany a humanitarian mission to Mariupol, Greek media reported on Tuesday.

"I plan to accompany the mission in person in coordination with the head of the International Committee of the Red Cross, Peter Maurer, with whom we are already in contact," Dendias said. He also sent an official note with a request for assistance to the Ukrainian side and a note with a request not to interfere with the sending of humanitarian aid to the Russian side.

The Greek Foreign Minister held a conversation about the situation of the civilian population in the city with Consul General of Greece in Mariupol Manolis Androulakis, who arrived in Greece on Sunday.

Tens of thousands of ethnic Greeks live in Mariupol, and therefore Athens seeks to help him.

On Monday, Dendias delivered a speech to the EU Foreign Affairs Council, in which he noted the need to protect civilians. He also discussed the topic with the head of EU diplomacy, Josep Borrell.
The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) has documented 2,510 civilian casualties (2,421 a day before) in the country, including 953 (925) killed (from February 24 when the Russia invaded Ukraine to 24:00 midnight on March 21, 2022 (local time).

"OHCHR believes that the actual figures are considerably higher, especially in Government-controlled territory and especially in recent days, as the receipt of information from some locations where intense hostilities have been going on has been delayed and many reports are still pending corroboration," the UN said in the document.

According to him, this applies, for example, to Izium (Kharkiv region), and Mariupol and Volnovakha (Donetsk region), Severodonetsk and Rubizhne (Luhansk region), Trostianets (Sumy region), where there are allegations of hundreds of civilian casualties. These figures are being further corroborated and are not included in the above statistics.

"Most of the civilian casualties recorded were caused by the use of explosive weapons with a wide impact area, including shelling from heavy artillery and multi-launch rocket systems, and missile and air strikes," the UN said in the report.

According to confirmed UN data, some 192 men, some 142 women, 26 boys and 12 girls killed, while the sex of 40 children and 541 adults has not yet been known.

Among the 1,557 injured, some 23 girls and 19 boys, as well as 63 children, whose sex is yet unknown.

Compared to the previous day, three children were killed, and six more children were wounded, according to the UN.

OHCHR said that in Donetsk and Luhansk regions, as of midnight March 22, there were 216 (201) dead and 611 (571) injured in government-controlled territory, and 55 (55) dead and 196 (190) injured in territory controlled by self-proclaimed "republics."

In other regions of Ukraine under government control (Kyiv, as well as in Zhytomyr, Zaporizhia, Kyiv, Sumy, Odesa, Mykolaiv, Kharkiv, Kherson, Dnipropetrovsk, Cherkasy and Chernihiv regions), the UN recorded 682 (669) killed and 750 (735) wounded.

OHCHR also notes the report of the Head of the Investigative Department of the National Police of Kharkiv region, according to which as of 6 p.m. (local time) 21 March, 280 civilians had been killed in the region, including 15 children.

An increase in figures in this update compared with the previous update (as of 24:00 midnight on 20 March 2022 local time) should not be attributed to civilian casualties that occurred on 21 March only, as during the day OHCHR also corroborated casualties that occurred on previous days.
On Monday, March 21, Russian occupiers released journalist Viktoria Roschyna from captivity, hromadske reports.

"Several hours ago, pro-Russian media and Telegram channels began to distribute a video in which Viktoria Roschyna denies her claims to the Russian services holding her captive and says that they allegedly saved her life. This recording, which became a condition for dismissal, was recorded by the journalist under pressure from Russian security officials," the newspaper said.

It is noted that data on the detention and captivity will be reported by Roschyna in the near future.

As reported, on March 19, representatives of the FSB and the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation abducted a hromadske journalist in the city of Berdiansk, who was preparing materials on military operations in eastern and southern Ukraine.
On Tuesday, Russian invaders launched a missile attack on Pavlohrad (Dnipropetrovsk region), killing one person, and the local railway station Pavlohrad-2 was destroyed, according to Head of Dnipropetrovsk Regional Military Administration Valentyn Reznichenko.

"Rocket strikes in Pavlohrad. The Pavlohrad-2 railway station was destroyed. The railway track and rails were destroyed. 15 freight cars derailed. One person has been killed. Traffic through the station was stopped for an indefinite time," Reznichenko said on the Telegram channel.
Soldiers of the air defense unit of the 80th Airborne Division of the Airborne Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on Tuesday shot down a Russian missile flying towards Kropyvnytsky over Mykolaiv region, the Command of the Airborne Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine has reported.

"During combat duty, an air defense unit in the sky over one of the settlements of Mykolaiv region recorded a Russian cruise missile flying in the direction of Kropyvnytsky and with an accurate shot from the Igla MANPADS destroyed it," the Command said on Facebook.

The missile was loaded with 400 kg of TNT.
The Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation opened a criminal case against journalist Aleksandr Nevzorov, accusing him of disseminating "fake" information about the actions of the Russian armed forces.

The reason, in particular, was that on his public page in the Instagram network banned in the Russian Federation and on March 19, 2022 on his YouTube channel, he published information about the deliberate shelling by the Russian Armed Forces of a maternity hospital in the city of Mariupol. The publications were accompanied by photographs of civilians affected by the shelling.

The new Russian law on "public dissemination of deliberately false information about the use of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation" provides for up to 15 years in prison.
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has sent a congratulatory letter to Pakistani counterpart Arif Alvi, Azertag reported on March 22.

"Dear Mr. President,

It is on the occasion of the National Holiday of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan  the Pakistan Day that on my own behalf and on behalf of the people of Azerbaijan, I offer my cordial congratulations and warm wishes to you and your brotherly people.

The present high level of Azerbaijan-Pakistan relations based on friendship and brotherhood is gratifying. The multitude of reciprocal visits, signed documents and agreements secured between our countries play a vital role in developing our cooperation. We are determined to solidify further our unity empowered by our shared moral values and the will of our peoples.

I am grateful to you for Pakistans constant support and the just stance towards our countrys territorial integrity, sovereignty and inviolability of its internationally recognized borders, in line with the norms and principles of the international law and the relevant UN Security Council resolutions. Our people value significantly such support by your brotherly country for Azerbaijan.

I recall with fondest memories our meeting and the exchange of views we held in the spirit of sincerity and mutual trust in Ashgabat last year. I am confident that the steps we take towards expanding our inter-state relations and the strategic partnership, including our productive cooperation within the international institutions, will continue to serve the interests of our peoples.

On this festive day, I wish robust health, happiness and success to you and everlasting peace and prosperity to the brotherly people of Pakistan," the letter said.




Photojournalist Maks Levin disappeared during the fighting in Vyshgorod district of Kyiv region, the parliamentary committee on freedom of speech has reported.

"The last time he got in touch was on March 13 in Vyshgorod district. At that moment he was in the combat area with a camera. Later it became known that in the area where Maks was supposed to work, quite intense hostilities began, during which he could get wounded or taken prisoner by the military of the Russian Federation," the committee said on the website of the Ukrainian parliament on Tuesday.

The profile committee is concerned about the disappearance of the photojournalist and called on everyone who has any information about him to report it to the committee's e-mail.
Denmark does not consider it necessary to integrate refugees from Ukraine into society

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said on Tuesday that Ukrainian refugees should not be integrated into Danish society, because after some time they should go home to rebuild their country, Associated Press reports.

"The refugee status is temporary, so these people will need to return and help rebuild their homeland when the opportunity arises," she said in the parliament.

The agency notes that according to Danish legislation, Ukrainian refugees will be able to stay in this country for a maximum of two years, they can work, get an education. They will have access to medical services.
In shelling of Kyiv one person killed, three more wounded  authorities

In the shelling of Kyiv on Tuesday, March 22, three people were wounded, one was killed, the Military Administration of Kyiv city reported on the Telegram channel.

"Attack on Obolon: 2 buildings, 1 truck caught fire; 1 dead, 3 wounded," the administration said.

One missile from the Smerch heavy multiple rocket launcher system fell into the Dnipro River. No harm was done.

As reported, on Tuesday in the Obolonsky district of Kyiv, a truck and two buildings caught fire in a shelling by the enemy.
The United States and its Western partners intend to announce new sanctions against Russia on Thursday, Jake Sullivan, national security adviser to U.S. President Joe Biden, has said.

We are talking about a new package of sanctions, he said at a briefing, referring to Biden's upcoming contacts with allies in Europe on Thursday.

At the same time, he noted that the U.S. administration and its allies should work not only to identify new targets for sanctions against the Russian Federation, but also to eliminate loopholes that allow circumventing already introduced measures.
On the twenty-seventh day of the Russian military invasion of Ukraine, the enemy continues to deliver missile and bomb strikes using air attack weapons against military and civilian infrastructure facilities in Zhytomyr, Kyiv, Chernihiv, Kharkiv and Donetsk regions, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reports.

"The enemy made more than 80 flights, including 29 from the airfields of Baranovichi and Bobruisk, located on the territory of the Republic of Belarus. Bomber, attack and fighter aircraft were involved in strikes against targets. In order to conduct aerial reconnaissance of targets on the territory of Ukraine, the enemy deployed five aircraft scouts," the Facebook post says.

In the Black Sea and Azov operational zones, ships of the Navy of the Russian Federation perform tasks in certain areas of the Black Sea. In the northeastern part of the Sea of Azov, up to five ships of various types continue to be located to support the actions of the ground grouping of the occupying forces.

"Despite active propaganda, the personnel of individual units of the Central Military District are demoralized due to significant losses," the General Staff noted.

Also, cases of mass refusal of military personnel of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation to participate in the war against Ukraine continue to be recorded. According to available information, since the beginning of the war, about 220 servicemen in the 155th Separate Marine Brigade have refused to participate in armed aggression against Ukraine. In total, since February 24 of this year, about 50 soldiers of this unit were killed and about 110 were wounded. Also, the death of senior officers in the Russian-Ukrainian war causes a great resonance in Russian society.

In addition, the enemy still has problems with logistical support for groupings of troops in almost all directions. Also, the occupying troops continue to suffer losses due to an improperly organized medical support system.

"So, due to the untimely provision of medical care, the lack of a system of medical evacuation of the wounded and the lack of medicines, units of the 7th Airborne Assault Division of the Airborne Forces of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation suffered heavy losses," the message says.

"Ukrainian defenders continue to hold back the enemy, demonstrating examples of courage and heroism, and destroying it in all directions," the General Staff said.
Evacuation buses with people from Mariupol, who were supposed to leave in the direction of Berdyansk on Tuesday, were stopped by Russian troops. They are trying to turn the buses towards Donetsk.

Director of public relations at SCM Natalia Yemchenko announced this on Facebook on Tuesday."Today, in Mangush region, Russian troops have taken hostage Ukrainian evacuation buses with people (who were supposed to go to Berdiansk) and are trying to turn them towards Donetsk," she wrote.

At the same time, "people yell and try to force the military to let them out in the direction of Berdiansk and Zaporizhia."

She also recalled that the Russian military actively take people from the occupied settlements in Mariupol region through Donetsk to Russia. There, she wrote, they take away some people's passports in exchange for certificates, some are told that they have a 2-year ban on entering Ukraine.
Irans former president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad unleashed his harshest criticism yet against the countrys judicial branch, saying it is more powerful than the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and it is not supervised by any higher authority.

In a video interview published on Thursday, Ahmadinejad sharply attacked the judiciary and its head Sadegh Larijani for prosecuting his allies and said; due to the poor performance of the judiciary and its neglect of justice the whole country is in danger.

Several close friends of the former president are either convicted or facing pending trials.

Mohammad Reza Rahimi, one of his deputies is currently serving a 5-year prison sentence due to conviction over corruption. His other deputy, Hamid Baghaei is currently facing various legal problems.

Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei, the head of presidents office under Ahmadinejad was officially charged last week over insulting the supreme leader, propaganda against the regime, illegal usage of government assets, insulting high ranking state officials and spreading lies.

Ahmadinejad accused the judiciary of corruption, tyranny and dictatorship and called the charges against his deputy Hamid Baghaei fabricated.

Baghaei also has chosen to attack the judiciary as his defense strategy. "I do not have 63 accounts, my daughter is not a spy, and I have not violated any laws in this country, Baghaei said in a furious and sarcastic speech in front of the courthouse after the second session of his trial last month.

He was referring to two major accusations against Sadegh Larijani, the head of the judiciary. Because of these statements he was later charged with defamation of high-ranking officials.

Larijani has been reportedly transferring millions of dollars of his institutions income to his private accounts. And according to unconfirmed reports, his daughter has been charged with espionage for British embassy in Tehran. The government and judiciary have denied both allegations.

Ahmadinejad also criticized the fact that, unlike many other countries, the prosecutors and prisons in Iran were under the control of the judiciary and said the judiciary has even handed over the supervision of some prison wards to the intelligence service and the revolutionary guards which is a clear violation of the law.

He described the death of a blogger Sattar Beheshti, 35, in the notorious Evin prison in 2012, as a result of having security and intelligence organs run the prisons and insisted, this was wrong and the judiciary was responsible for it.

In his weblog, Beheshti had criticized the Iranian regime and its leader Ayatollah Khamenei for human rights violations and supporting the Lebanons Hezbollah. Beheshti died in custody a few days after his arrest.

When they violate the law in the case of the presidents deputy, God may help the 17 million others who have a legal case in the judiciary, Ahmadinejad said.



Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has sent a congratulatory letter to Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan.

"Dear Mr. Prime Minister,

It is on the occasion of the 23 March  Pakistan Day that on my own behalf and on behalf of the people of Azerbaijan, I offer my sincere congratulations and warm wishes to you and your brotherly people.

We are delighted by the present state of Azerbaijan-Pakistan relations that have ascended to the level of strategic partnership, stemming from our brotherly peoples common historical and religious roots. We attach great significance to developing our relations underpinned by mutual trust. I wish to highlight the support our countries extend to each other within the international organizations.

The Azerbaijani people always highly value Pakistans principled position and the political and moral support to our countrys just cause demonstrated during the Patriotic War. We are looking forward to also seeing Pakistani companies in the large-scale development and reconstruction works across the liberated territories.

Today, there is a favorable environment for expanding cooperative relations between Azerbaijan and Pakistan in economic, trade, energy, transportation, tourism, education and military-technical spheres. I am confident that thanks to our joint efforts, our inter-state relations and fruitful bilateral and multilateral cooperation will successfully continue and strengthen through capitalizing on such opportunities.

On this memorable day, I wish robust health, happiness and success to you and everlasting peace and prosperity to the brotherly people of Pakistan," the letter said.









By Trend

The coverage speed of broadband internet access in Azerbaijan is planned to be increased to 25 Mbps by 2024, Rovshan Rustamov, deputy minister of digital development and transport of Azerbaijan, said, Trend reports.

Rustamov made the remark at a meeting of the International Telecommunication Unions Council in Geneva.

According to him, the Ministry of Digital Development and Transport continues to invest in the country's broadband infrastructure and implement national projects using GPON and LTE technologies.

"Our goal is to increase the number of fixed broadband internet subscribers using FTTH (Fiber to the Home) networks," Rustamov said.

The deputy minister stressed that almost 85 percent of Azerbaijans population uses internet.

"The entire territory of Azerbaijan is covered by a mobile network, and broadband internet access is also widespread. The number of active broadband internet users is 73 per 100 people," he said.

Besides, Rustamov noted that communication is a necessary condition for digital transformation, and now its one of the strategic goals in many countries, including Azerbaijan.

"In this regard, our country attaches great importance to the role of the International Telecommunication Union. This organization is an important platform where governments and other stakeholders come together to cooperate, share best practices and solve emerging problems," added the official.




Al-Azhar condemned Friday terrorist attack on a mosque in Afghanistans capital Kabul that left dozens of worshippers dead and injured.
Deputy chairperson of Egypt's National Council for Human Rights (NCHR), Mohamed Anwar Esmat El-Sadat issued a statement on Tuesday indicating that the issue of political prisoners in Egypt will be closed in the near future.
The United Nations said Wednesday that the number of people without enough to eat on a daily basis reached all-time high last year and is poised to hit ``appalling'' new levels as the Ukraine war affects global food production.
Amnesty International on Wednesday accused a powerful Libyan armed group of abuses against migrants and Tripoli residents.
Belarus' leader defended Russia's invasion of Ukraine and said he was doing ``everything'' to stop the war in a sit-down interview with The Associated Press on Thursday.
Moscow's ambassador to the United Nations denied on Friday that Russian forces had shelled a nuclear power plant in Ukraine.

"These statements are simply untrue," Vassily Nebenzia told the Security Council. "This is all part of an unprecedented campaign of lies and disinformation against Russia."

He said Russian troops had exchanged small arms fire with Ukrainian forces at Europe's largest atomic power plant in Zaporizhzhia but had not shelled the facility.

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The EU wants to vastly reduce Russian gas imports this year, a top official said, as political pressure mounts to sever Russia's main economic lifeline over its invasion of Ukraine.

The European Commission, the EU's executive arm, will announce the goal later on Tuesday as the bloc's member nations stepped back from implementing a ban on Russian energy imports in the face of worries that the economic consequences would be too severe.

Instead, the commission said it could erase a huge share of its dependency on Russia by tapping new gas supplies, ramping up reserves for next winter and accelerating efforts to be more energy efficient.

"I think we can present a plan ... that will substantially reduce our dependence on Russian gas already this year," EU Commission vice president Frans Timmermans told the European Parliament on Monday.

According to widely reported leaks of the plans, the EU executive would pledge to reduce gas dependency by two-thirds by the end of this year and make the EU fully independent of Russian gas, oil and coal by 2030.

Timmermans urged caution, however. Russia supplies 40 percent of the EU's gas needs, with Italy, Germany and several central European countries especially dependent. A quarter of its oil supply also comes from Russia.

This reliance has led EU nations to push back against calls by Kyiv and Washington to severely sanction Russia's energy sector as Western allies seek more ways to punish Russia further for its actions in Ukraine.

"The reality is that there's quite a number of our member states who would get into real trouble if overnight, all the energy would no longer be provided from Russia," said Timmermans, who leads EU policy-making on energy and climate change.

"So we need to make sure ... we don't do more harm to ourselves than we do to Putin," he added.

A draft of the proposal, seen by AFP, calls for 90 percent of gas storage capacity to be filled by September 30, up from about 30 percent now.

The recommendations from Brussels came just ahead of a meeting of EU leaders who will discuss ways to cut Europe's energy ties to Russia for the long term.

The 27 leaders will agree "to phase out our dependency on Russian gas, oil and coal imports", according to a draft of a declaration intended to end the meeting and seen by AFP.

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Ukrainian parliament (Verkhovna Rada), announced in the early hours of Friday that the Russian forces attacked Kharkiv Institute of Physics and Technology, which it said contains an Experimental nuclear reactor inside of it.

Ukrainian parliament (Verkhovna Rada), announced in the early hours of Friday that the Russian forces attacked Kharkiv Institute of Physics and Technology, which it said contains an Experimental nuclear reactor inside of it.

The parliament said in a tweet that the shelling caused a fire in a neighbouring hostel.

 Russia just attacked #Kharkiv Institute of Physics and Technology

Experimental nuclear reactor is located inside. The shelling caused a fire in a neighbouring hostel; the fight continues.#StopRussia #StopRussia #ClosetheSkyoverUkraine pic.twitter.com/H88CYHGl9C  Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine (@ua_parliament) March 10, 2022

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), said late on Thursday that Ukraine nuclear regulator told IAEA that it had lost all communication with Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, and that it it 'can no longer provide updated information'.

Director Gneral of the IAEA, Rafael Grossi, said in a tweet that the IAEA is aware of reports that power has now been restored to the site, but needs confirmation.

#Ukraine nuclear regulator told IAEA today it had lost all communication w/ #Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant, can no longer provide updated info. @RafaelMGrossi says IAEA's aware of reports that power has now been restored to the site, need for confirmation. https://t.co/GhdMceMgRP pic.twitter.com/8iwjPzmef1  IAEA - International Atomic Energy Agency (@iaeaorg) March 10, 2022



Ukraines nuclear regulator had told IAEA that diesel generators were powering systems important for safety at Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant, and that the operator is not able to maintain some functions such as radiation monitoring, ventilation systems and normal lighting.

IAEA said that If emergency power were lost, it would still be possible for Chernobyl staff to monitor the water level and temperature of the spent fuel pool.

IAEA warned that they 'would do this under worsening radiation safety conditions and would not be able to follow operational radiation safety procedures'.

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Ukraine's prosecutor general said a Russian shell struck a chemical plant outside the city of Sumy a little after 3 a.m. Monday, causing a leak in a 50-ton tank of ammonia that took hours to contain.

Russian military spokesman Igor Konashenkov claimed the leak was a ``planned provocation'' by Ukrainian forces to falsely accuse Russia of a chemical attack.

Konashenkov also said an overnight cruise missile strike hit a Ukrainian military training center in the Rivne region.

He said 80 foreign and Ukrainian troops were killed.

Vitaliy Koval, the head of the Rivne regional military administration, confirmed a twin Russian missile strike on a training center there early Monday but offered no details about injuries or deaths.

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Ukrainian forces said they retook a strategically important suburb of the capital early Tuesday, while Russia's attack on the embattled southern port of Mariupol raged unabated, with fleeing civilians describing relentless bombardments and corpses lying in the streets.

While Russian forces carried on with the siege of Mariupol after the southern port city's defenders refused demands to surrender, the Kremlin's ground offensive in other parts of the country advanced slowly or not at all, knocked back by lethal hit-and-run attacks by the Ukrainians.

Early Tuesday, Ukrainian troops forced Russian forces out of the Kyiv suburb of Makariv after a fierce battle, Ukraine's Defense Ministry said. The regained territory allowed Ukrainian forces to retake control of a key highway and block Russian troops from surrounding Kyiv from the northwest.

But the Defense Ministry said Russian forces battling toward Kyiv were able to partially take other northwest suburbs, Bucha, Hostomel and Irpin, some of which had been under attack almost since Russia's military invaded late last month.

With troops bogged down in many places, Russian President Vladimir Putin's forces are increasingly concentrating their air power and artillery on Ukraine's cities and the civilians living there, killing uncounted numbers and sending millions fleeing.

A senior U.S. defense official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the military's assessment, said Russia had increased air sorties over the past two days, carrying out as many as 300 in the past 24 hours, and has fired more than 1,100 missiles into Ukraine since the invasion began.

US President Joe Biden, who is heading to Europe later in the week to meet with allies, suggested Monday evening that worse may be still to come.

``Putin's back is against the wall,'' Biden said. ``He wasn't anticipating the extent or the strength of our unity. And the more his back is against the wall, the greater the severity of the tactics he may employ.``

Biden reiterated accusations that Putin is considering resorting to using chemical weapons.

In a video address Monday night, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy hailed those who have fought back against Russia.

``There is no need to organize resistance,'' Zelenskyy said. ``Resistance for Ukrainians is part of their soul.''

Talks between Russia and Ukraine have continued by video but failed to bridge the chasm between the two sides. Zelenskyy told Ukrainian television late Monday that he would be prepared to consider waiving any NATO bid by Ukraine a key Russian demand in exchange for a cease-fire, the withdrawal of Russian troops and a guarantee of Ukraine's security.

Zelenskyy also suggested Kyiv would be open to future discussions on the status of Crimea, which Russia seized in 2014, and the regions of the eastern Donbas region held by Russian-backed separatists. But he said that was a topic for another time. Zelenskyy plans to speak to Japanese lawmakers on Tuesday, part of a series of addresses to foreign legislatures as he seeks to drum up support.

In Mariupol, with communications crippled, movement restricted and many residents in hiding, the fate of those inside an art school flattened on Sunday and a theater that was blown apart four days earlier was unclear. More than 1,300 people were believed to be sheltering in the theater, and 400 were estimated to have been in the art school.

Perched on the Sea of Azov, Mariupol is crucial port for Ukraine and lies along a stretch of territory between Russia and Crimea. As such, it is a key target that has been besieged for more than three weeks and has seen some of the worst suffering of the war.

It is not clear how close its capture might be. Ukraine's Defense Ministry said Tuesday that their forces were still defending the city and had destroyed a Russian patrol boat and electronic warfare complex.

Over the weekend, Moscow had offered safe passage out of Mariupol _ one corridor leading east to Russia, another going west to other parts of Ukraine _ in return for the city's surrender before daybreak Monday. Ukraine flatly rejected the offer well before the deadline.

Mariupol had a prewar population of about 430,000. Around a quarter were believed to have left in the opening days of the war, and tens of thousands escaped over the past week by way of the humanitarian corridors. Other attempts have been thwarted by the fighting.

Mariupol officials said on March 15 that at least 2,300 people had died in the siege, with some buried in mass graves. There has been no official estimate since then, but the number is feared to be far higher after six more days of bombardment.

For those who remain, conditions have become brutal. The assault has cut off Mariupol's electricity, water and food supplies and severed communication with the outside world, plunging residents into a fight for survival. Fresh commercial satellite images showed smoke rising from buildings newly hit by Russian artillery.

Those who have made it out of Mariupol told of a devastated city.

``There are no buildings there anymore,'' said 77-year-old Maria Fiodorova, who crossed the border to Poland on Monday after five days of travel.

Olga Nikitina, who fled Mariupol for the western Ukrainian city of Lviv, where she arrived Sunday, said gunfire blew out her windows, and her apartment dropped below freezing.

``Battles took place over every street. Every house became a target,'' she said.

A long line of vehicles stood on a road in Bezimenne, east of Mariupol, as residents of the besieged city sought shelter at a temporary camp set up by Russian-backed separatists in the Donetsk region. An estimated 5,000 people from Mariupol have taken refuge in the camp. Many arrived in cars with signs that said ``children'' in Russian.

A woman who gave her name as Yulia said she and her family sought shelter in Bezimenne after a bombing destroyed six houses behind her home.

``That's why we got in the car, at our own risk, and left in 15 minutes because everything is destroyed there, dead bodies are lying around,'' she said. ``They don't let us pass through everywhere ,there are shootings.''

In all, more than 8,000 people escaped to safer areas Monday through humanitarian corridors, including about 3,000 from Mariupol, Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said.

Russian shelling of a corridor wounded four children on a route leading out of Mariupol, Zelenskyy said.

Russia's invasion has driven nearly 3.5 million people from Ukraine, according to the United Nations. The U.N. has confirmed over 900 civilian deaths but said the real toll is probably much higher. Estimates of Russian deaths vary, but even conservative figures are in the low thousands.

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By Vafa Ismayilova

Senior Azerbaijani and Russian military officials have discussed the fulfillment of the trilateral statements signed by Baku, Moscow and Yerevan after the 44-day war in 2020, the Azerbaijani Defence Ministry reported on March 22.

The Baku-hosted meeting between Azerbaijani First Deputy Defence Minister, Chief of the Azerbaijani Army General Staff, Col-Gen Karim Valiyev and Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Land Forces of Russia's Armed Forces for peacekeeping operations Col-Gen Alexei Kim focused on issues related to the implementation of the articles of the Statement signed by the Azerbaijani, Russian and Armenian leaders, as well as the operational situation on the territory of Azerbaijan, where the Russian peacekeepers are temporarily stationed.

The sides held a detailed exchange of views on the process of withdrawal of illegal Armenian armed groups from the territory of Azerbaijan under Article 4 of the statement of November 10, 2020, and a number of other issues.

Earlier, Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov and his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov discussed the current situation in the region, including the implementation of the trilateral statements signed after the war.

In his phone conversation with Armenian counterpart Ararat Mirzoyan, Lavrov said that Russia is ready to provide any assistance in the conclusion of a peace treaty between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

The two men confirmed the importance of implementation of the trilateral statements of November 10, 2020, January 11, 2021, and November 26, 2021, for the region, including the early launch of the process of delimitation of the Armenian-Azerbaijani border and the start of project activities to open transport and economic ties in the region.

In late February, President Ilham Aliyev said that Azerbaijan expects Armenia to fully comply with all the provisions of the trilateral declaration signed by Baku, Yerevan and Moscow on November 10, 2020.

He made the remarks while making a press statement with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Moscow on February 22.

We expect the Armenian side to fully comply with all the provisions of the Declaration of November 9-10, 2020, regarding the withdrawal of all Armenian armed forces from the territory of Karabakh, as well as the opening of communications between the main part of Azerbaijan and the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic, which is a legal obligation of the Armenian side, he said.

The head of state noted that given Azerbaijan's long-term confrontation and massive losses, the fact that Azerbaijan and Armenia are already involved in at least two international formats [working group at the level of vice premiers of Russia, Azerbaijan, and Armenia, and the "3+3" platform] is an indication of the countries' intentions.

The trilateral ceasefire deal signed by the Azerbaijani, Russian and Armenian leaders on November 10, 2020, ended the three-decade conflict over Azerbaijans Karabakh region which along with the seven adjacent districts came under the occupation of Armenian armed forces in the war in the early 1990s.

The deal also stipulated the return of Azerbaijan's Kalbajar, Aghdam and Lachin regions. Before the signing of the peace deal, Azerbaijan liberated 300 villages, settlements, city centers, and historic Shusha city that had been under Armenian occupation for about 30 years.

On January 11, 2021, the Azerbaijani, Russian and Armenian leaders signed the second statement since the end of the 44-day war. The newly-signed statement was set to implement clause 9 of the November 2020 statement related to the unblocking of all economic and transport communications in the region.

On November 26, 2021, the three leaders signed a statement and agreed on a number of issues, including the demarcation and delimitation of the Azerbaijani-Armenian border by late 2021, some points related to humanitarian issues and the issue of unblocking of transport corridors which applies to the railway and to automobile communications.

On December 14, 2021, during the Brussels meeting, organized between Azerbaijani and Armenian leaders at the initiative of European Council President Charles Michel, the sides reaffirmed their commitment to the conditions agreed in the Sochi meeting.

Both sides agreed to establish a temporary working group on the delimitation of the Armenian-Azerbaijani border.

The issue of demining the liberated territories of Azerbaijan was also brought up on the agenda, and the European Union's readiness to provide technical assistance to Azerbaijan in this regard was underlined at the meeting.
With the participation of Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry, the 48th session of the Council of Foreign Ministers (CFM) of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) convened in Islamabad on Tuesday, addressing several political issues in the Islamic, Arab and African arenas.

Under the theme Building Partnerships for Unity, Justice and Development, the two-day session will cover many economic, cultural, social, humanitarian, and scientific issues, including Islamophobia.

It is expected that the periodic report of the Islamophobia Observatory will be submitted to the meeting for consideration.

On the ministerial levels, participants will also tackle the latest developments regarding the Palestinian cause, in addition to developments in Yemen, Libya, the Republic of Sudan, Somalia, Syria, and other regions.

Furthermore, participants will highlight African issues, especially those of the African Sahel region, and will stress the importance of providing the necessary support to the Sahel countries to maintain stability and security and combat terrorist groups, according to the official website of the OIC.

The session will also oversee cooperation issues with international partners, including the United Nations, the Russian Federation, and the European Union. At the top of the CFMs agenda is international terrorism and conflict resolution, in addition to the affairs of Muslim groups and communities in non-member states.

The 48th session coincides with the 57th anniversary of Pakistans independence, Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan said in his keynote address at the inaugural session.

The OIC, which was established in 1969 following the criminal arson of Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied Jerusalem, is the second largest organization after the United Nations with a membership of 57 states spread over four continents. The Organization is the collective voice of the Muslim world. It endeavors to safeguard and protect the interests of the Muslim world in the spirit of promoting international peace and harmony among various people of the world.

On the sidelines of the session, the OIC will convene a meeting on the Open-ended Contact Group on Muslims in Europe.

The Cairo-based Forum for Development and Human Rights Dialogue (FDHRD) issued a report last week documenting discrimination against Arabs and Africans during the exodus from Ukraine on the heels of the Russian invasion, which started on 24 February.

The Russian invasion of Ukraine has shown that xenophobia against non-Europeans is still prevalent in Eastern Europe, the report said, where Arabs and Africans are subject to racial discrimination.

Sideline meetings

Ahead of the 48th session, Shoukry met separately on Tuesday with his Chinese, Tunisian, Kazakhstani, Thai and Kyrgyzstani counterparts to discuss ongoing political issues in the Arab world, according to a statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Ministry spokesman Ahmed Hafez said on his Twitter account on Tuesday that Shoukry discussed with his counterparts boosting bilateral cooperation in various fields, in addition to a host of regional and international issues of mutual interest.

This concludes Shoukrys Asian tour, where Pakistan is his fourth and final stop after visiting Malaysia, Singapore, and Indonesia.

Earlier, Shoukry met with officials including Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan in Islamabad, where Shoukry expressed hopes that this visit will be an opportunity to push forward bilateral relations between Egypt and Pakistan.

Pakistan is the fourth and last stop for Shoukry in his Asian tour that started on Sunday 13 March, where he visited Malaysia, Singapore, and Indonesia.

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Directed by Danish film director and anthropologist Christian Suhr and produced by Egyptian filmmaker and producer Hala Lotfy through Hassala Films, documentary film Light Upon Light will have its world premiere during the 19th edition of the Copenhagen International Documentary Film Festival (CPH: DOX), which will run between 23 March and 3 April.

According to the films brief, Light upon Light is a philosophical field trip from Cairo, along the Nile, and into the desert in search for what light means as a religious concept in post-revolutionary Egypt.



Through conversations and observations of breath-taking Muslim rituals, the light slowly breaks through and nuances the image of a religion and a political culture often viewed with prejudice and reduced to simplistic cliches.



The 78-minute film, which saw production support from the Danish-Egyptian Dialogue Initiative (DEDI), will be screened within the NORDIC: DOX AWARD, a section presenting 12 films, including nine world premieres and three international premieres.



The film is coproduced by Hassala Film Collective, which was founded by Egyptian filmmaker and producer Hala Lotfy in 2012.



Among Hassalas productions is Coming Forth by Day by Hala Lotfy (2012), a film which had its European premiere at the Berlinale Forum in 2013 and won many awards, including the FIPRESCI Jury Prize o and Best Director from the Arab World at the Abu Dhabi Film Festival.

Its other productions include Um Ghayeb: Mother of the Unborn by Nadine Salib (2014); Night/Exterior by Ahmed Abdalla (2018), which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2018; and Little Eagles by Mohamed Rashad (2016).

Light Upon Light is the only film from Egypt to be screened within the 19th CPH: DOX.

Directed by Christian Suhr, the film also includes cinematographer Amira Mortada and editor Mohamad Mostafa.

Aside from the Light Upon Light screening, the CPH: DOX will also witness a delegation of seven Egyptian filmmakers and industry professionals invited by the DEDI to participate in the festival.



This years CPH: DOX will feature over 200 new documentaries that speak volumes about the world we live in, reads the festivals website. The event will present 76 world premieres, while 59 films will compete for awards in six international competitions. Several films focusing on Ukraine and Russia will be premiering in the festivals main competition.



After two years of the coronavirus-shutdown, the CPH: DOX returns to Danish movie theatres following a suspension of physical screenings in 2020 and 2021.



This year, the festivals organisers made sure to capitalise on numerous venues across Copenhagen to screen the new films, and have also added three new venues  the National Gallery of Denmark, the National Museum of Denmark, and Kunsthal Charlottenborg.



Founded in 2003, the CPH: DOX is one of the biggest documentary film festivals in the world. Every year, the festival fills Copenhagens cinemas with a selection of more than 200 films from around the world.

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Egypts President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi discussed on Tuesday recent global developments with Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, especially with regards to energy, market stability, and food security.

During their meeting in the Red Sea resort city of Sharm El-Sheikh, the leaders also exchanged visions on the latest developments in a number of international and regional issues, Egyptian presidency spokesman Bassam Rady said in a statement.

This is the second visit by Bennet to Egypt in six months and the second by an Israeli prime minister since 2011. El-Sisi and Bennets last meeting was in September in Sharm El-Sheikh.

Both countries are members of the Eastern Mediterranean Gas Forum (EMGF), which was established in 2019 as an international organisation headquartered in Cairo and also includes Palestine, Cyprus, Greece, Jordan, and Italy as founding countries.

Egypt has achieved self-sufficiency in natural gas since 2018 and has since been seeking to become a regional energy hub and to export LNG, thanks to its huge gas discoveries and production, which is expected to rise to 7.5 million tonnes by the end of the 2021/2022 fiscal year.

In early 2020, Israel began exporting natural gas to Egypt under a deal signed between a private firm in Egypt, Dolphinus Holdings, and Israel's Leviathan and Tamar offshore fields over 15 years, according to Reuters while in November both countries signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to increase natural gas supplies from Israel to Egypt for re-exporting purposes.

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Hanafy El-Gebaly, speaker of Egypt's parliament  the House of Representatives  and his Indonesian counterpart Puan Maharani met on Tuesday to discuss bilateral relations between Cairo and Jakarta.

El-Gebaly said "Egypt has distinguished relations with Indonesia and the two countries are moving all the time to reinforce these relations at all levels."

"I also warmly welcome the initiative of the Indonesian MPs to set up a parliamentary friendship association with their Egyptian counterparts to be a forum for coordinating positions between the parliaments of the two countries in all fields and exchange expertise on legislations," said El-Gebaly.

An official statement said during the meeting with Maharani, El-Gebaly reviewed Egypt's efforts in the field of spreading moderate Islam and fighting terrorism.

"Speaker El-Gebaly also highlighted the pioneering role of Al-Azhar religious institution in reforming religious discourse," said the statement.

For her side, speaker Maharani said it highly appreciates Egypt's active participation in the meetings of the 144th General Assembly of the International Parliamentary Union, which is being held this week in Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia.

El-Gebaly also met with Rashid El-Talbi, speaker of Morocco's parliament, to discuss strategic relationship between Egypt and Morocco.

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Egypts Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry said on Tuesday in Islamabad that there is no solution for the Palestinian issue without establishing an independent Palestinian state on 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital.

In front of the 48th session of the Council of Foreign Ministers (CFM) of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), Shoukry reiterated Egypts rejection of any unilateral actions undermining the two state-solution, adding that Palestine was the inspiration behind the establishment of OIC in 1969.

The OIC, which was established after an arson attack against Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied Jerusalem, is the second-largest organisation after the United Nations with a membership of 57 states spread over four continents

We are looking forward to our organisation contributing to supporting stability in the Islamic states, the Egyptian foreign minister said in his speech where he spoke about the situations in member states.

Egypt stresses the importance of finding a peaceful national solution in Libya, [putting the emphasis on] holding presidential and parliamentary elections in parallel with the exit of all foreign forces and mercenaries, without any exception, in a specific timeframe, he said, adding that Egypt renewed its support for the efforts of the 5+5 Joint Military Commission.

Concerning Sudan, Egypt is keen on maintaining its security and political stability. This includes reaching a consensus among all Sudanese parties towards managing the transitional period, without foreign interference, Shoukry said.

Shoukry also stated that Egypt is keen to push forward the political process in Syria under the umbrella of the United Nations in accordance with UN Security Council Resolution 2254.

Egypt also emphasised the importance of maintaining the unity, stability and sovereignty of Iraq. He also voiced appreciation for Iraqi efforts in fighting terrorism and called for an end to foreign interventions

We look forward to a political solution for the Yemeni crisis according to the Gulf initiative and international laws as well as the conclusions of the Yemeni National Dialogue, Shoukry stated, adding that at the same time Egypt denounces the terrorist attacks launched from Yemen targeting Saudi Arabia and UAE, in reference to the recent and frequent attacks of Houthi militias against both countries.

Egypt also welcomed the holding of parliamentary elections in Somalia and called on all Somali parties to continue holding elections, whether presidential or parliamentary, the Egyptian foreign minister said.

Sameh Shoukry also announced Egypts support for the OICs decision about the humanitarian situation in Afghanistan, stressing that the Afghan territories should not become a haven for terrorist organisations

The Egyptian foreign minister also spoke about the challenges facing the Islamic nations, most notably terrorism and religious radicalism as well as Islamophobia.

We welcome the UNs adoption of a resolution proposed by the Islamic group to designate 15 March as a day to combat Islamophobia, he said.

The day marks the date of a 2019 terrorist attack in New Zealand when a right-wing extremist killed over 50 Muslims in an attack on two Mosques.

Earlier Tuesday, Pakistani PM Imran Khan inaugurated the meetings of the session, calling on the OIC to support the pleas of Palestine and Kashmir.

He also warned of a world that was heading towards a cold war with the chances of the countries being divided into blocs.

Unless we as Islamic platform unite, we will stand nowhere, he said.

Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said during the session that it was time for the Muslim nation to forge a collective response to the current turmoil inside its borders and the ongoing global transition.

Under the theme Building Partnerships for Unity, Justice and Development, the two-day 48th CFM session will cover many economic, cultural, social, humanitarian and scientific issues, including Islamophobia.

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I embraced my newborn, remembering that I have witnessed and helped in giving birth to a miracle. It was the moment I remembered vividly the joy I experienced when I had my first ultrasound, seeing the little parts of the baby growing. These moments cannot be described in words, said Yasmine Hesham, 27, one of Egypts first-time mums.

Witnessing your baby growing inside your womb and then having her out in the world to be held in your arms in flesh and blood is one of Gods greatest blessings, she added.

She said that even if life can sometimes hinder mothers from feeling this blessing, there is a whole new life ahead. Diapers, breastfeeding, difficulties with car seats, the babys cries, baby formula, and other details are all parts of this new and changing life.

Although in Egypt there has been a sharp decline in the role played by a traditional doula or midwife, Hesham insisted that a doula be at her side before and after giving birth to her daughter Laila. I cannot imagine my life without Fatemah, my doula. She helped and nurtured me as a mum-to-be throughout the pregnancy and birth, and she will help me overcome my postpartum journey.

She taught me how to breastfeed and how to put my babys clothes on in the correct way. She taught me how to look at my baby and how to bathe her, Hesham added, saying that she would like to see more mothers experience the different roles a doula as a support system for new mothers can play.

Motherhood is a shift that reverberates through every aspect of a womans life, including her emotions, career, psychology, physical appearance, social circle, finances, and spiritual identity. For all first-time mums, a good day will consist of feeding and comforting the baby, changing his or her diapers, getting out of pyjamas, and having a shower. There might also be a photoshoot for mothers and babies to capture amazing moments together.

The smile on any mothers face when carrying her baby in its first days is priceless, said Marina Adel, a certified newborn, baby, and maternity photographer in Cairo.

Adel has been working as a photographer for maternity and newborns for the past three years. She has photographed many mothers before and after giving birth. It can be a crazy time or a happy time; it can be a doubtful time or a miraculous time; but I believe that if I can help in any way in making a mother happy by recording her special moments, then my work is done, Adel said.

Many mothers are doubtful about their looks during pregnancy and afraid of doing photoshoots. But then they thank me years later for having been there to document and record special moments, she said.

First time motherhood is an intense experience. It is not an easy job or an easy experience for many mothers. Sometimes, they can fall prey to depression, especially after giving birth. Sometimes they become sensitive about their emotions and the physical transformation that has happened to them. At other times, they may take the whole journey with such a blessing loving bond that they can turn any negative encounters into positive ones.

Depression can be at your door, said Hanna Soliman, a 29-year-old mother who gave birth to her first baby 25 days ago. Though for Soliman it is a blessing to have given birth after earlier problems conceiving, she has not enjoyed the journey the way she imagined.

Sleep deprivation is one of my ultimate challenges at this time. I am not managing my time well. I am always tired, she added. Since my baby is just turning one month old, I cannot say I am enjoying Mothers Day yet, but in future years I am sure my baby will make the best celebrations ever.

Soliman said that getting to know your baby and at the same time trying to keep yourself sane, healthy, and emotionally balanced is a challenging experience that needs a lot of support from husband and family.

I always try to read baby books and be part of other mothers groups so that I dont feel alone, she said.

The motherhood journey is a communal one on which friends and family members can gather round to help. However, the experience can be a difficult one for mothers living in a foreign country.

Shatha Hussein, a working mother in the UAE who has just given birth to her second child, said that I thank God that my mother travelled all the way from Egypt to stay with me and the baby before and after childbirth. She is my true support, and I cannot do anything without her.

Hussein said that most private-sector companies give new mothers 45 days to return to work after birth. This is too short to be able to do anything. It pressures working mothers either to send their babies to nurseries or to quit working in order to spend time with their babies in their early days, she added.

Hussein also experienced postpartum depression with her first child. I had all kinds of baby blues after childbirth, which included mood swings, anxiety, and difficulty sleeping, she said. However, with Amalia, her newborn, the situation is different, and Hussein is enjoying every moment of the experience.

It helps a lot when we educate ourselves more about ourselves and our babies either through videos, reading books, or any means one can have access to, she added.

Though first-time mums might not be as aware of Mothers Day as others this year, since their little ones are still so tiny, they will doubtless want to reenter their own worlds outside to celebrate their mothers and themselves this Mothers Day.

*A version of this article appears in print in the 24 March, 2022 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly.

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Global commodity prices are hitting record highs as the war in Ukraine has spilled oil over the fire. Everything from oil to wheat and coffee has been affected.

Already, before the war, commodity prices had reached record highs. In February Nikkei Asia reported that the Refinitiv CoreCommodity CRB Index, a composite measure of commodity prices, was up 46 per cent on the year at the end of January. It said that, out of 22 major commodities, nine rose more than 50 per cent. Those included coffee, cotton and aluminium.

The deepening Russian-Ukrainian war has led to increased fears of an energy war between Russia and the West, as the US is pushing its allies in Europe to ban oil imports from Russia, while the latter threatens to cut its gas supply to Europe.

A harsh impact can be felt across the world beyond the conflict zone in Ukraine because of the energy war and sanctions as well as retaliatory decisions, and the global economy is feeling the pinch of a slowing growth.

The EU is already suffering from lower-than-expected gas imports from Russia. Tighter natural gas supply for Europe coincided with higher demand as economies worldwide were emerging from the coronavirus pandemic. Europe receives natural gas from Russia mainly through Nord Stream 1, an offshore natural gas pipeline running from Russia to Germany. Another pipeline, Nord Stream 2, was about to start operating when the war broke out. Germany decided last month to halt the opening of the new Nord Stream 2 pipeline, right after Russia formally recognised the eastern Ukrainian regions of Donetsk and Luhansk as independent states.

Russia, which is currently supplying Europe with about 40 per cent of its natural gas needs, has warned it could cut the gas supply to Europe through the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline in response to oil and gas bans, which might lead to major blackouts and hit global economies even worse.

Russias contribution to the global energy supply is hard to fill in, as it is the worlds second largest gas producer after the US, with 17 per cent of global output in 2020, and is also the third largest oil producer after the US and Saudi Arabia with 12 per cent of output in the same year, or about five million barrels per day.

While Europe relies heavily on Russian oil and gas supplies, Russia too is dependent on revenues from oil and gas exports. More than 40 per cent of Russias revenue comes from the oil and gas sectors. About 70 per cent of Russias natural gas exports go to Europe, and the latter also receives about 50 per cent of total Russian exports. The US, UK and the EU reportedly spend more than $700 million a day on Russian oil and gas.

But the EU wants to reduce its reliance on Russian gas. The European Commission announced recently that the EU will reduce its imports of Russian gas by two thirds, from 155 billion cubic metres (BCM) per year to 100 BCM by the year 2023 in response to the war in Ukraine.

The EU has been in talks with Egypt, Qatar, Algeria, Turkey, Japan, South Korea, Norway, Azerbaijan, and the US to secure alternatives. Russia is also stepping up cooperation with China but cannot simply switch gas exports to the Asian giant due to the lack of sufficient pipeline infrastructure.

This major mutual reliance on energy and sales means a cut-off on both sides would bring a disruption to world economies and the prices of basic commodities that may prove difficult to recover from.

The fallout regarding basic food commodities like wheat is just as serious. Russia is the largest wheat exporter, with Egypt among the top buyers. Together with Ukraine, it accounts for about 30 per cent of global wheat exports.

Wheat prices have risen by about 60 per cent since the beginning of February, and prices are likely to continue rising amid uncertainty about Ukraines crop this year.

Wheat, cereals and vegetable oils are reaching levels higher than the global food crisis of 2008, according to the Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) which predicts even higher prices in the near future as a result of a disruption in production and trade in Russia and Ukraine.

This could have structural implications for long-term supply, especially that Russia and Ukraine have banned the export of some products including wheat, oats, rye, and other staples. Accordingly, food prices are likely to rise and make some important commodities scarcer, hitting low-income countries hard, especially in the Middle East and Africa, and pushing more people into poverty.

Progress in negotiations between Russia and Ukraine will help stabilise the situation to a certain extent, but the world will take a long time to recover from the current energy and food crisis.

*A version of this article appears in print in the 24 March, 2022 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly.

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Frank Hartmann, German ambassador to Egypt, said on Monday that Germany aims to reduce its dependency on Russian gas by two-thirds by the end of this year, seeking out alternate sources including Egypt.

Hartmanns remarks came during a meeting with Egyptian press, along with Head of the European Delegation in Egypt Christian Berger, and Polish Ambassador to Egypt Michal Labenda.

The Russian-Ukrainian war  which has caused global prices of oil and gas to rise  has led Germany, like other European countries, to seek to diversify its energy sources in order to decrease dependency on Russian gas. The EU imports the vast majority of the gas it consumes, with Russia accounting for around 45 percent of imports in 2021, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA).

After achieving self-sufficiency in natural gas in 2018, Egypt has planned to use its position on Europes doorstep to become a major supplier of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to the continent, which is transitioning away from other fossil fuels. This is based on Egypts huge gas discoveries and production, which is expected to rise to 7.5 million tonnes by the end of the 2021/2022 fiscal year.

Egypt also has the infrastructure for transporting and handling natural gas with a network of 7,000km of pipelines, a distribution network of 31,000km, and 29 gas-treatment plants as well as two LNG facilities  Idku and Damietta plants.

Hartmann pointed out that Egypt also has a surplus in electricity capacity, and can export electricity to Europe through an undersea cable going to Greece. The project was agreed upon in a memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed in October 2021 between Egypt and Greece.

Moreover, Hartmann said that the current crisis in Ukraine is an opportunity for Germany and other countries to speed up their transition towards green energy and increase production from renewable resources, mainly solar and wind energy.

Political, security and humanitarian repercussions

Politically, Hartmann said, the crisis has changed their security landscape.

"Germany's government has decided to invest 100 million Euros into the defence budget as a result of the changing security landscape in Europe as we have to improve our military security capabilities," he stated.

Hartmann also stated that about 10 million people have already been displaced in Ukraine, with nearly 3.6 million of them leaving the country, including two million that have crossed over into Poland.

The Polish ambassador stressed that Poland is treating refugees on its borders equally regardless of their nationalities, skin colour and religious backgrounds.

He added that all the European countries, including Poland, are accepting Ukrainian refugees and they are not living in government facilities, instead they are accepted in civilian houses.

Ukrainian refugees are given local registration numbers to allow them access to health and education services free of charge, as well as to be able to work legally in the country, Labenda pointed out.

Poland has received tens of thousands of refugees of other nationalities, in addition to two million Ukrainians, including Egyptians, who have been handled by their respective embassies in cooperation with Polish authorities.

Although the world's economy is affected negatively by the war in Ukraine, the Russian economy will continue to suffer the worst as the war continues, Labenda stated.

"We prefer stability in Russia and prefer not to harm its economy, but we want to end the war," he concluded.

Unexpected military confrontation

Berger stressed that the EU does not want to go to war with Russia, or have a direct military engagement between NATO and Russia.

Hartmann echoed same position, emphasising that the EU is doing everything to prevent escalation as no one wants want to see a military confrontation between Russia and NATO.

"What is happening in Ukraine has not been seen in Europe for a very long time, and Ukraine has the right of self-defence under Article 51 of the UN charter," Berger said.

However, Berger said that the EU will continue to support Ukraine, and that the European Commission has decided to activate a directive called the "Temporary Protection Directive," which was last used during the Balkan crises, to allow refugees to stay in any EU country for at least one year and have access to the European labor market, health and education services.

Last week, the International Court of Justice issues a binding ruling that says the Russian aggression in Ukraine has to stop as it violates international law, he noted, adding that Ukraine has been an independent nation since 1991, and claims of it developing biological weapons are not credible.

He also stated that Russia had pledged in 1994 to recognise the territorial integrity and sovereignty in exchange for Ukraine giving up its nuclear weapons.

Food Security

We have seen the impact of the Ukrainian crisis on food scarcity and food security in the world, Berger said, adding that the EU together with the United States and other international institutions like the United Nations are discussing food security globally as the prices are rising and wheat costs in the international market have almost doubled.

"The scarcity of some commodities like wheat is major concern for many countries including Egypt which receives large quantities of wheat from Russia and Ukraine," he pointed out.

The impact on tourism is also a major concern, Berger added, since the world has already been suffering from a difficult period as a result of the Coronavirus pandemic for the last two years, and tourism worldwide has just started to recover with fewer restrictions on travel. "Then the war in Ukraine came to pose great threats to the tourism industry as well," he said.

Hartmann also stressed that all the justifications Russia has offered for its war in Ukraine are unacceptable.

He added that the crisis calls into question the world order, as it affects every part of the world including Egypt. "We have never imagined that a military conflict like the one in Ukraine could erupt after the Second World War and after the end of the Cold War," he said.

Moreover, Hartmann said that the EU has praised Egypt's decision to support the UN Assembly's resolution to demand Russia stop its offensive in Ukraine.

"The EU, together with many other countries, is preparing a second resolution that follows up on the humanitarian aspect of the crisis in Ukraine," Hartmann pointed out.

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Egypts national banks Banque Misr, the National Bank of Egypt, and Banque du Caire made good on their promise to invest more in financial technology startups (fintech) this week with the investment of some LE1.3 billion in a fund intended to support them.

Together with Global Ventures, a leading Middle East-focused venture capital firm, the three banks launched a fund called Nclude by Global Ventures following approval by the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE). Other investors include the eFinance Investment Group and the Egyptian Banks Company.

The funds strategy focuses on fintech and fintech-enabled businesses that are improving the digitisation of financial services across the economy, Basil Moftah, a partner at Global Ventures, told Al-Ahram Weekly.

While the initial investment in the fund is led by Banque Misr as an anchor investor and the National Bank of Egypt and Banque du Caire as strategic investors, Nclude aims to attract regional and international investors who see the potential of fintech in Egypt, Eslam Darwish, a partner in the fund, told the Weekly.

He said the fund fitted within the overall CBE strategy to broaden financial inclusion in Egypt through fintech innovation and to position the country as the fintech hub of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.

There has long been a debate about whether fintech competes with the banks or if it is complementary to them, Darwish said. The fund demonstrates that fintech and the banks can partner together to solve real-world problems and deliver scalable commercial opportunities, he added.

It is a demonstration of how far the banks are willing to go to commit to supporting the fintech ecosystem, he said.

Nclude is one of the first and largest funds in the MENA region dedicated to fintech, showing the real leadership of the Egyptian banks and government of fintech over the coming years, Moftah said.

The fact that the fund involves some of the larger banks in terms of access to population gives startups an advantage in making the right impact with their technology and solutions, he added. This partnership with the regulator, the banks, and fintech will allow the services to reach the people more seamlessly, he said.

According to Darwish, the fund is capped at $150 million, and while it is too early to speculate, he said he saw a lot of demand for funding. Egypt is a massive opportunity, in fintech specifically, he said.

The fund has already made its first investments in four companies, Khazna, Lucky, Mozare3, and Paymob, all of which offer everything from technology-driven financial solutions to underserved consumers to direct access to financing for smallholder farmers.

We are looking for ideas that can solve real problems on the ground and help to address financial inclusion, Darwish said, commenting on the criteria for choosing the companies.

First, we are attracted by the idea. Then, we do due diligence to make sure they are able to deliver what they promise, Moftah said.

The selected companies undergo due diligence of between six and 10 weeks, during which the fund looks at the startups technology, making sure it is robust and scalable, is in good legal order, and has the proper licensing.

Customer and background checks and references are carried out on entrepreneurs and clients to make sure the products are needed by the market.

According to Moftah, the fund can invest between $500,000 and $5 million per company and can diversify its investment among multiple companies, giving an equal chance to many of them, he added.

The size of the funding depends on the stage the company is at. The earlier a company is on its fintech journey, the smaller the cheque may be.

The fund monitors the performance of companies selected for funding in more than one way. As part of a shareholder agreement with the companies, it is likely to take a seat on the board to supervise activities and exercise oversight on a monthly and quarterly basis.

It is also entitled to receive regular updates from companies about key performance indicators, he added. Global Ventures has a team that can help with investment support, recruiting, business development, fund raising and introductions to other investors. It works closely with each company and knows where the company may need help, he said.

Aside from the initial four startups selected for funding, the fund has a pipeline of potential investments in another ten to 15 companies. Among the areas covered are solutions enabling people to educate themselves about the financial services industry, an important route towards financial inclusion.

Another area is the Electronic Know Your Customers System, which allows banks to accept new customers electronically. This is a hot issue globally and complicated technologically, Moftah said, and there are some interesting Egyptian startups working to solve this problem.

According to Darwish, the new fintech law issued earlier this year will unleash the potential of the industry in Egypt. Already the number of technology-based startups has been rising, and some 570 startups are currently in the market, around a fifth of which are working in fintech.

Moftah believes that Egypts technology sector is booming partly because the Covid-19 pandemic drove a huge increase in the online consumption of content and services. There is increasing acceptance by Egyptian society that technology is a sector worthy of peoples careers, unlike in the past when young people may have preferred to study more traditional subjects.

But challenges do persist, such as the availability of skilled engineers, Moftah said. To be able to meet the demand by technology companies over the coming years, entrants to the market must polish their skills to keep up with new technologies, he said.

Another challenge is the adoption rate by consumers. While these are switching to Internet-based e-commerce, it may take them time to adapt fully, Moftah noted. Another challenge is that not enough people currently have credit cards and can pay online.

Moftah believes regulation allowing for electronic signatures is also important. He said that stakeholders were working on ways to do this, and when it becomes available it will make a huge difference.

Three years ago, credit cards were not allowed for use online in Egypt, and this issue has now been resolved. If Egypt is targeting a genuinely digital economy, it will be important to allow the use of electronic signatures with the right security in place, Moftah said.

In the meantime, Darwish believes the fund will be instrumental in facilitating relationships between stakeholders so that they can identify what is best for the larger ecosystem.

Whatever is happening is working. It just needs the momentum to continue, he said.

*A version of this article appears in print in the 24 March, 2022 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly.

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Al-Ahram Weekly ponders what the leaders of Egypt, the UAE, and Israel discussed during this weeks meeting in the Red Sea resort.

Against the backdrop of the ongoing Russian war on Ukraine, and the anticipated signing of a new nuclear deal between Iran and the West, Mohamed bin Zayed, the effective ruler of the UAE, and Israeli Prime Minister Neftali Bennett, arrived in Sharm El-Sheikh on Monday for talks on regional cooperation and security.

This is Bennetts second visit to Egypt  he met with President Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi at the Red Sea resort last September  and the third meeting between Al-Sisi and Bin Zayed in less than four months.

The three leaders have been reticent in supporting US-led sanctions against Russia. The UAE, the current Arab member of the UN Security Council, abstained during the vote on a US-Albanian sponsored resolution condemning the Russian invasion of Ukraine, though it joined Egypt and Israel in voting in favour of a subsequent UN General Assembly resolution.

Since Moscow launched what it continues to refer to as a special military operation, President Al-Sisi has spoken to his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin by phone. Following a request by the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Bennet visited Moscow in an attempt to mediate the crisis. He was soon followed to the Russian capital by UAE Foreign Minister Abdullah ben Zayed.

On Tuesday morning an Egyptian official said it would be wrong to view the Sharm El-Sheikh meeting as signalling the emergence of an anti-US, pro-Russian alliance.

Of course not: the meeting is to coordinate positions among three key players in the region on how to manage regional stability given ongoing developments in and out of the region, he said.

A Gulf-based foreign diplomat, speaking before the meeting, said the UAE and Israel, along with Saudi Arabia, are worried about the signing of a new nuclear deal with Iran that fails to accommodate their concerns. The three countries had applauded former US president Donald Trumps decision to pull the US from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), and have been pushing for more conditions to be placed on Iran before the plan is resumed.

Washingtons failure to accommodate the demands of the two Gulf states informed their refusal to acquiesce to Washingtons requests to increase production to stabilise the price of oil following the sanctions against Russia, a key exporter of fossil fuels.

Egypt, for its part, has been striving to maintain a balanced position on Iran. While President Al-Sisi has repeatedly affirmed Egypts support for Gulf security, Cairo has not lobbied against the resumption of the JCPOA.

Iran severed relations with Egypt in 1980, following Cairos decision to give refuge to the deposed Shah. Subsequent attempts to re-launch diplomatic relations have all stumbled.

While Egyptian officials stress that Cairos attempts to accommodate its Gulf allies on the Iran front are part of a bigger picture of Egyptian apprehension over Tehrans regional ambitions, they also point out that Egypt is at unease about the normalisation with Israel without any linkage to progress on the Palestinian-Israeli front.

According to the Egyptian official who spoke on Tuesday morning, Egypt, the UAE and Israel share concerns on regional stability despite their differences.

It is not unusual for the three leaders to consult with one another, and while it is a new thing for them to meet at the same time this is only to be expected in light of the normalisation of relations between Israel and the UAE, he said.



*A version of this article appears in print in the 24 March, 2022 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly.

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By Trend

The firm position of Ukraine will be stated at summits of G7, leaders of NATO, EU countries scheduled for March 24, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said during his recent night video address, Trend reports citing Ukrinform.

"I spoke today with Prime Minister Rutte of the Netherlands and President of France Emmanuel Macron. We are coordinating our positions on the eve of the important summits in Europe, Zelensky noted.




What do alternative views within the Gulf Cooperation Council on the war in Ukraine say about the future of Gulf-US relations.

As the US made strides towards signing an agreement with Iran on its nuclear programme this month, the Gulf emirate of Bahrain was calling for a new security architecture in the region that would bring together the Gulf states and Israel.

Bahrains Ambassador to Israel Abdullah bin Rashed spoke publicly of Manamas call but was less vocal about pointing to Iran as the target of the new security order. However, it was hard to miss the many insinuations in his interview with the Jewish Insider magazine that was published on 18 March.

The new security order advocates bringing together the Gulf countries, Arab states that are already signatories of peace treaties with Israel, and Israel along with the US. The prospects for this were first proposed under the former US administration of Donald Trump. Meetings of defence officials from regional countries had taken place both in Washington and Middle East capitals.

Thus far, the scheme has not progressed too far, due to perceived Egyptian apprehensions about a security scheme that would include Qatar. Doha was earlier the subject of a firm boycott from Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain starting in 2018.

Today, informed regional diplomatic sources say that consultations on a new security system that would bring some Gulf countries together with Israel could exclude Qatar. It might not even include the US.

The consultations involve the two signatories of the so-called Abraham Accords between some Arab countries and Israel, Bahrain and the UAE. Saudi Arabia and other Arab states are being kept informed about or included in the consultations, according to the same sources.

The objective of the currently discussed security system is to associate countries most worried about Irans possible comeback in the region. The most obvious three are Israel, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Bahrain, said one regional diplomat.

This new security plan is designed to be a message to the Biden administration on the dismay of these countries over the failure of Washington to accommodate their concerns over Iran.

We dont count on the US anymore. We saw how the US abruptly quit Afghanistan, and we dont think that it is impossible for us to see Washington turning its back on the Gulf, said an informed political source in one of the three capitals concerned.

This apprehension is shared by Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Bahrain, but not by the other three Gulf states of Kuwait, Oman, and Qatar.

Earlier this month, the US granted Qatar the status of special ally in recognition of a country that is not a member of NATO. Under the Trump administration, Qatar hosted the talks with the Taliban that concluded with the deal leading to the US withdrawal from Afghanistan last year. Qatar is also the host of the biggest US military base in the Gulf.

Kuwait and Oman were not so close to the Trump administration, and they are keeping up close contacts with the Biden administration, according to Gulf-based diplomatic sources.

Last month, according to a source at UN headquarters in New York, the Kuwait Permanent Mission to the UN was working closely with the US Permanent Mission to lobby support for a UN Security Council Resolution that would condemn Russia for its war on Ukraine.

The Kuwaiti mission in New York, the same source said, was also very active in lobbying support for the resolution voted on at the UN General Assembly. Kuwait co-sponsored the resolution.

The Kuwaiti position was very different from that of the UAE, which abstained in the UN Security Council but voted in favour of the later resolution at the General Assembly.

According to informed Emirati commentator Abdel-Khalek Abdullah, the UAE abstention was politically inevitable in view of the fact that most Arab countries were not on board with the resolution, which even the Asian countries were divided about.

As an Arab and Asian country, the political position of the UAE was to abstain in the UN Security Council, Abdullah said. Later, it voted in favour of the resolution at the General Assembly, a position that reflected the ethical standpoint of the UAE, he added.

Regional diplomats insist that the UAE abstention at the Security Council last month was a message to the US. They suggest that the UAE was conveying a message to the Biden administration that because it had failed to accommodate their and Saudi concerns, the two countries would not be there for the Biden administration in its showdown with Moscow.

According to the UN diplomatic source, the UAE posture must have been coordinated with the Saudis at a very high level.

Gulf-based diplomatic sources agree that despite their disagreements both Riyadh and Abu Dhabi seized the opportunity of the confrontation between Washington and Moscow over Ukraine to send a clear message to the Oval Office that they have grievances that need to be addressed.

According to Abdullah, this is a moment of tension between Abu Dhabi and the Biden administration that relates partially, but not only, to Iran.

The Biden administration, he said, had failed to live up to the expectations of Abu Dhabi, traditionally a very close ally of Washington, not just on the suspended sales of F-35 fighter jets that had been approved by the Trump administration, but also on other defence systems.

The Biden administration had also failed to put the Houthis in Yemen on the terrorist list, as required by the UAE, Abdallah said.

Gulf-based diplomatic sources say that the Saudis have a longer list of grievances. They explain that Riyadh has been infuriated by the failure of the Biden administration to accommodate its demands for the slow lifting of economic sanctions on Iran in order to deny Tehran cash that could be used to expand its already major influence in the direct neighbourhood of Saudi Arabia.

This influence would be felt in both Yemen and Iraq, in addition to over Shia communities in the Arab Gulf countries, including in Saudi Arabia and its closest Arab ally Bahrain.

Riyadh is also unwilling to accommodate what it perceives as an exaggerated emphasis from the Biden administration on the situation of human rights in Saudi Arabia, the sources say.

Until this week, both the UAE and Saudi Arabia had declined to increase their oil production to help stabilise oil prices that had been negatively influenced by the exclusion of Russian oil exports.

The visit of Emirati Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed to Moscow earlier this month was unanimously referred to by diplomatic sources as part of the messaging that the UAE has been making to the White House.

According to Abdullah, Bin Zayeds visit came after an earlier visit by Qatari Foreign Minister Mohamed bin Abdel-Rahman to Moscow.

At this moment of crisis, regionally influential countries, including the Gulf states, are trying to consult with all the key players, he said. The world is now living in a multipolar system, and it is only legitimate for all countries to decide how to position themselves in this set-up.

Meanwhile, regional diplomatic sources say that the UAE went further when it followed the visit of its foreign minister to Moscow with a visit by Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad to Abu Dhabi over the weekend.

The US State Department issued a statement to express its profound disappointment at this visit, rare language in the Washington-Abu Dhabi lexicon. Al-Assad is a close ally of Russia, and Syria is the only Arab state that vetoed the UN General Assembly Resolution, along with other four countries.

According to Abdullah, the Al-Assad visit is part of diplomatic moves that the UAE has been pursuing for over a year to bring Syria back into the Arab sphere after its participation in the Arab League was suspended in 2011.

This is something that the 18 other Arab countries are in agreement with, he said.

Gulf-based diplomatic sources say that the UAE wants to balance Irans strong presence in Syria. According to a regional diplomatic source, if Al-Assad is willing to make a deal with Israel, this would remove the veto instantly.

Like the new security architecture that is currently under consideration, the showdown with Iran, and the war in Ukraine, Al-Assads re-integration is a point of contention within the GCC. This time, the UAE and Saudi views are not in alignment. Qatar and Oman also do not share the same position on this matter.

According to Abdullah, as it is no longer expected of the Gulf countries to side with the positions of the US in their entirety, it is also no longer expected of the six members of the GCC to take the same positions on all regional and international issues.

Things are changing, he said.

*A version of this article appears in print in the 24 March, 2022 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly

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Talks between Russia and Ukraine on Monday resulted in no tangible progress. Officials on both sides said there had been a relative breakthrough regarding some points of contention, but the end result does not appear to provide an applicable solution at present, especially since the talks seem to have been sidetracked into providing humanitarian for the people trapped in conflict areas.

Meanwhile, the Russian military continues to advance into Ukraine. The Russian forces sealed their grip on the Sea of Azovs major port of Mariupol, with only a few hundred Ukrainian fighters remaining in the port. Moscow gave them an ultimatum to hand over their weapons to spare their lives, an offer Kyiv has so far rejected.

Russia has also advanced on Kyiv, taking control of some of its suburbs and one of its airports. According to a Western news agencys reports, what is more, Lviv, Ukraines cultural capital, is closer than ever to the fighting. But according to Ahmed Al-Khamisi, a professor of literature and Russian studies speaking to Al-Ahram Weekly, negotiations are the only way forward.

There are no prospects for the war to expand. Any step in this direction would mean an all-out war between Russia and the US, and this is not realistic, Al-Khamisi, who worked as a correspondent for a large number of Arab newspapers, radio stations and TV channels in Moscow from the late 1970s until early 2000s, said. The US is prepared for the Russia war until the last Ukrainian soldier  not the first US soldier.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has repeatedly criticised NATO and the European Union for not helping his army out in the war against Moscow.

But it is unlikely Russia will back down, Al-Khamisi says. The majority of Russians are united behind President Vladimir Putin. They regard the current events as their third war. Al-Khamisi is referring to the Russians defeating Napoleon in 1812 and then Hitler in World War II. The war is driven by NATOs repeated attempts to lay siege to Russia, as happened in Chechnya, Georgia and now Ukraine.

Since the Napoleonic wars, when it joined the UK, Prussia and the Austro-Hungarian empire in the royal alliance against France, Russia has been an essential component of European security. The Tsarist empire was a major player in World War I and decisive factor in the Nazis defeat. That is not to mention Europes dependence on Russian gas and minerals. There is no Europe without Russia.

European capitals like Berlin and Paris are far less keen on a war with Moscow due to deeply rooted and intertwining relations. Russia supplies Europe with 35-40 per cent of its natural gas needs, and together with Ukraine it provides a third of the wheat, 60 per cent of the sunflower oil and more than 25 per cent of the corn used by the world at large. According to economic reports, Chinese imports of Russian gas and oil have hiked, and dozens of African and Middle Eastern countries rely heavily on energy, food, and weapons from Moscow.

The only way to end the war is by reaching a political agreement that answers the Russian demands, whether it is signed by the current president of Ukraine or following a change of government, Al-Khamisi says. The way the war is headed confirms Russias desire to change the government in Kyiv. Moscow was able from the outset to enter the Ukrainian capital, but it has been pressuring the army in Ukraine to move to change the political leadership.

Ashraf Al-Sabbagh, a Moscow-based writer and political analyst, told Al-Ahram Weekly that this war is one of many stages meant to ensure Moscows security by creating a wide range of buffer states between Moscow and the West.

Europe was divided twice since World War II, once between NATO and Warsaw, another time after the fall of the Soviet Union. Now Moscow wants what it thinks it deserves of the continent. Moscow wants to control its immediate neighbours, or what were once the USSR states, such as Belarus, Ukraine, as well as the Caucasus, such as Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Armenia.

Russia is putting pressure on countries such as Finland and Sweden to prevent them from joining NATO. In addition, its influence in the Islamic countries of Central Asia is undisputed. This was evident with the recent breakout of protests in Kazakhstan, when Moscow sent forces to help the authorities in Nur-Sultan to suppress demonstrations.

Russia started the war, but it is not certain it can end it, Al-Sabbagh said, referring to the Moscow-Kyiv negotiations.

The first round of negotiations took place on Ukraines border with Belarus on 28 February, four days after the start of the war, with demands set at their highest. In the second round of talks on 3 March in Brest, Belarus, on its border with Poland, negotiations took a more realistic path. The stronger party, Russia, stated five demands  that Ukraine form a de-Nazified government, cease military action, change its constitution to enshrine neutrality, acknowledge Crimea as Russian territory, and recognise the republics of Donetsk and Lugansk as independent states  while Ukraine insisted on full Russian withdrawal, providing solid security guarantees that Russia will not attack again, European protection, and joining the EU.

During the third round of talks on 7 March, the Russian delegation said the forces are ready for immediate withdrawal should Kyiv answer Moscows five demands. Kyiv declined. The Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and his Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba met in Antalya, Turkey, on 17 March. The demands focused on opening humanitarian corridors to evacuate civilians and the wounded in fighting zones. Until the present moment, a few humanitarian aid paths were created in some Ukrainian cities that were seized by Russia.

If the West continues to punish Russia, Moscow could invade all of Ukraine and start negotiations on the basis of the status quo, said Al-Sabbagh. Imposing sanctions on Russia, nonetheless, will harm all the countries of the world that depend on Moscows wheat, weapons, and energy sources. How can developing countries, which number more than 100, meet their needs of wheat, oil, weapons, and fuel without Russia, and more importantly, how can they pay for the commodities they imported now that Russian banks have been taken off the SWIFT system? Russia is waging this war armed with the worlds need for it, said Al-Khamisi, and this, more than the Russian forces victory on the ground, is what will end the war.

*A version of this article appears in print in the 24 March, 2022 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly

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The Gulf Cooperation Council has put forward a new initiative to end the war in Yemen, though this has been rejected by the countrys Houthi rebels

The first Gulf initiative on Yemen in 2011 aimed to facilitate the transfer of government from the regime of former Yemeni president Ali Abdullah Saleh to a newly elected authority. Some 25 political parties and numerous political figures, including Saleh, took part in the initiative, which resulted in the election of President Abd Rabbu Mansur Hadi in February 2012.

The initiative also aimed to produce a new constitution for Yemen, but it did not live long enough to produce a new political order. Instead, the new government was obliged to engage in crisis management since after his return from a hospital stay in the US Saleh withdrew his support for the transition and allied himself with the Ansarullah (Houthi) Movement.

As the tensions escalated, the newly elected president fled to Saudi Arabia and the Houthis marched into the capital Sanaa. Following the assassination of Saleh in December 2017, the Houthis embarked on a full-scale effort to take over the rest of the northern provinces, especially Mareb, a goal that still eludes them.

It is important to bear this background in mind in the light of the Gulf Cooperation Councils (GCC) call for a new initiative to end the war in Yemen. It has invited all the Yemeni parties to take part, including the Houthis, but not only have they turned the invitation down, but they have also escalated strikes against vital economic and civilian targets in Riyadh.

Their message is clear: they are not interested in a project that would end the war and lay the foundations for peace. They have also made it clear that if talks are to take place, certain conditions have to be met first. The Saudi-led Coalition would have to lift the restrictions it has imposed on the Houthis and the venue would have to be moved to any other Gulf capital but Riyadh.

The GCC has affirmed that the initiative will proceed on schedule from 29 March to 7 April. Turki Al-Maliki, spokesman for the Saudi-led Coalition to support the internationally recognised Yemeni government, said that the coalition reserved the right to respond to the strikes, adding that Saudi Arabia wanted the initiative to succeed while the Houthis were working to undermine it.

A Houthi boycott will not keep the new Gulf initiative from proceeding, something which may draw on the precedent of the first initiative. Six months after this began, Saleh was forced to come to terms with it in order to resolve the Yemeni crisis.

Just as this process rallied a consensus and offered a way out of the crisis, the new GCC initiative could also show the Yemenis a way out from the gruelling war that has entered its eighth year and driven three-quarters of the population to the brink of starvation.

One Yemeni source speaking to Al-Ahram Weekly from Riyadh said that certain political forces dominate decision-making within the internationally recognised government, above all the Al-Islah (Reform) Party. By giving all the participating parties a say, the GCC initiative would breathe new life into the legitimacy of the government, he said.

The Yemeni armed forces also need to be restructured in order to contend with the Houthis. This will enable the coalition to oversee any military efforts and back them politically after it unilaterally withdraws from the war, strengthening its members own defences.

Another main facet of the war involves the Southern Movement with its secessionist ambitions. Efforts made in the framework of the GCC initiative will focus on bringing the Southern Transitional Council (STC) on board, the dominant faction in the movement.

It is hoped that the failure to implement the Riyadh Agreement signed by the STC and the government in November 2019 will be addressed, since according to some the longer this failure continues and the more the mistrust between the STC and the government is allowed to fester, the greater the momentum the Southern Movement will acquire and the greater will be the chances that the South will secede in the long term.

The UN is also working to promote the new Gulf initiative. UN Special Envoy to Yemen Hans Grundberg has met extensively with the countrys political forces in recent weeks and has proposed a humanitarian truce for Ramadan and the relaunch of relief efforts that had ground to a halt due to the war and the lack of international funding, scaled down against the backdrop of the war in Ukraine.

According to UN emergency relief coordinator Martin Griffiths, 23.4 million Yemenis now need assistance. Of these 19 million will go hungry in the coming months, an increase of almost 20 per cent from 2021, while more than 160,000 will face famine-like conditions. Only a third of the $4.3 billion that aid agencies seek this year for Yemen has been collected so far.

International support is crucial to ending the war in Yemen, and the US ambassador to the UN stressed this dimension in her remarks to the UN in mid-March, saying that her country welcomed Grundbergs launch of a consultative process and urging unified support for his efforts.

The GCC/UN efforts may also be part of a broader international drive to end other Middle Eastern wars. In Libya, the US along with other international and regional powers involved in that crisis are working to forestall a slide back into armed conflict. In Syria, there are international efforts to persuade the regime to accommodate the opposition. The common denominator in all these conflicts is foreign involvement, especially on the part of non-Arab parties such as Iran and Turkey.

Tehran appears to be unwilling to abandon its proxy-war strategy for expanding its regional influence, and it refuses any linkage between its policies in the negotiations to renew the 2015 nuclear agreement. But there may be other ways of countering the Iranian influence in Syria. An Arab rapprochement with Damascus could go a long way to reducing Syrian reliance on Iran, and the recent Emirati initiative to invite the Syrian president to the UAE, as well as the efforts of other Arab governments to promote Syrias return to the Arab League, could work towards this end.

International developments related to the Ukraine crisis combined with international pressures to salvage the political process in Libya might compel Turkey to relinquish its militarising of the Libyan crisis. Guarantees of its economic interests in the country might offer Ankara further incentives.

While it is assumed that boycotting the GCC initiative would severely weaken the Houthis, the initiative could also throw them a lifeline. Demonstrations have begun to increase in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen, with the protests driven by economic difficulties, tax hikes, deteriorating public services, and shortages of fuel and gas. Civil-service salaries have not been paid for years, while Houthi elites amass fortunes.

If the main impulse behind an impending march of the hungry against Houthi rule is economic, there are also signs that it could acquire political and ideological dimensions.

A number of Zaidi imams have reportedly distanced themselves from the Houthi project, which suggests that this movement could gradually lose its religious base. It is also difficult to imagine that the Houthi leaders will be able to hold out against the combination of economic and popular pressures and simultaneously continue to cling to their military option out of the belief that this will force their adversaries to give in to their demands.

The new GCC initiative may be the last chance they have to survive, but this time as one party in a larger political project for Yemen and not as one that wants to impose itself on the country as a whole.

*A version of this article appears in print in the 24 March, 2022 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly

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Changes in regional dynamics have put pressure on the talks between Tehran and the world powers over the Iran nuclear deal.

The nuclear deal with Iran is neither imminent nor certain. This pessimistic assessment by the US State Department reflects the complexities of the last few miles before an agreement is reached between Iran and the world powers on Tehrans nuclear programme.

The already complex talks have become increasingly complicated because of the Ukraine war, which has brought the Middle East back into the heart of international politics due to the need to pump more oil and gas into global markets to lower energy prices.

European diplomatic sources say that a new deal with Iran now hinges on the most politically problematic issue in the negotiations: whether to remove the powerful Iranian Revolutionary Guard (IRGC) from the US list of foreign terrorist organisations.

Tehran wants to see the removal of the Revolutionary Guards from the US list and is linking any nuclear agreement to an agreement to its demand. Iranian officials argue that sanctions on the Revolutionary Guard would keep foreign companies away from dealing with Guard-linked Iranian firms, damping the economic benefits of a new nuclear deal for Iran.

US officials have indicated that the Biden administration is weighing its options regarding Tehrans demand. The US administration is under increasing pressure internally and from its Middle Eastern allies to deny Tehrans request.

The Revolutionary Guard designation highlights the crosscurrents facing the Biden administration in its efforts to revive the nuclear deal.

On Monday, US State Department Spokesman Ned Price said in a daily briefing that there has been significant progress in recent weeks, but I want to be clear that an agreement is neither imminent nor is it certain.

He added that Washington is prepared to take difficult decisions to make it happen, as the talks in Vienna have been paused for more than ten days and it is not clear when and if they will resume.

Price also urged Tehran to free innocent Americans and others held in Iran, saying this was Washingtons top priority.

Senior US officials say a failure to find a compromise with Iran regarding the Revolutionary Guard could cause a breakdown in the negotiations that over almost a year have resolved nearly every other disagreement.

The US has accused the Revolutionary Guard of killing hundreds of Americans, while its elite Al-Quds Force has arranged weapons and support for proxy forces throughout the region and for pro-Iranian groups that have fought in Syria.

The Revolutionary Guard has long faced US sanctions for its ballistic-missile programmes and alleged human rights violations and was placed on the counterterrorism sanctions list in 2017.

The tension over the issue leaves Washington with difficult choices.

On the one hand, the Biden administration wants to sign a new nuclear agreement in order to implement one of its foreign policy goals and open the door to pumping more Iranian oil to international markets.

But on the other hand, there is Israeli and Gulf dissatisfaction at the prospect of removing the Revolutionary Guard from the US list of terrorist organisations. Top Israeli officials oppose the move, while the UAE is reportedly shocked at the notion.

We are very concerned about the United States intention to give in to Irans outrageous demand and remove the IRGC from the list of terrorist organisations, Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said on Sunday, adding that Washington seemed willing to agree to a deal with Iran at almost any cost.

According to the Jerusalem Post newspaper, some in Abu Dhabi are in great shock, and their views on the issue are similar to those of Israel.

To ease the tensions, the Biden administration has proposed to remove the Revolutionary Guard from the designation in exchange for assurances from Tehran that it will not use the Revolutionary Guard and its proxy forces in the region to undermine US interests.

But both Israel and US regional allies view a possible reliance on Tehrans pledges as insufficient and naive.

Another proposal is to remove the Guard from the US list if Tehran commits to reining in its regional aggression and refraining from targeting Americans. If Iran does not abide by the agreement, the listing could be reimposed.

Iran, which refuses to negotiate directly with Washington, has not yet responded to the US overtures, creating a stalemate that senior US officials say could imperil a deal.

In Washington, both Republican and Democratic lawmakers have expressed concerns over the possibility of removing the IRGC from the US list, arguing that it would embolden Iran-backed proxies such as Hizbullah in Lebanon and the Houthis in Yemen.

However, the US administration believes that a solution must be found to save the nuclear deal.

US officials have said that the threat posed by the Guard and other terrorist-listed entities would be much worse if Iran were to get nuclear weapons, given that Tehrans breakout time to amass enough nuclear fuel for a bomb was significantly reduced after the US withdrew from the former nuclear agreement under the Trump administration.

The view in the Biden administration is that reaching a deal with Iran now and then improving upon the agreement later is a better option than waiting, these officials said.

The White House also views an agreement restraining Irans nuclear programme as being key to Middle Eastern stability, allowing the US to focus on China and Russia and arguing that withdrawing from the 2015 deal did not yield positive results.

Not only has Irans nuclear programme advanced, but their behaviour in the region and beyond has got more aggressive, including by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said last week.

So, the notion that the action of the past administration pulling out of the Iran nuclear deal has cut down on the actions or the escalatory behaviour of the [Guard] is inaccurate.

The US will need to convince its Gulf allies of the benefits of reaching a new nuclear deal with Iran, even if it leads to the removal of the Revolutionary Guards from the US sanctions list.

Both Saudi Arabia and the UAE have had difficulties in their dealings with Washington recently, especially after the Biden administration took steps distancing itself from the Middle East to focus on the Asia-Pacific region.

The US has also removed the Houthis from its terror designation and restricted weapons sales to the Saudi-led Coalition fighting in Yemen.

But after the outbreak of the Ukraine crisis, the rise in energy prices on the international market, and Washingtons demand that Saudi Arabia and the UAE increase their oil production to lower prices, the US administration began taking steps to reduce tensions with its allies in the Middle East, who are worried about the repercussions of the Iranian nuclear agreement.

On Monday, US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan slammed Tehrans support for the Houthis as the rebel force launched multiple attacks against Saudi Arabia over the weekend. Sullivan repeated US accusations that Tehran is supplying missiles and drones to the Houthis, violating a UN arms embargo.

Saudi Arabia warned on Monday that Yemeni rebel attacks on the kingdoms oil facilities posed a direct threat to global supplies. Saudi Arabia will not incur any responsibility for shortages in oil supplies in the light of the Iran-backed Houthi attacks, the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

In response, the US announced that it has transferred a significant number of Patriot anti-missile interceptors to Saudi Arabia, fulfilling an urgent request from the kingdom that has become a point of contention in relations between Washington and Riyadh, according to the Associated Press and the Wall Street Journal.

Amidst increasing uncertainty, Irans supreme leader signalled his support for Tehrans nuclear negotiations to secure sanctions relief in a rare reference to the still-halted talks.

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei stressed the importance of Iranian economic self-sufficiency during a televised speech on the occasion of Nowruz, the Persian New Year.

The essence of the issue is to run the country in such a way that sanctions cannot hit it seriously, Khamenei said, praising the hardline government of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi for boosting Irans trade with its neighbours and shipping Iranian crude abroad despite the sanctions.

Khamenei, whose pronouncements are considered the final say on all state matters in Iran, has remained largely silent on the negotiations to restore Tehrans nuclear deal with the world powers.

His latest intervention could be seen as a sign of Irans desire to revive the nuclear agreement before the Biden administration is paralysed by the approaching midterm elections to the US Congress.

*A version of this article appears in print in the 24 March, 2022 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly

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A total of 878 Egyptian students in Ukraine have submitted their papers, as of Monday, to complete their studies in Egypt and will sit through an exam by the Supreme Council of Universities, said the Ministry of Emigration and Egyptian Expatriates Affairs.

The ministry noted that 24 March is the final date for accepting applications.

According to a report received by Emigration Minister Nabila Makram on the latest updates on Egyptian students returning from Ukraine, applicants are from the disciplines of medicine, pharmacy, dentistry and engineering.

Students, who have submitted their papers will take the exam to determine their abilities and the disciplines in which they will continue their studies. The dates of the exams will be announced successively.

This number is out of 2,179 Egyptian students that were previously reported to have filled out a government form to transfer to private and national Egyptian universities.

Students must have proof of their prior enrollment in Ukrainian universities; they have up to three months to obtain the required documents.

To submit the documents, students will have to visit the ministrys headquarters at 96 Ahmed Oraby street in Gizas Agouza district from 10am to 3pm Sunday through Thursday, Makram said.

Egyptian students in Ukraine can fill out the form here.

So far, 71 students with incomplete papers will go directly to the Maritime Transport Academy in Alexandria, while the rest of the students from business administration and humanities majors will apply directly to private universities to complete their studies.

For her part, Makram offered assurances that the ministry is coordinating with all relevant authorities in the presence of representatives from private and national, non-profit Egyptian universities.

This is in accordance with the regulations approved by the cabinet and in cooperation with the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research, in implementation of the directives of President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi to ensure Egyptian students coming from Ukraine are able to enroll in universities and continue their education.

Makram announced on Tuesday that there will be unified form for students in Russia as well and is communicating with them to check on their conditions in light of the Russian-Ukrainian crisis, according to another statement by the emigration ministry.

Makram held a Zoom meeting with the Egyptian students in Russia in cooperation with Ministry of Emigration Dialogue Centre for Egyptians Studying Abroad (MEDCE) in Russia and Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research Khaled Abdel-Ghaffar to stay ahead of their needs.

Students in Russia expressed the challenges they face, especially in the issue of remittances and money withdrawal via credit cards, in addition to the difficulty in paying school fees or renewing their passport, the statement added.

In response to students demands, Makram explained that students must fill the form accurately and promptly. The form includes all the details of students academic year, the city in which they reside, and whether they have proof of enrollment from their academic institution or not.

The form for Egyptian students in Russia is available here.

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Pakistani President Aref Alvi said on Tuesday that he looks forward to a visit by his Egyptian counterpart Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi to Pakistan soon in a meeting with Egypts Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry in Islamabad, the Egyptian foreign ministry said.

Shoukry delivered President El-Sisis regards to President Alvi, according to the Egyptian foreign ministry.

During the meeting, Alvi and Shoukry discussed the bilateral relations between Egypt and Pakistan, where the Egyptian foreign minister expressed the necessity to keep the current momentum of the relations between the two countries.

Shoukry added that it is important to continue boosting political consultation and continuing coordination, whether on the bilateral level or at international forums about issues of common interest.

Earlier, Shoukry met with officials including Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan in Islamabad, where Shoukry expressed hopes that this visit will be an opportunity to push forward bilateral relations between Egypt and Pakistan.

Shoukry is in Pakistan to attend the 48th session of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation convened in Islamabad.

Pakistan is the fourth and last stop for Shoukry in his Asian tour that started on Sunday 13 March, where he visited Malaysia, Singapore, and Indonesia.

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President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday asked the European Union to relaunch talks for Turkey to eventually become an EU member, on the eve of a summit focused on Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

The Turkish president's comments come as the war in Ukraine allows Ankara to return to the international stage by offering its services as a mediator in the conflict.

"We expect the EU to open quickly the chapters of the membership negotiations and to start negotiations on a customs union without yielding to cynical calculations," Erdogan said after talks with visiting Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte.

Negotiations for Turkey's accession one day to the 27-nation EU, which began in 2005, have stalled in recent years over tensions between the two sides, with the EU accusing Turkey of moving away from the rule-of-law and other values on which the bloc is founded.

Relations between Turkey and the EU worsened sharply after the July 2016 attempted coup.

The EU has often criticised the crackdown and the attacks on freedom of speech which followed the failed putsch, in which tens of thousands of people have been arrested including journalists.

The EU and Turkey had agreed a deal in March 2016 worth billions of euros in which Turkey would take back migrants in exchange for visa liberalisation, which has yet to be introduced for Turks.

EU heads of state and government are set to meet Wednesday in Brussels for a summit aimed at dealing with the fallout of Russia's invasion of Ukraine on February 24.

NATO is also to hold a crisis summit on Ukraine on Thursday.

The Turkish president has hosted talks in the last week and a half with four EU leaders and NATO.

An ally of Kyiv and NATO member, Turkey has been trying since the start of the Ukraine crisis to mediate between Russia and Ukraine while declining to line up behind Western sanctions against Russia.

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Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Tuesday his Liberal Party has reached an agreement with the opposition New Democratic Party that would keep his party in power until 2025.

"What this means is during this uncertain time the government can function with predictability and stability, present and implement budgets and get things done for Canadians," Trudeau said.

Trudeau's Liberal Party won reelection in September but failed to win a majority of seats in Parliament and must rely on the opposition to pass legislation. The leftist NDP party will support Trudeau's Liberals in exchange for deals on pharmaceutical and dental care plans, but it will not have a lawmaker in Trudeau's Cabinet.

"We've agreed to work together,'' Trudeau said. "It's about focusing on what we agree on instead of what we disagree on.''

Anti-vaccine protesters and truckers who laid siege to parts of Ottawa, the capital, called for Trudeau's government to be ousted earlier this year.

In theory, Trudeau could run again when the next election is held, which must be by 2025. But there are widespread doubts that he will do so, given that he would have been in power for 10 years, which has seen a drop in his popularity and a rise in animosity toward him in much of western Canada.

Trudeau is still remembered for evoking the prospect of "sunny ways'' when he took office in 2015 at age 43, the second-youngest Canadian prime minister ever. There have been setbacks since then, but he has been reelected twice.

Tall and trim, Trudeau channelled the star power, if not quite the political heft, of his father, Pierre Trudeau, who swept to power in 1968 on a wave of support dubbed "Trudeaumania.'' Pierre Trudeau, who was prime minister until 1984 with a short interruption, remains one of the few Canadian politicians known in America, his charisma often drawing comparisons to John F. Kennedy.

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Final preparations are underway for the 94th Academy Awards and a long-awaited return to Hollywood's glamourous normalcy after a muted ceremony and ratings low last year.

Here's everything you need to know about the 2022 Oscars, including where to watch the live show, who's expected to win and what the big controversies are this year.

WHEN ARE THE OSCARS?

The Oscars will be held on Sunday, March 27, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. The ceremony is set to begin at 2:00 AM Wednesday and will be broadcast live on ABC.

WHO IS HOSTING THE 2022 OSCARS?

Regina Hall, Amy Schumer and Wanda Sykes are taking the stage to co-host the ceremony, which has been without an emcee for the past three years. Producer Will Packer said each woman brings something different to the show.

WHO IS PRESENTING?

Show producers will continue adding names throughout the week, but at the moment stars expected to hand out awards Oscar night include Bill Murray, Lady Gaga, Kevin Costner, Samuel L. Jackson, Zoe Kravitz, Anthony Hopkins, Lily James, Daniel Kaluuya, Mila Kunis, John Leguizamo, Simu Liu, Rami Malek, Lupita Nyong'o, Rosie Perez, Chris Rock, Naomi Scott, Wesley Snipes, Uma Thurman, John Travolta, Yuh-jung Youn, Ruth E. Carter, Halle Bailey, Sean Diddy Combs, Jamie Lee Curtis, Woody Harrelson, Shawn Mendes, Tyler Perry, Tracee Ellis Ross, Stephanie Beatriz, DJ Khaled, Jennifer Garner, H.E.R., Tiffany Haddish, Tony Hawk, Elliot Page, Kelly Slater and Shaun White

WHICH MOVIES ARE NOMINATED FOR BEST PICTURE AT THE 2022 OSCARS?

The 10 movies competing for best picture this year are: Belfast; CODA; Don't Look Up; Drive My Car; Dune; King Richard; Licorice Pizza; Nightmare Alley; The Power of the Dog; West Side Story.

WHAT WERE THE MOST SURPISING OSCAR SNUBS?

There were a lot of surprises Oscar nominations morning.

Some exclusions that stood out include Denis Villeneuve, whose Dune got the second most nominations (10) behind The Power of the Dog (12) including best picture, but who failed to get a directing nomination for himself.

The best actress category was especially brutal this year, leaving out Lady Gaga for House of Gucci, Jennifer Hudson for Respect and Caitriona Balfe for Belfast and Renate Reinsve for The Worst Person in the World.

WHAT ARE THE PREDICTIONS FOR THE WINNERS ON OSCAR NIGHT?

The Power of the Dog is the presumed frontrunner for best picture and best director, for Jane Campion, but there is also the possibility that CODA will take best picture, especially after it won at the Producer's Guild Awards.

Either way, it'll be the first time a streaming service has won best picture. Other likely winners include Will Smith for best actor (King Richard), Jessica Chastain for best actress (The Eyes of Tammy Faye), Troy Kotsur for best supporting actor (CODA) and Ariana DeBose for best supporting actress (West Side Story).

WHAT ELSE CAN WE EXPECT FROM THE OSCARS?

Organizers have promised that they will keep the broadcast to three hours and Packer (whose films include crowd pleasers like Girls Trip) wants to make it as entertaining as possible while still honoring the nominees and winners.

The show will flow, not unlike a movie, in that there will be different themes and a different feel and different energy throughout the night, Packer said in an interview with IndieWire. It will not feel or look or sound like one show for three hours. It's taking you through the course of this cinematic journey.

Best song nominees like Beyonce, Van Morrison and Billie Eilish are also in talks to perform.

ARE THERE ANY CONTROVERSIES THIS YEAR?

The Oscars are so high profile that every year someone is upset about something (especially when changes are involved) but this year the biggest controversy is over the decision to present some awards before the live broadcast begins and edit them into the show later.

The eight awards are for shorts (live action, animated and documentary), editing, score, hair and makeup, sound and production design. The decision has its defenders, but also an army of high-profile detractors, including Campion, Villeneuve, Steven Spielberg, Chastain and Penelope Cruz.

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The war in Ukraine has rekindled debate on the future of Egyptian-American relations

Following the strategic dialogue between Egypt and the US, held in Washington in early November 2021, a joint statement said the meetings, led by Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukri and his American counterpart Antony Blinken, had offered an important opportunity for the two allies to discuss issues of mutual interest and joint collaboration.

Two months later, however, the US administration decided to withhold $130 million in US military aid to Egypt. The withheld funds represent 10 per cent of the $1.3 billion that the US has earmarked for Egypt annually since 2017.

On 27 January, Blinken spoke on the phone with Shoukri to inform him of the administrations decision. According to a US State Department statement, Blinken reaffirmed to Shoukri the importance of human rights in the bilateral relationship between the two countries.

While some American media outlets cited unnamed US officials as saying that the Biden administration believes Egypt isnt doing enough to improve its human rights record, officials in Egypt declined to comment.

I think Egyptian officials refuse to comment on these sensitive issues because they prefer to discuss them through diplomatic channels with American officials, said Mohamed Salah Abu Himila, a member of the House of Representatives Defence and National Security Committee. He added that Cairo had, in any case, anticipated the cut in US aid.

Abu Himila argues that since President Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi came to power in 2014, Egypt has circumvented US pressure and conditions by diversifying its defence purchases, with Russia, France, and Germany becoming important suppliers of arms. Egypts imports of arms from Russia, France, Germany, and Italy have all surged since 2014, according to data from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.

Abu Himila also points out that much of the economic assistance Egypt now receives comes from Arab Gulf states, particularly Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Kuwait.

Yet despite the cut to aid, on 10 March the US news website Politico reported that the US Senate approved $2.2 billion worth of defence sales to Egypt by an overwhelming majority. The package includes advanced air defence systems and C-130 Super Hercules transport aircraft. The US Defense Security Cooperation Agency said the sales will improve Egypts capability to meet current and future threats by providing airlift support for its forces, and that the aircraft can also be used for maritime patrol and rescue missions.

On 16 March, US Central Command Chief General Frank McKenzie told the Senates Armed Services Committee that the US might also sell Egypt advanced F-15 fighter jets. McKenzie did not provide details of the sale, but according to Aviation Week it will probably involve the advanced F-15X fighter jet, which can fly at 3,000 km per hour, and has a range of 5,500 km.

McKenzie visited Egypt last month and met with Minister of Defence Mohamed Zaki and other senior military officials. On another visit in February last year he met with President Al-Sisi.

It was a pleasure to meet with President Al-Sisi and other military leaders in Cairo to identify ways to strengthen US-Egyptian relations, McKenzie said, adding that our defence relationship has endured  and will continue  for the benefit of both our great nations.

Informed Pentagon sources told Reuters that McKenzies visit to Cairo [in 2022] and Washingtons approval of a $2.2 billion arms deal to Egypt came immediately following Joe Bidens administrations decision to withhold $130 million in military aid to Egypt. Reuters also quoted Senator Rand Paul as saying: We are partially taking away some military aid while offering new sales that are 10 times what weve withheld.

It seems that US generals and military people in the Pentagon want a closer relationship with Egypt, while some senior figures in the US administration, the State Department and Congress, have other opinions, former assistant foreign minister Mohamed Hegazi said in a TV interview.

While US military officials have long stressed Egypts role in expediting the passage of US warships through the Suez Canal and granting overflight for American military aircraft, Congressmen like Rand Paul, and rights groups such as the New York-based Human Rights Watch, have been busy trying to persuade the administration in Washington to further reduce US aid to Egypt.

Washington, says Hegazi, has followed the growth in military relations between Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates on the one hand, and Russia on the other with growing concern.

Hegazi argues that these countries, which used to describe themselves as US allies, decided, in the face of Washingtons turning a deaf ear to their requests for military supplies to safeguard their national security, to look for other suppliers.

Neither, he adds, have they concealed their reservations about Washingtons lack of resolve in the face of ongoing Iranian provocations.

Firas Maksad, a professor at George Washington University, noted in an article titled Crisis in US-Middle East relations that Washington needs to recommit itself to the region. Most of Americas Middle Eastern allies  Israel, Jordan, Turkey, and Egypt  are expanding ties to Russia and China at Americas expense, wrote Maksad.

We saw how the UAE refused to toe Washingtons line and abstained from condemning Russias invasion of Ukraine in the UN Security Council three weeks ago, and this week decided to receive Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad, says Hegazi.  Saudi Arabia has similarly ignored American requests to pump more oil in a bid to push prices down.

Perhaps the new arms deal with Egypt, if completed, will reassure Arab allies that America actually cares about their national security.

Hegazi and Abu Himila believe that it is too early to say how the war in Ukraine will impact Egyptian-American relations, or those between the US and Saudi Arabia and the UAE, though Abu Himilia argues that, regardless of any scenarios the war might produce, relations with Washington will remain a priority for all three states.

During his visit to Cairo, General McKenzie said: We still have a very robust weapons programme with Egypt and were still very heavily engaged with them.

*A version of this article appears in print in the 24 March, 2022 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly.

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By Trend

BNP Paribas SA is stopping all new business in Russia, joining European peers in winding down their local operations, Trend reports citing Bloomberg.

The Paris-based bank has informed its corporate clients that its local unit will no longer be able to process their transactions from the end of March, the bank said in an emailed statement on Monday.




Climate change and its effect on women was central to Egypts presentation at the Commission on the Status of Women.

President of the National Council for Women (NCW) Maya Morsi headed to New York to participate in the 66th session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW), held from 9 to 25 March.

Morsi spoke about Egypts efforts to achieve gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls in the context of climate change, environment, and disaster risk-reduction policies and programmes.

Morsi said Egypt was among the countries most affected by climate change even though it accounts for only 0.6 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions.

She noted the acceleration of national efforts and policies to protect the environment, due to its importance in advancing sustainable development, and honour the commitment to decent standards of living, in addition to Egypts commitment to relevant international conventions and above all the stipulation of the Egyptian constitution that every individual has the right to live in a healthy environment. The government is committed to adopting the necessary measures to preserve and rationally use its natural resources, she explained.

Regarding the impact of climate change on women, particularly their health, food security, and decent living standards, Egypt has taken many serious measures to implement a sustainable development model, she noted.

Egypt established the National Council for Climate Change, headed by the prime minister, she said. Moreover, Egypts cabinet includes the Ministry of Environment, headed by a female. There is a gender unit in the egypt, economy. an equal opportunity unit in the Ministry of Environment working in cooperation with the NCW, she said, adding the council also launched an approach to integrate womens needs into the environment sector and to regulate environmental sustainability standards.

The government has taken many initiatives to mitigate the effects of climate change, while taking into account womens empowerment such as raising their awareness of rural initiatives and eco-friendly agriculture methods, holding environmental camps to train women to engage in eco-friendly industries, raising awareness of the sustainable management of floods and launching an initiative to educate women on greenhouse gas emissions reduction methods.

Morsi pointed to the Decent Life initiative, launched last year, which makes women and their needs one of its main pillars. The initiative takes into account environmental dimensions and sustainability criteria and dedicates LE800 billion to 58 million Egyptians, 50 per cent of whom are women.

She said Egypts perspective on women, the environment, and climate change is based on seven actionable areas, including promoting gender-sensitive perspectives within adaptation, mitigation and responses, strengthening womens voices and having meaningful participation in environmental governance. It is also based on leveraging opportunities for women within the transition to a green economy and applying women-specific perspectives in financing climate action.

*A version of this article appears in print in the 24 March, 2022 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly.

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The UN COP27 meeting on climate change to be held in Sharm El-Sheikh in November will help promote an accurate image of Egypt and its achievements abroad, writes Alaa Shalaby

The COP27 to be held in Sharm El-Sheikh in November, the next meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), will represent a landmark in Egypts march towards achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), strengthening its role in leading the developing countries towards a just distribution of burdens and allowing them to receive the financial assistance they need to meet the challenges of climate change.

The SDGs and actions taken to confront climate change are based on human rights norms identified in international law and in conformity with Egypts international human rights obligations. These are guaranteed in Article 93 of Egypts Constitution and reflected in Egypts National Human Rights Strategy 2021-2026.

The COP27 meeting is an opportunity that Egypt can seize in order to overcome certain obstacles, especially the false and negative image deliberately created abroad after the 30 June Revolution to hinder the countrys independent path.

Last week, the Dubai EXPO 2020 in the UAE hosted a symposium on the Right to a Safe Environment and Climate Change organised by the Arab League in partnership with the UAE Ministry for Foreign Affairs and international cooperation. The UAE is hosting the COP28 meeting after Egypts hosting of COP27, and both countries are leading the region on five advanced models in response to the UNFCCC.

The symposium was organised on the 14th anniversary of Arab Human Rights Day, marked on 16 March each year when the Arab Charter for Human Rights came into force in 2008.

The right to a safe, healthy and sustainable environment was first recognised at the 1972 Stockholm Conference on Human Development and re-emphasised by the UN General Assembly in 1991. It gained further international recognition as a result of the 1992 Rio de Janeiro Earth Summit, the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, and the 2002 Johannesburg Summit, along with the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), ending in 2015, the SDGs, ending in 2030, and various resolutions of the UN Human Rights Council (HRC).

One of the main points discussed at the symposium in the UAE focused on the possibility of accelerating successful efforts made by Egypt, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Algeria in the context of hosting the COP meetings in 2022 and 2023.

Another point tackled was the regions sometimes negative global image, and while the discussions avoided traditionally defensive approaches and conspiracy theories, the participants were keen not to exclude their own possible responsibilities for this as well as not to go too deeply into the Ukraine tragedy and its harmful impacts on Arabs and Africans.

On the contrary, they paid attention to how the Arab countries can produce a better global image in the present situation, particularly since Arab societies are blessed with human wealth, human expertise, and natural resources.

The discussions pointed to the positive experiences that have been achieved in recent years, often in Egypt, which has achieved a lot in a very short period of time. The unique contribution that Egypt can make to COP27 relates to its position as a developing country and its major influence in both the Arab and the African worlds, as well as its remarkable achievements in the context of development in general and in the protection of the environment in particular.

It is not always easy to appreciate the full range of these achievements, since often they are hidden in government press releases. Even these do not always give comprehensive knowledge of what has been achieved, not least because there is no single place in which they have all been gathered.

However, some achievements that might be emphasised include the adoption of advanced methods by Egypts Water Administration, including redirecting rainwater to the forestation of arid land, and the expansion of sanitation, including the scientific treatment of agricultural wastewater and of waste and solid waste. There has also been a doubling of the production rates of clean and renewable energy.

Such achievements should be accompanied by advances in core human rights as part of the Decent Life Initiative that is changing the lives of 57 million people in Egypts long-neglected countryside and border areas, drawing upon recent models of success and modernising living conditions to international standards. There are also Egypts 23 new cities and new economic, industrial, and commercial areas, along with new transportation networks and the addition of 2.6 million acres to the countrys farmland.

The core human right of ensuring dignity for all governs the states economic and social policies, emphasised on the economic and social level in 2016-2017 with the introduction of the Solidarity and Dignity cash-transfer programmes that support roughly 17 million citizens and the social-housing initiative that has been making inroads on remedying the countrys housing problems that have been present since the mid-1970s.

On the political level, there have been efforts made since 2014 to promote equal citizenship among all Egypts religious communities while also promoting gender and age equality.

A further significant change came recently with the new rehabilitation complexes for prisoners, which will increase over the next three years from two complexes to six, replacing 47 other prisons and emphasising the principle that prisoners are only deprived of their freedom and not of their human dignity.

In the light of all these achievements, however, there is still a need to publicise them more widely, along with Egypts recently adopted National Human Rights Strategy. This would allow observers both at home and abroad to rely upon verified information and avoid political manipulation and false allegations.

A greater openness towards international counterparts and civil-society organisations working on human rights and the environment would be in the best interests of the country and would help in the promotion of the correct picture of Egypt circulating abroad.

* The writer is president of the Arab Organisation for Human Rights.

*A version of this article appears in print in the 24 March, 2022 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly.

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The establishment of Egypts National Council for Human Rights was a watershed moment in the protection of human rights in the country, writes Laila Takla

The setting up of Egypts National Council for Human Rights (NCHR) was a long journey and one worthy of being told.

Throughout its history, Egypt has always been keen to achieve justice and equality and provide a better life for its citizens. It has included guarantees of human rights in its constitutions and ratified all international treaties in this field.

In the early 1990s, the ministries of justice and foreign affairs set up human rights bureaus and Cairos Police Academy introduced an integrated centre for human rights. There was also the establishment of a human rights administration.

Egypt was a driving force behind the Inter-Parliamentary Unions (IPU) call to the worlds legislatures to set up human rights committees. The international community called on governments to establish national councils for human rights, and the UN established a board of trustees for the Voluntary Fund for Technical Cooperation in the Field of Human Rights to help this to come about.

The aim of the Fund was to provide assistance in implementing the provisions of international conventions, creating infrastructure for human rights, and contributing to the setting up of national councils and activating their role.

When it was set up, Egypts NCHR sought not to stick to the Western pattern of simply evaluating the situation regarding human rights, but instead also to take into account the circumstances and the culture of the country as a whole. No country in the world has ever been entirely free of human rights violations.

Several countries established national councils with the assistance of the fund in the 1990s, though Egypt was not among them. At that time, some human rights groups in Egypt sent complaints to Mary Robinson, the then UN high commissioner for human rights, and these were passed to me for consultation as chair of the board of trustees. Some of the complaints were justified, while others were exaggerated or baseless. The justification that the groups used for sending the complaints was there was no national council for human rights in Egypt at the time to which they could turn.

In 2000, the UN decided to focus in its report on human development on the issue of human rights. Among the criteria for evaluating the availability of human rights in a given country was the existence of a national council.

Various experts and consultants were asked to cooperate in preparing the human development reports with a focus on the issue of human rights. Among them were two Egyptian nationals, myself and Mohamed Fayek. Egypt came out well in many areas, but it was a matter for regret that it was not one of the countries in which a human rights council was established.

We tried to save the day by pointing to the efforts made in training judges and the setting up of the human rights centre at the Police Academy, which trained great numbers of Arab and African police officers. We pointed, too, to the setting up of the National Council for Women and the National Council for Childhood.

The real beginning of the journey towards establishing the NCHR was in 1999, however, through an initiative of ambassador Hani Khallaf. He held meetings attended by the public prosecutor and some of the parties concerned with human rights in Egypt, including Mohamed Fayek, Hafez Abu-Seada, and Baheyeddin Hassan. The late Mohamed Fathi Naguib was one of the main figures involved in calling for the establishment of the new council.

In 2003, Law 94 established the NCHR composed of a president and a vice-president and 25 members known for their expertise and contributions to human rights. The council was to report to the Shura Council, the then upper house of Egypts parliament, with a view to developing human rights, entrenching human rights values, and promoting the awareness of them in Egypt.

The council is an independent entity, and its activities include drawing up national plans for the promotion and protection of human rights in Egypt and their implementation mechanisms, replying to questions presented to it, receiving complaints and referring them to the concerned authorities and following them up as need be, ensuring the implementation of international treaties and conventions on human rights, and working to spread the human rights culture and raising peoples awareness of them through institutions and bodies concerned with education, the media, and cultural development.

Former UN secretary-general Boutros Boutros Ghali presided over the council, and it entered into a kind of golden age during which it received many foreign delegations and delegations from international organisations. It participated in the international arena effectively and competently. A number of citizens acquired expertise in the field of human rights through working with the council, among them ambassador Mahmoud Karem, who became a well-known international expert in the field.

Egypts record in human rights is not bad. A previous article in Al-Ahram Weekly pointed to the extent of Egypts commitment to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Here, the emphasis should be on pointing to the prerequisites for the NCHRs role and success.

First, the various national councils for human rights were established due to an international decision and aim at ensuring what is stated in international conventions in the framework of national laws. Thus, the follow up on implementation is not the responsibility of the government of any country, society, or organisation, but is the responsibility of the UN Human Rights Council.

Second, the national councils monitor the provision of and respect for human rights regarding the relationship between the government and its citizens. In other words, these things are based mainly on the governments performance and not in disputes between individuals or principles mentioned in religious beliefs unless stated by law.

Third, the government has to provide the bodies and institutions that protect human rights and has to ban the establishment of organisations promoting racism, discrimination, or hate. Egypt prevents the establishment of such organisations, while some other countries proclaiming themselves to be protectors of human rights nevertheless allow organisations calling for discrimination on grounds of colour or ethnicity.

Fourth, the NCHRs role in responding to accusations directed against Egypt in the international arena should not be about defending or accusing other countries or pointing to violations committed in them that exceed what occurs in our own country.

Fifth, more efforts should be made in emphasising the many achievements that have taken place. This could correct many false impressions. One major development has been on periods spent in preventative detention and where these are spent. Older prisons have been demolished and replaced with rehabilitation centres. The rights of minorities, women, children, and other groups have been protected, along with many other achievements.

Lastly, the present composition of the council comprises figures who are capable of reducing violations and following up on accusations regarding violations of human rights.

*A version of this article appears in print in the 24 March, 2022 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly.

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Has Israel overreached itself by acting as though it were a great power with the ability to play a leading role as a mediator between Russia and Ukraine? Just because Israel is on good terms with a superpower like Russia, does it think it can end a conflict in which real world powers can not intervene for fear of how it could evolve? Or maybe it is because Israel has excellent relations with the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who also holds Israeli citizenship and is unswerving in his support for Israels genocidal war against the Palestinian people?

Israels history since the founding of the Jewish state tells us that this country has always carried out the policies of colonialist powers, as exemplified by the Suez War. How has Israel suddenly become a great power in the international arena with the wherewithal to settle wars? How can it persuade Russia that it is a credible and neutral mediator when it has given its own citizens the green light to join Zelenskys forces and the mercenaries fighting on his side against the Russians?

A whole train of Israeli governments since the founding of the state have failed to reach a solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict triggered by that states aggressive settler policies. So how does it expect to end the Russian-Ukrainian war when it, itself, has been in a state of war for three quarters of a century? As for the height of absurdity, it is to be found in the Israeli offer to host negotiations in occupied Jerusalem. The mind boggles at the very thought of Israel sponsoring a settlement to prevent a Russian occupation of Ukraine in a city that the entire international community (apart from the US under Donald Trump) recognises as an occupied Arab city, in which, what is more, the occupation authorities have aroused international censure for house demolitions, expropriations, revocation of residence documents dating back generations, expulsions of the native inhabitants and other such wrongful measures in their relentless drive to Judaise the occupied city. Perhaps these are some of the reasons why Russia has so far given no indication that it might take the Israeli offer seriously.

*A version of this article appears in print in the 24 March, 2022 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly.

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The West has not signalled that it is ready to engage Russia diplomatically to end the war in Ukraine, instead turning the conflict into an all-out confrontation.

On 24 March, the war in Ukraine will enter its fifth week with no clear and credible signs that the warring parties are nearer to a peaceful resolution to the conflict than they were a week ago despite the ongoing negotiations between Russian and Ukrainian negotiators and the Turkish and Israeli mediation efforts.

This week, Turkey said it was willing to host a Russian-Ukrainian summit meeting to facilitate reaching an agreement between Russia and Ukraine on an immediate ceasefire and the withdrawal of Russian forces from Ukraine in the framework of a diplomatic solution to the crisis. A Ukrainian official source told reporters on 17 March that his country would like Turkey to be part of the security guarantees that Ukraine would need in any future agreement with Russia.

In the meantime, and after incessant warnings from Washington and London that China is willing to provide economic and military assistance to Russia to circumvent the draconian and unprecedented sanctions that the West imposed on Russia after 24 February, US President Joe Biden had a two-hour telephone conversation with Chinese President Xi Jinping on 18 March.

One day previously during celebrations of St Patricks Day, Biden called Russian President Vladimir Putin a murderous dictator, a pure thug who is waging an immoral war against the people of Ukraine, using unprecedented undiplomatic language to address a fellow head of state. A few days before this, he had called the Russian president a war criminal. Such language has not been used since the end of World War II among the great powers, not even at the height of the Cold War that pitted the US and the former Soviet Union against each other from 1945 until 1991.

A telephone call between the US president and his Chinese counterpart might be expected to deal with diplomatic openings to end the war in Ukraine and the ways in which the two great powers could work together to encourage Russia and Ukraine to reach a peace deal that would lay the foundations for a lasting peace and security between the two neighbours.

However, though the US president, according to a White House readout of the call, stressed his support for a diplomatic solution to the crisis, he still repeated US warnings to China against helping Russia economically and militarily. He also implied that there would be consequences if China chose to provide Moscow with help and assistance.

A senior US official told reporters afterwards that Biden in his call with the Chinese president had been laying out his assessment of the situation and the implications of certain actions.

It is interesting to note that the Chinese readout of the call highlighted the fact that President Jinping had rightly urged an end to the war in Ukraine. He also called for dialogue while criticising Western sweeping sanctions against Russia. According to the same readout, he told Biden that the US failure to remain cool-headed and rational  and many would agree with him  as it wages economic war against Russia could spark serious crises across the worlds commodity and industrial sectors, crippling the international economy.

Before the two presidents talked over the telephone, US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman told the US network MSNBC, as quoted in the Washington Examiner, that the future of Xi Jinping is with the United States, with Europe, with developing countries around the world and stressing that his future, referring to the Chinese president, is not with Russia or Vladimir Putin.

I doubt China will take this seriously. After all, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told his Spanish counterpart Jose Manuel Albares on 15 March that China is not a party to the crisis, nor does it want sanctions to affect China. He underlined the right of his country to safeguard its legitimate rights and interests.

This call between the two ministers came after US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan met in Rome on 14 March with Yang Jiechi, chair of the Committee for Foreign Affairs of the Chinese Communist Party, and warned the Chinese against aiding Russia. The meeting took place after a well-orchestrated campaign in the leading US news media and was based on quotations from senior American officials that China would respond favourably to Russian aid requests despite denials from Moscow that it has requested assistance from China.

Thus far, the West led by the US has not signalled that it is ready to engage Russia diplomatically to end the war in Ukraine. The way the conflict has developed over the last two weeks, with the increasing military assistance from the West to Ukraine in the form of lethal weapons, proves that it is no longer about Ukraine and its independence and sovereignty but rather is about an all-out confrontation, if not against Russia, then against the Russian president in person and his nationalist credentials.

What US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on 17 March could be revealing in this context, as he said that a simple withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukraine might not meet the standard by which the US would decide on sanctions relief against Russia. Washington would seek to make sure that anything that is done is, in effect, irreversible, that this cannot happen again, that Russia wont pick up and do exactly what it is doing in a year or two years or three years from now, he said.

In other words, even if the war in Ukraine ends according to a negotiated deal between Moscow and Kyiv, something we all hope will happen quickly, the US will remain involved in an economic war against Russia.

On 24 March, the leaders of the NATO member states, including Biden, are scheduled to meet in Brussels, to be followed by a G7 summit meeting that will also be attended by the US president. Judging by the statements and actions of the last few days, either from Washington, London, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, or the countries of the eastern flank of NATO, the chances of a diplomatic initiative coming out of the two summit meetings are almost nil barring a peace agreement between the warring parties in Ukraine.

As a result, the war in Ukraine will likely drag on until common sense prevails in the Western capitals and the West decides to turn Ukraine into bridge for peace and security between Russia and Europe instead of a battlefield to cut Russia down to size.

Europe needs to organise something akin to the Congress of Vienna to bring peace to the continent. In 1815, when the Congress was held, the European powers were the masters of their own destinies and the future peace of Europe. The Congress was the symbol of constructive and credible diplomacy, something that has been glaringly and regrettably lacking in recent days.

Perhaps today there are no leaders with the foresight and courage of the leaders that gathered in Vienna more than two centuries ago. They were true statesmen who saved Europe from the ravages and atrocities of war.

* The writer is former assistant foreign minister.

*A version of this article appears in print in the 24 March, 2022 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly.

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Russian ships in the Sea of Azov have been shelling Mariupol from offshore over the last 24 hours, a senior US defense official said Tuesday.

The official said that there are about seven Russian ships in that area, including several warships, a minesweeper and a couple landing ships.

By contrast, the official said the US did not see indications that ships in the Black Sea were firing on Odesa, as they had done days ago.

The officials said the US assesses that the Russians have about 21 ships in the Black Sea, including about a dozen surface combatant warships and some landing ships that carry troops.

According to the official, Russian ground forces are still largely stalled outside Kyiv - with troops still about 30 kilometers (19 miles) northeast of the city, and 15 kilometers (9 miles) northwest of the city.

The official spoke on condition of anonymity to provide the US military assessment.

More broadly, the defense official said the US continues to see Russia struggling to get food and fuel to its force, and has been seeing indications that some troops don't have proper cold weather gear and are suffering frostbite.

The food and fuel shortages have been persistent logistical and supply problems since the early days of the war.

The official said there also are indications that Russia is exploring ways to resupply troops and is considering bringing in reinforcements, but so far there has been no active moves seen to do either.

There also are indications that Russian has used a significant number of its precision guided munitions, particularly its air-launched cruise missiles, and is exploring ways to resupply those weapons, the official said.

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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is set to virtually deliver his address to the Japanese parliament on Wednesday to rally international support for his country's fight against Russian invasion.

Japan, unlike in the past, has been acting tough against Russia, in line with other Group of Seven countries, though Tokyo's steps have triggered Moscow's retaliation. A compromise could set a bad precedence in East Asia, where China is increasingly making assertive military actions.

Zelenskyy's speech, expected to be about 10 minutes, will be shown in a meeting room at the lower house _ the more powerful of Japan's two-chamber parliament which Prime Minister Fumio Kishida belongs to. Zelenskyy has made virtual addresses to the U.S. Congress, as well as parliaments in Europe, Canada, and Israel.

Foreign dignitaries, including former U.S. President George W. Bush and former Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, have delivered their addresses in person during visits to Japan as state guests, but an online speech by a foreign leader is unprecedented.

On Monday, Russia announced a decision to discontinue peace treaty talks with Japan over the disputed Kuril islands and withdraw from joint economic projects there, citing Tokyo's sanctions against Russian invasion of Ukraine.

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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called Tuesday on Pope Francis to mediate in his country's conflict with Russia to help alleviate human suffering, nearly one month into Moscow's invasion.

Zelensky said he had held a telephone call with the pope and that he had "told His Holiness about the difficult humanitarian situation and the blocking of rescue corridors by Russian troops."

"The mediating role of the Holy See in ending human suffering would be appreciated," Zelensky wrote on Twitter following the call.

Negotiators from Moscow and Kyiv have held ongoing talks aimed at ending nearly four weeks of fierce fighting, but have failed to announce any progress so far.

Pope Francis has called for an end to the conflict on more than one occasion, and although he has condemned the "massacre" in Ukraine, he has avoided mentioning Russia by name.

Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill and Francis earlier this month held talks on Ukraine and urged negotiations to continue to reach a "just peace".

Shortly after the start of Russia's military operation last month in Ukraine, Patriarch Kirill called Moscow's opponents in Ukraine "evil forces".

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Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu says this week's meeting between NATO leaders should be focused on ways of securing a cease-fire in Russia's invasion of Ukraine and not just on sanctions and deterrence.

"Everyone's first aim should be a ceasefire,'' Cavusoglu told Turkish journalists on the sideline of an Organization of Islamic Cooperation in Pakistan on Tuesday. "It should be to stop the war that is going on right now. Everyone should act responsibly and constructively.''

Cavusoglu continued: "Of course, we need to show unity and solidarity within NATO, we need to show deterrence. But who is paying the price of the ongoing war?''

US President Joe Biden and other NATO leaders are scheduled to meet Thursday in Brussels. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg told CBS' "Face the Nation'' on Sunday that the meeting is intended not just to show NATO's "support to Ukraine, but also our readiness to protect and defend all NATO allies,''

Cavusoglu said Turkey was pressing with its efforts as a "mediator and facilitator'' to end the fighting and was in touch with negotiators on both sides. Turkey was also trying to bring the warring sides to meet face to face again, Cavusoglu said.

Earlier this month, the foreign ministers of Russia and Ukraine met in Turkey on the sidelines of a diplomacy forum.

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Greece's foreign minister says he intends to personally escort humanitarian aid into the besieged southern Ukrainian city of Mariupol, in coordination with the International Committee of the Red Cross.

Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias said Tuesday he had sent an official request to the Ukrainian side to facilitate the sending of humanitarian aid into the city, and an official request to the Russian side to let the delivery in.

A sizeable Greek community lives in the Mariupol area.

Dendias did not provide any details on a possible date for the delivery or what the humanitarian aid would consist of.

He made the announcement after meeting with the Greek consul general in Mariupol, Manolis Androulakis, who arrived in Athens last Sunday after being evacuated from the city on March 15.

Androulakis was the last European Union diplomat to leave the city, which has been pummeled by Russian forces for weeks. Living conditions in the city are dire.

On arriving in Athens, Androulakis said civilians in the city were being hit ``blindly and indiscriminately'' and likened Mariupol to other cities decimated by war in the past, such as Guernica, Aleppo and Grozny.

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By Trend

The meeting between Ukraine's and Russia's presidents is a key to restoring peace, Adviser to the Head of the Ukrainian Presidential Office Mykhailo Podolyak said in an interview with the BBC, Trend reports referring to Ukrainian media.

He noted that such a meeting might take place if possible compromises for the one-to-one conversation are worked out.

"Any fundamental decisions can only be made at a meeting between the presidents of the two countries, Russia and Ukraine," Podolyak stated.

According to him, such a meeting is an obvious key to having peace.

"It has been prepared and will continue to be developed as well. There are many countries willing to organize this meeting and see an end to the hot phase of the war," Podolyak said.

"When the working groups within the negotiation process work out some preliminary documents and pass them to the presidents, they will assess whether this is a 'road map' that can be discussed face-to-face. Only then the meeting can be held," he said.




German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has again dismissed calls to boycott Russian energy supplies in the wake of the attack on Ukraine.

Scholz said Tuesday that the sanctions already imposed on Russia were already hitting its economy ``and this will only get more dramatic every day.''

At the same time, the sanctions were designed to be ``tolerable'' for those imposing them, including in the long term, he said.

``That is why Germany's position on this question (of an energy boycott) remains unchanged,'' said Scholz.

He added that other countries in Europe are even more dependent on Russian oil, coal and gas than Germany ``and nobody must be left standing out in the rain in this regard.''

Scholz said Germany is working to diversify its energy supply and that, while this will take time, it will eventually have the same effect as a boycott.

European countries pay Russia hundreds of millions of dollars each day for fossil fuels. Ukrainian officials say this trade effectively finances Russia's war against their country.

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Egypt and its diplomats are celebrating the centenary of the establishment of the Egyptian Foreign Ministry in the aftermath of the 28 February 1922 Declaration issued by the United Kingdom, which was occupying Egypt as part of the British protectorate over Egypt at the time.

Under the terms of the declaration, the UK ended its protectorate over Egypt and recognised its independence and national sovereignty. However, this was conditioned by four reservations.

The first was the right of the UK to secure transport routes for its empire through Egypt. The second was the right to defend Egypt against foreign intervention or aggression. The third was the right to defend foreign interests and minorities in Egypt. The fourth was the right to maintain the situation in Sudan as it then was, meaning the continual separation of Sudan from the Egyptian crown through the joint British/Egyptian administration of Sudan, in accordance with the Bilateral Agreement of 1899 between the UK and Egypt.

In the histories of all national diplomacies throughout the world, there are elements of continuity and others that are more short-lived. There are third elements that fluctuate from one period to another and fourth elements that prosper at some times and disappear at others.

This rule applies to the history of Egyptian diplomacy, though this article presents one example of continuity. This can be seen by analysing one orientation of Egyptian diplomacy over an extended period of time, despite changes in the nature, structure, and alignments of the political system and changes in the political leadership of the country.

The example chosen relates to a consistent strand in Egyptian diplomacy that was opposed to the creation of the pacts and alliances that constituted an integral part of the Cold War. Proposals for creating such pacts, as far as the Middle East is concerned, started to appear in the aftermath of World War II and the division of the developed world between a Western group of countries that were members of NATO and led by the US and an Eastern camp of countries that were members of the Warsaw Pact and led by the former Soviet Union.

The principled and constant positions of Egyptian diplomacy continued throughout the Cold War and applied to all spheres of action of Egyptian foreign policy, including the Middle East, Africa, the Muslim world, and the Mediterranean region, until the end of the Cold War in the last decade of the 20th century.

They started with the nationalist and independentist orientations adopted by the Wafd Party government that came to power after the Wafd Party won the 1950 parliamentary elections, among the most transparent held in Egypt under the rule of the former Mohamed Ali Dynasty.

Mohamed Salaheddin Pasha, foreign minister of the new Wafd government, declared its explicit policy of refusing to join any of the newly proposed pacts in the region and also its active opposition to the establishment of such pacts. His statement came in response to Anglo-American calls to establish a set of pro-Western pacts involving the major Western powers and the newly independent countries of the Arab region that would make it a buffer zone impeding the extension of Soviet influence in the Middle East.

These pacts implied that the Arab countries would accept foreign military bases on their territory, but not in the name of a single European occupying power, but rather in the name of the pacts themselves, which had different and varying titles. Decision-making in the pacts was still expected to be in the hands of the Western powers, making them their leaders and seeing the pacts themselves as primarily designed to serve the strategic and security objectives of the wWstern powers, as well as their economic and cultural interests.

Despite intense British and US pressure on the Wafd government in Egypt, it managed to resist such pressures and to maintain its stand until its dissolution by king Farouk in the aftermath of the Cairo Fire on 26 January 1952.

Following the 23 July 1952 Revolution and in the early period of the new regime, it was clear that the political orientations of the new political leadership towards the question of proposed pacts in the region did not differ much from the orientations of the Wafd government towards the same question.

At the diplomatic level, they were translated into concrete plans under the leadership of the late Mahmoud Fawzi, for most of the Nasserist period responsible for leading Egyptian diplomacy. Although it is true that both the international and the regional scenes became much more complicated, including on the question of regional pacts, in the post-1952 years, opposition towards attempts to establish regional pacts and to pressure Egypt to join them remained almost consistent between the period of the rule of the popular Wafd government in the early 1950s and the rule of the four presidents of the Republic that succeeded it from 1952 until the end of the Cold War, namely presidents Naguib, Nasser, Al-Sadat, and Mubarak.

Such continuity took place despite the fact that the foreign policies adopted by the four presidents saw changes both between and within them. All of them were keen to keep Egypt out of joining pacts in the region that were part of the Cold War. This continuity took place even though relations with the regional and international powers varied among the four presidents.

Even when Egypt grew close to the former Soviet Union during some periods of the Nasserist era, the political leadership did not follow other countries in Latin America, Asia, and, later, Africa, in requesting to join the Warsaw Pact. Moreover, when Egypt moved closer to the US and the other Western powers after the 1973 October War, it never joined any Western alliances established in the context of the Cold War.

Egypt was a co-founder and then a co-leader of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) after its establishment in 1961, with this organisation representing the conscience of the developing countries of the South. On many occasions, Egypt was instrumental in ensuring that the NAM did not turn into a tool either of the Western alliance or the Soviet alliance. For these reasons, Egypt and its diplomacy acquired credibility and the ability to act and influence others at the global and regional levels.

All Egypts leaders have maintained the same general orientation, even if with minor variations in the details, since the end of World War II, being opposed to the countrys joining pacts established in the context of the Cold War and the conflict of interests and influence between the Western and Soviet camps. They were all opposed to the concept of establishing such pacts in principle, and they expressed that stand in relevant international and regional fora and mobilised support for it.

The above-mentioned case is one example of the elements of continuity in Egyptian foreign policy despite the changes and the succession of political systems and leaders in the historical period under study.

* The writer is a commentator.

*A version of this article appears in print in the 24 March, 2022 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly.

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Korean IT start-ups are making headway in the Japanese market, which has proved virtually impenetrable for big Korean conglomerates like Samsung and Hyundai.

The start-ups operate smartphone apps offering anything from plastic surgery to education that have risen to the top in the Japanese market by adapting to the needs of consumers there.

Gangnamunni provides information on plastic surgery clinics and has attracted 500 registered clinics in the year since it started services in Japan. It is now the leader in its field with 300,000 monthly users.

The company kept its Korean name to take advantage of the reputation of Seoul's Gangnam as a mecca for plastic surgery. "We acquired a Japanese app that provided information about plastic surgery clinics and hired an entire marketing team from a large Japanese company to pursue the local market aggressively," Gangnamunni chief Hong Seung-il said.

The company has also developed its own booking and patient-management software that will be marketed to hospitals in Japan.

Qanda, a math app, focused on Japanese students' fear of asking their teachers questions face to face. Users photograph a math problem with their phone and upload it onto the app for an expert to solve.

Qanda topped educational apps in both Google and Apple stores just four months after it was launched there in November 2018 and remains popular.
A China Eastern Boeing 737-800 with 132 people on board crashed in a remote mountainous area of southern China on Monday, officials said, setting off a forest fire visible from space in the country's worst air disaster in nearly a decade.

More than seven hours after communication was lost with the plane, there was still no word of survivors.

The Civil Aviation Administration of China said in a statement the crash occurred near the city of Wuzhou in the Guangxi region. The flight was traveling from Kunming in the southwestern province of Yunnan to the industrial center of Guangzhou along the east coast, it added.

Villagers were first to arrive at the forested area where the plane went down, sparking a blaze big enough to be seen on NASA satellite images. Hundreds of rescue workers were swiftly dispatched from Guangxi and neighboring Guangdong province. The plane was carrying 123 passengers and nine crew members, the CAAC said, correcting earlier reports that 133 people had been on board.

Chinese President Xi Jinping called for an "all-out effort" by the rescue operation, as well as for an investigation into the crash and to ensure complete civil aviation safety.

State media reported all 737-800s in China Eastern's fleet were ordered grounded, while broadcaster CCTV said the airliner had set up nine teams to deal with aircraft disposal, accident investigation, family assistance and other pressing matters. The CAAC and China Eastern both said they had sent officials to the crash site in accordance with emergency measures.

State media said local police first received calls from villagers alerting the crash around 2:30 p.m. (0630 GMT). Guangxi provincial emergency management department said contact with the plane was lost at 2:15 p.m. (0615 GMT).

Chicago-based Boeing said it was aware of the initial reports of the crash and was "working to gather more information." Boeing stock dropped over 8 percent in pre-market trading early Monday.
New Zealand said it plans to spend $3.46 million to help Ukrainian forces fight the Russians. The government in Wellington said the additional money would mostly contribute to a NATO Trust Fund that provides fuel, rations, communication equipment and first aid kits.

The New Zealand military will also provide tactical equipment, including body armor that is surplus to its own requirements. Delivering this non-lethal aid would most likely be by New Zealand defense force aircraft, and could also involve the Australian military.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said Monday that her country is eager to help. "Today, the government has also decided to support the Ukrainian armed forces with tactical defense equipment such as body armor, helmets and vests," Ardern said.

"Today's announcements add to the rolling economic sanctions we have imposed through the newly enacted Russian Sanctions Act, as well as NZ$6m previously provided in humanitarian support bringing our total contribution to NZ$11m. The sanctions imposed from around the world are having an effect, and, so, New Zealand will continue to play its role in supporting our partners to oppose this war."


Illustrator Lee Su-zy has won a Hans Christian Andersen Award for her book "Summer," becoming the first Korean to win the prestigious literary honor.

The International Board on Books for Young People on Monday announced the winners of this year's awards in the authors and illustrators categories.

Named after the 19th-century Danish author, the biennial awards were created in 1956 to honor authors and illustrators who have made an important contribution to children's literature.

Previous winners include such world-famous authors as Anthony Browne, Christine Nostlinger, Erich Kastner and Maurice Sendak.

Lee also made the shortlist in 2016 but didn't win.

Last month, "Summer" earned a special mention at the Bologna Ragazzi Award.

Lee studied painting at Seoul National University and earned a master's degree at Camberwell College of Arts in the U.K. Many of her books have been published in Europe and the U.S.
The election of Yoon Seok-youl as president and a renewed interest in Korean culture in Japan are raising hopes of improvement in chilly trade ties between the fractious neighbors.

In addition to Korean food and cosmetics companies, which are already doing good business there, other manufacturers are now poised to jump into the Japanese market. And the Federation of Korean Industries plans its first meeting with Japanese businesspeople in three years in July.

Hyundai is returning to the Japanese market 13 years after it threw up its hands and fled because it could shift no cars there. The Ionic 5 electric car and hydrogen-fueled Nexo will go on sale there first, with online orders starting in May.

Hyundai may have lost out to its Japanese rivals in combustion-engine cars but believes it has a competitive edge when it comes to EVs. It has rallied auto magazines and car bloggers in Japan to publicize its cars.
An increasing number of cured COVID-19 patients are speaking out about their relief that they survived the biggest pandemic of our time as cumulative infections in the country approach 10 million.

For them the worst is over and further restrictions strike them as pointless.

One 40-year-old office worker in Ulsan planned a party later this month with high-school classmates who are also cured. "Only after I was infected with COVID did I feel that the time to 'live with coronavirus' had begun," he recalls.

Many of those who had feared infection, like students, jobseekers preparing for various exams, part-timers and freelance workers, are saying they felt relieved when they caught the bug in the end.


KYODO NEWS - Mar 22, 2022 - 16:06 | World, All

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte's political party on Tuesday backed the presidential bid of Ferdinand Marcos Jr., a move seen as a boost to the son and namesake of the former Philippine dictator ahead of the May election.

The endorsement by the ruling PDP-Laban party came two days after a huge crowd of over 100,000 people turned up at a campaign rally for his rival, opposition icon and Vice President Leni Robredo, in Metro Manila.

The latest Pulse Asia survey in February, though, showed Robredo still trailed frontrunner Marcos Jr. by a 45-point gap.

Energy Secretary and party president Alfonso Cusi said Marcos Jr. offers a set of policies that is "most aligned" with that of Duterte, who is barred by the Constitution from seeking a second term.

Cusi was referring to the party's 11-point program, which includes the campaign against illegal drugs that left thousands of people dead under Duterte's government.

The party in December first endorsed Duterte's daughter, Sara Duterte-Carpio, who is running as Marcos Jr.'s vice president, although candidates are elected separately in the Philippines.

Duterte, who in November called Marcos Jr. a "weak leader," has yet to declare his preferred candidate, but allies are hoping he will eventually do so in the coming weeks.

Salvador Panelo, a Duterte ally and senatorial candidate, says he believes Duterte is the "most effective endorser," having maintained a high approval rating throughout his six-year term.

Related coverage:

FOCUS: Marcos leads Philippine presidency race, backed by young and mid-aged

Philippines kicks off campaign for May 9 presidential election
Long lines of people standing in long queues on a street of Aden, southern Yemen, waiting to refill their cooking gas cylinders as an acute shortage hits the war-torn country. (Photo by Murad Abdo/Xinhua)



A severe shortage of cooking gas struck several regions of Yemen, where many people were seen lining up at fuel pumps waiting to refill their cooking gas cylinders.



ADEN, Yemen, March 20 (Xinhua) -- A severe shortage of cooking gas struck several regions of Yemen, multiplying the suffering of millions of people living in the war-ravaged Arab country.

During the past few days, many fuel stations in several main cities run out of cooking gas, forcing numerous bakeries to close their doors.

Officials told Xinhua that the gas shortage continued spreading and included new areas under the control of the internationally-recognized Yemeni government.

In the southern port city of Aden, Yemen's temporary capital, many people were seen lining up at fuel pumps waiting to refill their cooking gas cylinders.

A man waits for gas supplies next to empty cooking gas cylinders at a gas station in Sanaa, Yemen, on March 5, 2018. (Xinhua/Mohammed Mohammed)

"Every time, I spent several hours standing in line until I refilled my cooking gas cylinder, and this is much less than what I need," Ahmed Jalal, a man living in Aden, told Xinhua, adding that his family needs at least four gas cylinders to cook foods throughout the whole month.

"Because of the cooking gas shortage crisis, the quota is limited," Jalal lamented.

Due to the ongoing war, the production of gas is not enough to meet the high demand of the local market, an official of Aden's local authority told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

"The inequitable distribution of gas also participated in creating this acute crisis as some provinces get fewer quantities of cooking gas supplies," said the official.

In other provinces controlled by the Houthi militia, lack of fuel and cooking gas has had a terrible impact on local people's quality of life and created a new woe.

Hundreds of vehicles are waiting in long lines in Yemen's capital Sanaa to get their tanks refilled as the ongoing fuel shortage keeps getting worse.

Motorists queue up at a gas station amid a fuel shortage in Sanaa, Yemen, June 10, 2020. (Photo by Mohammed Mohammed/Xinhua)

Yemen has been mired in a civil war since late 2014 when the Houthi militia seized control of several northern provinces and forced the internationally recognized government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi out of the capital Sanaa.

According to some latest nationwide assessments by humanitarians, 23.4 million people in Yemen, or three-quarters of the overall population, need some form of assistance, said Martin Griffiths, UN undersecretary-general for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief coordinator.

A malnourished child has his food inside a malnutrition ward supported by humanitarian agencies including the World Food Programme (WFP), at Al-Sabeen hospital in Sanaa, Yemen, on Oct. 10, 2020. (Photo by Mohammed Mohammed/Xinhua)

The war has also accelerated Yemen's economic problems, pushing more families into destitution, which is among the largest drivers of humanitarian needs, Griffiths said.

Yemen relies on commercial imports for about 90 percent of its food and nearly all its fuel and other essential goods.

Fuel imports have also fallen sharply through Hodeidah port. Fuel volumes in February were less than half the average. This drop is contributing to fuel shortages and price rises, which are likely to become even more acute as the energy prices globally continue to rise, he said. 
By Trend

Russia currently has no relations with NATO, and their future depends on the actions of the alliance, the country's Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov told reporters, Trend reports via TASS.

Ryabkov made the remark following a meeting with MPs of the United Russia ruling party.

"We warn the NATO allies against reckless steps that could lead to further escalation," he said.




Workers pick up garbage floating on Meishe River in Haikou, south China's Hainan Province, July 10, 2017. Dubbed the "mother river" of Haikou, Meishe was recently listed among "the country's 11 most beautiful hometown rivers" by the Ministry of Water Resources.(Xinhua/Guo Cheng)

HAIKOU, March 21 (Xinhua) -- Clear water, lush green and swimming fish -- these are the defining features of Meishe River in Haikou, capital of south China's island province Hainan

Dubbed the "mother river" of Haikou, Meishe was recently listed among "the country's 11 most beautiful hometown rivers" by the Ministry of Water Resources.

The river, stretching some 16 km, flows mostly through the city's main urban area. Prior to the 1990s, the river was clean and beautiful, but with economic development and population growth, it became severely polluted. Owing to the filthy aura and foul smell, locals living near the river dared not to open their windows in the summer, prompting many residents to relocate.

A ray of hope appeared in 2016 when a sewage treatment project was launched to treat the river water, with a focus on ecological restoration and improving people's livelihood.

"The root cause of the water pollution problem lies in the river banks," said Wu Tingfei, an official with the municipal water authority, noting that the key to successful treatment of the Meishe River is resolving the issue at its source and restoring the river's ecology to allow the water to purify itself.

The city took the lead in implementing the river chief system in the province, which significantly aided in the river water treatment and ensured the smooth execution of ecological restoration measures.

Thanks to the years of unwavering efforts, the Meishe River has come to life again.

"When I was young, the water was so clear that we kids used to often swim in the river in summer," said Wang Kaixuan, a local resident, adding that the water became dirty and smelly with the development of the city and nobody wanted to live there.

Hailing the government's remediation efforts, Wang said the scenery on both sides of the river has become more beautiful and the water has become clearer, attracting an increasing number of fish and birds. "Local residents often bring their kids here to play."

Fengxiang Wetland Park by the Meishe River has very lively scenes, with adults jogging or walking their dogs along the river, and children flying kites and playing on the lawn.

"It used to be a garbage dump and a smelly ditch, but now it has been transformed into a wetland park by the government," said Huang Zilu, a local resident who was having a picnic in the park with her family and friends.

The park boasts lovely views and a pleasant environment. It's an excellent spot for fitness and recreation and is ideal for bringing children to play, she added.

Since the beginning of this year, Hainan has initiated a comprehensive project which covers sewage treatment, ensuring water supplies, flood prevention, water conservation and seawater protection.

Water conservation is Hainan's top priority for the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021 to 2025), and Meishe River can certainly be hailed as an example of a successful water treatment project in the province.

Wu said that Haikou will play a leading role in Hainan's water conservation campaign and 217 projects, with a total investment of 36.6 billion yuan (about 5.8 billion U.S. dollars), have been planned. 

Workers plant seedlings at the riverside of Meishe River in Haikou, south China's Hainan Province, July 10, 2017. Dubbed the "mother river" of Haikou, Meishe was recently listed among "the country's 11 most beautiful hometown rivers" by the Ministry of Water Resources.(Xinhua/Guo Cheng)

Citizens take a walk at the riverside of Meishe River in Haikou, south China's Hainan Province, July 10, 2017. Dubbed the "mother river" of Haikou, Meishe was recently listed among "the country's 11 most beautiful hometown rivers" by the Ministry of Water Resources.(Xinhua/Guo Cheng)

Zhang Shucai, a local citizen, enjoys leisure time with her granddaughter at a footpath at the riverside of Meishe River in Haikou, south China's Hainan Province, March 19, 2022. Dubbed the "mother river" of Haikou, Meishe was recently listed among "the country's 11 most beautiful hometown rivers" by the Ministry of Water Resources.(Xinhua/Guo Cheng)

Aerial photo taken on March 19, 2022 shows a view of the Fengxiang wetland park of Meishe River in Haikou, south China's Hainan Province. Dubbed the "mother river" of Haikou, Meishe was recently listed among "the country's 11 most beautiful hometown rivers" by the Ministry of Water Resources.(Xinhua/Guo Cheng)

Aerial photo taken on March 19, 2022 shows a view of the Fengxiang wetland park of Meishe River in Haikou, south China's Hainan Province. Dubbed the "mother river" of Haikou, Meishe was recently listed among "the country's 11 most beautiful hometown rivers" by the Ministry of Water Resources.(Xinhua/Guo Cheng)

Photo taken on July 10, 2017 shows seedlings planted at riverside of Meishe River in Haikou, south China's Hainan Province. Dubbed the "mother river" of Haikou, Meishe was recently listed among "the country's 11 most beautiful hometown rivers" by the Ministry of Water Resources.(Xinhua/Guo Cheng)
KUNMING, March 22 (Xinhua) -- Law-enforcement authorities from China, Laos, Myanmar and Thailand joined forces on Tuesday for the start of the 115th Mekong River joint patrol.

A total of four vessels from the four countries participated in the operation. Two Chinese vessels departed at 9 a.m. on Tuesday from Jingha Port, Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture, southwest China's Yunnan Province, said the provincial public security bureau.

During the patrol, the four countries will continue to focus on cracking down on cross-border crimes in a non-contact manner to safeguard safety and stability along the river basin.

The Mekong River, known as the Lancang River in China, is a vital waterway for cross-border shipping.

China, Laos, Myanmar and Thailand have been conducting joint patrols on the river since December 2011. 
Photo taken on Feb. 27, 2022 shows a market destroyed in U.S. air strikes in Sangin district of Helmand Province, Afghanistan. (Photo by Arghand/Xinhua)

The United States should answer the following questions at the International Court of Justice: "Why does Washington wantonly invade other countries and kill innocent people in other countries? How can such a country pressure other countries on the pretext of human rights?" said Hamed Vafaei, director of the Asia Research Center at the University of Tehran.

by Xinhua writer Gao Wencheng

TEHRAN, March 22 (Xinhua) -- The United States has been "particularly belligerent" throughout its history due to its fixation on hegemony, an Iranian professor has said.

The country should answer the following questions at the International Court of Justice: "Why does Washington wantonly invade other countries and kill innocent people in other countries? How can such a country pressure other countries on the pretext of human rights?" said Hamed Vafaei, director of the Asia Research Center at the University of Tehran.

While blasting other countries' human rights and their international roles, the United States itself has waged numerous wars around the world that have undermined security and stability in those related areas, the latest example being the war in Afghanistan, Vafaei said.

Afghans protest against recent U.S. decision regarding the frozen Afghan assets in Mazar-i-Sharif, capital of Balkh province, Feb. 15, 2022. (Photo by Kawa Basharat/Xinhua)

"The United States has inflicted a highly negative influence on Afghanistan's past, present and future," and has to answer the following three major questions regarding its role in Afghanistan:

Firstly, the volume of opium production and trade in Afghanistan increased significantly, instead of decreasing, during U.S. military presence there, while related sectors such as local airports, borders management and even the army were mainly controlled by the U.S. forces.

So, the professor said, the first question the United States should answer is: Why did the drug trade in Afghanistan continue to climb rather than decline during its occupation?

Secondly, while stationed in Afghanistan, the U.S. military killed a large number of innocent civilians and even employed drones to mistakenly attack weddings and other gatherings. Yet, the White House has always kept underplaying the tragedies.

So, Vafaei said, the second question America needs to answer is: How can it get away with killing so many innocent people?

An Afghan boy sells water at a graveyard where a number of war victims have been buried in Kabul, Afghanistan, on April 16, 2021. (Photo by Rahmatullah Alizadah/Xinhua)

Furthermore, "the irresponsible and hasty withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan has led to the deterioration of regional security and Afghanistan's neighboring countries have been turned into victims," he said.

So, he argued, the third question Washington needs to answer is: How can it accuse other countries of threatening regional peace and international security?

Vafaei said that the belligerent United States, driven by its motive to maintain its hegemony, has become "one of the greatest threats to world peace."

People gather at the Kabul airport during evacuation in Kabul, Afghanistan, Aug. 16, 2021, after the Taliban's takeover of Kabul on Aug. 15. (Xinhua)

The slogan "America First" has fully demonstrated the perception of the U.S. government, he said, noting that once the interests of other countries conflict with those of the United States, the United States will not hesitate to protect its own interests at the cost of others', which has been proved by what the United States has done in Iraq, Afghanistan and other places around the world.

Vafaei said such a unilateralist approach, with which the United States is obsessed, has reminded more countries of the significance of multilateralism.

"Hopefully, real multilateralism will become a reality in the near future," he added. 
File video: U.S. President Joe Biden said on Feb. 25, 2022 that he's nominating Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson for the Supreme Court, setting in motion a process for the first African American woman to sit on its bench. (Xinhua)

It requires a simple majority of votes from the 100-seat Senate to confirm Jackson to be the next Supreme Court justice. The Senate is evenly split between the two parties. Democrats can approve the nomination without Republican support, with Vice President Kamala Harris casting a tie-breaking vote.

WASHINGTON, March 21 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee began on Monday the first day of a series of hearings for the confirmation of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court.

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin, in opening statements, highlighted Jackson's qualifications, as well as the historic nature of her nomination by U.S. President Joe Biden.

"President Biden nominated you because he knew your qualifications are outstanding," the Illinois Democrat said. "Your professional record and life experience tell us what kind of lawyer, what kind of judge, and what kind of person you really are."

Jackson, who currently sits on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, would be the first African American woman to sit on the Supreme Court if confirmed. She is 51.

"In its more than 230 years, the Supreme Court has had 115 Justices," Durbin continued. "Not a single Justice has been a Black woman. You, Judge Jackson, can be the first."

Senator Chuck Grassley, the top Republican on the Judiciary Committee, said in his remarks that he'll be scrutinizing Jackson's legal philosophy.

Photo taken on March 2, 2022 shows the U.S. Supreme Court nominee Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., the United States. (Photo by Ting Shen/Xinhua)

"I'll be looking to see whether Judge Jackson is committed to the Constitution as originally understood," the Iowa Republican stressed. "Some of us believe that judges are supposed to interpret the laws of what's understood when written, not make new laws or simply fill in the vacuum."

Biden announced in late February he would nominate Jackson to succeed liberal Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer, who is about to retire this summer. It was one of his major campaign promises to fill a potential Supreme Court vacancy with an African American woman.

"As Judge Jackson begins her Supreme Court confirmation hearings this week, I look forward to the Senate and country seeing how incredibly qualified she is for the job," the U.S. president tweeted on Monday. "She's a brilliant legal mind with the utmost character and integrity. I know she'll make an exceptional Justice."

Committee members will begin questioning the nominee on Tuesday and the hearings will take place through Thursday.

Born in D.C. but raised in Miami, Jackson received her law degree from Harvard University and graduated cum laude in 1996. Earlier in her legal career, she worked as an assistant federal public defender in D.C. and served as vice chair of the U.S. Sentencing Commission for four years.

"I have been a judge for nearly a decade now, and I take that responsibility and my duty to be independent very seriously," Jackson told senators on Monday. "I decide cases from a neutral posture. I evaluate the facts, and I interpret and apply the law to the facts of the case before me, without fear or favor, consistent with my judicial oath."

Photo taken on Feb. 25, 2022 shows the U.S. Supreme Court building in Washington, D.C., the United States. (Photo by Ting Shen/Xinhua)

It requires a simple majority of votes from the 100-seat Senate to confirm Jackson to be the next Supreme Court justice.

The Senate is evenly split between the two parties. Democrats can approve the nomination without Republican support, with Vice President Kamala Harris casting a tie-breaking vote.

This year, the Supreme Court will rule on cases involving a series of major issues, including abortion, affirmative action, and gun control.

Court watchers have argued Jackson is expected to vote very similarly to Breyer and her ascension won't change the Supreme Court's ideological balance, in which conservatives have a 6-3 majority over liberals.

The Supreme Court is the final appellate court of the U.S. judicial system, with the power to review and overturn lower court decisions, and is also generally the final interpreter of federal law, including the country's constitution.

The justices have life tenure and can serve until they die, resign, retire, or are impeached and removed from office. 
CAIRO, March 22 (Xinhua) -- Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi, Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan have discussed trilateral relations and recent developments on regional issues in Egypt's Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, the Egyptian presidency said Tuesday in a statement.

During the meeting, the three leaders discussed "recent developments in energy, markets stability, and food security" aside from exchanging views on other regional and international issues.

Meanwhile, the Israeli PM's office said they also talked about the ways to enhance trilateral ties "on all levels" under current circumstances.

According to his office's statement later on Tuesday, Bennett has already been on route back home, concluding his second visit to Egypt since he was sworn in as Israel's prime minister in June 2021.

This is the first-ever trilateral meeting among the leaders of Egypt, Israel and the UAE, as the Crown Prince also serves as deputy supreme commander of the UAE armed forces. 
Li Zhanshu, chairman of the National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee, holds talks with Croatian Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandrokovic via video link at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 22, 2022. (Xinhua/Yao Dawei)

BEIJING, March 22 (Xinhua) -- China's top legislator Li Zhanshu met on Tuesday with Croatian Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandrokovic via video link, calling for strengthening exchanges between the two countries.

Li, chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC), said China and Croatia have long respected and understood each other, and their bilateral relations have maintained high-level and high-quality development.

Noting that this year marks the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and Croatia, Li said China is ready to make joint efforts with Croatia to push their comprehensive cooperative partnership to a new level and bring more benefits to the two countries and peoples.

"We should enhance political mutual trust and respect each other's core interests and major concerns," Li said, adding that China always views its relations with Croatia from a strategic and long-term perspective and appreciates Croatia's adherence to the one-China principle.

He called for the two sides to promote practical cooperation, create new highlights of cooperation in infrastructure construction, scientific and technological innovation, small and medium-sized enterprises, environmental protection and other fields, and to promote the joint construction of the Belt and Road for mutual benefit and win-win results.

He also called for upholding true multilateralism, safeguarding the UN-centered international system and the international order based on international law, actively participating in the Global Development Initiative and working to build a new type of international relations featuring mutual respect, fairness, justice and win-win cooperation.

Noting that China and Europe share extensive common interests and a profound foundation for cooperation, Li said China is willing to work with the European side to synergize development strategies, deepen pragmatic cooperation and strengthen communication and coordination on international affairs.

Jandrokovic said the friendly relations between Croatia and China have rich connotations and have continuously made new progress, and Croatia firmly adheres to the one-China policy, adding that cooperation between Croatia and China has achieved important results on major projects such as the Peljesac Bridge.

He thanked China for its support in fighting COVID-19 and other challenges, adding that Croatia is ready to play an active role in promoting the development of EU-China relations. 

Li Zhanshu, chairman of the National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee, holds talks with Croatian Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandrokovic via video link at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 22, 2022. (Xinhua/Yao Dawei)
TAIPEI, March 22 (Xinhua) -- Taiwan reported 89 new COVID-19 cases, including ten locally transmitted infections and 79 imported ones, said the island's disease monitoring agency Tuesday.

Of the new locally transmitted infections, six occurred in Chiayi, three in Taipei, and one in Tainan, the agency said.

To date, Taiwan has reported 22,091 confirmed COVID-19 cases, of which 15,518 were local infections. 
A freighter flies over the Ezhou Huahu Airport in Ezhou, central China's Hubei Province, March 19, 2022. (Xinhua/Xiao Yijiu)

BEIJING, March 22 (Xinhua) -- SF Airlines, China's largest air-cargo carrier, will support creating a global air-cargo hub in Ezhou in central China's Hubei Province, the cargo airline said Monday.

SF Airlines will gradually build an air route network covering the country and connecting worldwide with the Ezhou Huahu Airport as a core, targeting to reinforce local economy and sustain the country's modern logistics system, said the cargo airline.

A B757-200 all-cargo freighter has just completed the verification flight test at the Ezhou Huahu Airport on Saturday to verify the flight procedure, navigation facilities and comprehensive support capabilities of the airport.

The Ezhou Huahu Airport is Asia's first and the world's fourth cargo hub airport. Aside from its key task of handling air freight, the airport could also serve passenger flights. It is scheduled to open around the end of June this year.

Headquartered in Shenzhen, SF Airlines is the aviation branch of China's delivery giant SF Express. The size of its all-cargo freighter fleet is 69 by now and is expected to exceed 70 within the year. 
A tram runs on Taksim Square in Istanbul, Turkey, Feb. 1, 2022. (Xinhua/Shadati)

The ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict will cast a shadow on the revival of Turkey's tourism, a key pillar of the country's economy.

by Burak Akinci

ANKARA, March 21 (Xinhua) -- Turkey had hoped for a tourism revival in 2022 as the COVID-19 pandemic ebbs. However, the Russia-Ukraine conflict will have a notable toll on the sector, making the revival with even less hope than before.

"Last year, around 28 percent of foreign visitors to Turkey came from Russia and Ukraine. The ongoing conflict will have a real impact on our tourism industry this year," said Firuz Baglikaya, head of the Association of Turkish Travel Agencies (TURSAB).

Tourists visit the Bosporus Strait in Istanbul, Turkey, on Jan. 31, 2022. (Xinhua/Shadati)

Turkey welcomed 4.7 million Russian and 2 million Ukrainian holidaymakers in 2021, Baglikaya said, adding that the number of tourists would be considerably lower as there were significant reservation cancellations from both countries.

"Even if the conflict ends, our tourism will be affected," Baglikaya said.

People visit Hagia Sophia in Istanbul, Turkey, Dec. 18, 2021. (Xinhua/Shadati)

He added that Turkey will try to compensate for the loss by attracting visitors from the Balkans and the Middle East.

"We don't expect any tourists from Ukraine this year and the number of Russians is projected to be around 1.5 million," Nusret Canatar, general manager of two five-star hotels located in Side and Alanya, told Xinhua.

"We expect a very serious loss of revenues, some 30 percent of all tourism receipts for 2022," Canatar warned.

For Turkey's southern resorts, the high season for Russian tourists normally starts in early May.

Tourists shop at a bazaar in Istanbul, Turkey, Dec. 18, 2021. (Xinhua/Shadati)

But even if the conflict ends soon, western sanctions imposed on Russia would have decimated the purchasing power of most Russian households, who may later cancel their overseas holidays, Canatar said.

After airlines such as Airbus and Boeing joined Western financial sanctions against Russia, whose major banks were also excluded from the SWIFT system, the status and frequency of flights from Russia to Turkey should also be concerned, he said.

The tourism industry is a key pillar of Turkey's economy, as it constitutes 10 percent of the country's gross domestic product (GDP).

Tourists visit the Sultanahmet Square in Istanbul, Turkey, Feb. 1, 2022. (Xinhua/Shadati)

Contrary to the sharp decline in Russian and Ukrainian tourists, Israeli travelers might return to Turkish resorts due to the recent thaw in ties between Turkey and Israel.

"Twenty years ago, tens of thousands of Israeli tourists used to travel to Turkey for holidays. Now, as the two countries are mending ties, we expect tourists' return to our Mediterranean and Aegean coasts," Esra Kilic, an official from an Ankara-based tour agency, told Xinhua.

On March 9, Israeli President Isaac Herzog flew for a meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the capital Ankara, the first high-level meeting between the two countries in years.
A Palestinian protester burns tires during clashes following a protest against the expanding of Jewish settlements in Kufr Qadoom village near the West Bank city of Nablus, March 18, 2022. (Photo by Nidal Eshtayeh/Xinhua)

China is concerned about the recent deterioration of the security situation in the occupied Palestinian territory, and deeply saddened by the casualties on both the Palestinian and Israeli sides caused by the violence, especially Palestinian children, a Chinese envoy said.

UNITED NATIONS, March 22 (Xinhua) -- China on Tuesday called on Israel to cease expanding settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory.

"We call on Israel to halt the expansion of settlements, stop the eviction of Palestinians, stop the demolition of Palestinian homes, and create conditions for the development of Palestinian communities in the West Bank, as called for in council resolution 2334," China's permanent representative to the United Nations Zhang Jun told the Security Council briefing on the situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question.

The ambassador said that "settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian territory violate international law, disrupt the contiguity of the occupied Palestinian territory, squeeze the living space of the Palestinian people, and affect the prospects for achieving the two-state solution."

On the security situation, Zhang said that China is concerned about the recent deterioration of the security situation in the occupied Palestinian territory, and deeply saddened by the casualties on both the Palestinian and Israeli sides caused by the violence, especially Palestinian children.

"The protection of children in conflict settings is not an empty slogan, but an unshakable moral responsibility and an international obligation that must be fulfilled. We call for a thorough investigation of the recent violence and for effective accountability," he said.

Palestinian protesters clash with Israeli soldiers following a protest against the expansion of Jewish settlements in the West Bank city of Hebron, March 4, 2022. (Photo by Mamoun Wazwaz/Xinhua)

The ambassador noted that China calls on all parties concerned to refrain from provocative words and deeds, to refrain from incitement to violence, to jointly uphold and respect the historic status quo of the holy sites in Jerusalem, to make every effort to prevent the situation from escalating out of control, and not to allow the conflict in Gaza last year to repeat itself, with the upcoming month of April, which will celebrate important holidays for both Muslims and Jews.

The envoy also urged the international community to continue to help Palestine alleviate its fiscal crisis, improve its economy and people's livelihood, and fight the COVID-19 pandemic.

Zhang underscored that the current security situation in Europe has drawn attention from all parties, but the Palestinian-Israeli issue is equally important.

"The Palestinian question should not be marginalized, much less allowed pending for a long time. China will continue to work with the international community to make unremitting efforts and contribute China's share to a comprehensive, just and lasting solution to the question of Palestine," he said. 
By Trend

The National Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (NTAGI) has recommended to the government to reduce the gap between the two Covishield doses, suggesting that the second shot be given between eight and 16 weeks after the first, Trend reports citing The Tribune India.

The current protocol is to administer the second dose at a gap of 12 to 16 weeks after the first one.

The NTAGI, however, hasn't suggested any change of dosing for Bharat Biotech's Covaxin, the two doses of which are given 28 days apart.

Health Ministry sources said that the NTAGI suggestion followed recent scientific evidence on the dosage effectiveness. The final decision to reduce the gap has to be taken by the ministry.








LAGOS, March 22 (Xinhua) -- Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday commissioned a 2.5-billion U.S. dollar fertilizer plant in the country's Lagos Lekki Free Trade Zone.

Speaking at the commissioning ceremony, the Nigerian president said the Dangote Fertilizer Plant will boost the nation's foreign exchange earnings and accelerate economic growth.

"This fertilizer plant is further expected to enhance our administration's drive towards achieving self-sufficiency in food production in the country," he added.

"It will reduce our dependence on importation of fertilizer, create jobs, increase the inflow of foreign exchange, and accelerate economic growth," said Buhari.

The president expressed optimism that the investment in the plant would replicate the earlier experience of Dangote Industries Ltd. in the cement sector, where it had become a leading name in Nigeria and across the African continent.

"Dangote Industries Ltd. has created thousands of jobs across Nigeria. It is the second-biggest employer of labor in this country after the federal government, "he added.

"This is very pleasing because job creation by the private sector will help to improve security and take thousands of youth off the streets," he said.

"The coming on stream of the plant is creating huge opportunities in the areas of job creation, trade, transport, and logistics to earn significant wealth, reduce poverty, and help secure the future of our nation," said Buhari.

According to him, the agricultural sector was a critical aspect of the economy and the availability and affordability of fertilizer would lead to increased yields for farmers.

On his part, Aliko Dangote, President of Dangote Industries Ltd., said the fertilizer plant would drastically reduce the level of unemployment and youth restiveness through the generation of direct and indirect employment.

The ceremony was attended by government officials, diplomats, and representatives from private companies. 
SUVA, March 22 (Xinhua) -- New Zealand Minister of Defence Peeni Henare and Fijian Minister for Defence, National Security and Policing Inia Seruiratu met on Tuesday to discuss issues on maritime safety and security in the region.

Henare, who arrived in Fiji on Monday, told a media briefing that New Zealand is keen to work with Fiji in maritime security and there is a need for the forces of the two countries to work together.

Seruiratu noted Henare's visit to Fiji has reaffirmed their shared commitment to improving security in the region, saying human assistance and disaster relief are key components of their discussions.

He added that they also discussed New Zealand's support for Fiji in developing a maritime security strategy.

Henare will visit Australia after leaving Fiji. 
SYDNEY, March 22 (Xinhua) -- More than nine million Australians have insufficient access to childcare facilities, according to an analysis released by an influential think tank on Tuesday.

The report from Victoria University's Mitchell Institute found that 28 percent of metropolitan and 52 percent of regional Australians lived in regions deemed "childcare deserts", where three or more children aged under four were vying for every available vacancy, while a million more people were even worse off not having any access to childcare.

The report -- entitled "Deserts and oases: How accessible is childcare in Australia?" -- found that the facilities, which are run privately to make profits, were concentrated around the nation's wealthiest areas where jobs are most plentiful.

"For many regional towns, Australia's policy approach to early learning results in a complete absence of provision, especially for towns with a population of less than 1,500 people," said lead author Dr. Peter Hurley.

Hurley said the dire shortage was a concern for children's early development, as a "huge body of evidence" showed the "positive long-term impacts of high-quality early learning in setting children up for success as they transition to school, with the benefits continuing throughout their life."

He also said access to childcare made economic sense as it enabled more mothers to enter the workforce thereby helping families financially and generating more taxable incomes.

"Families need easy access to affordable high-quality childcare and there is a clear link between childcare accessibility and female workforce participation," Hurley said.

One of the researchers Hannah Matthews told Xinhua the study indicated the federal government should re-evaluate how it distributed funding so as to provide all regions with an equitable share.

"Ideally, there would be a guarantee to ensure an available place for every child in Australia," Matthews said on Tuesday.

As it now stands, the early learning sector receives about 11 billion Australian dollars a year (about 8.13 billion U.S. dollars) in government funding via the childcare subsidy with parents also contributing up to 6.8 billion Australian dollars (about 5.02 billion U.S. dollars) in 2019.

The research team also noted the sector received two economic bailouts during the pandemic and continued to face operational challenges related to attracting and retaining skilled educators.

Hurley pointed out that universal access to schools showed what Australia could achieve for its youngest citizens.

"We don't need to replicate the school system but that sector does show that universal access to high-quality affordable early learning doesn't have to be an unattainable dream." 
SYDNEY, March 22 (Xinhua) -- Australian marine scientists have discovered a surprising way to monitor the eating habits of some toothless whale species in the process, shedding light on how the aquatic mammals are adapting to climate change.

The researchers from the University of New South Wales (UNSW) said the jawlines of humpback and southern right whales contain a lifetime's worth of biochemical information chronicling their feeding patterns.

The findings, published in Frontiers in Marine Science and revealed to the public on Tuesday, are based on analysis of the whales' baleen, which are long and slender bristle-like structures in their upper jaws that are used to filter enormous amounts of krill from the ocean.

"As the baleen grows, biochemical signals from their food are trapped," said UNSW marine ecologist Professor Tracey Rogers. "Like the information on the pages in a book, they don't change with time.

"These signals allow us to reconstruct the behaviour of the whales through time - what they ate, and the general area they were at the time."

Using baleen samples from museum archives and whale standings and previously published data, they discovered that humpbacks migrating along Australia's east coast showed signs of poorer feeding opportunities during climate upheavals.

"We found that the same conditions - the La Nina events - that bring us these devastating floods are also not good for the humpbacks that migrate along the east coast of Australia," Rogers said.

Antarctic krill need sea ice to thrive, but following La Nina phases there is less ice where the whales feed, meaning fewer krill to sustain the huge animals through their migration months.

Humpbacks usually spend their winter months in warm tropical waters to breed before travelling back to southern Antarctic waters during summer to feed.

Amid this migration to the tropics, they are away from reliable food sources and must depend on their body's reserves to survive.

"They fast for the long periods when they leave their productive feeding grounds to breed," Rogers said. "That's why they're extremely susceptible to changes in ocean-atmospheric cycles."

Previous research found links between increased whale standings on the Australian coast following La Nina years, which the researchers said can be attributed to less feeding success.

"Our colleagues have shown humpbacks are leaner - a sign they're experiencing poor feeding conditions - and have a higher chance of stranding in the years following La Nina events," Rogers said.

"With La Nina events predicted to increase in intensity and frequency, it unfortunately means these whales may continue to have more of these poorer feeding prospects, and we could see more standings."

The study did, however, find some positive outcomes such as humpbacks off Australia's west coast showing increased feeding success during La Nina periods.

The researchers also noted that the whales off the east coast of Australia were developing alternative feeding strategies in more temperate waters.

"East coast humpbacks have shown signs of adapting to different feeding strategies in other known productive regions on their migration route  something that future research could look at," said UNSW doctoral candidate Adelaide Dedden.

Meanwhile, the researchers hope to use their findings to develop models that could help predict future whale behaviour and calculate when they are most likely to be at risk due to the environment. 
LJUBLJANA, March 22 (Xinhua) -- Slovenia reported 4,935 new daily COVID-19 cases on Monday, the highest number since Feb. 14, when there were 7,172 new cases, the National Institute of Public Health (NIJZ) said on Tuesday.

The number is still well below the all-time high of 24,254 cases logged on Feb. 1. Nevertheless, the authorities are urging people to get fully vaccinated against coronavirus.

To date, 58 percent of Slovenia's 2.1 million population have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19.

Since the start of the pandemic in March 2020, the country has reported 942,954 COVID-19 cases. According to the NIJZ, currently there are 35,092 active COVID-19 cases in the country, up from 27,597 a week ago.

Slovenia lifted most COVID-19 restrictions a month ago, when the number of new daily cases had been on the decline.

However, the face mask mandate remains in force in most indoor public spaces. For now, the government does not plan to introduce new restrictions to avoid hurting the economy. 
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (L) welcomes visiting Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte (R front) in Ankara, Turkey, March 22, 2022. Turkey has been playing a "critical role" in mediation efforts to solve tensions in Ukraine, visiting Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said on Tuesday.

Rutte visited Turkey on Tuesday ahead of an extraordinary NATO leaders' summit on Thursday, which will discuss the Ukraine crisis. (Photo by Mustafa Kaya/Xinhua)

ANKARA, March 22 (Xinhua) -- Turkey has been playing a "critical role" in mediation efforts to solve tensions in Ukraine, visiting Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said on Tuesday.

Rutte said his country supports the mediation role of Ankara between Kiev and Moscow.

Rutte visited Turkey on Tuesday ahead of an extraordinary NATO leaders' summit on Thursday, which will discuss the Ukraine crisis.

"Turkey, which is one of few countries that have open channels with both countries, is doing everything it can to bring about a solution and plays a critical role," he said at a joint press conference after meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the capital Ankara.

Asked about Turkey does not impose sanctions against Russia, Rutte said, "Turkey applies UN sanctions.... We would like Turkey to implement all the sanctions, but we are pleased that Turkey is currently playing a diplomatic role."

The Dutch prime minister underlined that Ankara has political and military importance for NATO and is a crucial partner for the European Union.

"We have a common will to further develop our relations and dialogue on regional issues with our NATO ally, the Netherlands," Erdogan said.

Declaring that the trade volume with the Netherlands reached 11 billion U.S. dollars with an increase of nearly 30 percent last year, Erdogan said that the new target is 15 billion dollars at first and then they aim 20 billion dollars.

"The Netherlands is the country with the highest direct investment in Turkey with 27.5 billion dollars," the Turkish president said.

Responding to the claim that the mines drifted from the Odessa Bay are floating to Turkish territorial waters, Erdogan said, "This is currently being discussed. Our defense ministry is taking every precaution. Whatever is necessary will be done." 

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (R) and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte attend a a joint press conference in Ankara, Turkey, March 22, 2022. Turkey has been playing a "critical role" in mediation efforts to solve tensions in Ukraine, visiting Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said on Tuesday.

Rutte visited Turkey on Tuesday ahead of an extraordinary NATO leaders' summit on Thursday, which will discuss the Ukraine crisis. (Photo by Mustafa Kaya/Xinhua)
MADRID, March 22 (Xinhua) -- Strikes by Spanish truckers protesting high fuel prices and working conditions have now moved into their ninth day, with drivers picketing facilities around Spain on Tuesday.

The strikes were called on March 14 by the Platform for the Defense of the Transport Sector, which represents the small and medium-sized companies that make up 85 percent of the sector.

In Barcelona, several dozen strikers picketed the entrances to the city's container port from early morning, and vowed to continue protesting.

"We have no limit. When someone has nothing to lose, then they no longer care," Francisco Rodriguez, a spokesman for the truckers, told Xinhua.

Similar scenes all over Spain have now begun to have an impact, with producers and distributors such as retail giants Danone, Heineken and Amazon warning on Tuesday that falling supply is affecting their stocks.

The Spanish Federation of Food and Drink Industries has called on the government to provide an "urgent" solution.

"The strike is working. You can see it here in the port, where the vast majority of goods that go through Barcelona are handled; today not a single container is being moved," said Rodriguez, who insisted that the truckers have broad support.

The strike has also won support from other associations in the transport sector, who joined the protest on Tuesday. Among these is Fenadismer, Spain's second-largest truckers' federation, with more than 30,000 members.

The strikers began the week with slow protest drives by thousands of trucks on Monday, which caused long traffic delays all over Spain -- especially in Madrid and Barcelona.

"The strike aims to establish basic prices so that no one should have to work below cost, because it's an infringement of people's rights to make them work so hard for so many hours for no profit," said Rodriguez.

Spain's government reached an agreement with the National Road Transport Committee on Monday, which will provide the transport sector with 500 million euros (551 million U.S. dollars) in aid to offset rising fuel costs. Nevertheless, the protest's organizers say the strike will continue.

"The government has made an offer of money, of aid to help with diesel prices, but when you look at the numbers that aid is the equivalent to four cents per liter," the truckers' spokesman told Xinhua.

Meanwhile, the truckers' representatives have asked the Spanish government to provide details of how the financial aid will work, with both sides due to meet for further talks on Friday. 
Boryspil mayor urges residents to leave city due to possible hostilities 22 March, 12:38 Borisenko said it would be easier for the Ukrainian army to defend the city if the residents left (Photo:REUTERS/Antonio Bronic)

The residents of the Ukrainian city of Boryspil, close to the capital city Kyiv, should leave the city if possible because of possible fighting in the area, Boryspil Mayor Volodymyr Borysenko said in a video address posted on Facebook on March 21.

"I appeal to the civilian population to be smart and contact our call center and, if possible, leave the city," he said.

"Those who do not have the opportunity  we will take you out, those who have  you can leave in columns with your own cars."

Borysenko said that it would be easier for the Ukrainian military to protect the city if there were fewer civilians there.

 

"As practice shows in places where the fighting is underway, the fewer civilians remain in the city, the easier it is for the Armed Forces to work," the mayor said.

"So let's do the following. There is no need to remain in the city now. Fighting is already ongoing around the city."

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As the local, provincial and federal elections are approaching one after another this year, there seems to be a certain excitement in CPN-UML Chairman KP Sharma Oli. Speaking at various events, he has been predicting how his party will once again win the elections.

Despite being removed from the premiership following a Supreme Court verdict, Oli has continued to state how he will reenter the prime ministers office again and the people of the country will put him there. He has even time and again stated that the party will win 65 to 75 per cent of the seats in the upcoming elections.

If the UML does win the general elections expected to be held by December, it is highly likely that Oli, for the third time, will be the countrys prime minister. Why? The party has no one who can stop Oli.

The same is the case in Nepali Congress. The party has many leaders, but it is always Sher Bahadur Deuba that gets to become the primer of the country. Deuba, who became prime minister for the fifth time, has served as the prime minister of the country only around 200 days more than Oli.

It is like the old heads have brainwashed their party cadres, shrinking internal democracy within democratic political parties. People say this way the parties are promoting monarchic values within them.

The undemocratic political parties

UML secretary Padma Aryal says they want Oli to lead the party because he is a visionary leader.

There are supreme leaders in other political parties also. If Nepali Congress wins, Deuba is guaranteed another term as he has the support of over 80 per cent of his party members so anyone other than Deuba becoming the prime minister will be an anomaly.

Nepali Congress vice-president Dhan Raj Gurung says that this is due to a no change in political culture. A lot has changed in politics including the system, but the culture remains the same, says Gurung.

When it comes to smaller political parties, things are similar. The CPN-Maoist Centre claims to be the third biggest party in the country. But, if the party wins, like everywhere, Pushpa Kamal Dahal will be the prime minister again.

We need to be aggressive. That is how we won the 2008 elections and that is what we will do now, Dahal said at an event held in Kathmandu.

Even though the Maoists might look weak, they were quite huge during the 2008 election as they won more seats than the UML and the Congress numbers combined.

The CPN-Unified Socialist is not giving any new names as it is likely that Madhav Kumar Nepal or Jhala Nath Khanal will be put forward to become the prime minister again. This is the case in every other party where a few people only get to be the head of the country over and over again which experts claim is as undemocratic as it can get.

A senior leader of the UML, Ghanashyam Bhusal, says that the reason for this is citizens not utilising their sovereignty. He says this has rubbed off on in cadres of political parties too.

If someone votes for a person, hell vote for that same person for life and this is wrong, says Bhusal.

But Maoist leader Onsari Gharti Magar blames the parties and the lack of leadership to implement the democratic practice that they fought for.

Democracy was hard to achieve in the country. But, what we had envisioned is yet to be fulfilled. When a party has to make a decision, its mostly made by a handful of people as other leaders are not consulted. This is practice is killing democracy, says Magar.

Institutionalisation of authority

The undemocratic trend can be seen in the general conventions of the three major political parties recently. The CPN-UMLs convention caused a scene as Oli proposed a list of 301 candidates he wanted as his partys central committee members. A few people, including Bhim Rawal, opposed this and filed for candidacy. But, all of them lost.

A few months prior to this, Oli even dissolved the House of Representatives without even consulting it with his party members. Had he discussed it democratically in the party, this would never have happened.

Nepal Communist Party would still be standing today had Oli not taken the decision in haste, says Bhusal.

The Supreme Court turned his decision and reinstated the House, but Oli again dissolved it. Disappointed and angered by Oli, the UML split. But, with major leaders leaving, Oli was not disappointed as he had a stronghold on the party and its leadership positions.

Dahal and Nepal are also the same, says a UML central member. They should have pushed for a general convention through which a new party leader could have been chosen. But, everyone was power-hungry and that resulted in the split.

The Maoist convention on the other hand was just a mere formality as no one stood against Dahal. Like Oli, he also proposed a list of people whom he wanted to get elected unanimously. His stronghold is such that many leaders, including his one-time confidant, Baburam Bhattarai have already left the party.

This shows a lack of democratic practice within these political parties. The party presidents have been ruling the political parties like the kings once did. Deuba will have led Nepali Congress for 15 years. This, people say, will never encourage young people to get into politics.

We have to be more democratic. If we dont, people will always continue to question political parties, says congress vice-president Gurung.

The root of instability

But, this has been the norm in Nepals political parties since a long ago, and it is unlikely to stop anytime soon.

In 1991, Girija Prasad Koirala-led Nepali Congress had a majority in the House of Representatives. But, Koirala dissolved the house in 1994 and held an election which brought the UML into power. But, the UML government did not last more than nine months.

Following that, Nepali Congress came to power again. But, it was not stable as people like Koirala; Deuba and late Krishna Prasad Bhattarai became prime ministers one by one. The power then came into the hand of King Gyanendra Shah.

When Shah was overthrown, the Maoists Came into power, but they did not last more than nine months.

Many blame India or China or the US for the government changes from time to time, but political analysts say the problem lies within the political parties. Politicians say that many leaders feel that they become powerful only when they become prime ministers. This is another mindset that needs to change; people are vying to become prime minister for the sixth time when the average term of a government is less than a year. In the last 13 years, the country has seen 13 different governments.

Such trends were usually seen when the head of the state was the king. But, when these are still happening when people are being elected through an electoral system, things clearly are wrong within political parties, say political experts.

This story was translated from the original Nepali version and edited for clarity and length.
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Global Drugs For Immunotherapy Market

Global Drugs For Immunotherapy Market

Dublin, March 22, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Drugs for Immunotherapy Global Market Report 2022: By Type, By Therapy, By End-User" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.



This report provides strategists, marketers and senior management with the critical information they need to assess the global drugs for immunotherapy market.



The report focuses on the drugs for immunotherapy market which is experiencing strong growth. The report gives a guide to the drugs for immunotherapy market which will be shaping and changing our lives over the next ten years and beyond, including the market's response to the challenge of the global pandemic.

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Suitable for supporting your internal and external presentations with reliable high quality data and analysis

Description:

Where is the largest and fastest growing market for the drugs for immunotherapy? How does the market relate to the overall economy, demography and other similar markets? What forces will shape the market going forward? The Drugs for Immunotherapy Market Global Report answers all these questions and many more.

The report covers market characteristics, size and growth, segmentation, regional and country breakdowns, competitive landscape, market shares, trends and strategies for this market. It traces the market's historic and forecast market growth by geography.

Story continues

The Market Characteristics section of the report defines and explains the market

The market size section gives the market size ($b) covering both the historic growth of the market, the impact of the COVID-19 virus and forecasting its recovery

Market segmentations break down market into sub markets

The regional and country breakdowns section gives an analysis of the market in each geography and the size of the market by geography and compares their historic and forecast growth. It covers the impact and recovery trajectory of COVID-19 for all regions, key developed countries and major emerging markets

Competitive landscape gives a description of the competitive nature of the market, market shares, and a description of the leading companies. Key financial deals which have shaped the market in recent years are identified

The trends and strategies section analyses the shape of the market as it emerges from the crisis and suggests how companies can grow as the market recovers

Major players in the drugs for immunotherapy market are F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd., Novartis AG, Amgen, Inc., AbbVie, Inc., and Merck & Co. Inc., GlaxoSmithKline, Eli Lilly and Company, Bristol-Myers Squibb, AstraZeneca plc., Johnson & Johnson and UbiVac.



The global drugs for immunotherapy market is expected to grow from $186.39 billion in 2021 to $208.56 billion in 2022 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 11.9%. The growth is mainly due to the companies resuming their operations and adapting to the new normal while recovering from the COVID-19 impact, which had earlier led to restrictive containment measures involving social distancing, remote working, and the closure of commercial activities that resulted in operational challenges. The market is expected to reach $310.48 billion in 2026 at a CAGR of 10.5%.



The drugs for immunotherapy market consist of sales of immunotherapy drugs. Immunotherapy drugs help the immune system to fight cancer by stimulating the immune system of the body and generate an immune response aiding the production of antibodies.



The main types of drugs for immunotherapy are monoclonal antibodies, interferons, interleukins, vaccines, checkpoint inhibitors and others. Monoclonal antibodies are created by cloning a single white blood cell. Every subsequent antibody generated in this manner may be traced back to a single parent cell. The different areas of therapy include cancer, autoimmune & inflammatory diseases, infectious diseases, others and is used by various sectors such as hospitals and clinics, ambulatory surgical centers, others.



North America was the largest region in the immunotherapy market in 2021. Middle East is expected to be the fargest growing region in the forecast period. The regions covered in this report are Asia-Pacific, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, North America, South America, Middle East and Africa.



The immunotherapy drugs market is being driven by rising incidences of cancer globally. The major causes for most cancers include obesity, smoking, alcohol, improper eating habits. According to the American Cancer Society, in 2019, around 606,880 deaths were caused in USA due to prevalence of the cancer. The Cancer Research UK predicts that there will be 27.5 million new cases of cancer each year by 2040. The rising incidences of cancer are expected to increase the demand for immunotherapy drugs driving market growth.



The high cost of immunotherapy drugs is acting as a restraint on the drugs for immunotherapy market as a smaller number of patients can afford the treatment. Immunotherapy drugs are expensive as drugs are made specifically for each patient and investment costs in the research and development are high. For instance, Novartis' Kymriah and Gilead Sciences' Yescarta are two immunotherapy treatments that cost between $373,000 and $475,000 per patient depending on the type of cancer. The Yervoy (ipilimumab) drug from Bristol-Myers Squibb, for the treatment of melanoma, a type of skin cancer costs $120,000 per course of treatment. The high cost of immunotherapy drugs makes it unaffordable, thereby affecting market growth.



Manufacturers of immunotherapy drugs are increasingly collaborating or partnering with other companies to share technology, resources, product knowledge and expand business. For example, Illumina Inc. and Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS) collaborated to utilize Illumina's next-generation sequencing (NGS) technology to develop and commercialize in-vitro diagnostic (IVD) assays in support of Bristol-Myers Squibb's oncology portfolio. Allogene Therapeutics Inc. and Pfizer Inc. entered into an asset contribution agreement to use Pfizer's portfolio of assets related to allogeneic CAR-T therapy.



Manufacturers of immunotherapy drugs are governed by various regulatory bodies such as the Food and Drug Administration in the USA. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulates drugs and biologics under the authority granted to it by the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FD&C Act) and its amendments. Under this authority, FDA regulates the pre-market testing and marketing approval for all immunotherapeutic agents, either as drugs or biologics depending on the source and function of the investigational agent. Immunotherapeutic products that are regulated as biologics include antibodies and proteins and some nucleic acids.



Key Topics Covered:



1. Executive Summary



2. Drugs for Immunotherapy Market Characteristics



3. Drugs for Immunotherapy Market Trends And Strategies



4. Impact Of COVID-19 On Drugs for Immunotherapy



5. Drugs for Immunotherapy Market Size And Growth

5.1. Global Drugs for Immunotherapy Historic Market, 2016-2021, $ Billion

5.1.1. Drivers Of The Market

5.1.2. Restraints On The Market

5.2. Global Drugs for Immunotherapy Forecast Market, 2021-2026F, 2031F, $ Billion

5.2.1. Drivers Of The Market

5.2.2. Restraints On the Market



6. Drugs for Immunotherapy Market Segmentation

6.1. Global Drugs for Immunotherapy Market, Segmentation By Type, Historic and Forecast, 2016-2021, 2021-2026F, 2031F, $ Billion

6.2. Global Drugs for Immunotherapy Market, Segmentation By Therapy Area, Historic and Forecast, 2016-2021, 2021-2026F, 2031F, $ Billion

6.3. Global Drugs for Immunotherapy Market, Segmentation By End User, Historic and Forecast, 2016-2021, 2021-2026F, 2031F, $ Billion

7. Drugs for Immunotherapy Market Regional And Country Analysis

7.1. Global Drugs for Immunotherapy Market, Split By Region, Historic and Forecast, 2016-2021, 2021-2026F, 2031F, $ Billion

7.2. Global Drugs for Immunotherapy Market, Split By Country, Historic and Forecast, 2016-2021, 2021-2026F, 2031F, $ Billion



For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/ruevr6

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CONTACT: CONTACT: ResearchAndMarkets.com Laura Wood, Senior Press Manager press@researchandmarkets.com For E.S.T Office Hours Call 1-917-300-0470 For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call 1-800-526-8630 For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900




Dumped rubbish blights new Hai Duong urban area

Authorities in the northern province of Hai Duong have just asked the investor in a newly-built urban area to quickly remove huge piles of rubbish that have affected the lives of local residents in the area.













Huge piles of rubbish at the Thai Binh Riverside Ecological Urban Area in Hai Duong Province

Speaking with the Vietnamnet Newspaper on March 21, vice chairman of the Hai Duong Provincial People's Committee, Luu Van Ban, said that they had asked the investor of the Thai Binh Riverside Ecological Urban Area to remove some 5,000 metric tonnes of refuse that are piling up nearby within two months.











"The managers of the urban area have continued to express difficulties for the removal but we insisted they must carry out the work soon," the official said. "We have to give priority to protecting the environment for local people."



According to the Hai Duong Provincial People's Committee, the Thai Binh Riverside Ecological Urban Area party lies on the Soi Nam Dumping Ground in Hai Tan Ward. When the investor started site clearance for the project in 2019, they hired Huy Hoan Co. Ltd., to remove all the waste, including buried refuse from the dumping ground to totally eradicate it.





"At that time, the company calculated that it would have to remove and dispose of around 294,000 metric tonnes of waste," the committee said. "We gave the investor VND220 billion (USD9.56 million) to support them with the waste removal and asked them to complete the work in three years. But the deadline has passed by nearly a year but the waste is still there, badly affecting the lives of local people."







Explaining their slow work, managers of the urban area said that during their work, it turned out that the actual amount of the waste had increased to more than 500,000 metric tonnes.



Director of Huy Hoan Co. Ltd., Phung Van Huy, said that they had built a factory at the site to recycle plastic waste into plastic grains. However, the factory closed six months ago to protect the health of people who live in the nearby areas.



"The local authorities wanted to allow people to come and live in the area right after houses are completed, so we cant continue operating the factory," he explained. "But all the waste has been preliminarily processed and can be used for plastic production."







At the area, around 5,000 metric tonnes of waste are piled up in large blocks with multiple layers. They can be seen besides houses in the residential area. Some of them are covered or shielded to prevent bad odours from wafting into surrounding areas.













Huy Hoan Company has proposed to hire a land plot of 10,000 square metres in Thanh Ha District or Chi Linh City to relocate the waste while awaiting treatment. They have also sought a license to build a factory to recycle plastic waste into plastic grains at a local industrial zone. However, the Hai Duong Provincial People's Committee turned down all the proposals.



"Weve requested the company to move all the outstanding waste to other areas before May 15," Ban said.
By Trend

With an eye on China, Australia will sign an updated MoU in the field of critical minerals during its Prime Minister Scott Morrisons virtual summit with PM Narendra Modi on Monday, Trend reports citing The Tribune India.

The new agreement updates a two-year-old MoU on increasing bilateral trade, investment and R&D in critical minerals.

Australia will also announce Rs 1,500 crore investments in India in multiple sectors, which will be the largest-ever investment by the Australian government in India. Of this, Rs 193 crore is for clean technology and critical minerals cooperation.

This will demonstrate that the PMs are building the bilateral architecture in the post-pandemic world and are poised to lift their cooperation to even higher levels, said sources.

The offer to India, which will be followed up by Mining Minister Pralhad Joshis visit to Australia to scout for opportunities in metallic coal and lithium, is part of Canberras $360 million funding programme to boost production of critical minerals and diversify supplies to allies.

It may be a coincidence that two days before Morrison opens the door for Indian investments in lithium, the raw material for batteries for electric vehicles (EVs), Maruti Suzuki announced a $2 billion investment in EVs during the India visit of Fumio Kishida, Prime Minister of Japan, another Quad country. In September last year, a meeting of the Quad group had agreed to improve supply chain security for rare earths.

With US President Joe Bidens launch of talks on a new Indo-Pacific Economic Framework delayed, the beginning of joint work on cyber security and rare earths should keep the Quad members interested in the concept.

The sources said the virtual summit will also see the opening of a new consulate in Bengaluru, taking the number of missions to five  four consulates and the High Commission in Delhi.

With negotiators from both sides working on the text for the past three months, the sources were hopeful of the initial agreement to be concluded by month-end.
Ive suddenly found myself writing a lot about agtech of late. Maybe its because spring officially sprung over the weekend  or perhaps its that pesky impending environmental collapse thats frequently top of mind.

Whatever the case, Ive mostly been lamenting a general lack of traction among robotics in the category, so Im always happy to see a new contender emerge.

A lot of this stuff is also probably top of mind given that the World Agri-Tech Summit is currently happening in San Francisco. Today at the event, Growmark and Solinftec announced a partnership set to bring an unnamed agtech robot to the market. The product is being field-tested for the remainder of the year, and the companies are planning/hoping to bring it to market at some point in 2023.

The robot functions similarly to a number of products weve seen attempting to address a potentially large market, including recent addition Verdant and a bunch of startups John Deere keeps buying. It effectively rides around the field autonomously, scanning for things like crop health and nutrition, along with potential trouble areas like pests and weeds. That information is collated and sent to the farmer for action.

Were taking our robot directly to the fields for practical implications, Solinftec COO Daniel Padrao said in a release. This cutting-edge technology will help develop agricultural solutions and support sustainable farm practices. We are honored to have such a progressive partner as Growmark to move forward with this first launch as we continue to work together to support farmers on seizing the opportunities in agriculture.

As a base-level functionality, I think this makes sense. Attempting to monitor vast swaths of land on a micro-level is extremely difficult work, and many times it means waiting for problem areas to balloon into actual problems before properly addressing them. There are a number of different angles being taken here, from robots to drones to satellite imaging. The companies are also competing with robotics that monitor crops while performing other functions, be it weeding, picking or plowing.
HANGZHOU, China, March 22, 2022--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE: BABA and HKEX: 9988, the "Company") today announced that the Companys board has authorized to upsize its share repurchase program to US$25 billion from US$15 billion (the "Share Repurchase Program"), in a sign of confidence about the Companys continued growth in the future. The Company also announced that Weijian Shan, executive chairman of investment group PAG, was appointed as an independent director to the Companys board.

The Share Repurchase Program will be effective for a two-year period through March 2024. As of March 18, 2022, the Company had purchased a total of 56.2 million American depositary shares under the previously announced share repurchase program, for a total consideration of approximately US$9.2 billion.

Shans appointment as an independent director will be effective March 31, 2022, and he will serve on the boards audit committee. Borje Ekholm, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Ericsson Group, will retire from the Companys board on March 31, 2022. Ekholm has served as an independent director on the Companys board since June 2015.

"We are truly grateful to Borje for his invaluable commitment and contributions to the Alibaba board over the past six years," said Daniel Zhang, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Alibaba Group. "Weijian is a trusted leader in the global financial industry who has been an active facilitator for greater understanding between Asia and the rest of the world throughout his extraordinary career. I believe Alibaba will benefit greatly from his deep knowledge across different industries and global perspective."

"I have been deeply impressed with the growth and achievements of Alibaba, and with how it has positively changed the lives of so many consumers and businesses in China and elsewhere. It served about 1 billion consumers in China and 300 million around the world in 2021 alone. I feel honored to be invited by the board to serve as an independent director. I look forward to contributing the little I know to help the Company achieve its long-term goals," said Shan.

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"Alibaba is an incredible company and I continue to believe in its future. I wish Daniel and the leadership team every success as it remains focused on creating long-term value for its stakeholders. I have decided to step down from the board to devote more time to Ericssons business," said Ekholm.

About Weijian Shan

Weijian Shan is the executive chairman and a founder of PAG  one of Asias leading independent alternative investment management groups with more than US$50 billion in capital under management by March 2022. He became PAGs chairman and CEO and founded its private equity business in 2010. Between 1998 and 2010, he was a managing partner of the private equity firm Newbridge Capital (now known as TPG Asia) and a partner of TPG. Shan was a managing director of JP Morgan, where he was concurrently the chief representative for China between 1993 and 1998. He was an assistant professor of management at the Wharton School, the University of Pennsylvania between 1987 and 1993. He also worked at the World Bank in 1987 as a member of its Young Professionals Program.

Shan is a member of the International Advisory Council of Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited. He served as an independent director of Singapore-listed Wilmar International Limited between 2018 and 2021.

Shan is an author and occasional commentator. His books include Money Games: The Inside Story of How American Dealmakers Saved Korea's Most Iconic Bank (Wiley, 2020) and Out of the Gobi: My Story of China and America (Wiley, 2019), which are also available in Chinese and Japanese, in addition to English.

Shan holds an M.A. and a Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley, and an M.B.A. from the University of San Francisco. He graduated with a major in English from the Beijing Institute of Foreign Trade (currently the Beijing University of International Business and Economics).

About Alibaba Group

Alibaba Groups mission is to make it easy to do business anywhere. The Company aims to build the future infrastructure of commerce. It envisions that its customers will meet, work and live at Alibaba, and that it will be a good company that lasts for 102 years.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220321005909/en/

Contacts

Media Contacts

Liyan Chen

Alibaba Group

+1 515 864 1116

liyan.chen@alibaba-inc.com

Celia Chen

Alibaba Group

+86 136 9192 9481

celia.c@alibaba-inc.com
Company to accelerate investment in R&D, sales & customer success for its rapidly growing Application Security Posture Management platform

PALO ALTO, Calif., March 22, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Bionic , the industry's first Application Security Posture Management platform, today announced it has closed a $65 million Series B funding round led by New York-based global private equity and venture capital firm Insight Partners. Existing investors Cyberstarts and Battery Ventures also participated in the round. Bionic will use this new round to expand investment in R&D and scale its rapidly growing sales and customer success teams.

Bionic is the industry's first Application Security Posture Management platform.

As enterprises adopt CI/CD, microservices, and serverless technologies, the surface area of applications in the cloud continuously expands and changes. This introduces drift, new attack vectors, and business risks that current cloud security processes and tooling do not address. Furthermore, data privacy regulations like GDPR and CCPA mean the way applications and code consumes personal data in the cloud needs to be better managed and secured.

Since launching from stealth in December 2020, Bionic has experienced significant growth and helped dozens of customers such as GSK, Armis, and Freddie Mac to accelerate their digital transformation projects and de-risk their application security posture. Bionic provides its customers with complete visibility and continuous monitoring of their applications, services, and APIs while detailing data flows, and attack surfaces.

"Our strong market traction with enterprise customers created major interest from the investor community resulting in an oversubscribed Series B round," said Idan Ninyo, CEO and co-founder of Bionic. "We are thrilled to partner with tier-1 investors  Insight Partners, Cyberstarts, and Battery Ventures  as we continue to build Bionic into the next major cybersecurity software company."

"Bionic provides complete visibility and detection for your application architecture and data flow with an innovative agentless approach. Their platform enables the mapping of application dependencies, components, and configurations, which is key in mitigating security risks introduced by continuous delivery. Bionic uniquely serves the needs of both cybersecurity and DevOps teams with a product functionality that provides immediate value with minor operational impact," said Steve Ward, Managing Director at Insight Partners. "Bionic's founding team with its deep understanding of the domain and strong technical experience, have made the company a standout in the industry. We look forward to partnering with the Bionic team as they continue to grow and Scale Up."

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From Bionic Customers:

GSK

"Understanding applications enables us to enforce secure architecture at scale. Our business is becoming dependent on our ability to continuously release new software and enterprise applications. Automatically understanding the architecture of applications enables organizations to enforce secure architecture at scale and streamline compliance audits," said Matthew McCormack, former Chief Information Security Officer at GSK.

Freddie Mac

"IT teams are dealing with increasing complexity. By adopting Bionic and understanding how our applications are architected, we accelerate our modernization efforts and reduce operational risk."

Armis Security

"With Bionic, our visibility is always up-to-date and without the effort. Effective risk and compliance management efforts truly require an up-to-date understanding of your applications' detailed architecture," said Curtis Simpson, Chief Information Security Officer at Armis Security.

About Bionic

Bionic is an Application Security Posture Management (ASPM) platform that proactively reduces security, data privacy, and operational risk by continuously analyzing the entire architecture of applications as they evolve and change in production. Unlike cloud security posture offerings, Bionic provides deep visibility into the application layer to help organizations manage the risk of their services, APIs, dependencies, and data flows in production. Bionic was founded in 2019 by Idan Ninyo and Eyal Mamo, and is based out of Palo Alto, CA.

Bionic is hiring, check out our careers page here .

Stay tuned to the Bionic blog or follow us on LinkedIn to stay informed on the latest news and events at Bionic.

About Insight Partners

Insight Partners is a global software investor partnering with high-growth technology, software, and Internet startup and ScaleUp companies that are driving transformative change in their industries. As of February 24, 2022, the closing of the firm's recent fundraise, Fund XII, brings Insight Partners regulatory assets under management to over $90B. Insight Partners has invested in more than 600 companies worldwide and has seen over 55 portfolio companies achieve an IPO. Headquartered in New York City, Insight has offices in London, Tel Aviv, and Palo Alto. Insight's mission is to find, fund, and work successfully with visionary executives, providing them with practical, hands-on software expertise to foster long-term success. Insight Partners meets great software leaders where they are in their growth journey, from their first investment to IPO. For more information on Insight and all its investments, visit insightpartners.com or follow us on Twitter @insightpartners.

Media Contact: Liam Barnes, liamb@bionic.ai

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SOURCE Bionic
WASHINGTON, March 21 (Reuters) - Boeing Chief Executive Dave Calhoun told employees on Monday that the planemaker has offered the full support of its technical experts in the investigation of the crash of a China Eastern Airlines 737-800 airplane.

Calhoun said in an email to employees he was limited by what Boeing could say about the investigation being led by the Civil Aviation Administration of China. "Trust that we will be doing everything we can to support our customer and the accident investigation during this difficult time, guided by our commitment to safety, transparency, and integrity at every step," Calhoun said. (Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Leslie Adler)
Crypto transfers are being used to fund terrorism in Syria and Iraq and child pornography in Southeast Asia, the head of Frances financial intelligence unit said Tuesday.

Guillaume Valette-Valla, director of Tracfin, the countrys anti-money laundering body, told lawmakers at the European Parliament that even those making small online payments should be forced to reveal their identity. Such small anonymous transactions shouldnt be allowed, he added.

The warning comes as the European Central Banks Christine Lagarde warned of cryptocurrencies' role in evading the financial sanctions placed on Russia after its invasion of Ukraine.

We have observed several times the use of crypto assets from Europe being used to fund terrorism, and complicity with terrorism, in the Syria-Iraq region, Valette-Valla told a joint session of the European Parliament's economic and civil liberties committees Tuesday.

Similar cases relating to child pornography were sadly recurrent, he added, saying that last week he had transferred three cases to the public prosecutor in which small transactions had been made to view live cases of child abuse in Southeast Asia.

Valette-Vallas organization, Tracfin, is part of the French economics ministry and is responsible for gathering intelligence on suspected illicit finance from financial companies and other sources, passing its findings to judicial authorities for potential prosecution.

Your assembly could give a big plus to our operational activity by ensuring deanonymization from the first euro of a crypto payment, he said, saying that individual transfers linked to criminal activity were sometimes under 10 euros (US$11).

The lawmakers are currently considering plans to extend existing payment transparency rules to the crypto sector in a way that could end online anonymity altogether.

Under these rules, known colloquially as the travel rule, conventional bank transfers need to identify parties involved in any transaction over 1,000 euros, with suspicious transactions passed on to the authorities. But lawmakers are leaning towards abolishing that lower threshold for crypto transactions because large digital payments can easily be broken up into smaller chunks that evade detection, a practice known as smurfing.

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Read more: European Parliament Proposes Expanding 'Travel Rule' to Every Single Crypto Transaction

Assita Kanko, the Belgian lawmaker responsible for marshaling the European Parliaments views on the new proposals, seems undeterred by the backlash to those plans from the crypto industry, and might even extend the proposals further into crypto holdings that are held privately rather than via intermediaries.

I'm convinced that proper regulation of crypto transfers will help, not harm, the growth and innovation in this sector. It will increase trust and help our authorities to push back against abuse, Kanko said at the hearing. We are discussing proposals to include transfers involving unhosted wallets while working on guarantees for personal data protection.

Kanko appeared to gain support from global money laundering standard setters the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).

The scale of use of unhosted wallets is not to that extent that we are worried currently, but I think we closely have to observe it, FATF President Marcus Pleyer told lawmakers. There might come the moment when we have to indeed take them into the scope of the regulation.

Editor's note: Comments by Valette-Valla in this article have been translated from French.
EllisDon Corporation

MISSISSAUGA, Ontario, March 22, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- EllisDon has donated $250,000 to the Canadian Red Cross Ukraine humanitarian crisis appeal after matching funds raised by the companys employees.



The situation in Ukraine is urgent and we hope this collective donation to the Canadian Red Cross, achieved through the generous people of EllisDon, can help alleviate the grievous suffering the people of the country are facing, said Geoff Smith, President and CEO, EllisDon. It is impossible to fathom what they are experiencing, and this is one way we've committed to show our support. We can only hope this unjust invasion ends quickly.

Funds raised by the Canadian Red Cross will allow the organization to respond to the heightened tensions in Ukraine. The support could include preparedness, immediate and ongoing relief efforts, long-term recovery, resilience, and other critical humanitarian activities as needs arise, both in Ukraine and surrounding countries, including supporting populations displaced.

If you would like to learn more or make a donation, click here: https://donate.redcross.ca/page/100227/donate/1?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=%28EN%29+Emergencies+-+Ukraine+Humanitarian+Crisis+Appeal&gclid=CjwKCAiAvaGRBhBlEiwAiY-yMAC5vgLmebvZQp1ZodU7vQSBj12Xp6E_gQ0v_7uXXjuY54rfxV7XIRoCopwQAvD_BwE

ABOUT ELLISDON

EllisDon is an employee-owned, $5 billion-a-year construction services company that has grown exponentially beyond its modest origins in London, Ontario. With over 5,000 salaried and hourly employees across fifteen national and international offices, EllisDon has become a leader in every sector and nearly every facet of the construction industry. EllisDon has positioned itself as a Cradle To Grave Services Provider with guaranteed performance outcomes through its Capital Services, Facilities Management, and Sustainable Buildings Divisions. EllisDon is determined to lead the coming disruption in the construction sector, having recently created pioneering initiatives in Energy Management, Smart Buildings Software and Data Analytics.

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For more information, please visit www.ellisdon.com.

Contact:

Dustin Luchka

T: 905 896 8900

dluchka@ellisdon.com




An Austrian central bank official takes new 200 euro banknotes in Vienna

By Yoruk Bahceli

(Reuters) -The European Union raised over 12 billion euros ($13.24 billion) in a debt sale on Tuesday, as investors wait to see if the bloc will unveil a new joint borrowing plan to tackle member states' funding needs following the invasion of Ukraine.

The bloc drew over 59 billion euros in demand for a new 10-year bond backing its coronavirus recovery fund, which raised 10 billion euros, the European Commission said in a statement.

Though that is the lowest level of outright demand the EU has seen since it launched debt sales backing its recovery fund last summer, the bloc increased the size of the issue from an initial 8 billion euros announced earlier on Tuesday in a memo seen by Reuters.

The EU also received 35 billion euros in demand for a 15-year bond backing its SURE unemployment scheme - the first jointly financed fund it launched early on in the pandemic - which raised 2.17 billion euros, the Commission said.

It is the EU's first major bond sale since a Bloomberg report earlier in March suggested the bloc could soon unveil a new plan for further joint bond issuance to finance energy and defence spending in the face of Russias invasion of Ukraine.

A new fund would add to the up-to 100 billion euro SURE unemployment scheme and up-to 800 billion euro recovery fund the EU launched during the pandemic in unprecedented acts of fiscal solidarity.

France is leading calls for new EU debt, while Germany and other wealthier member states oppose further joint borrowing.

European Economic Commissioner Paolo Gentiloni said on Tuesday he sees a real discussion about new joint borrowing taking place in a few weeks, once the bloc has a clearer view of the economic impact of the crisis.

Jens Peter Sorensen, chief analyst at Danske Bank, noted that the SURE bond, which is classified as a social bond, one type of ESG debt, received much higher demand relative to the amount on offer.

"If you can put an ESG stamp on whatever fund you start to do, you will get really high demand for the bonds," he said, referring to the potential new borrowing.

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The 10-year bond priced for a yield of 1.02% and the 15-year bond for a yield of 1.199%, the European Commission said.

News of a potential new borrowing plan helped lower the risk premiums on Italian and other southern European government bonds despite the Ukraine war and at a time when the European Central Bank plans to cut back the stimulus which is a key support plank for southern Europe.

The news also boosted the single currency and euro zone stock markets.

($1 = 0.9065 euros)

(Reporting by Yoruk Bahceli; Editing by Susan Fenton and Mark Porter)
The Leading Sign, Graphics and Visual Communications Franchise Wins its Fourth Consecutive Global Franchise Award

CARROLLTON, Texas, March 22, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- FASTSIGNS , the leading sign, graphics and visual communications franchise, ranked first in "Signage & Communication" for the annual Global Franchise Awards . This marks the fourth consecutive year FASTSIGNS has won this award, highlighting the brand's superb ethics, dedication and excellence as an international franchisor.

FASTSIGNS International, Inc.

"This award is a great honor for our franchise, especially since it is a recognition that FASTSIGNS has now received multiple years in a row," said Mark Jameson, chief support and development officer at Propelled Brands. "This is only possible thanks to the hard work and commitment of both our franchisees and our executive team. Everyone works tirelessly to support each other through all levels of business. I am proud of every member of the FASTSIGNS network, and I cannot wait to see how we will continue to grow and improve in the future."

To decide the winners of these Awards, Global Franchise shortlists the applications using an independent panel of key, impartial and industry experts working to the criteria created by the Global Franchise team. Using these criteria as a guide, the judges select an entry from each category that best demonstrates the values Global Franchise is looking to celebrate.

The total investment for a FASTSIGNS franchise is approximately $233,555 - $307,308 including a $49,750 franchise fee. Ideal candidates have a net worth of $300,000, of which $80K is liquid. Additionally, FASTSIGNS offers a special incentive for veterans and first responders, including paramedics, emergency medical technicians, police officers, sheriffs and firefighters, which includes a 50% reduction on the franchise fee -- a savings of $24,875.

To date, FASTSIGNS operates more than 750 locations in 46 states and eight countries. Of these FASTSIGNS franchises, around 10% are owned by veterans.

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To view FASTSIGNS in the full Global Franchise Award winners list, visit https://www.global-franchise.com/awards/winners .

For more information about owning a FASTSIGNS franchise, visit https://www.fastsigns.com .

About FASTSIGNS:

FASTSIGNS International, Inc. is the leading sign and visual communications franchisor in North America, and is the worldwide franchisor of more than 750 independently owned and operated FASTSIGNS centers in eight countries including the United States and Puerto Rico, the United Kingdom, Canada, Chile, Grand Cayman, Malta, the Dominican Republic and Australia (where centers operate as SIGNWAVE). FASTSIGNS locations provide comprehensive signage and graphic solutions to help companies in all industries communicate their message and extend their branding across all of their customer touchpoints.

FASTSIGNS is consistently ranked as a top franchise opportunity and recognized as an invaluable resource for potential franchisees. In 2021, Propelled Brands was formed, the corporate umbrella that includes FASTSIGNS, SIGNWAVE in Australia, NerdsToGo, an emerging IT services franchise brand acquired in September 2020, and Suite Management Franchising, LLC, the parent company of MY SALON Suite and Salon Plaza in June 2021. With a focus on business-to-business franchises and the people behind those businesses, Propelled Brands will help each franchise confidently navigate forward based on their unique position, momentum and purpose.

Learn more about sign and graphic solutions or find a location at fastsigns.com . Follow the brand on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/company/fastsigns , Twitter @FASTSIGNS or Facebook at facebook.com/FASTSIGNS . For information about the FASTSIGNS franchise opportunity, contact Mark Jameson (mark.jameson@fastsigns.com or call 214.346.5679).

FASTSIGNS International, Inc. (PRNewsfoto/FASTSIGNS International, Inc.)

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SOURCE FASTSIGNS International, Inc.
TORONTO, March 22, 2022 /CNW/ - Fidelity Investments Canada ULC today announced the March 2022 cash distributions for Fidelity's suite of High Dividend Factor ETFs, Fixed Income ETFs, Monthly High Income ETFs, Low Volatility Factor ETFs, High Quality Factor ETFs and Value Factor ETFs.

Fidelity Investments Canada ULC Logo (CNW Group/Fidelity Investments Canada ULC)

Detailed in the tables below, unitholders of record as of March 29, 2022 will receive a per-unit cash distribution payable on March 31, 2022.

Fidelity ETF Name Ticker

Symbol Cash

Distribution

Per Unit (C$) CUSIP ISIN Payment

Frequency Exchange Fidelity Canadian High

Dividend Index ETF FCCD 0.10066 31608M102 CA31608M1023 Monthly Toronto Stock

Exchange Fidelity U.S. High

Dividend Index ETF FCUD/ FCUD.U 0.11481 31645M107 CA31645M1077 Monthly Toronto Stock

Exchange Fidelity U.S. High

Dividend Currency

Neutral Index ETF FCUH 0.11230 315740100 CA3157401009 Monthly Toronto Stock

Exchange Fidelity U.S. Dividend for

Rising Rates Index ETF FCRR/

FCRR.U 0.06526 31644M108 CA31644M1086 Monthly Toronto Stock

Exchange Fidelity U.S. Dividend for

Rising Rates Currency

Neutral Index ETF FCRH 0.06399 31644P101 CA31644P1018 Monthly Toronto Stock

Exchange Fidelity International

High Dividend Index ETF FCID 0.00764 31623D103 CA31623D1033 Monthly Toronto Stock

Exchange Fidelity Systematic U.S.

High Yield Bond ETF FCHY 0.11949 31615L105 CA31615L1058 Monthly Toronto Stock

Exchange Fidelity Systematic U.S.

High Yield Bond

Currency Neutral ETF FCHH 0.12062 31615M103 CA31615M1032 Monthly Toronto Stock

Exchange Fidelity Canadian Short

Term Corporate Bond

ETF FCSB 0.04051 31608N100 CA31608N1006 Monthly Toronto Stock

Exchange Fidelity Systematic

Canadian Bond Index

ETF FCCB 0.04478 31644F103 CA31644F1036 Monthly Toronto Stock

Exchange Fidelity Global Core Plus

Bond ETF FCGB/ FCGB.U 0.06053 31623G106 CA31623G1063 Monthly Toronto Stock

Exchange Fidelity Global

Investment Grade Bond

ETF FCIG/ FCIG.U 0.05256 31624P105 CA31624P1053 Monthly Toronto Stock

Exchange Fidelity Canadian

Monthly High Income

ETF FCMI 0.03595 31609T106 CA31609T1066 Monthly Toronto Stock

Exchange Fidelity Global Monthly

High Income ETF FCGI 0.03249 31623K107 CA31623K1075 Monthly Toronto Stock

Exchange Fidelity Canadian Low

Volatility Index ETF FCCL 0.22137 31608H103 CA31608H1038 Quarterly Toronto Stock

Exchange Fidelity U.S. Low

Volatility Index ETF FCUL/ FCUL.U 0.10157 31647B109 CA31647B1094 Quarterly Toronto Stock

Exchange Fidelity U.S. Low

Volatility Currency

Neutral Index ETF FCLH 0.10028 31647N103 CA31647N1033 Quarterly Toronto Stock

Exchange Fidelity Canadian High

Quality Index ETF FCCQ 0.13344 31610C100 CA31610C1005 Quarterly Toronto Stock

Exchange Fidelity U.S. High Quality

Index ETF FCUQ/ FCUQ.U 0.07165 31647C107 CA31647C1077 Quarterly Toronto Stock

Exchange Fidelity U.S. High Quality

Currency Neutral Index

ETF FCQH 0.07772 31648J101 CA31648J1012 Quarterly Toronto Stock

Exchange Fidelity Canadian Value

Index ETF FCCV 0.03223 31609U103 CA31609U1030 Quarterly Toronto Stock

Exchange Fidelity U.S. Value Index

ETF FCUV/ FCUV.U 0.34216 31647E103 CA31647E1034 Quarterly Toronto Stock

Exchange Fidelity U.S. Value

Currency Neutral Index

ETF FCVH 0.35588 31646E104 CA31646E1043 Quarterly Toronto Stock

Exchange

About Fidelity Investments Canada ULC

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At Fidelity, our mission is to build a better future for Canadian investors and help them stay ahead. We offer investors and institutions a range of innovative and trusted investment portfolios to help them reach their financial and life goals.

As a privately-owned company, our people and world class resources are committed to doing what is right for investors and their long-term success. Our clients have entrusted us with $202 billion in assets under management (as at March 18, 2022) and they include individuals, financial advisors, pension plans, endowments, foundations and more.

We are proud to provide investors a full range of investment solutions through mutual funds and exchange-traded funds, including domestic, international and global equity, income-oriented strategies, asset allocation solutions, managed portfolios, sustainable investing and our high net worth program. Fidelity Funds are available through a number of advice-based distribution channels including financial planners, investment dealers, banks, and insurance companies.

Read a fund's prospectus and consult your financial advisor before investing. Exchange-traded funds are not guaranteed; their values change frequently and past performance may not be repeated. Commissions, management fees, brokerage fees and expenses may all be associated with investments in exchange-traded funds and investors may experience a gain or loss.

Find us on social media @FidelityCanada

SOURCE Fidelity Investments Canada ULC

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By Trend



Turkeys potential is at a level to create its own Silicon Valley when it comes to digital platforms, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said, announcing that the government is launching digital mobilization, Trend reports citing Hurriyet Daily News.

I am declaring the next period as a digital mobilization period, Erdogan said on March 21, speaking at a meeting focused on the virtual world of the metaverse.

We are together to talk and discuss the metaverse. This is a first in politics. We would like to thank the Information and Technology Presidency for achieving this first, Erdogan stated.

The metaverse and similar platforms would perhaps become an integral part of the upcoming generations, and Turkey needs entrepreneurs and young people who would put forward the country in this field, Erdogan said.

The world is heading towards a new era built on digital technologies and the government has a duty to prepare its own people for this inevitable future in the most correct, safe, strong and well-equipped way, Erdogan said, noting that this meeting aims to discuss these issues.

In addition to producing the infrastructure of technology, the government wants to ensure creating content that can be used by Turkey and ultimately the world, he emphasized.

The insiders know best how bad the digital world is today. Even the legal and moral borderless situations of social media platforms that have only become cartels are the simplest proof that we need to draw our own path, Erdogan said and stressed the need for a legal ground for digital platforms.

Since there is now a growing digital economy reality, it is not possible to solve this problem without establishing a digital legal order that all countries will accept with consensus and stand behind, the president stated.

The ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) has not only built hospitals, school compounds, roads, bridges and dams but has also ensured the spread of information and communication technologies with the investments it has made, he said.

Erdogan said during his governments period, the number of mobile phone subscribers in Turkey increased from 23 million to 83 million, adding: We follow this process in all its aspects with the action plan we prepared with the Digital Media Commission we established in the parliament.

The metaverse is a network of 3D virtual worlds focused on social connection, which a user will be able to enter via VR glasses.




$3 million investment to support impactful local programs to facilitate holistic generational change

ATLANTA, March 22, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Georgia Power announced today a new education equity initiative in partnership with four Georgia school districts, designed to support impactful local programs in communities of color and facilitate holistic generational change. The program represents a $3 million investment that will address specific needs and opportunities identified by local school districts focused on improving career readiness and multigenerational economic stability.

Georgia Power logo. (PRNewsFoto/Georgia Power)

The four districts that have been selected for the pilot program are Clayton County Public Schools (Atlanta), Dougherty County School System (Albany), Richmond County School System (Augusta) and Savannah-Chatham County Public School System. Enhancing education equity  spanning multiple areas such as early childhood, K-12, higher education and promoting equitable education policy  is one of Georgia Power's social justice pillars, with the company committed to improving and strengthening education in underserved communities to help students of all ages build brighter futures.

"Education is the foundation upon which our state's economy is built and, the stronger and more equitable we can make the experience for learners at every level, the higher the potential for every Georgian and every community," said Bentina Terry, Senior Vice President, Region External Affairs for Georgia Power. "At Georgia Power, we're focused on making investments that move the needle and generate opportunity for real, inclusive economic growth. We are excited to work with these school districts, and the hundreds of educators working tirelessly every day, to improve student and family educational outcomes through this innovative program."

Georgia Power is collaborating with the individual school districts as they use the funds to create or further enhance impactful programs, with the goal of building programs that can be sustained through additional partner funding or community support. Additionally, the company will help to facilitate the exchange of best practices among the districts and manage the overall initiative, while the individual districts will select, implement and monitor programs in their areas and develop key performance indicators to track progress.

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School districts participating in the new initiative were selected based on interviews with key influencers in the education space and on research on family poverty rates, unemployment, access to early learning, Kindergarten readiness, postsecondary preparedness and postsecondary attainment. Each district is developing plans to support early learners, birth to age 3, through literacy and wraparound services. Another top priority for the four districts is engaging parents in school activities and skills training. While plans are being finalized in advance of the 2022/2023 school year, programs are expected to include the following.

Clayton County Public Schools will utilize the funding to improve career readiness and workforce opportunities for graduating seniors, to focus on improving access to early education by working with child caring organizations in the county to increase kindergarten readiness, to expand its work-based learning program, and to create a soft skills academy for students.

Dougherty County School System will use the funding to develop a career-focused high school graduation option for students that includes expanding Career, Technical, and Agricultural Education (CTAE) pathways with paid internships, career guidance, technical training, and opportunities to earn industry certifications. The district also will strengthen partnerships with business and community organizations to increase the talent pipeline for specific, technical career fields by reskilling and upskilling underemployed and unemployed adults. In addition to the career-focused initiatives, the district will provide schools with resources for STEM enrichment and education.

Richmond County School System will use funding to expand opportunities for high school students to have hands-on work experience in the Students2Work program. Additionally, the school system will implement Parent University to connect families with resources, training and tools that support student learning and promote academic success.

Savannah-Chatham County Public School System will use the funding to implement a K-12 STEM/STEAM track, enhance early childhood learning, and address barriers that impede postsecondary and/or career success. The district also will improve alignment to regional workforce needs and expand student learning opportunities that include employability skills and training, transportation, and support to enhance work-based learning experiences.

Georgia Power's longstanding commitment to improving education and supporting the state's educators includes workforce development programs, power plant tours, partnerships with various education nonprofits, and the company's marquee Learning Power program. Since launch in 2011, Learning Power has partnered with educators to reach more than 900,000 students across the state of Georgia with hands-on, STEM-based energy and energy efficiency lessons at all grade levels, Pre-K through high school. Learn more at www.GeorgiaPower.com/Education.

Georgia Power's Social Justice Commitment

Georgia Power, along with the Georgia Power Foundation, have committed to invest $87 million throughout 2021-2025 to continue advancing racial equity and social justice efforts in Georgia. This funding will support initiatives focused on education equity, criminal justice equity, economic empowerment and energy justice. The company's investment is part of the overall commitment by Southern Company and its charitable foundations to invest a combined $225 million over five years to support these efforts. This financial commitment is a key component of Southern Company's Moving to Racial Equity framework to help guide and further define its actions and commitments around racial equity work.

About Georgia Power

Georgia Power is the largest electric subsidiary of Southern Company (NYSE: SO), America's premier energy company. Value, Reliability, Customer Service and Stewardship are the cornerstones of the Company's promise to 2.7 million customers in all but four of Georgia's 159 counties. Committed to delivering clean, safe, reliable and affordable energy at rates below the national average, Georgia Power maintains a diverse, innovative generation mix that includes nuclear, coal and natural gas, as well as renewables such as solar, hydroelectric and wind. Georgia Power focuses on delivering world-class service to its customers every day and the Company is consistently recognized by J.D. Power and Associates as an industry leader in customer satisfaction. For more information, visit www.GeorgiaPower.com and connect with the Company on Facebook (Facebook.com/GeorgiaPower), Twitter (Twitter.com/GeorgiaPower) and Instagram (Instagram.com/ga_power).

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SOURCE Georgia Power
By Nick Carey and Christoph Steitz

WOERT, Germany (Reuters) - The shift to electric cars may pose an existential threat to suppliers of combustion engines but for auto parts firms such as TE Connectivity the challenge is keeping up with demand.

It makes the connectors that link miles of cables in cars to all things electrical, from sensors to fuel injection systems to infotainment - and if there's anything the cars of an electric era will need, it's larger and ever more complex connectors.

That's why TE spent $125 million to open a new building in 2020 dedicated to electric vehicle (EV) parts at a factory tucked away in a shallow valley in the small town of Woert in southern Germany.

And that's why it's on the lookout for acquisitions or partnerships to keep expanding its auto business, Chief Executive Terrence Curtin told Reuters: "We're going to continue to add capacity."

As legacy auto parts suppliers figure out if and when to sell combustion engine businesses or buy EV parts makers, TE and rivals in the connectors or sensors businesses such as Sensata Technologies, Amphenol Corp and Molex are looking to supply higher-value components and do more development work with carmakers going through a massive transition.

"All these automakers talking about moving their fleets to electric and making promises about range are incapable of doing that without suppliers like TE," says William Kerwin, an analyst at Morningstar who covers TE, Sensata and Amphenol.

Auto parts account for over 40% of TE's $15 billion in revenue, making it one the biggest car suppliers most people have never heard of. Its $43 billion market value is far bigger than Nissan and Renault combined - and more than three times heavyweight supplier Continental.

TE has a price-to-earnings ratio of about 18, Amphenol and Sensata are in the 20s, while Continental trades at about 10.

EUROPEAN DEMAND EXPLOSION

TE's Curtin said car parts suppliers and automakers alike had been caught out by an explosion in demand for EVs in Europe over the past two years - and with everyone playing catch-up TE's new facility was running at double its planned production.

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While a global shortage of semiconductors has hit overall car production, Curtin said automakers have been using the chips they do have to prioritise EVs over fossil fuel vehicles - putting ever more strain on suppliers such as TE.

The challenge TE faces is getting the timing and scale of its expansion right, given the EV transition and shift to self-driving cars could run into speed bumps, such as an end to subsidies or safety concerns, Curtin said.

Because for TE, electrification means going bigger.

The far greater power needed by EVs means TE must develop larger and more complex components to handle the extra current, without causing fires.

TE's conventional parts have up to five components but its newer EV parts have up to 50 components. The supplier also now buys tonnes of aluminium, which is lighter and cheaper than copper, to make up portions of those larger parts.

In the older part of the Woert factory, machines spit out 16 connectors for fossil fuel cars a second. In the new building, more complex and costly machines, some supplied by Germany's Manz, crank out larger copper connectors with welded alloy springs for EV charge ports at a far slower pace.

TE also makes a large connector here that sits atop an EV battery module - an EV has up to 12 modules - and serves as its brain, measuring each battery cell's performance while a tiny semiconductor measures their temperature.

The new facility in Woert can make 2 million such connectors a year but demand continues to soar.

"We're going to need more," said Matthias Lechner, TE's head of Europe, Middle East and Africa, adding that TE planned to manufacture more at a plant in Hungary and elsewhere.

Graphic: On the rise: https://graphics.reuters.com/ELECTRIC-VEHICLES/SALES/jnpwebrzwpw/chart.png

Lechner, who describes TE as "humble and hidden", says its connectors can reduce EV charging time by 10 minutes, an edge carmakers can sell to consumers.

CEO Curtin says EVs and self-driving cars will double the value of the parts TE supplies from about $70 now for the average fossil fuel car. That means the payoff could be huge.

EVs almost doubled their global share of vehicle sales to 6% in 2021, according to research group JATO Dynamics, and that share is only set to rise.

Europe's auto supplier market will grow to 330 billion euros ($359 billion) in 2030 from 216 billion now, driven by software, EVs and electronics, McKinsey estimates, as firms tackle chip bottlenecks and cost pressure while investing in growth.

"We're observing a double transformation," McKinsey partner Timo Moeller said.

TE's Woert site employs 2,200 people and is adding more engineers and technicians, as well as different machines to make connectors for data in self-driving cars - because unlike EV parts, tiny connections are better for moving data.

TE has three auto parts factories in Germany and another five across Europe. Worldwide, it has 29 factories dedicated to its automotive business.

Morningstar's Kerwin said TE faces the same risks as others in a cyclical business such as the auto industry.

But he said TE had a "sticky" relationship with customers and has embedded engineers with carmakers to develop products for vehicles in an electric age.

"The writing is on the wall that you have to play into electrification if you want to succeed," Kerwin said.

($1 = 0.9194 euros)

(Reporting by Nick Carey and Christoph Steitz; Editing by David Clarke)
Launched last fall, the Real Estate Concentration of the Master of Business Administration is the first real estate program within an accredited program among 101 historically black colleges and universities in the United States

NEW YORK, March 22, 2022--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The ICSC Foundation, in partnership with current ICSC Chairman Glenn Rufrano, made a $100,000 contribution to support a new real estate program within the Master of Business Administration (MBA) program at North Carolina Central Universitys (NCCU) School of Business. In addition to the financial contribution, the ICSC Foundation will provide a host of student resources, including unlimited student and faculty ICSC membership, mentorship, professional development and discounted registration and networking at ICSC events.

The real estate concentration curriculum, designed to prepare students for executive positions in commercial, residential and corporate real estate, is the first program of its kind to be initiated among the 101 historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs). In addition to teaching the fundamentals of real estate, the program creates pathways for black professionals to gain access to the real estate industry, which is directly aligned with the goals and purpose of the ICSC Foundations Talent Incubator Project.

"ICSC is taking the lead to help our members recruit and hire qualified and skilled individuals from racially diverse backgrounds in various roles within their companies. The commercial real estate industry must reflect the ever-increasing diversity they are seeing in the communities where they operate and serve," stated Tom McGee, President and CEO of ICSC. "Through our ICSC Foundation initiatives, ICSC is building a path for racially diverse undergraduate and graduate students that will open doors to new professional opportunities in commercial real estate, and more specifically, the Marketplaces Industry. This will continue to be our goal and responsibility as the leading trade organization that represents our commercial real estate members."

"It is beyond time for companies within the commercial real estate industry to help level the playing field and provide ongoing opportunities and financial support to real estate programs at the undergraduate and graduate levels for racially diverse students who are pursuing careers in commercial real estate and the Marketplaces Industry. The HBCU community is the most critical educational arena that needs our support because it is their graduates who can help to reverse this trend of underrepresentation. I am proud to lend my support to NCCUs real estate program because their program will become a standard by which other HBCU real estate programs will follow," stated Glenn Rufrano.

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For HBCUs, which have been chronically underfunded, starting new courses is an expensive proposition. The schools focus what resources they have on expanding their offerings in subjects with a clearer pathway to jobs and demonstrated interest from incoming students. The HBCUs that have business schools and finance programs, both of which provide skills useful for roles in commercial real estate, often partner with private companies for recruiting purposes, including internship placements.

"African Americans are significantly underrepresented in commercial real estate investment and management roles. With this program, NCCU intends to help bring about meaningful change and serve as the model for other HBCUs around the country to follow," explained Anthony C. Nelson, Ph.D., Dean of the School of Business at North Carolina Central University. "Quality education, coupled with real-world interaction with real estate investors and managers, provides the path for advancement and opportunity. We intend to establish a foundation that will provide life-changing principles for generations of students."

The ICSC Foundation is the non-profit, charitable arm of ICSC dedicated to creating a vibrant retail and real estate industry by building a pipeline of bright, ambitious and diverse talent that can drive the industry forward. Its Talent Incubator Project is a series of leading-edge initiatives offering undergraduate and graduate students multiple entry points to the retail real estate and retail industries, while providing ICSC members access to new, capable talent.

About ICSC

The member organization for industry advancement, ICSC promotes and elevates the marketplaces and spaces where people shop, dine, work, play and gather as foundational and vital ingredients of communities and economies. ICSC produces experiences that create connections and catalyze deals; aggressively advocates to shape public policy; develops high-impact marketing and public relations that influence opinion; provides an enduring platform for professional success; and creates forward-thinking content with actionable insights  all of which drive industry innovation and growth. For more information, please visit www.ICSC.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220322005052/en/

Contacts

MEDIA:

Keith Hudson

Director, Public Relations

ICSC

Email: media@icsc.com
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Intellect Data

Intellect Data

DENVER, March 22, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Intellect Data, Inc. is proud to release Intellect INSIGHT, a SaaS platform that enables data teams of all skill levels to implement powerful solutions to derive deep, intuitive, and meaningful insights from vast data sources. INSIGHT empowers organizations to seamlessly build and visualize data science models within the same platform. With its advanced data analytics, machine learning, and AI componentry at their fingertips, users can rapidly deploy robust visualizations, reports, and dashboards essential to making informed predictions and decisions. The system allows users to test leading machine learning algorithms and perform side-by-side comparisons to determine optimal results for model selection and visualization, resulting in smarter, faster, and simpler solutions driven by Intellect .

INSIGHT reduces the workload of applying advanced data science models to real-world problems to simple keystrokes. The solution provides a modern data analytics platform with capabilities to connect to data sources, query, import, cleanse, transform, analyze, model, and visualize data. Classification and regression modeling is supported with advanced algorithms providing the system's real-time business intelligence within a collaborative, comprehensive, and customizable environment. For the more technical user, access the integrated notebook-style environment to extend the analysis using Python or R.

Maximize data value while minimizing the heavy lifting often associated with data projects with Intellect INSIGHT's intuitive visual representations.

Rapidly accelerate data science productivity

Quickly identify information and relationships from data buried in file systems, databases, data warehouses, data lakes, or data streams

Leverage leading ML models and algorithms for predictive and descriptive modeling

Empower non-experts

"We are pleased to make INSIGHT available to the business community to simplify the application of data science and AI to real-world problems for better-informed predictions and decision-making," said Todd Smith, CEO. "We believe that there is a strategic value represented here to organizations, a competitive edge."

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To learn more about empowering your organization with advanced analytics and obtain a no-obligation free trial, visit: https://intellectdata.com/intellect-insight/

About Intellect Data

Intellect Data is a software solutions company incorporating data science and artificial intelligence into modern digital products with Intellect . Intellect Data develops and implements software, software components, and software as a service (SaaS) for enterprise, desktop, web, mobile, Cloud, IoT, wearables, and AR/VR environments. Locate us on the web at www.intellectdata.com.

Media Relations:

Intellect Data

USA: +1 303-997-0302 | +1 855-603-3178

intellect2@intellectdata.com

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VANCOUVER, BC, March 22, 2022 /CNW/ - Kootenay Silver reports its JV with Aztec on the Cervantes Property continues to hit shallow and long intervals of oxide gold mineralization,

Kootenay Silver Logo (CNW Group/Kootenay Silver Inc.)

California Zone Drill Highlights from mineralized quartz feldspar porphyry and hydrothermal breccias.

CAL22-008

0.884 gpt Au over 54.7 m including 13.7 metres of 1.965 gpt Au in, located at the southeastern edge of the mineralized zone

CAL22-009

0.50 gpt Au over 86.6 m at the southern edge of the central portion of the mineralized zone

CAL22-010

0.53 gpt Au over 138.3 m including 10.67 m of 1.622 gpt Au in, located in the central portion of the mineralized zone

Reported lengths are apparent widths, not true widths, and the observed gold mineralization appears to be widely distributed in disseminations, fractures and veinlets within quartz-feldspar porphyry, feldspar porphyry stocks and related hydrothermal breccias.

Kootenay CEO James McDonald says "The Cervantes project continues to deliver wide intervals of oxide gold mineralization that remain open in all directions. The area now covers about 900 meters by 250 to 500 meters to a depth of 265 meters. We are looking forward to the remaining 8 holes of the current program."

California 2022 RC Drill Program Plan Map

Drill Hole From m To m Interval m* Au gpt Comments CAL22-001 22.86 111.3 88.41 1.1 230 Az, -60 Including 22.86 77.74 54.88 1.56



30.49 45.73 15.24 3.962



30.49 36.57 6.08 7.44













CAL22-002 0 108.2 108.2 0.374 225 Az, -60











CAL22-003 45.7 91.5 45.7 0.451 233 Az, -60 Including 60.9 74.7 13.7 0.868













CAL22-004 0 167.2 167.2 1.002 236 AZ, -59 Including 131.1 155.5 24.4 4.247













CAL22-005 0 136.8 136.8 1.486 236 Az, -59 Including 54.88 106.7 51.68 3.424













CAL22-006 16.77 117.38 100.32 0.75 229 Az, -60 Including 16.77 25.91 9.14 3.087















128.05 140.25 12.2 0.925













CAL22-007 32.01 39.63 7.6 0.684 225 Az, -59













83.84 147.87 63.84 0.422













CAL22-008 0 54.72 54.72 0.884 212 Az, -58 Including 36.58 50.3 13.72 1.965















187.5 195.1 7.6 0.745













CAL22-009 0 86.64 86.64 0.5 235 Az, -60











CAL22-010 0 138.32 138.32 0.53 227 Az, -52 Including 50.3 60.98 10.67 1.622















The primary focus of the Phase 2 RC drill program at Cervantes is to expand the previously drilled California zone by completing two drill hole fences parallel to and on either side of the 2017-18 Phase 1 drill hole fence. To-date, every hole drilled at California has intersected near surface, oxidized gold mineralization with minor copper oxides.

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Drill samples cuttings are collected every 5 feet (1.52m) from all drill holes. The samples are analyzed by Bureau Veritas for gold with a 30-gram sample size using the method FA430 followed by MA300. Over limits, when present, are analyzed by AR404 or FA550. All holes contain certified blanks, standards, and duplicates as part of the quality control program. The QA/QC has delivered excellent results to date good data integrity. The samples are shipped to and received by Bureau Veritas Minerals laboratory for the gold and multielement geochemical analysis and additional gold results will be received and reported in the next several weeks. Final multielement ICP results are expected to follow the release of the preliminary gold assays and are expected to be received during the second quarter 2022.

Qualified Persons

The Kootenay technical information in this news release has been prepared in accordance with the Canadian regulatory requirements set out in National Instrument 43-101 (Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects) and reviewed and approved on behalf of Kootenay by James McDonald, P.Geo, President, CEO & Director for Kootenay, a Qualified Person.

About Kootenay Silver Inc.

Kootenay Silver Inc. is an exploration company actively engaged in the discovery and development of mineral projects in the Sierra Madre Region of Mexico. Supported by one of the largest junior portfolios of silver assets in Mexico, Kootenay continues to provide its shareholders with significant leverage to silver prices. The Company remains focused on the expansion of its current silver resources, new discoveries and the near-term economic development of its priority silver projects located in prolific mining districts in Sonora, State and Chihuahua, State, Mexico, respectively.

CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS:

The information in this news release has been prepared as at March 21, 2022. Certain statements in this news release, referred to herein as "forward-looking statements", constitute "forward-looking statements" under the provisions of Canadian provincial securities laws. These statements can be identified by the use of words such as "expected", "may", "will" or similar terms.

Forward-looking statements are necessarily based upon a number of factors and assumptions that, while considered reasonable by Kootenay as of the date of such statements, are inherently subject to significant business, economic and competitive uncertainties and contingencies. Many factors, known and unknown, could cause actual results to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date made. Except as otherwise required by law, Kootenay expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to release publicly any updates or revisions to any such statements to reflect any change in Kootenay's expectations or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statement is based.

Cautionary Note to US Investors: This news release may contain information about adjacent properties on which we have no right to explore or mine. We advise U.S. investors that the SEC's mining guidelines strictly prohibit information of this type in documents filed with the SEC. U.S. investors are cautioned that mineral deposits on adjacent properties are not indicative of mineral deposits on our properties. This news release may contain forward-looking statements including but not limited to comments regarding the timing and content of upcoming work programs, geological interpretations, receipt of property titles, potential mineral recovery processes, etc. Forward-looking statements address future events and conditions and therefore involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from those currently anticipated in such statements.

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SOURCE Kootenay Silver Inc.

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The U.S. has pledged to provide about $2 billion in military aid to help that country defend itself against the brutal invasion by Russian forces. Politicos Joseph Gedeon provides a rundown Tuesday on the aid being provided by more than 25 countries, including rocket launchers from Canada, anti-tank weapons from Sweden and armored cars from the United Kingdom.

Heres Gedeons breakdown of the aid being sent by the U.S. as of todays date:

1,400 Stinger anti-aircraft missile systems,

4,600 Javelin anti-tank missiles,

five Mi-17 helicopters,

three patrol boats,

four counter-artillery and counter-drone tracking radars,

2,000 light anti-armor weapons,

300 grenade launchers and ammunition,

600 shotguns,

600 machine guns,

5,000 rifles,

1,000 pistols,

25,000 sets of body armor,

25,000 helmets,

nearly 40 million rounds of small arms ammunition,

more than 1 million grenade, mortar and artillery rounds,

70 Humvees and other vehicles,

6,000 AT-4 anti-armor systems,

100 Switchblade drones.

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Miss Grass's premium cannabis line to be distributed by AWH in Massachusetts and Illinois

LOS ANGELES, March 22, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Miss Grass , a female-founded and community-driven cannabis brand, announces that it has partnered with Ascend Wellness Holdings , Inc. ("AWH" or the "Company") (CSE: AAWH.U) (OTCQX: AAWH), a multi-state, vertically integrated cannabis operator focused on bettering lives through cannabis, to distribute its line of premium THC to Massachusetts and Illinois. The partnership comes on the heels of Miss Grass' full-scale rebrand launched earlier this month.

Miss Grass Logo

Through this partnership, Miss Grass products will be produced and initially distributed at Ascend retail locations beginning in Massachusetts today, March 22, with Illinois to follow this year. This partnership advances Miss Grass' mission to educate, equip and empower consumers with the resources to consume consciously and live vibrantly by expanding access to their carefully curated, effects and terpene-driven Mini pre-rolls to a broader community across the United States.

"Miss Grass is proud to enter these thriving markets with AWH as our partner," said Kate Miller, co-founder and CEO of Miss Grass. "Our long-standing mission is to make cannabis accessible through empowering new and returning consumers with education and quality cannabis products. With AWH as a trusted operator in these states, we are able to further provide our nationwide community with access to Miss Grass products as we continue our work to dismantle cannabis stigmas and encourage conscious consumption."

The first Miss Grass products to be introduced to the Massachusetts market are Minis, five .4g pre-rolls available in three color-coded and carefully selected strains based on specific terpene and cannabinoid profiles that elicit desired effects and emotions: Fast Times (Blood Orange; Sativa Dominant; Bloom + Play), Quiet Times (Sapphire Blue; Indica Dominant; Restore + Anchor) and All Times (Lilac Purple; Hybrid; Harmony + Flow). Minis are packaged in small boxes that contain a set of Miss Grass matchboxes for ease and convenience.

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"AWH continues to diversify our offerings by catering to distinct consumer preferences across the country through our latest partnership," said Maggie Connors, chief brand officer of AWH. "Miss Grass shares our commitment to creating premium, consumer-centric cannabis experiences, and we are thrilled to introduce the brandwhich is known throughout California for its quality, commitment to equity, and focus on womento an even broader community in Massachusetts and Illinois."

Massachusetts and Illinois are booming cannabis markets, each generating between $1.2 billion and $2 billion in recreational sales in 2021.

About Miss Grass

Miss Grass is on a mission to help the world get good at weed. With signature THC and CBD products and a carefully curated online smoke shop and marketplace, the female-founded, community-driven cannabis brand offers everything the discerning, modern cannabis user needs. In addition to introducing consumers to the latest and greatest in the weed world, Miss Grass also offers a wealth of resources that educate on the history, science, and culture of cannabisall in the spirit of conscious consumption. Miss Grass is working to eradicate the stigma around cannabis and make it more accessible to everybody, everywhere. Learn more at www.missgrass.com .

About AWH:

AWH is a vertically integrated operator with assets in Illinois, Michigan, Ohio, Massachusetts, and New Jersey. AWH owns and operates state-of-the-art cultivation facilities, growing award-winning strains and producing a curated selection of products. AWH produces and distributes Ozone and Simply Herb branded products. For more information, visit www.awholdings.com .

Forward-Looking Statements

This news release includes forward-looking information and statements, which may include, but are not limited to, information and statements regarding the plans, intentions, expectations, estimates, and beliefs of the Company. Words such as "expects", "continue", "will", "anticipates" and "intends" or similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based on the Company's current projections and expectations about future events and financial trends, and on certain assumptions and analysis made by the Company in light of experience and perception of historical trends, current conditions and expected future developments and other factors management believes are appropriate.

Forward-looking information and statements involve and are subject to assumptions and known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors which may cause actual events, results, performance, or achievements of the Company to be materially different from future events, results, performance, and achievements expressed or implied by forward-looking information and statements herein. Such factors include, among others: the risks and uncertainties identified in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-k for the year ended December 31, 2021, and in the Company's other reports and filings with the applicable Canadian securities regulators and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Although the Company believes that any forward-looking information and statements herein are reasonable, in light of the use of assumptions and the significant risks and uncertainties inherent in such information and statements, there can be no assurance that any such forward-looking information and statements will prove to be accurate, and accordingly readers are advised to rely on their own evaluation of such risks and uncertainties and should not place undue reliance upon such forward-looking information and statements. Any forward-looking information and statements herein are made as of the date hereof, and except as required by applicable laws, the Company assumes no obligation and disclaims any intention to update or revise any forward-looking information and statements herein or to update the reasons that actual events or results could or do differ from those projected in any forward looking information and statements herein, whether as a result of new information, future events or results, or otherwise, except as required by applicable laws.

The CSE has not reviewed, approved or disapproved the content of this news release.

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SOURCE Miss Grass
Sichuan and Inner Mongolia are two regions that recently announced their first cases using blockchain-stored evidence, local media reports.

See related article: How blockchain technology is shaking up courtrooms in Asia

Fast facts

The Saihan District Peoples Court of Hohhot City, Inner Mongolia, admitted a contract stored on a blockchain as evidence in a case where the plaintiff and the defendant had a dispute over a loan contract.

The court used the contract to examine the plaintiffs and defendants evidence and reached its judgment with no objection from either side.

In Sichuan, the provinces Free Trade Zone Court admitted blockchain-stored evidence in a copyright infringement case. The plaintiff accused the defendant of plagiarizing musical work and using it for commercial profit.

The court accepted the evidence provided by the plaintiff, which the defendant did not provide evidence to disprove, and reached an infringement verdict, ordering the defendant to compensate the plaintiff 20,000 yuan (US$3,142).

Last August, the Supreme Peoples Court confirmed the validity of evidence stored on blockchain in a regulatory document Cyber Litigation Regulations.

Chinas Supreme Peoples Court said in its 2022 work report that 1.71 billion pieces of evidence are already stored on blockchains for judicial trials.

See related article: Court in China says trading in cryptocurrency not protected by law
Majority of companies want staff back on-site, which could lead to turnover

Millennials and working parents most likely to look for a new job if required to be in the office five days a week

TORONTO, March 22, 2022 /CNW/ - After two years of office spaces sitting empty, many companies are eager to call employees back for good, new research from talent solutions and business consulting firm Robert Half shows. In a survey of more than 800 senior managers in Canada, more than half of respondents (55 per cent) said they want their teams to work on-site full time as COVID-19-related restrictions ease, nearly unchanged from a similar survey conducted last year.

Are Canadian workers ready to return to the office? (CNW Group/Robert Half Canada)

Currently, 44 per cent of senior managers support long-term hybrid schedules (where staff can divide time between the office and another location) and employees' ability to choose where they work. Managers at large companies with 1,000 or more employees (54 per cent) are most open to flexibility.

View an infographic of the research highlights.

The Risk of an Employee Exodus

Separate research from Robert Half reveals that a full return to office may lead to more resignations. In a survey of more than 500 professionals in Canada, more than half of respondents currently working from home (53 per cent) would look for a new job that offers remote options if their company required employees to return to the office five days a week, up 20 points from one year ago. Millennial professionals (68 per cent) and working parents (59 per cent) are most likely to quit if called back.

"It's clear professionals want continued flexibility in where and how they work  however, some companies appear to be out of sync with their employees' priorities as they plan for the future," said David King, Canadian senior managing director of Robert Half. "In today's tight talent market, eliminating remote work options will only make hiring and retention more challenging. Employers need to move past the idea that collaboration and innovation only happen in the office and recognize that people are more engaged and motivated when they have a say in where they work."

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How to Embrace a Flexible Work Model

Companies may want to adopt a long-term hybrid work model but not know where to start. Robert Half offers five questions to help guide the process:





How will you define "hybrid"? Will employees be required to come to the office certain days each week or only for specific purposes, such as trainings or team building?



How can you improve your onboarding experience? As you hire remote employees, consider how you will make them feel welcome, supported and part of a team they may never meet in person.



Do you have the right technology to support effective communication and collaboration? Consider what new tools to implement to create a seamless experience for onsite and remote staff.



What business processes will be impacted? Anticipate problems, adjust workflows, and ensure everyone has access to the resources they need.



How will you build and maintain engagement and morale? Create equal opportunities for all employees to grow and develop, network, and build authentic relationships with colleagues.

Read more about the benefits of embracing a hybrid work model on the Robert Half blog.

About the Research

The online surveys were developed by Robert Half and conducted by independent research firms. They include responses from more than 800 senior managers at companies with 20 or more employees (collected November 11 to December 30, 2021), and more than 500 workers 18 years of age or older (collected March 3 to 11, 2022) in Canada.

About Robert Half

Robert Half (NYSE: RHI) is the world's first and largest specialized talent solutions and business consulting firm that connects opportunities at great companies with highly skilled job seekers. Robert Half offers contract, temporary and permanent placement solutions and is the parent company of Protiviti, a global consulting firm. Visit roberthalf.ca and download our award-winning mobile app.

SOURCE Robert Half Canada

Cision

View original content to download multimedia: http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/March2022/22/c8615.html
JAKARTA, Indonesia, March 22, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The Republic of Indonesia (" the Republic ") announced today that it is inviting holders of each series of bonds set forth in the table below (collectively, the " Old Bonds " and each, a " series " of Old Bonds) to submit offers (the " Offers ") to sell the Old Bonds to the Republic for cash. The invitation to submit Offers to sell Old Bonds for cash described in this announcement is referred to as the " Invitation ." The full terms and conditions of the Invitation are described in the Invitation for Offers dated March 22, 2022 (the " Invitation for Offers "). All capitalized terms used but not defined in this announcement have the respective meanings specified in the Invitation for Offers.

Old Bonds Outstanding Principal Amount as of March 22, 2022 Maturity

Date Series ISIN CUSIP Benchmark

Reference U.S.

Treasury Security Bloomberg Reference Page Fixed Spread (Basis Points) Hypothetical Purchase Price 2.950% Global

onds due 2023 U.S.$1,000,000,000 January 11,

2023 SEC-registered US455780CC89 455780CC8 1.500% due

February 29,

2024 PX1 -86 U.S.$1,013.42



















3.375% Global

Bonds due 2023 U.S.$1,260,950,000 April 15,

2023 Regulation S USY20721BD05 Y20721BD0 1.500% due

February 29,

2024 PX1 -49 U.S.$1,018.25 Rule 144A US455780BL97 455780BL9



















5.375% Global

Bonds due 2023 U.S.$819,219,000 October 17,

2023 Regulation S USY20721BH19 Y20721BH1 1.500% due

February 29,

2024 PX1 -17 U.S.$1,052.57 Rule 144A US455780BP02 455780BP0



















5.875% Global

Bonds due 2024 U.S.$2,000,000,000 January 15,

2024 Regulation S USY20721BJ74 Y20721BJ7 1.500% due

February 29,

2024 PX1 7 U.S.$1,065.04 Rule 144A US455780BQ84 455780BQ8



















4.450% Global

Bonds due 2024 U.S.$526,115,000 February 11,

2024 SEC-registered US455780CG93 455780CG9 1.500% due

February 29,

2024 PX1 15 U.S.$1,039.98



















4.125% Global

Bonds due 2025 U.S.$2,000,000,000 January 15,

2025 Regulation S USY20721BG36 Y20721BG3 1.500% due

February 29,

2024 PX1 45 U.S.$1,042.05 Rule 144A US455780BT24 455780BT2



















4.750% Global

Bonds due 2026 U.S.$2,250,000,000 January 8,

2026 Regulation S USY20721BN86 Y20721BN8 1.875% due

February 28,

2027 PX1 47 U.S.$1,070.08 Rule 144A US455780BV79 455780BV7



















4.350% Global

Bonds due 2027 U.S.$1,250,000,000 January 8,

2027 Regulation S USY20721BQ18 Y20721BQ1 1.875% due

February 28,

2027 PX1 53 U.S.$1,066.85 Rule 144A US455780BX36 455780BX3



















3.850% Global

Bonds due 2027 U.S.$1,000,000,000 July 18,

2027 Regulation S USY20721BT56 Y20721BT5 1.875% due

February 28,

2027 PX1 60 U.S.$1,045.41 Rule 144A US455780CA24 455780CA2

The Republic intends to spend a maximum amount it will determine, in its sole and absolute discretion (the " Maximum Cash Consideration ") for the aggregate Purchase Price (as defined below) of and accrued interest on the Old Bonds purchased pursuant to the Invitation. The Republic reserves the right to increase or decrease the Maximum Cash Consideration in its sole discretion and to terminate the Invitation for any reason. If the Maximum Cash Consideration is not sufficient to purchase all of the Old Bonds offered, Offers for any series of Old Bonds may be subject to proration at the Republic's sole discretion to accept or not accept any or all Offers for any reason, subject to applicable laws. In such scenario, the Republic reserves the right to accept significantly more or less (or none) of Old Bonds of any one series as compared to any other series of Old Bonds.

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The consideration for the Old Bonds tendered and accepted for purchase pursuant to the Invitation (the price of any Bond being referred to as the " Purchase Price ") will be determined by reference to the fixed spread specified for the applicable series, plus the yield of the specified Benchmark Reference U.S. Treasury Security (the " Benchmark Reference Security Yield ") (which shall be based on the bid-side price of the applicable Benchmark Reference U.S. Treasury Security) at or around 9:00 a.m., New York City time, on Monday, March 28, 2022 (such date and time, the " Pricing Time "), unless extended, expressed as a percentage and rounded to the third decimal place (with 0.0005 being rounded upwards). In addition, the Republic will pay accrued and unpaid interest on the Old Bonds accepted for purchase up to (but not including) the Settlement Date (as defined below). The Republic intends to pay the aggregate Purchase Price of the Old Bonds purchased pursuant to the Invitation and accrued interest and expenses to be borne by the Republic in connection with the Invitation from the proceeds of a contemplated offering and sale by the Republic of one or more series of new bonds (the " New Bonds ").

The Invitation is subject to certain conditions, including the successful offering and sale by the Republic of the New Bonds on terms and conditions acceptable to the Republic and collectively providing sufficient funds to pay the aggregate Purchase Price and accrued interest and expenses to be borne by the Republic pursuant to the Invitation (the " Financing Condition ").

The Invitation expires at 5:00 p.m., New York City time, on Monday, March 28, 2022, unless the Republic, in its sole discretion, extends it or terminates it earlier (such date and time, the " Expiration Deadline "). Holders of the Old Bonds will not have withdrawal rights with respect to the Invitation.

The Republic is expected to announce the Maximum Cash Consideration at 10:00 a.m., New York City time, on Wednesday, March 23, 2022 (the " Maximum Cash Consideration Announcement Date "). The Maximum Cash Consideration may be subject to increase or decrease by the Republic in its sole and absolute discretion.

No later than 10:00 a.m., New York City time, on Tuesday, March 29, 2022, or as soon as practicable thereafter (such date, the " Results Announcement Date "), the Republic will announce whether the Financing Condition has been satisfied, the principal amount (if any) of each series of Old Bonds accepted for purchase, the proration factors (if any), the Purchase Price, the Benchmark Reference Security Yield and the Repurchase Yield. If the Invitation is consummated, the date on which the Republic pays for the Old Bonds being purchased pursuant to the Invitation (the " Settlement Date ") is expected to be Thursday, March 31, 2022, or as soon as practicable thereafter, subject to any extension of the Expiration Deadline.

The information in this announcement is only a summary. You may request a copy of the Invitation for Offers by contacting the Dealer Managers or the Tender and Information Agent at the addresses and telephone numbers set forth below, or you may download the Invitation for Offers at the Invitation website at https://bonds.morrowsodali.com/roi.

This announcement is not an offer or a solicitation of offers. The Invitation is made solely by means of the Invitation for Offers. The Invitation does not constitute, and may not be used in connection with, an offer or solicitation by anyone in any jurisdiction where an offer or solicitation is not authorized or in which the person making such offer or solicitation is not qualified to do so or to any person to whom it is unlawful to make such offer or solicitation.

THE OFFEROR Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Indonesia

Gedung Frans Seda, 2nd Floor

Jl. Dr. Wahidin No.1

Jakarta 10710

Indonesia









DEALER MANAGERS Citigroup Global Markets Inc.

Attention: Debt Syndicate Desk / Liability Management Group

388 Greenwich Street

New York, NY 10013

United States

Telephone: +852 2501 2692/

+1 212 723-0859/

+44 20 7986 8969

Email: liabilitymanagement.asia@citi.com

Deutsche Bank AG, Singapore Branch

Attention: Global Risk Syndicate

One Raffles Quay

17-00 South Tower

Singapore 048583

Telephone: +65 6423 4229

Email: asiasyn@list.db.com

Mandiri Securities Pte. Ltd.

Attention: DCM Group

12 Marina View #19-06

Asia Square Tower 2

Singapore 018961

Telephone: +65 6589 3880

Email: dcmgroup@mandirisek.co.id









Societe Generale

Attention: Liability Management

Immeuble Basalte

17 Cours Valmy

92987 Paris La Defense Cedex

France

Telephone: +33 1 42 13 32 40 (Paris)

+65 63 26 70 34 (Singapore)

Email: liability.management@sgcib.com

Standard Chartered Bank

Attention: Capital Markets

One Basinghall Avenue, London EC2V 5DD, United Kingdom

Telephone: +65 65578289 (Singapore)

+852 3983 8658 (Hong Kong)

+44 20 7885 5739 (London)

Email: liability_management@sc.com









TENDER AND INFORMATION AGENT Morrow Sodali Ltd In Hong Kong:

The Hive,

33-35 Hillier St, Sheung Wan

Telephone: +852 2319 4130

In Stamford:

333 Ludlow Street, 5th Floor,

South Tower, CT 06902

Telephone: +1 203 609 4910

In London:

103 Wigmore Street

W1U 1QS

Telephone: +44 20 4513 6933

Email: RoI@investor.morrowsodali.com

Invitation Website: https://bonds.morrowsodali.com/roi











Cision

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SOURCE Republic of Indonesia
By Trend

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will hold a series of bilateral meetings within the framework of the extraordinary summit of NATO leaders, which will be held in Brussels on March 24, Turkey's Presidential Spokesperson Ibrahim Kalin said, Trend reports citing Turkish media.

According to him, Erdogan will meet with his American counterpart Joe Biden and a number of other leaders.

"Recep Tayyip Erdogan will hold bilateral meetings with the US President and other leaders attending the summit. The number of meetings per day is limited, but we will try to hold as many as possible," he said.




A six-month time-limited Trial Program Allows Customers to Enjoy Cigna Telehealth Service with Special Offer

HONG KONG, March 22, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- SmarTone, a leading telecommunications provider in Hong Kong, today announced a new partnership with Cigna Corporation's (NYSE: CI) Hong Kong business. The partnership will see the launch of "eDoctor" Video Consultation for Family for SmarTone customers, providing flexible medical protection and innovative digital health services to help customers within Hong Kong and whilst abroad.

Cigna Logo (PRNewsfoto/Cigna Corporation)

Norman Tam, Deputy Chief Executive Officer, SmarTone (Left); Jonathan Spiers, CEO and Country Manager, Cigna Hong Kong (Right)

Unlimited Worldwide Telehealth Consultations and Comprehensive Discounts for Customers

Cigna Hong Kong^ and SmarTone will provide a wide range of offers with a six-month time-limited trial*, allowing SmarTone 5G customers to access Cigna Hong Kong's range of health services through their mobile devices. The offer includes free access to Cigna Telehealth Service in partnership with Teladoc (NYSE: TDOC) with unlimited worldwide telehealth consultations# with primary care physicians and general practitioners, body check discount for a comprehensive health screening, and outpatient discounts at Cigna Hong Kong's Partner Clinics. By using these service, customers can better prevent health risks and manage their health more conveniently with both online and offline options, at the same time with free waiver of data usage for local consultations.

Jonathan Spiers, Chief Executive Officer of Cigna Hong Kong, said: "As a global health service company, we are committed to improving the health, well-being and peace of mind of our stakeholders by making healthcare simple, affordable and predictable. Our partnership with SmarTone enables us to provide health services that are easy to access for SmarTone customers no matter if they are in Hong Kong or abroad, with wide operating hours and unlimited access to online consultations. The six-month time-limited free trial of the "eDoctor" Video Consultation for Family also helps customers protect their own health through a broad range of health solutions and discounts."

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Norman Tam, Deputy Chief Executive Officer, SmarTone, said: "Offering customer centric services has always been a priority for SmarTone. The current pandemic has sharpened our focus towards digital health trends, and digitization is also affecting the way people perceive and take care of their health. We are pleased to be partnering with Cigna Hong Kong to offer our customers this new service. With SmarTone's 5G network, we can offer customers and their families a stable and reliable telehealth service, providing them an easy and convenient way to access medical advice and doctor consultations. SmarTone will continue to explore innovative services using 5G and cutting-edge technologies, to deliver digitalized services and drive Hong Kong's 5G digital transformation into a smart city."

SmarTone 5G customers can simply register through SmarTone CARE App, dedicated webpage and any SmarTone store, to sign up for the offer from Cigna Hong Kong. Upon registration, customers can then log into MyCigna HK app and access the Cigna Telehealth Service with ease. A maximum of four people can share the same account, including the main subscriber and 3 dependents under the age of 18. Customers can easily schedule a virtual doctor consultation anywhere with extended consultation hours until 10 p.m. HKT. Body check and outpatient discount privileges will also be available through the app after registration.

For more information, please visit: smartone.com/hk/eDoctor/en

Remarks:

^ "Cigna Hong Kong" refers to Cigna Worldwide General Insurance Company Limited.

* Offer is available on first-come, first serve basis, while stocks last. Upon six-month trial completion, the service can be renewed for HK$48 per month with unlimited access to telehealth consultations and outpatient discounts at Cigna's Partner Clinics.

# Telehealth phone consultations are subject to the operating hours from 8am to 10pm (Hong Kong time), Monday to Sunday, except for public holidays, and the video consultation is subject to availability.

About Cigna Worldwide General Insurance Company Limited (Cigna Hong Kong)

Since 1933, Cigna Hong Kong has been offering insurance solutions at the right place and the right time, providing advice to customers throughout the different stages of their life journeys. Cigna Hong Kong delivers comprehensive health and wellness solutions to employers, employees and individual customers. Leveraging an extensive global healthcare network, Cigna Hong Kong provides group medical benefits that are suitable for international companies with a worldwide workforce, but also offers tailored and packaged group medical insurance plans to local small and medium-sized enterprises that fit specific needs of the company and its employees. For individual customers, Cigna Hong Kong offers a full suite of health insurance products that caters to consumers' diverse needs. For more details, please visit www.cigna.com.hk.

About SmarTone

SmarTone Telecommunications Holdings Limited (0315.HK), listed in Hong Kong since 1996 and a subsidiary of Sun Hung Kai Properties Limited, is a leading telecommunications provider with operating subsidiaries in Hong Kong and Macau, offering voice, multimedia and mobile broadband services, as well as fixed fibre broadband services for both consumer and corporate markets. SmarTone spearheaded 5G development in Hong Kong since May 2020, with the launch of its territory-wide 5G services.

About Teladoc Health

Teladoc Health empowers all people everywhere to live their healthiest lives by transforming the healthcare experience. As the world leader in whole-person virtual care, Teladoc Health uses proprietary health signals and personalized interactions to drive better health outcomes across the full continuum of care, at every stage in a person's health journey. Ranked best in KLAS for Virtual Care Platforms in 2020 and #1 among direct-to-consumer telehealth providers in the J.D. Power 2021 U.S. Telehealth Satisfaction Study, Teladoc Health leverages more than a decade of expertise and data-driven insights to meet the growing virtual care needs of consumers and healthcare professionals. For more information, please visit www.teladochealth.com or follow @TeladocHealth on Twitter.

SOURCE Cigna Hong Kong
Picture 1

TAAT is now sold in over 2,500 stores across the United States, often in the same displays as tobacco cigarettes such as the showcase in a Nevada convenience store pictured above. Besides its value proposition as a tobacco-free and nicotine-free alternative to tobacco cigarettes, TAAT is sold at a competitive price point among the cigarette brands of incumbent tobacco industry players.

LAS VEGAS and VANCOUVER, British Columbia, March 22, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- TAAT GLOBAL ALTERNATIVES INC. (CSE: TAAT) (OTCQX: TOBAF) (FRANKFURT: 2TP) (the Company or TAAT) is pleased to announce that as of the third week of March 2022 more than 2,500 retail stores in the United States are carrying TAAT Original, Smooth, and Menthol. In its January 11, 2022 press release , the Company announced that its U.S. store count had surpassed 2,000 within approximately one year of launching TAAT at retail in Ohio in late December 2020. Based on this recent performance, the Company has added an average of approximately 45 new U.S. stores per week in 2022. TAAT continues to leverage its network of distributors to further expand its store count and cultivate a strong presence at the point of sale to encourage first-time and repeat purchases of TAAT products in place of tobacco cigarettes.



For clarity, the current U.S. store count of at least 2,500 TAAT retailers does not include establishments that have purchased TAAT on a wholesale basis through channels that do not supply retailer account data (e.g., select distributors who choose not to report such information, cash-and-carry warehouses that do not capture purchaser details). As such, the Companys overall footprint in the United States is believed to be larger than the 2,500 stores confirmed as of this week. Furthermore, in addition to brick-and-mortar retailing, the Company also distributes TAAT directly to consumers through its TryTAAT e-commerce platform, allowing the majority of smokers in the U.S. to order TAAT for home delivery. Through parallel marketing initiatives such as TAAT billboards being placed in select markets, TAAT is seeking to fortify macro-level awareness of its brand to further establish itself in the mainstream range of tobacco product offerings.

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/6e28955d-d02e-43fb-b1d7-17cce39ed394

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Readers using news aggregation services may be unable to view the media above. Please access SEDAR or the Investor Relations section of the Companys website for a version of this press release containing all published media.

TAAT Founder Joe Deighan commented, Now that we are a proven brand in the tobacco category, retailers are far more willing to carry TAAT in their stores, maintain an ample supply (i.e., more than a test inventory of a few packs), and place TAAT in high-visibility spots for consumers to see. Although products such as TAAT are fairly easy to place in independent smoke shops, there are more nuances when it comes to building a presence in the convenience category, which is where the bulk of smokable products are sold. Our commercialization strategies have therefore focused on appealing to the buyers and merchandisers in the convenience channel, who understand how TAAT is optimally positioned relative to legacy tobacco cigarette offerings. With consumers continuing to walk into stores across the country looking for TAAT, retailers are recognizing that it is important for our product to be placed in a prime space on their cigarette display racks. This is not just to give the customers what they want, its also because our retailers make significantly better profit margins on TAAT than they do on packs of tobacco cigarettes such as Marlboro. That is, they have a financial incentive to convert their clientele to TAAT because doing so will be significantly more lucrative for them in the long run. By offering a win-win all around for wholesalers, retailers, and consumers alike, TAAT has enjoyed continued growth of its market share as an innovative provider of a better choice for current smokers.

On behalf of the Board of Directors of the Company,

TAAT GLOBAL ALTERNATIVES INC.

Setti Coscarella

Setti Coscarella, CEO and Director

For further information, please contact:

TAAT Investor Relations

1-833-TAAT-USA (1-833-822-8872)

investor@taatglobal.com

THE CANADIAN SECURITIES EXCHANGE (CSE) HAS NOT REVIEWED AND DOES NOT ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ACCURACY OR ADEQUACY OF THIS RELEASE, NOR HAS OR DOES THE CSES REGULATION SERVICES PROVIDER.

About TAAT Global Alternatives Inc.

The Company has developed TAAT, which is a tobacco-free and nicotine-free alternative to traditional cigarettes offered in "Original", "Smooth", and "Menthol" varieties. TAAT's base material is Beyond Tobacco, a proprietary blend which undergoes a patent-pending refinement technique causing its scent and taste to resemble tobacco. Under executive leadership with "Big Tobacco" pedigree, TAAT was launched first in the United States in Q4 2020 as the Company seeks to position itself in the $812 billion1 global tobacco industry.

For more information, please visit http://taatglobal.com .

References

1 Statista: Consumer Markets - Tobacco Products

Forward-Looking Statements

This news release contains forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. Often, but not always, forward-looking information and information can be identified by the use of words such as plans, expects or does not expect, is expected, estimates, intends, anticipates or does not anticipate, or believes, or variations of such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results may, could, would, might or will be taken, occur, or be achieved. Forward-looking information in this news release includes statements regarding the anticipated performance of TAAT in the tobacco industry, in addition to the following: Sustained presence of TAAT in retail stores in the United States, continued growth of the Companys retail footprint. The forward-looking information reflects managements current expectations based on information currently available and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that may cause outcomes to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking information. Although the Company believes that the assumptions and factors used in preparing the forward-looking information are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on such information and no assurance can be given that such events will occur in the disclosed timeframes or at all. Factors that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from current expectations include: (i) adverse market conditions; (ii) changes to the growth and size of the tobacco markets; and (iii) other factors beyond the control of the Company. The Company operates in a rapidly evolving environment. New risk factors emerge from time to time, and it is impossible for the Companys management to predict all risk factors, nor can the Company assess the impact of all factors on Companys business or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual results to differ from those contained in any forward-looking information. The forward-looking information included in this news release are made as of the date of this news release and the Company expressly disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable law.

The statements in this news release have not been evaluated by Health Canada or the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. As each individual is different, the benefits, if any, of taking the Companys products will vary from person to person. No claims or guarantees can be made as to the effects of the Companys products on an individuals health and well-being. The Companys products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

This news release may contain trademarked names of third-party entities (or their respective offerings with trademarked names) typically in reference to (i) relationships had by the Company with such third-party entities as referred to in this release and/or (ii) client/vendor/service provider parties whose relationship with the Company is/are referred to in this release. All rights to such trademarks are reserved by their respective owners or licensees.

Statement Regarding Third-Party Investor Relations Firms

Disclosures relating to investor relations firms retained by TAAT Global Alternatives Inc. can be found under the Company's profile on http://sedar.com .




If someone looks through the Smithsonians archives 200 years from now and finds an exhibit about the impact of COVID-19, one colorful piececrafted by Spotsylvania County artist Pam Turesmight catch their eye.

Its a plastic face shield that Tures (rhymes with furs) bought at a hardware store and turned into a work of art. She adorned it with clam shells and coral, angel fish and a dozing angler and strips of seaweed and barnacles, all created from glass using different processes shes perfected.

I started with an underwater theme for how we felt in COVID, like being in a fish bowl, she said. Not being able to go out, spending a lot of time on (computer) screens, like being held captive in this fish tank.

Tures recently gifted the shield to the Smithsonians National Museum of American History for a future exhibit on COVID-19 and society. Her piece may be put on display in coming years or be part of a digital collection. A letter from Alexandra Lord, chair of the museums Division of Medicine and Science, acknowledged the donation with a deed of gift and letter of thanks.

It is only through such gifts that our collections continue to grow and improve, Lord wrote.

For the 62-year-old Tures, having her work accepted into an institution she considers a national treasure has been both amazingand a little bit unbelievable, she said.

I was absolutely floored, she said. I grew up in Northern Virginia and D.C. and Ive been to every museum many, many times. Im just absolutely beaming with pride.

So is her lifelong friend, Katherine Lafleur, a Maryland native who lives in South Carolina.

I told her youve got to be so proud for this moment, for what youve accomplished your entire career, Lafleur said. But the fact youve had a piece accepted in the Smithsonian, its like over the moon, once in a lifetime.

Not that shes surprised in the least. Lafleur says Tures ability to conceive and execute ideas literally boggles my mind.

When Lafleur was taking classes at Tures studio in the Northern Neck, which is temporarily closed, Lafleur would struggle to come up with a concept. Then, shed watch her friend process a thought and immediately start spouting ideas.

She has always amazed me with her imagination, what she can come up with and its like its instant, snap your fingers and there it is, Lafleur said.

Tures didnt create the face shield with the idea shed offer it to the Smithsonian. She was attending a conference last spring and the organizers wanted participants to be mindful of COVID and use face coverings.

But they also wanted people to be able to see each other and develop connections, Tures said, so everyone was asked to wear face shields.

To make it more fun, organizers announced a contest to see who could come up with the best design. They told participants thered be markers, stickers and paint at the conference they could use to decorate their shields.

Tures turned to glass pieces instead. Calling on her background in pottery, she fired up the kiln in her Lottsburg studio well before she attend the conference. Some of the strips of barnacles and seaweed on the shields side were made when she pulled hot, molten rods out of the bottom of the kiln and chopped them into pieces.

Crabs and shells were created in a process in which a powder is mixed with water, put in a mold, frozen, then put on special paper and fired in the kiln at temperatures above 1,400 degrees. The three angelfish were made from dichroic glass, used by NASA to protect astronauts from the harmful rays of the sun. Tures father worked on NASA patents and she finds it interesting that shes dealing with the same medium he did.

On the top of the shield is a curved piece of black glass to represent a fishermans boatwith the anglers legs dangling over the side.

Glass is just a wonderful art form to work with, she said. Its fascinating to me what you can achieve and the beautiful colors and shapes that you can get out of it.

At the same time, its unpredictable. Tures may have a particular result in mind but thats not always what she gets.

Sometimes it takes you down a devastating road, and other times, you open the kiln and this beautiful ray of sunshine comes out and its everything you hoped and even better, she said. But you always have the vulnerability. Its glass and even if it came out perfectly and you lift it out of the kiln, and then you trip over the dog, its gone.

Her pieces have sold at the Heritage Art Center at the Rices Hotel/Hughletts Tavern in Heathsville, said Judy Mooers, executive director of the facilitys Northern Neck foundation. Mooers said Tures doesnt have a signature style, as her pieces vary from bee-related items to outdoor themes, from things found at the seashore to color designs without any obvious objects in them.

Her work is just so original, Mooers said. Ive seen quite a few items and theyre all different. Its just exciting to see what she does.

Tures markets her work on Facebook under Bee Pot-Sitive Creations. The name originally represented her blood type, but its also takes in her love of nature and her attempt to bee positive, no matter what happens in life.

It certainly carried over to the face shield design, which she submitted to the Smithsonian when a friend told her the museum had put out a call for artists to submit anything related to COVID. It could be artwork, drawings, poems, scientific studiesanything that illustrated how the nation dealt with the virus.

To Tures, her underwater theme represented the notion that out of the ashes always rises the phoenix.

As devastating as it was, I truly think there were good things that came out of COVID with families coming back together and people helping people, she said.

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Two people died and three others were injured in a shooting early Saturday morning in downtown Norfolk. The gunfire allegedly stemmed from an argument over a spilled drink.

Thats what Police Chief Larry Boone told a meeting of the Downtown Norfolk Civic League on Monday night.

Chief Larry Boone stated that the shooting that left two dead on Granby Street was the result of an argument over a spilled drink, Sgt. William Pickering confirmed.

Sierra Jenkins, a 25-year-old reporter for The Virginian-Pilot and Daily Press, and 25-year-old Devon M. Harris, of Portsmouth, were caught in the line of fire and killed. Three men were injured.

Neither Pickering nor Boone indicated whether the altercation began at Chichos Pizza Backstage, the popular Granby Street nightspot where gunfire erupted outside at about 2 a.m. Saturday.

Pickering did confirm that Norfolk police will step up patrols downtown starting Thursday in response to the spate of violence over the weekend that spanned Norfolk, Newport News, Chesapeake, Portsmouth and Suffolk.

Four of the shootings occurred in Norfolk, including the Granby Street shooting outside of Chicos Pizza Backstage. Of the three other Norfolk shootings, one was fatal and two were nonfatal.

Virginian-Pilot reporter among those killed in Granby Street shooting in downtown Norfolk Saturday would have been Sierra Jenkins turn to cover the breaking news shift for The Virginian-Pilot.
Americans are a forward-looking people, forever re-imagining ourselves and our communities in an effort to become a better version of ourselves.

However, in our haste to forget the past, we sometimes lose our moorings and do irreversible damage to ourselves and our communities.

Stafford Countys Board of Supervisors made that mistake on March 15 when it voted unanimously to ignore the requests of local historical groups, and to greenlight a project that will create some 1 million square feet of warehouses.

In so doing, an unusual outcropping of rocks that bear the names and initials and other carvings from Union soldiers who were stationed at Buzzards Roost from the winter of 1862 to the spring of 1863 will be cleared.

The compromise reached with the county has the developer, Peterson Companies, paying stone masons to remove some of the inscribed rocks and relocate them to Stafford Civil War Park off Brooke Road. It will also pay $10,000 to the Stafford County Cultural Heritage Museum.

This is a bad deal all the way around.

Lets start with the historical loss. Between August 1862 and July 1864, some 213,000 Union troops, including those at Buzzards Roost, occupied Stafford County, which at the time had a population of just over 8,600 people. It is difficult for us today to understand what that meant for the citizens of Stafford, for the Union Army that was moving through the territory, and the impact it had on the regions future trajectory.

The rock carvings are a tangible reminder of that period, and a direct link to the most significant conflict in our history.

Were this everything of importance, perhaps the supervisors vote would be easier to accept.

Theres more to this story, however. The Union presence from 1862 to 1864 coincides with the movement of at least 10,000 enslaved people who saw the opportunity to move with the Union army and secure safe passage across the Rappahannock River to destinations further north, and to freedom.

Prior to this period, enslaved people moved north via the Underground Railroad. The Unions occupation, in effect, brought the movement of enslaved persons from underground, to above ground.

We can make an argument that there are few more-consequential moments in American history than this. Its the moment when Union soldiers came face-to-face with slavery, and the reason for the war.

Shifting from the historic and the humane, to the mundane and the moneyed, Civil War history and Black history are big business in this region. Spotsylvania has built its reputation as the Crossroads of the Civil War, and Alex Haley made the county both famous and infamous with the story of slavery he told in his book Roots.

Fredericksburg, too, trades in this history, blending the citys past and present in ways that both celebrate our history and create a welcoming space for tourists and new industry.

Combined, Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania realized almost a half-billion dollars in tourism dollars in 2019, the year before the pandemic set in. Stafford didnt do as well, but still realized well over $100 million in tourism revenue.

We appreciate that protecting the past and building for the future is not easy. Fredericksburgs fumbling experience with how to handle both the slave auction block and the steps that Abraham Lincoln stood on are testament to this.

But big challenges call for bold thinking. And the time is ripe to do something great.

In recent years, weve witnessed monumental museums and interpretive sites that tell a richer, fuller history of America and its Black citizens. The most notable are the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, and The National Memorial for Peace and Justice in Montgomery, Alabama.

Now is the time for the leaders in Spotsylvania, Stafford, and Fredericksburg to build this interest in Black history.

We recommend that a museum and interpretive center telling the whole story of the American Civil War and slavery be established here, along the Rappahannock.

Such a center has much to build on our museums, historical markers, and National Park Service sites are just the tip of the iceberg.

Now imagine this center telling the intricate story and many interactions among Confederate and Union soldiers, citizens, and enslaved Black people as it happened right here along the rivers shores.

And imagine a research archive that becomes a repository for the tens of thousands of diaries, letters, artifacts, and related official documents that would bring scholars from across the nation to our community to dig deeper into this story.

Then imagine the human impact creating such a public space would have. A place to tell and discuss this story peacefully and constructively.

Finally, imagine the economic impact. The current hundreds of millions could be substantially more. Dare we say: billion?

It may be too late for Buzzards Roost. Its not too late to reimagine becoming a better version of ourselves.

If we do, those Union soldiers who left their marks at Buzzards Roost will have helped heal not just the nation in their time, but in ours as well.
WEEPING WATER  It was standing room only when Cass County Republicans recently met at their 2022 convention.

There were at least 70 people, a really good crowd, said Tracy Zeorian, county party chair.

The convention was held last Thursday at the countys extension office, 8400 144th St.

Being an election year, numerous candidates or their representatives came calling to tout their campaigns, according to Zeorian.

These included State Sen. Rob Clements, plus gubernatorial candidates Brett Lindstrom, Jim Pillen and Theresa Thibodeau. State Sen. Mike Flood, running for the First Congressional District, spoke, as did Robert Borer, candidate for Nebraskas secretary of state, Zeorian said.

Brook McConnaughey and Vicki Dehne, candidates for the clerk of the district court in Cass County, also spoke, Zeorian said.

Congressional incumbent Jeff Fortenberry and gubernatorial candidate Charles Herbster had representatives speak on their behalf, she added.

Following the speeches, seven delegates were selected to represent the county at the state GOP convention in Kearney on July 8 and 9, Zeorian said.

Seven alternates were chosen in case delegates are unable to attend that convention, she said.

Rich Dreesman of Plattsmouth was voted as county committeeman and Megan Kallina of Weeping Water was voted as county committeewoman.

It was phenomenal, Zeorian said of the convention.

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Thousands of junior and senior high school students representing close to 80 ensembles from approximately 50 schools from Iowa, Nebraska and South Dakota will take part in the annual Jazz Festival at Northeast Community College.

Sponsored by Northeast Community College and begun by the Northeast Area Jazz Ensemble in 1982, the 40th annual event is a two-day festival set for Monday and Tuesday, March 28-29, in the Cox Activities Center on the Northeast campus in Norfolk. The festival begins at 7:35 a.m. on Monday and 8:35 a.m. on Tuesday.

Trophies will be awarded to the top four jazz bands and show choirs and vocal jazz choirs in each of the four levels of competition. Outstanding instrumental and vocal soloists trophies will also be presented in each division.

Fremont Middle School will be among the show and jazz choirs taking part in the festival. FMS will perform at 9:15 a.m. Monday in the level IV competition.

The Northeast Community College Jazz Festival continues to be one of the few jazz festivals in the Midwest approved by the National Association of Secondary Principals for high school and junior high school participation.

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China and Pakistan share concern about "spillover effects of unilateral sanctions" on Russia over its war against Ukraine and called for a cease-fire and diplomatic resolution of the crisis, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said on March 22.

Old allies China and Pakistan have refrained from condemning Russia over its February 24 invasion of Ukraine, unlike Western countries that have imposed unprecedented financial and corporate sanctions in response to what Russian President Vladimir Putin calls a "special military operation."

"Both expressed concerns about the spillover effects of unilateral sanctions," the Chinese Foreign Ministry said in a statement following a meeting on March 21 in Pakistan between the neighbors' foreign ministers.

"Both called for a cease-fire through diplomatic dialogue and hope that based on the principle of indivisible security, a fundamental solution to the Ukraine problem can be found, the ministry said.

Pakistan's Foreign Ministry also issued a statement on the talks in Islamabad, echoing the call for a cease-fire, but it did not mention concern about sanctions.
By Trend





Russian presidents spokesperson Dmitry Peskov has rejected US President Joe Biden's assumption about possible cyber attacks from Russia, Trend reports citing TASS.

Peskov made the remark commenting on the US president's statement that Russia will most likely respond to the measures taken by the West against it with cyber attacks.

Earlier it was reported that the FBI warned the US businessmen and authorities about the increase in the number of possible cyber attacks using ransomware from "Russian hackers". Briefings on this subject by the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security were held recently.




Afghanistan is already mired in the worlds worst humanitarian disaster marked by widespread hunger, economic collapse, and the mass displacement of people. Now an extremely contagious viral disease -- measles -- is thriving in the country's weakened state.



Those issues have caused "irreparable damage" to Afghan children, according to the World Health Organization (WHO) and are compounding efforts to contain a major measles outbreak that began in early 2021.



"The rise in measles cases in Afghanistan is especially concerning because of the extremely high levels of malnutrition," WHO representative Luo Dapeng said this month during a visit to the central province of Wardak. "Malnutrition weakens immunity, making people more vulnerable to illness and death from diseases like measles -- especially children.



In December, WHO launched a measles vaccination campaign to fight the ongoing outbreak. During a weeklongimmunization drive from March 12 to 17, WHO said it planned to vaccinate more than 1.2 million children under the age of five across 24 Afghan provinces.

A two-dose vaccination rate of 95 percent is recommended to ensure immunity and lower the risk of transmission to neighboring states such as Iran and Pakistan that host large numbers of Afghan refugees.



Measles cases have skyrocketed over the past year. From January 2021 to March 2022, there were over 48,000 cases and 250 deaths, according to the WHO. In 2022 alone, there have been over 18,000 cases and 142 children have died of measles in the country.



The resurgence of measles, a viral respiratory disease, has taken a terrible toll on children across Afghanistan.



The biggest hot spot, according to a map compiled by the WHO, is in the eastern province of Paktia, bordering Pakistan. To the north, the provinces of Balkh -- bordering Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan -- and Kunduz -- bordering Tajikistan -- are close behind. To the west bordering Iran, high infection rates have been recorded in the provinces of Farah and Herat, as well as in Badghis, which borders Turkmenistan.



Doctors Without Borders has expressed particular concern about the rising case numbers in Herat, Kunduz, and the southern province of Helmand, where it said that from December to February an average of 150 children were being hospitalized every week with measles.



Homeira, a 26-year-old mother from the central Ghor Province, told RFE/RLs Radio Azadi that she struggled to receive needed treatment for her 6-month-old son even when he exhibited tell-tale signs of measles, including white lesions in the mouth known as Koplik's spots and a visible rash.



"He had diarrhea and was vomiting," she said. "Later we went to bed, but he did not recover. The doctors prescribed medicine and I gave it to him, but he was still vomiting."



Doctors at Ghor's provincial hospital said that poor-quality vaccines and medicines, as well as people's lack of awareness about the disease, contributed to the death toll.



Hospital director Abdul Ahmad Nuri said that thousands of children had been hospitalized even before the WHO vaccination campaign, the second following a nationwide effort in December, began this month. The outbreak, Nuri said, had left the hospital scrambling to find beds for measles patients.



In Badghis Province, 340 children were hospitalized with measles in the first two months of this year, a number that Safiullah Khadem, the deputy director of the Badghis Department of Public Health, told Radio Azadi, compared to the total for all of 2021.



In the province, parents have complained of inadequate care, a complaint that has become frequent as health care suffered from a dramatic drop in international aid since the Taliban regained power in August.

The new Taliban leadership has not been recognized by the international community and is restricted by international sanctions.



Zarmina, a 35-year-old mother of three, said she rushed all of her children to the provincial hospital and was told she would have to provide her own vaccines and syringes.



"They took us to the emergency section of the hospital and told us to get a syringe," she said this month. "They administered one shot themselves and we had to buy the rest of the medication from the market."



The lack of trust in the health-care system is a hurdle that the WHO is acutely aware of and is trying to overcome by convincing the population of the need for the entire vaccination course.



"I appeal to every parent to bring your kids for vaccination and give them the best gift of being protected from life-threatening but preventable disease," the organization's Dapeng said.
Two Pakistani military pilots were killed when their plane crashed during a training mission near the northwestern city of Peshawar, the countrys military said.

The militarys media service said in a statement on March 22 that no damage was caused on the ground. It has ordered an investigation into the cause of the crash.

"Pakistan army training aircraft on routine training mission crashed near Peshawar, it said without providing details.

Deadly crashes are relatively common among trainer aircraft used by the Pakistani military, which purchases most of its equipment from China.

In 2019, 19 people were killed, most of them inside their homes, when a Pakistani military aircraft crashed into a residential area near Rawalpindi.

In 2020, a Pakistan Air Force F-16 jet crash near Islamabad during rehearsals for a military parade, killing the pilot.

Based on reporting by AP and dpa
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Krispy Kreme Doughnuts returns to Colorado Springs next week after a 16-year absence.

Known for its signature hot, glazed doughnuts, Krispy Kreme will open at 5:30 a.m. March 29 at 5790 S. Carefree Circle, northwest of Powers Boulevard and South Carefree on the city's northeast side, according to WKS Restaurant Group, a California-based franchisee that will operate the Springs location.

Krispy Kreme will be open from 5:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sundays through Thursdays; the location will operate until 11 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.

As part of a grand opening that runs through April 3, 120 customers will be chosen randomly to receive a "Celebration Dozen Ticket," which is good for one free dozen glazed doughnuts each month for a year. Customers who make a purchase during the grand opening become eligible for the giveaway.

Krispy Kreme will operate from a 3,500-square-foot building that was constructed at the site of a now-demolished Village Inn restaurant. The new Krispy Kreme will have indoor seating and a single drive-thru.

Twenty years ago, a franchisee opened Colorado Springs' first Krispy Kreme near The Citadel mall, northeast of Platte Avenue and Chelton Road. That location, however, closed four years later in 2006.

Now, WKS Restaurant Group, whose website shows it has more than 40 Krispy Kremes in seven states and operates five restaurant brands, has brought back Krispy Kreme to Colorado Springs as a joint venture with the Charlotte N.C.-based doughnut company.

WKS also operates Krispy Kreme locations in Lone Tree and Thornton.
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There are no negotiations on Vladimir Putin's speech to the parliaments of foreign countries on the situation in Ukraine, Russia's Presidential Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov said, Trend reports with reference to TASS.

"Meanwhile, President of Russia Vladimir Putin has always been and remains open to contacts at any levels in order to clarify Russia's position and explain the goals, objectives and reasons for special military operation. President Putin has repeatedly demonstrated his readiness," added the Kremlin representative.

At the same time, he noted that Moscow couldn't and didn't want to take any such initiatives.

"In particular, we are talking about those countries having taken hostile measures against our country in recent weeks," Peskov said.




The Sunset Mesa Funeral Home in Montrose. The funeral home was shut down by the state in 2020 after the owners were arrested on suspicion of selling body parts, and sometimes full bodies, of people whose families had brought their remains to be cremated.
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Although Colorado law allows pretrial detainees to sue jail operators for injuries "due to negligence," the state Supreme Court ruled on Monday that the law also permits the sheriff of El Paso County to be held liable for intentionally detaining a man for months beyond the date he posted bond.
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If enacted, Senate Bill 10 would expand statewide an existing pilot program that assesses individuals when theyre booked for low-level offenses before any charges are filed. If a person is found to have a behavioral health disorder, they are placed in a local treatment program.
Colorado Springs City Councilmembers strongly encouraged the parks department Monday to work on opening hundreds of acres of parkland on the eastern edge of town.

Set apart by a striking ridge of thriving evergreens, Jimmy Camp Creek Park, east of U.S. 24 and Marksheffel Road, is rich in archaeology and wildlife including antelope, porcupines and raptors.

The neighboring Corral Bluffs Open Space, another city-owned property, is known for fossil discoveries that have helped researchers understand the rise of mammals and plant life following the mass extinction of the dinosaurs. The city has long envisioned the two as one united parcel.

Jimmy Camp Creek was given to the city as part of the Banning Lewis Ranch annexation agreement 34 years ago and it has never been open to the public. As city development marches east and housing development in the ranch has gotten started, there has been more interest in planning for the park.

Councilman Wayne Williams asked the city staff to determine how much a master plan for the properties would cost. Such a plan would detail trail alignments and allow activities on the property and would be the first step to opening the park.

"I dont want someone 34 years from now saying: 'Why havent we done anything?" he said.

Council President Tom Strand said he would like to see funding designated for the master plan in the coming year.

The cost of a master plan is driven by the size of a property and the city is still working on acquiring land in the area to unite the parcels, said Karen Palus, parks, recreation and cultural services director.

The city is within 352 yards of uniting the properties at the closest point, the parks department has said in the past. The city has acquired hundreds of acres in the past six years as part of the effort to create one large open space, parks staff told City Council.

The work to open the area to the property will have challenges, city staff said, including protecting the archaeological and paleontological sites.

The density of archaeological sites in the Jimmy Camp Creek area rivals the area near Mesa Verde National Park near the Four Corners, because the natural springs drew many native people to the area, said Anna Cordova, city archaeologist.

"Its pretty overwhelming to go out there as an archaeologist," she said.

She is planning to work with University of Colorado Colorado Springs on a survey this summer, the first in more than 20 years, to better understand all the sites and rank their importance in terms of their potential to teach us new things about the past.

In more recent history, the area was used for a World War II training site as evidenced by many big, .50-caliber bullets and a B-24 bomber crash, Cordova said.

Future trails through the area should be routed away from important sites to help protect them, she said.

Colorado Springs Pioneers Museum Director Matt Mayberry told the board the site is a "wonderland of potential" because it is so undisturbed.

"We are just constantly learning new things about the site, and we need to know more," he said.

In addition to protecting the historical record, the city has other practical concerns that need to be solved around opening the property including access and fencing, said Britt Haley, parks design and development manager.

The Jimmy Camp Creek property is adjacent to privately owned property where cattle graze, she said.

Fencing the property to keep cattle out and visitors in could be difficult and expensive because of the property's odd shape and challenging topography, she said.

The access to the property off U.S. 24 also needs to be improved, because visitors would have to use a dirt road, she said.
By Trend

The military conflict in Ukraine has revealed double standards, Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said at the 48th Session of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Islamabad, Trend reports.

"There are some people who say, 'this is not the Middle East, why is there bloodshed?' It makes no difference to us whether it happens in Ukraine or Syria's Aleppo," he stated.

Cavusoglu added that the Uyghurs in China were having difficulty maintaining their religious and national identity, while Muslim women were banned from wearing headscarves in India.




Multiple events Tuesday will mark the one-year anniversary since a gunman killed 10 people in a mass shooting at a neighborhood grocery store in Boulder.

On the afternoon of March 22, 2021, then-21-year-old Ahmad Al Aliwi Alissa opened fire with a semi-automatic pistol in the King Soopers parking lot on Table Mesa Drive before moving inside to stalk the aisles.

Those he killed were 20-year-old Denny Stong, Neven Stanisic, 23; Rikki Olds, 25; Teri Leiker, 51; Suzanne Fountain, 59; Kevin Mahoney, 61; Lynn Murray, 62; Jody Waters, 65; Tralona Bartkowiak, 49, and Boulder Police Officer Eric Talley.

Here's how the one-year anniversary is being noted.

- A patrol car is parked at the Boulder Police Department at 1805 33rd St. through Tuesday.

- On Tuesday at 2 p.m., the Boulder Police Department will hold a Line of Duty Death commemoration. The event will be live-streamed.

- At 2:30 p.m., Boulder city offices and operations will have a moment of silence.

- Between 4:30-6 p.m. a citywide remembrance gathering will be held at Glen Huntington Bandshell on Canyon Boulevard. State, federal and local officials are expected to attend.

Details about other private events are posted on the Boulder Strong website at weareboulderstrong.com.
Mubadala Investment Company, the Abu Dhabi based investor, has signed an agreement with Aris Gold Corporation for the operation of the Soto Norte Gold Project in Colombia, one of the worlds largest feasibility-stage gold projects.



Through a joint venture company, Aris Gold will acquire a 20% ownership interest in Sociedad Minera de Santander SAS and Sociedad Minera Calvista Colombia (collectively, Minesa). Aris Gold has an option to acquire a further 30% ownership interest in Minesa.



Minesa is the 100% owner of the Soto Norte gold project. Soto Norte has a large resource base with additional significant resource upside potential, and the project has the potential to be a large scale, low cost, underground gold mining operation.



As operator, Aris Gold CEO Neil Woodyer will be appointed CEO of Minesa and lead the preparation of the companys operational license application. Aris Gold will use its position as an established member of the Colombian mining industry to ensure the Soto Norte project operates at the highest international sustainability standards.



Executive Director, Industrials at Mubadala and Chairman of Minesa, Danny Dweik, said: We are delighted to bring in Aris Gold as our operating partner in Minesa. The Soto Norte Project will benefit from their technical capabilities and local market experience, and we look forward to working with them and the projects local communities to bring this world-class project to fruition.



On closing, Aris Gold and Mubadala will enter into a comprehensive agreement to govern the joint venture company through which environmental licensing, project development, and mine operation will be undertaken.  TradeArabia News Service
The Red Sea Development Company (TRSDC) has highlighted its ambitious regenerative tourism project, The Red Sea Project, at the Sir Anthony Ritossas 18th Global Family Office Investment Summit in Riyadh.

Royal families, global business leaders, Sheikhs, leading entrepreneurs, and private investors were among the guests at the event from March 15 to 17. Previous Summits have raised $2.8 billion in investments for leading global start-ups, entrepreneurs, funds, and philanthropic endeavours.

The team took the stage, in the presence of Prince Abdulaziz bin Faisal bin Abdulmajeed Al Saud. Leading the delegation was Chief Financial Officer Jay Rosen as VIP Speaker.

The Fireside Chat

Sir Anthonys esteemed two-day event brought together 400+ world leaders who share similar values regarding the importance of tailoring solutions to the worlds greatest challenges and making an impact through investment, positive action, and personal commitment.

The Fireside Chat, entitled The Red Sea Opportunity, addressed the projects that TRSDC now has under development and progress to date, including upcoming milestones and partnership opportunities.

As the developer behind one of the worlds most ambitious regenerative tourism destinations, TRSDC is preserving the nations precious cultural and environmental heritage, creating investment opportunities for the private sector, and developing the Kingdoms tourism industry in exciting new ways.

TRSDC also hosted a workshop entitled Attracting International Investment to the Kingdom, to engage in conversation directly with those interested in discussing opportunities in Saudi Arabia.

Amaala tourism destination

Amaala is situated north of The Red Sea destination and set in the Prince Mohammad bin Salman Natural Reserve. Designed to evolve and elevate the very best in travel, Amaala is an ultra-luxury destination and the first global integrated family wellness destination, which will curate transformative personal journeys inspired by arts, wellness, and the purity of the Red Sea.

State-of-the-art facilities and an attractive year-long events calendar will ensure Amaala is a distinctive wellness destination worldwide.

With great anticipation, we have rolled out the red carpet for Jay Rosen, CFO of The Red Sea Development Company and Amaala. The company is setting new standards for sustainability while serving as a true force for change via its innovation and commitment, said Sir Anthony Ritossa, Chairman of Ritossa Family Office.--TradeArabia News Service
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It has been likened to a weapon of mass destruction. Even a trace is a public menace. And lets not be naive; someone in possession of two or three grams of the super-potent substance isnt carrying it for personal use.
LETTERS: Disastrous for our children; each child needs a circle of caring
Seventy-seven Woodland Park minors may have received ballots for the city's April 5 all-mail municipal election because of an error in a list 
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Ellington Properties, a leading design-led boutique developer in Dubai, has signed an agreement with entrepreneur Abdul Razeq Abdul Ahad, through Deja Vu Real Estate, one of the leading real estate brokerages, to develop a new residential project in Dubai Hills Estate.

Valued at AED340 million ($92.5 million), the project will feature a mix of one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments in a central location within the established Dubai Hills Estate neighbourhood.

Ellington Properties said the design and masterplanning for the new residential project will commence shortly.

A veteran entrepreneur with business interests in diverse sectors globally, and President and CEO of Asem Holdings Abdul Ahad said: "This is my second agreement with Ellington Properties to develop residential projects in Dubai following the recommendation of Deja Vu Real Estate. The decision was taken after careful market study of the location and inspired by the superior build quality the firm delivers across all its projects."

"Dubais property sector is one of the most robust globally and there is significant potential for growth, especially in areas such as Dubai Hills Estate with high rental yields and return on investment," he stated.

One of the most sought-after residential destinations in the city, Dubai Hills Estate is now a thriving neighbourhood that can be easily accessed from all major highways such as Sheikh Zayed Road, Al Khail Road, and Mohammed bin Zayed Road, he added.

Ellington Properties Co-Founder Nitin Bhatnagar said: "Leading investors and property management and advisory firms such as Deja Vu Real Estate realise the value we bring to the industry through our projects. We are committed to creating vibrant communities that promote the wellness of our residents and bring long-term value to their property investments."

"Dubai Hills Estate has an inspiring location with large green parks, play areas, a new mall, and close proximity to world-class educational institutions and hospitals. Through our strategic partnership with Abdul Ahad, we aim to create another stand-out residential project that will appeal to discerning investors," he stated.

Ellington Properties has a varied portfolio of award-winning projects including Belgravia and Belgravia II, Belgravia Square, Belgravia Heights I, Eaton Place, and Somerset Mews, all located in JVC; DT1 in Downtown Dubai as well as Wilton Terraces I and II, Wilton Park Residences, he added.-TradeArabia News Service
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The state Senate approved legislation Monday to prevent people with mental health issues from entering the criminal justice system, instead sending them to treatment centers to address their needs.

Senate Bill 10 would expand statewide an existing pilot program that assesses individuals when theyre booked for low-level offenses before any charges are filed. If a person is found to have a behavioral health disorder, they are placed in a local treatment program.

"A jail cell is no place for someone with a mental health condition or substance use disorder," said Sen. Pete Lee, D-Colorado Springs, the bills sponsor. "I am glad, but not surprised, that my colleagues on the other side of the aisle agree."

The bipartisan bill  also sponsored by Alamosa Republican Sen. Cleave Simpson  passed the Senate in a unanimous vote, moving forward to the state House for consideration in the coming weeks.

Lee said the harsh and isolating environments in jails exacerbate the conditions of people with behavioral health disorders. Approximately 43% of state prisoners and 23% of federal prisoners have a history of mental health issues, according to a 2016 survey from the U.S. Department of Justice.

The pilot program began in 2019 in four judicial districts, serving 88 people in its first year, and was expanded to another five directs in 2020. The program is currently scheduled to expire in July, but, under the bill, it would instead be implemented statewide for the first time.

"Diverting folks away from the criminal justice system and into community programs will ensure individuals in crisis are met with treatment, not punishment," Lee said. "Well soon be able to extend critical aid to even more folks in need, and I look forward to getting this important bill signed into law."

The bill, which received no opposition, enjoyed the support of Mental Health Colorado, Interfaith Alliance, Colorado Cross-Disability Coalition, Colorado Criminal Justice Reform Coalition, Colorado Behavioral Healthcare Council and Boulder County commissioners.
The main floor of Bre Stafford's home in northeast Colorado Springs is strewn with boxes, filled with her belongings, as shes preparing to move to a different residence.

The basement of the house, which she shares with three roommates, is packed with boxes and packages of an entirely different sort. Stafford, a third-year medical student at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, has been on a mission over the past few weeks, collecting an array of medical supplies for a humanitarian shipment to Ukraine.

Stafford began her supply drive in early March after conversations with her best friend Joanna Rak, a former schoolmate attending medical school in Krakow, Poland. The central European country has taken in hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian refugees, and Rak sees them wandering the streets every day  mostly women and children, forced to flee their homes, sometimes only equipped with what little they could carry.

The stories Im hearing are pretty heartbreaking, Stafford said. A lot of (the refugees) arent sure their family members are even alive.

After speaking on the phone with a Ukrainian refugee Rak had helped with food and shelter, Stafford felt a sense of kinship with the young woman, and with the people of Ukraine.

I got to hear (the refugees) story, she said. A few weeks ago, she was just living her life, just like (Americans), and now her entire worlds been turned upside down. That made it feel visceral to me.

Eager to help in any was she could, Stafford began networking with her med school classmates and faculty members, learning where she could collect medical supplies to ship overseas. She also contacted a nonprofit called Nova Ukraine, which has support teams on the ground in Ukraine and in neighboring countries.

They were super onboard with the idea, she said of the nonprofit. Theyre planning to help with a cargo plane once I get enough (supplies).

Staffords basement is packed with a wide variety of supplies. There are crutches, bandages, antiseptics, suture kits, and gloves collected from area clinics. Theres trauma care equipment like chest tubes and intubation kits. A generous cash donation went toward other necessities including ibuprofen, feminine products and diapers.

You wouldnt believe the things they need over there, Stafford said. This is just a little of what they need.

Insulin, thyroid medication and burn supplies are also needed, but have been difficult to come by, she said.

Stafford and her colleagues would like to send the cargo plane as packed with supplies as possible. But the urgency of a wartime situation dictates she move quickly. There are people in and around Ukraine who need these supplies now, she said.

We want to gather as much as we can, she said, But at the same time, we dont want to wait too long. People need these supplies, and we want to send them soon.

Next on Staffords to-do list is arranging transport for the materials she has collected. Nova Ukraine will pick up her supplies  as well as other collections from fellow med students in Denver and Fort Collins  from a central location in Denver. But she needs a truck to get it there.

Theres no way I can fit all this stuff in my little car, she said.

Spearheading a humanitarian supply drive while meeting the demands of a third-year med student has been hectic and occasionally exhausting, Stafford said. But she has been buoyed by an outpouring of support from classmates, faculty members and even strangers. She regularly gets emails and social media messages from people who want to help.

There are some horrible things going on in the world, she said. But there are also good people out there who want to help.
Although Colorado law allows pretrial detainees to sue jail operators for injuries "due to negligence," the state Supreme Court ruled on Monday that the law also permits the sheriff of El Paso County to be held liable for intentionally detaining a man for months beyond the date he posted bond.

Writing for the court, Justice Richard L. Gabriel clarified that the logical interpretation of the law allows for detainees to assert violations of their rights if jail operators act, at a minimum, with negligence. The ruling rebuffed the arguments of Sheriff Bill Elder and the state's Court of Appeals, which maintained that negligence meant negligence, and nothing else.

"As a result, defendants sued for injuries resulting from the operation of a jail could successfully defend against liability by claiming that they did not accidentally cause the plaintiff injury but rather they meant to harm the plaintiff," wrote Gabriel. "In our view, such a result would be absurd."

The ACLU of Colorado and Holland & Hart attorney Stephen G. Masciocchi filed suit on behalf of Saul Cisneros for his prolonged, purposeful detention at the request of immigration authorities.

"I think all of us at the ACLU were gratified that the Colorado Supreme Court rejected the sheriff's position, which was that he couldn't be sued because he didn't detain our client for four months by accident, he did it on purpose," said Mark Silverstein, the legal director of the ACLU of Colorado.

The lawsuit arose after Cisneros entered the El Paso County jail in November 2017. Although Cisneros' daughter posted bond four days later, the jail held Cisneros to comply with a 48-hour detention request from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

For reasons that were unclear on appeal, the jail held Cisneros well beyond the requested window, amounting to nearly four months.

Cisneros sued Elder for false imprisonment, alleging it was the sheriff's policy to refuse to release detainees who had posted bond, completed their sentence or otherwise resolved their criminal case if ICE had issued immigration detainers and warrants not signed by judges. Cisneros' attorneys claimed Elder had no power to hold detainees solely for alleged immigration violations.

"At the time of the false imprisonment, plaintiff was not incarcerated pursuant to a conviction for a crime. He was not awaiting sentencing. He was entitled to be released," the lawsuit read.

El Paso County District Court Judge Eric Bentley refused to dismiss the complaint, agreeing with Cisneros that the state's governmental immunity law that allows lawsuits for injuries "due to negligence" also encompasses the sheriff's intentional practices.

The Court of Appeals subsequently reversed the decision in November 2020, after a three-judge panel ruled 2-1 that, in the words of Judge Diana Terry, "'negligence' means negligence."

"It may strike reasonable people the same way as it did the district court, that if liability is waived for negligent conduct, it should also be waived for intentional conduct. But we are bound to apply the law as written," she added.

Judge David J. Richman dissented. In his view, that literal interpretation was "illogical" because the General Assembly had never intended to hold government officials liable for accidental, but not for intentional, violations of rights.

Under Colorado's governmental immunity law, people who have been convicted of a crime and are incarcerated may not sue for injuries resulting from the operation of a prison or jail. People who have not yet been convicted, however, may file such lawsuits for injuries due to negligence.

Gabriel, in the Supreme Court's opinion, acknowledged that while it defied common sense for the legislature to ignore purposeful injuries inflicted on pretrial detainees and only focus on negligent ones, some lawmakers' statements during the 1994 debate on the law seemed to support Elder's position.

Overall, Gabriel cited extensively the comments of then-Sen. Dick Mutzebaugh, R-Highlands Ranch, who was one of the sponsors of the proposal to allow pretrial detainees to sue for negligence. Mutzebaugh suggested detainees needed to allege "at least" negligence in order to hold the government responsible.

"I want to show some negligence on the part of the operation of that facility before (detainees) can recover," he said at the time. "So, this is to set a minimum kind of standard that someone has to meet before they can pursue their claim against the county or the state.

Given that history, the law "sets a floor, not a ceiling," Gabriel concluded. Cisneros' false imprisonment claims now return to the trial court for further proceedings before Bentley, the district court judge. A spokesperson for the sheriff's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

In a related class-action lawsuit that Cisneros filed against Elder during his detention, Bentley decided the sheriff's treatment of Cisneros violated the state constitutions protections against unreasonable seizures and the rights to bail and due process. While the lawsuit was pending, Gov. Jared Polis signed a bill in 2019 that now bars state law enforcement officials from detaining people based solely on ICE warrants without a judge's signature. The new law rendered that lawsuit moot.
Tina Peters, the embattled clerk and recorder for Mesa County and a Republican candidate for Secretary of State, showed up at the state Capitol Monday to denounce a bill that targets security breaches, such as the one she's accused of. (Video provided by 9NEWS)
Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson speaks during her confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday in Washington.
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SNC-Lavalin, a fully integrated professional services and project management company with offices around the world, has launched Decarbonomics, a data-driven solution to decarbonise the built environment in a cost-effective way and accelerate the global and Middle East region journey to net zero.

The Decarbonomics initiative builds on SNC-Lavalins methods and practices to deliver high-performing buildings and developments, interconnected by smart and green systems and infrastructure.

It is being launched as both private and public sectors are looking at ways to reduce their carbon emissions at pace as the built environment contributes around 40% of global carbon emissions and the majority of the buildings that will exist in 2050 are already built.

"Creating the net zero communities of the future relies, in part, on effective decarbonization of existing assets. DecarbonomicsTM is a concrete example of how we can help clients meet their net zero targets and is in line with our comprehensive Engineering Net Zero approach," said Ian L. Edwards, President and CEO, SNC-Lavalin.

We provide sustainable solutions by connecting people, data and technology in partnership with clients such as the UK Government Property Agency, delivering decarbonization for its 450-building portfolio," stated Edwards.

Decarbonomics brings together the SNC-Lavalin Group, including Atkins and Faithful+Gould, expertise and knowledge of building services, engineering design, asset management, project management, cost consulting, data analytics and data visualizations.

Founded on the decarbonization of existing building portfolios, DecarbonomicsTM is an end-to-end service based on a simple three-step approach of benchmarking, road mapping and delivery of an organizations decarbonization program:

Benchmark: develop a carbon baseline

Roadmap: design a cost-effective carbon reduction pathway

Deliver: implement our carbon reduction solutions

The three-step approach is underpinned by Carbon Data Insights, a diverse mix of global open-source benchmark databases as well as SNC-Lavalins own rich building data library.

The result is a decarbonized estate, achieved through the strategy for achieving carbon reduction from behaviour change to building retrofit interventions, and measuring progress across the portfolio and asset lifecycle.

"Decarbonomics is founded on the principle of systems thinking and brings our diverse expertise and knowledge of the built environment and buildings together in a way that enables us to make carbon visible at the portfolio level," remarked Matthew Tribe, Managing Director, Planning, Design, and Engineering, Middle East for Atkins, a member of the SNC-Lavalin Group.

"This empowers our clients in the Middle East to make informed decisions about their investments in decarbonization and accelerating their journey towards net zero," he noted.

Globally, SNC-Lavalin has developed Engineering Net Zero program which focuses on leading the engineering industry to achieve Net Zero Carbon as rapidly as possible, by helping clients manage climate risks and build climate resilience.

In 2021, the company announced its vision for engineering a sustainable society, containing Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) targets and commitments to achieving Net Zero Carbon emissions by 2030 across corporate activities.-TradeArabia News Service
I would like to extend a gracious thank you to our Mitchell County Home Health and Public Health Agency employees.

They have been working diligently the past couple years since Covid-19 hit our county and our country. Our Public Health Agency employees entered family homes, exposing themselves and their family members to Covid-19, even before vaccines were available.

Because of their proactive approach, Mitchell County became a Test Iowa location providing free testing when it was difficult to get done. They assisted local nursing homes and businesses with testing when it needed to be done frequently and timely.

From June 2020 to February 2021 they performed 8012 Covid-19 tests. In addition, they were responsible for most of the contact tracing and investigation required due to the pandemic. The efficiency of this team brought in many people from other counties, and outlying states, for the vaccines. The vaccines were allocated weekly, and staff worked diligently to get them all distributed at the mass vaccine clinics.

If a county used all their allocation, they were more likely to receive extra doses the following week. From March 2020 to February 2022 nearly 12,000 vaccines were administered through their agency, and they are continuing this service.

Those of us who volunteered at the vaccine clinics heard the positive comments and compliments on their proficient setup and teamwork. It is because of this dedication that these successes were accomplished. They definitely have been our front line health care workers.

Some people in many areas of employment were allowed to work from home, with less exposure to Covid-19. Our Home Health and Public Health team did not have this option. Our Home Health Care Administrator and our Public Health Coordinator are in salaried positions. This means they did not receive any extra pay for the large number of overtime hours they accrued, nor did they ask for any. Also, none of our Mitchell County Home Health Care and Public Health Agency employees received any bonus or premium pay.

I commend the hospital and nursing home employers, and any others, who realized the extra efforts put forth by their employees, and gave them premium or bonus pay. None of us knew how much time and effort would be required to respond to a pandemic that hasn't happened in 100 years.

Let's not wait to commend and thank our county health care employees. They need, and deserve to hear, and feel, this appreciation now. I feel I speak for the majority of us in Mitchell County in saying that our Mitchell County Home Health Care and Public Health employees are greatly appreciated!

Let's also extend a thank you to all of our health care employees in the county-- hospital, clinics, nursing homes, assisted living facilities, EMS, and any other medical personnel. You are all our hometown heroes!

Sandy Offen

Mitchell County

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Larry Klemesrud sat with a table full of metal plaques depicting "thin line" American flags as a crowd gathered in the boardroom at the Mitchell County Courthouse.

Klemesrud, who serves as director of Mitchell County Veterans Affairs, took it upon himself to organize an event to honor area organizations that work to serve the community. Five organizations were presented with plaques, which featured the flag's traditional stars and stripes, but were customized to represent each organization.

Im showing my personal appreciation, Klemesrud said to the the attendees gathered. I greatly appreciate all you do.

Klemesrud presented a Thin Green Line flag to the Mitchell County Courthouse in memory of all veterans, past, present and future.

The Osage Fire Department also received a flag with a red axe substituted for the Thin Red Line associated with firefighters. Klemesrud said he was honoring them for teaching fire suppression at the nursing homes and for their continuing education to save lives in the entire community.

A Thin Blue and Red Line flag, which broadly represents law enforcement and first responders, was presented to Sheriff Greg Beaver and Osage Police Chief Brian Wright as a gift to their respective agencies.

For all the good work they do to help residents and veterans of Mitchell County, I deeply appreciate it, said Klemesrud.

One plaque presentation was a little more personal for Klemesrud, as he handed Jessa Ketelsen and Sasha Giles of Mitchell County Home Health Care and Public Health a Thin Med Flag with a red heartbeat pattern forming one of the stripes, along with an inscription that read In Memory of Sid and Lucille Klemesrud engraved along the bottom.

Years ago, my dad and my mother were given great care by home health, Klemesrud said. And I know home health was absolutely outstanding, (including) during our recent pandemic, the extra effort home health/public health put into getting organized, getting people their vaccinations and everything to support the community, and the relationship I have with home health helping veterans.

Another acknowledgment was also personal. Klemesruds aunt Mary Miller served as a surgical nurse at Mitchell County Regional Health Center. He handed a Thin Med Line plaque in his aunts name to CEO Shelly Russell, honoring the staff at the hospital.

This is for all the help theyve given people, what they did for the community and my parents years ago, and what youre doing for veterans, Klemesrud said.

This is not the first time Klemesrud has spearheaded an event honoring others. It is what he does. Last Veterans Day, Mitchell County Veterans Affairs sent ceremonial cakes to former soldiers, or their surviving spouses, now living in nursing homes.

As well, every Veterans Day, Klemesrud attends functions in the schools and at the cemeteries.

Im not looking for glory, Klemesrud said.

It makes me feel good, Klemesrud said of those gathered in the courthouse. I know all the good theyve done and all the calls they go on, not only for me and veterans affairs, but for other people in the county theyve helped.

I might get a call for a veteran with a mental health issue, or a lady who needs financial help, and from others in need. Or Ill get a call directly from home health, and Ill help them with one of their clients. Weve got a tremendous working relationship with home health and the doctors at the hospital.

Jason W. Selby is the community editor for the Mitchell Country Press News. He can be reached at 515-971-6217, or by email at jason.selby@globegazette.com.

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Two people died and three others were injured in a shooting early Saturday morning in downtown Norfolk. The gunfire allegedly stemmed from an argument over a spilled drink.

Thats what Police Chief Larry Boone told a meeting of the Downtown Norfolk Civic League on Monday night.

Chief Larry Boone stated that the shooting that left two dead on Granby Street was the result of an argument over a spilled drink, Sgt. William Pickering confirmed.

Sierra Jenkins, a 25-year-old reporter for The Virginian-Pilot and Daily Press, and 25-year-old Devon M. Harris, of Portsmouth, were caught in the line of fire and killed. Three men were injured.

Neither Pickering nor Boone indicated whether the altercation began at Chichos Pizza Backstage, the popular Granby Street nightspot where gunfire erupted outside at about 2 a.m. Saturday.

Pickering did confirm that Norfolk police will step up patrols downtown starting Thursday in response to the spate of violence over the weekend that spanned Norfolk, Newport News, Chesapeake, Portsmouth and Suffolk.

Four of the shootings occurred in Norfolk, including the Granby Street shooting outside of Chicos Pizza Backstage. Of the three other Norfolk shootings, one was fatal and two were nonfatal.

Virginian-Pilot reporter among those killed in Granby Street shooting in downtown Norfolk Saturday would have been Sierra Jenkins turn to cover the breaking news shift for The Virginian-Pilot.
Gov. Glenn Youngkin on Tuesday hailed a move by a state board to formally remove a set of rules that required employers to treat COVID as a work place hazard and to put in place mitigation measures like requiring masks and ensuring social distancing.

The Virginia Department of Labor and Industrys Worker Safety Board voted Monday to remove what Youngkin said were unnecessary restrictions put in place under then-Gov. Ralph Northam's administration. As expected, the board determined that COVID no longer poses a grave threat to Virginians in the workplace.

"Businesses asked us for updated workplace guidance to reflect our current COVID-19 situation in Virginia," Youngkin said in a statement. "We are pleased with the board's move and this vote signals that a return to normalcy in Virginia is not a partisan issue.

"We're going to continue providing greater certainty and decision making power to businesses and workers in the Commonwealth as we move beyond the pandemic. With the removal of these regulations, it is undeniable that Virginia is open for business."

In anticipation of the move, Youngkin's administration last week rolled out new COVID-19 guidance for employers to replace the stricter rules. The guidance gives the private sector flexibility on how to mitigate spread of the virus in the workplace. The administration also signaled that it would take action against employers who fire workers for not wearing a mask.

Were on a path back to normalcy," Youngkin said last week in a brief interview on the new guidance. "Were not quite there yet  but we really have transitioned from the government being able to tell you everything to do, to basically saying, theres a lot of choice here for people to make about themselves and about their companies."

The five-page document on the new guidance employers should facilitate employees getting vaccinated and boosted; encourage ill workers to stay home; require infected workers to stay home; provide masks as appropriate; encourage good sanitary habits; maintain working ventilation; educate workers on workplace COVID policies in a language they understand; and report and record employee infections and deaths.

Coronavirus infections in Virginia are at their lowest in eight months, but health experts remain concerned about surging case counts in western Europe.

There were 928 average cases statewide Friday, according to the Virginia Department of Health, the lowest tally since late July.

House Speaker Todd Gilbert, R-Shenandoah, called the board's move "a win for Virginia businesses of all sizes."

Gilbert said: "Not only were the Northam rules onerous, they were inflexible. Rather than change as our understanding of the pandemic changed, the rules remained fixed."
