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The Tories’ lesson from Uxbridge: pretend not to be the Tories
The Conservative Party was barely mentioned in election leaflets, while Boris Johnson’s name didn’t come up once
“Wow!” cried Steve Tuckwell, the new Tory MP for Uxbridge & South Ruislip, as he started his victory speech.
Tuckwell’s razor-thin victory came as a surprise to pundits – but also to his own party and, apparently, to Tuckwell himself.
Even though this true-blue slice of suburbia has voted Tory at every election for the last 53 years, most commentators had predicted that Labour would gain Boris Johnson’s old seat, which the former prime minister quit in sensational fashion last month.
Instead, the Conservatives held on by 495 votes, slashing the previous majority of 7,210.
The Covid-19 public inquiry is a historic chance to find out what really happened.
Not that all of Uxbridge’s voters necessarily knew that Steve Tuckwell was a Conservative. openDemocracy collected a range of Conservative leaflets handed out during the campaign, barely any of which so much as mentioned the Conservative Party and even those only in small print. None of them mentioned Boris Johnson.
The only mention of Rishi Sunak came in an eight-page booklet: there was a small photo of one of Sunak’s campaign stops, which didn’t even have a caption mentioning who he was. When Tuckwell gave his victory speech and interviews, he again failed to mention the prime minister.
Instead, Tuckwell fought an almost single-issue campaign, opposing London mayor Sadiq Khan’s proposal to extend the Ultra-Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) to the outer suburbs.
Voters could have been forgiven for thinking Tuckwell was standing as an independent. He was described as a “local man and anti-ULEZ campaigner”, and “The STOP ULEZ candidate”, with one voter quoted as saying “I’m voting for Steve to stop ULEZ”. Indeed, more than one voter openDemocracy spoke to said they were only bothering to turn out in order to register a protest against the scheme.
This was despite the fact that the ULEZ policy was first introduced by Khan’s predecessor as mayor – the same Boris Johnson whose departure triggered the by-election.
In this heavily car-dependent area, with wide roads and large drives, the issue clearly cut through. So did dislike of Sadiq Khan – whose photo appeared on Tuckwell’s leaflets almost as many times as Tuckwell himself.
‘Horrendous on the doorsteps’
Tuckwell, by his own admission to the BBC, “wasn’t expected to win this election”. He did not appear to have been briefed by CCHQ on the usual “lines to take”, either, instead simply repeating his ULEZ campaign theme in answer to almost every question.
openDemocracy visited several local Conservative headquarters during the campaign. None seemed terribly energised; at the Uxbridge Conservative Club, our reporter was met with the words: “What are you doing here? You can’t come in – there’s no-one around to answer your questions.”
Other Tory activists we spoke to said it had been “horrendous on the doorsteps” and that they weren’t expecting to hold the seat. Campaigners who were sent a morale-boosting video of the candidate on Wednesday night told openDemocracy that Tuckwell looked “exhausted”, and “a broken man”.
At another Conservative HQ in the seat, a party worker told us that Boris Johnson had been “a divisive figure… he doesn’t come up on the doorstep much but, when he does, it’s negative”.
None of the other parties managed to set the campaign ablaze with other issues. Both Labour and the Tories pledged to save a local police station, each blaming the other for its threatened closure.
Meanwhile, Laurence Fox’s Reclaim Party was keen to claim momentum. It blitzed the constituency with glossy leaflets, held a string of press stunts, and on election day they tweeted a picture of Fox in an oak-panelled office with the words: “If things go well in Uxbridge and South Ruislip this evening, I give you the next PM of the United Kingdom.” Hours later, Fox lost his deposit, polling just 2.3%.
Turnout
This was a low-turnout election – though, at 46%, slightly less so than in either of yesterday’s other by-elections.
As political reporters, we’re used to people being jaded. But speaking to voters a week before polling day, the anger seemed particularly bitter. This wasn’t the vague shrug of boredom with politics. It was an active rage.
Most of the people we stopped in the street stormed off as soon as we mentioned the election.
Many of those who did chat sneered at the idea of voting. Some had little idea a by-election was happening; some didn’t know Boris Johnson had been their MP. But they were proud not to be stupid enough to waste their time with all that.
Some told us that they were voting, but only negatively – Tory because they were against ULEZ, Sadiq Khan or Labour in general; or Labour because they were against the Tories. No one we spoke to mentioned anything they were for, anything they were excited about, anything positive at all. If there was a mention of Starmer or Sunak, it was angry.
“The only thing worse than no hope is false hope,” Labour front-bencher Wes Steeeting wrote recently. His party’s commitment to the second worst thing had clearly filtered through to people in Uxbridge.
“We’re fucked,” said one man. If there was an attitude among the people openDemocracy spoke to on the high street in Uxbridge, he had summed it up.
While the media tends to focus on swings in by-elections, in reality, they almost always have much lower turnouts than general elections. The stories they tell are about which parties do and don’t succeed in persuading their backers to the ballot box.
The turnout means taking some of the headline results with a pinch of salt. In Selby and Ainsty, where Labour overturned a majority of 20,000 on a huge swing, their actual number of votes was only 2,600 higher than last time – but they benefited from a vast collapse in turnout among 2019 Tory supporters, just over one in three of whom turned out. In Somerton and Frome, where a 19,000 majority was turned into an 11,000 majority on a 29% swing, the Lib Dem vote was still 15,000 short of what the Tories polled last time. And in Uxbridge and South Ruislip, Labour lost 5,000 of its 2019 voters – if it had held its ground, it would have won comfortably. Meanwhile, the Tories managed to turn out more than half of their 2019 voters.
Conservatives will take solace in the fact they managed to hang on in one of these three difficult seats. But the lesson they may draw from Uxbridge – disowning their own party label, and standing a hyper-local, single-issue candidate – may be one that they struggle to translate into a general election strategy.
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Five Adani Group Companies See Rise In Shareholder Base In June Quarter
Adani Total Gas led with a 60% rise in the number of shareholders.
Investors in five Adani Group companies rose in the quarter ended June, following the conglomerate's recovery in stock prices after the Supreme Court-appointed committee to look into the Adani-Hindenburg matter did not find any regulatory failure.
Adani Total Gas Ltd. led with a 60% rise in the number of shareholders, according to exchange disclosures. The retail base also grew nearly 61%.
It was followed by Adani Transmission Ltd. with shareholders rising 32%, followed by 8.3% in the news media company New Delhi Television Ltd.
To be sure, many of the Adani Group shareholders are likely to be common among group firms as these were spun-off from Adani Enterprises Ltd.
Foreign portfolio investors also rose in four Gautam Adani-owned companies—Adani Enterprises, Adani Wilmar Ltd., Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd. and Adani Green Energy Ltd.
Rajiv Jain’s GQG Partners recently bought an additional 3% stake worth Rs 2,633 crore in Adani Transmission Ltd., taking its total holding in the company to 6.54%.
In March, Adani Group promoters raised $1.87 billion, or about Rs 15,446 crore, by selling stakes in four companies of the apple-to-airports conglomerate to GQG Partners.
The investments were made across Adani Enterprises, Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone, Adani Green Energy and Adani Transmission.
Disclaimer: AMG Media Networks Ltd., a subsidiary of Adani Enterprises Ltd., holds 49% stake in Quintillion Business Media Ltd., the owner of BQ Prime. | Not_Explicit |
Lawmakers seek to slash the cost to citizens to receive Wisconsin voter list
MADISON – The cost to obtain an electronic list of every registered voter in Wisconsin would be capped at $250 under a new proposal from two Republican lawmakers.
Sen. Dan Knodl, R-Germantown, and Rep. Amy Binsfield, R-Sheboygan, sent a memo seeking co-sponsors for the legislation on Monday.
The proposed $250 limit would be a significant reduction from the current fee. Under current law, the cost to obtain the state's entire set of voter records is $12,500, an amount the two lawmakers said in the memo is out of reach for most citizens.
"This bill is set to level the field for those who would like to see transparency in our voter information. We want to take away barriers that don’t have a solid purpose," Binsfield said in a statement.
The $12,500 figure is based on a $25 base fee, plus $5 per 1,000 records returned by the request. The state currently has nearly 3.6 million registered voters. Without the $12,500 cap, based on the existing formula, the cost of the entire set of records would be about $18,000.
The proposed legislation would apply the $250 limit to electronic records and would allow the Wisconsin Elections Commission to apply an additional fee for producing a physical copy of the list. Under current law, that fee is 25 cents per printed page along with the cost of postage and shipping.
State law currently requires the commission to determine the fee to obtain voter records by estimating, in consultation with local election officials, the cost to maintain and reproduce the list at the state and local levels. There is no mechanism under state law to waive the fee.
Voter records include a registered voter's name, address, which electoral districts they live in, which elections they've voted in and whether they voted in person or via absentee ballot. They also include any additional contact information provided in that person's voter registration.
Voter lists are often purchased by political parties and campaigns, as well as academic researchers. There are no restrictions on how voter files can be used.
According to information compiled by the National Conference of State Legislatures and Ballotpedia, costs to obtain voter records in other states range from $0 to nearly $40,000, but most states charge less than $2,500.
A spokesman for the Wisconsin Elections Commission did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment on the proposal. | Not_Explicit |
The U.S. has suspended funding for the Wuhan Institute of Virology, the Chinese research laboratory at the center of the debate over the origins of the coronavirus that has killed nearly 7 million people worldwide.
The lab has not received any U.S. funding since 2020, but for months the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has been reviewing its operations, concluding that the institute “is not compliant with federal regulations and is not presently responsible.”
The funding cutoff was prompted by the lab’s “failure to provide documentation on [its] research requested by [the National Institutes of Health] related to concerns that [the lab] violated NIH’s biosafety protocols.”
The virus was first identified in Wuhan. One theory holds that COVID-19 escaped from the Wuhan lab in late 2019, triggering the pandemic. Some scientists believe the virus was passed from animals to people, possibly from a wholesale seafood market.
The U.S. intelligence community has yet to reach a conclusion about the origins of the virus.
Researchers at the institute have repeatedly denied that their work was related to the coronavirus outbreak, but China has blocked international scientists from a wide examination of the facility and its operations. | Not_Explicit |
(Bloomberg) -- Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. said production at a planned facility in Arizona will be postponed from late 2024 until 2025, an ominous delay as Washington tries to establish a more robust chip industry.
Most Read from Bloomberg
Chairman Mark Liu said there are several challenges that TSMC faces at the US facility, including a shortage of skilled workers and expenses running higher than in Taiwan. The company is shifting some employees to Arizona to help with the development.
“We are working on improving this by sending skilled technical workers from Taiwan to the US,” Liu said on a conference call after earnings.
President Joe Biden’s administration has made development of domestic chip production a top strategic priority, backed by subsidies in the Chips Act that may top $50 billion. As the US clashes with China, American politicians have been concerned about the vulnerability of Taiwan, which Beijing has claimed as its own territory.
TSMC made the remarks as the company reported financial results for the second quarter and cut its outlook for revenue in 2023. The company, which makes chips for Apple Inc. and Nvidia Corp., projected a 10% decline in US dollar terms this year, compared with guidance for single-digit declines previously.
ASML Holding NV, the leading producer of chipmaking equipment, warned that politicians seem to be underestimating the complexity of building new fabs. While governments from Washington to Beijing to Berlin want to create domestic chip capabilities, such production is complicated and requires deep expertise.
“People don’t seem to realize that when we start building those fabs across the globe now and are everywhere, that skill has been refined over the last couple of decades in only a few places on the planet — predominantly in Taiwan and in Korea and a bit in China,” said Peter Wennink, chief executive officer of ASML. “Getting access to the requisite skills and skilled workers to keep the construction plan on time is a challenge.”
--With assistance from Adrian Kennedy.
(Updates with ASML comments from sixth paragraph)
Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek
©2023 Bloomberg L.P. | Not_Explicit |
The GOP-controlled Legislature had called a special session to redraw an earlier map after the Supreme Court reaffirmed a federal court order to include two districts where Black voters make up voting-age majorities, “or something quite close to it.” But on Friday, state Republicans approved a new map with just one majority-Black seat and a second district that is approximately 40% Black.
The map was completed Friday afternoon — hours before the court-ordered deadline for the Legislature to draw up new boundaries — as a compromise between the House and Senate versions.
Democrats slammed the map and its drafters, arguing that legislators ignored a court order and that the map continued the racist history of voter suppression.
"There was never any intent in this building to comply with their court order," said state Rep. Chris England, a Democrat from Tuscaloosa. "There was never any intent in this building to comply with the Voting Rights Act."
England and other Democrats argued the map was designed to bring another challenge to the Voting Rights Act.
"I'm ashamed of what we did here this week," said state Rep. Juandalynn Givan, a Democrat from Birmingham. "We’ve chosen to outright, blatantly disobey the law and to further attempt and vote to bury the Voting Rights Act."
The district lines are being closely watched by many in Washington, where redistricting battles playing out in the courts in Alabama, New York, North Carolina, Georgia, Texas and other states could decide control of Congress.
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., and much of the rest of Alabama's congressional delegation had reached out to Republican legislators, according to Republican state House Speaker Nathan Ledbetter.
Alluding to Tuberville’s past as the football coach at Auburn University, spokesman Steven Stafford said in an email before the final vote: "Coach just wants the maps to be fair and for all Alabamians to be represented well. He trusts Alabama’s state legislators to get this right."
McCarthy reached out to plan sponsors and is concerned about maintaining his House majority, Ledbetter said, while Tuberville called Thursday morning and said he was surprised the Supreme Court had ruled against the state, given the court's conservative tilt.
"He was kind of surprised that we were in the situation," Ledbetter said. "There are a lot of eyes on Alabama."
McCarthy confirmed to NBC News that he talked to "a few" Alabama legislators.
"I’d like to know where they’re going to go and whether they’re in the process of happening," he said. "I know the Democrats are trying very hard to redraw New York. ... I think people should be very fair in this process to be able to see what’s happening. I like to know what’s going to happen out there."
'Flip off' the Supreme Court
Republicans have insisted the maps would give Black voters an opportunity to elect the representatives of their choice as required by the courts, but Democrats, voting rights experts and the groups that sued the original maps disagree.
Kareem Clayton, an Alabama native who is a redistricting expert at the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University School of Law, said his team looked at 15 recent elections to see how the proposed Senate and House drafts would perform.
They found that the candidate preferred by Black voters would win four times out of 15 under the House plan, while Black voters could elect their preferred candidate just once under the Senate plan. And that win was narrow, deriving from a remarkable upset: former Sen. Doug Jones' historic upset over Roy Moore, a Republican accused of sexual misconduct with teenagers.
"The through line in both plans is obviously they're prioritizing keeping the Gulf Coast together, the very thing the Supreme Court said wasn't more important than delivering a serious, effective opportunity for African American voters," he said.
The voting and civil rights groups that challenged the map as a violation of the Voting Rights Act promised to fight the new one as well.
Plaintiffs can submit objections in the coming weeks under the current court order, and the federal judges will consider them at an Aug. 14 hearing. The court can decide to hire an outside expert to redraw the maps if it agrees that the map is another racial gerrymander.
As the Legislature advanced two maps without a second Black-majority district, plaintiffs expressed outrage and shock.
Marina Jenkins, the executive director of the National Redistricting Foundation — one of the groups that supported some of the plaintiffs in the suit, Allen v. Milligan — slammed the maps in a statement.
“Alabama Republicans are intentionally drawing political retention maps at the expense of Black Alabamians — in defiance of the Supreme Court and the Alabama district court. It is a continuation of the state’s long, sordid history of disenfranchising Black voters,” she said, promising to challenge the maps in court.
NAACP Legal Defense Fund attorney Deuel Ross, who argued the case before the Supreme Court, said the plaintiffs were disappointed in Alabama's responses to the court orders.
"This is exactly why the Voting Rights Act was first created — this sort of stubbornness of states," he said in an interview. "Even when a court says that they're violating federal law or the Constitution, they continue to fail to do the right thing. It's troubling, but it's part of a troubling history that has existed in America and Alabama for a long time."
CORRECTION (July 21, 2023 8:43 a.m. ET): A headline and a previous version of this article misstated McCarthy’s title. He is the House speaker, not its majority leader. | Not_Explicit |
Justice Department sues Texas over floating barrier in Rio Grande River
The Justice Department on Monday sued the state of Texas in a suit seeking to compel Gov. Greg Abbott (R) to remove a barrier in the Rio Grande River designed to block migrants from crossing the U.S.-Mexico border.
“We allege that Texas has flouted federal law by installing a barrier in the Rio Grande without obtaining the required federal authorization,” Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta said in a statement announcing the suit.
“This floating barrier poses threats to navigation and public safety and presents humanitarian concerns,” she said, adding that the barrier has prompted protests and “risks damaging U.S. foreign policy.”
The barrier, roughly 1,000 feet of buoys ranging from four to six feet in diameter, is the latest escalation from Texas, which also installed razor wire near the border and is among several states that have bussed migrants to left-leaning cities.
In anticipation of the suit, Abbott, who received a letter from the Justice Department Friday asking for the removal of the buoys, said in a Monday letter “Texas will see you in court.”
The suit argues the buoys are a violation of the Rivers and Harbors Act, which prohibits unauthorized barriers in any navigable waters.
DEVELOPING
Copyright 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. | Not_Explicit |
Vladimir Putin has signed legislation that bans people from officially or medically changing their gender, representing a further blow to Russia’s embattled LGBTQ+ community.
The act, passed unanimously by both houses of parliament, bans any “medical interventions aimed at changing the sex of a person”, as well as banning changing a person’s gender in official documents or public records. The only exception will be medical intervention to treat congenital anomalies.
It also annuls marriages in which one person has “changed gender” and bars transgender people from becoming foster or adoptive parents.
The ban is said to stem from the Kremlin’s crusade to protect what it views as the country’s “traditional values”. Lawmakers say the legislation is to safeguard Russia against “western anti-family ideology”, with some describing gender transitioning as “pure satanism”.
Russia’s crackdown on LGBTQ+ people started a decade ago when the president first proclaimed a focus on “traditional family values”, supported by the Russian Orthodox church.
In 2013, the Kremlin adopted legislation that banned any public endorsement of “nontraditional sexual relations” among minors. In 2020, Putin pushed through constitutional reform that outlawed same-sex marriage and last he year signed a law banning “propaganda of nontraditional sexual relations” among adults. | Not_Explicit |
Stock Market Live: GIFT Nifty Signals Cautious Start; Reliance, Maruti Suzuki, Tata Steel In Focus
Live updates on India's equity markets on July 25.
KEY HIGHLIGHTS
- Oldest First
PSU Banks See Buying Interest Even After Results: Trade Setup
Global Cues
U.S. Dollar Index at 101.3
U.S. 10-year bond yield at 3.86%
Brent crude up 0.07% at $82.80 per barrel
Nymex crude up 0.15% at $78.86 per barrel
GIFT Nifty down 0.07% or 14 points at 19,719 as of 8:20 a.m.
Bitcoin down 0.23% at $29,077.57
Trading Tweaks
Ex-date Dividend: Carborundum Universal, Transport Corporation of India, Cholamandalam Investment and Finance, Kirloskar Brothers, Orient Cement, KEC International, Paushak
Ex-date Interim dividend: Bhansali Engineering Polymers
Ex-date AGM: Carborundum Universal, Transport Corporation of India, Cholamandalam Investment and Finance, VIP Industries
Record date dividend: Kirloskar Brothers, Paushak, KEC International
Move Into Short-Term ASM Framework: Transformers and Rectifiers (India), Sterling, and Wilson Renewable Energy
Move Out Of Short-Term ASM Framework: PC Jeweller.
Bulk Deals
Usha Martin: Sixteenth Street Asian Gems Fund bought 16.5 lakh shares (0.5%) at Rs 329.07 apiece.
Lloyds Metals And Energy: Om Hari Halan sold 35 lakh shares (0.7%) at Rs 560.93 apiece.
Earnings In Focus
Amber Enterprises India, Apollo Pipes, Asian Paints, Aurionpro Solutions, Bajaj Auto, Cyient, CEAT, Delta Corp., Dixon Technologies (India), Jubilant FoodWorks, Jyothy Labs, KPIT Technologies, Larsen & Toubro, Mahindra Holidays and Resorts, Mindspace Business Parks REIT, Hitachi Energy India, RattanIndia Power, SBI Life Insurance Company, Sundaram-Clayton, Tata Motors, Suzlon Energy, and UTI Asset Management Company. | Not_Explicit |
Head of Arizona's school voucher program, which is bigger than any Arizona school district, resigns
The executive director of Arizona's school voucher program, which has grown in the past year to more than 60,000 students, making it bigger than any public school district in the state, resigned Monday.
Christine Accurso began directing the Empowerment Scholarship Account program within the Arizona Department of Education in January, when Republican Tom Horne took office as the state’s superintendent of public instruction.
"It is time for me to move on and pursue opportunities to engage citizens, especially parents, to fight for school choice and the other issues they believe in, for the future of our state and of our nation," Accurso said in a statement.
She oversaw the voucher program during a time of rapid growth, which began during the final months of the Education Department's administration by Kathy Hoffman, Horne's predecessor. Last year, the Legislature massively expanded the voucher program to make all school-age children eligible for public funding. The most common voucher amount is around $7,000 per student. That money can be used for private school tuition, homeschool supplies, tutoring and other educational resources.
Previously, the program had been restricted to select groups, including students with disabilities and children in foster care.
Before her role in the Horne administration, Accurso was a staunch proponent of universal voucher expansion. She encouraged people not to sign petitions by voucher opponents that would have put the expansion before voters. She also served as the head of an anti-abortion pregnancy center in Phoenix.
According to Department of Education spokesperson Doug Nick, Accurso told the department that she took the school voucher director position to "clean up" the recently expanded program and "having successfully done that she has chosen to move on."
At the end of the 2021-22 school year, there were roughly 12,000 students in the program.
In late December 2022, just before Horne took office, there were about 45,000.
As of Monday, there were roughly 60,500.
"She worked tirelessly managing the ... operation during a period of unprecedented growth and confronted the various challenges that accompany the transition from a limited program to one available to all Arizona parents," Nick said.
The Horne administration has promised that universal school vouchers would bring equity to school choice in Arizona, but as it has ballooned, Democratic lawmakers and public education advocates have raised concerns about how to fund it. The initial rush of school voucher enrollments in September came from students already enrolled in private schools, according to an analysis by the state Education Department.
Early in the Horne administration, Accurso and the voucher program came under fire by parents of students with special education needs who told the State Board of Education that the program was being poorly administered and they were experiencing late payments. Vendors serving the program said they were experiencing late payments and a lack of communication from the Education Department. Accurso attributed payment issues to a backlog that began under Hoffman and problems with the company that processes payments.
Accurso oversaw significant changes to the voucher program's handbook for parents, which was approved in April. The revisions included allowing students with disabilities to be assessed by an independent evaluator or private school in addition to a public school, requiring families to submit a curriculum for items not commonly used for educational purposes, and lessening the credential requirements for a tutor.
The school voucher program will now be under the direction of John Ward, the internal auditor brought to the department from the Arizona Auditor General's Office when Horne took office, Nick said.
Ward has 16 years of experience as an auditor and "extensive knowledge of the many technical aspects of managing the large financial system required" to operate the school voucher program as it grows, he said.
AZ's school voucher program explained:Answers to common questions about Arizona's school voucher program | Not_Explicit |
- Ukraine reported a lower success rate in shooting down Russian missiles targeting Odesa.
- Ukraine's president said it needs better missile defense systems to stop infrastructure attacks.
- Ukraine said it shot down 37 of 63 missiles and drones Wednesday, mainly targeting Odesa.
Ukraine reported a lower success rate in shooting down missiles targeting the key port city of Odesa, a likely sign that it doesn't have enough ammo to stop all the missiles from Russia.
Over the last two nights, Russia targeted grain shipment sites and port infrastructure, mainly in the Ukrainian city of Odesa. It came after the Kremlin pulled out of a UN deal allowing safe passage to vessels transporting grain in the Black Sea.
In its air defense update, the Ukrainian armed forces said Russia fired 63 missiles and drones to attack Ukraine, and 37 had been shot down from Tuesday to Thursday, giving it a 59% success rate.
It's a significantly lower success rate than Ukraine was reporting in foiling Russian air attacks in Kyiv in May, when it said that 90% of Russian missiles and drones were being downed.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Ukraine's president, on Wednesday said that Ukraine urgently needed more air defense systems.
"It is necessary to ensure air defense of all Ukrainian cities, especially those that supply the military, through which the main logistics corridors pass, where strategic infrastructure and nuclear facilities are located," he said at a press conference in Kyiv.
He called on Ukraine's Western allies to supply it with more SAMP/T and Patriot missile defense systems to protect against Russian attacks. The systems are used to shoot down long-range missiles, such as the Russian Kalibr cruise missiles used in the recent attacks on Odesa.
"They work perfectly. If we had additional systems, they would protect the infrastructure of Odesa, and not just the port. Or it could be Patriot systems," he said.
Yaroslav Trofimov, a foreign affairs correspondent at The Wall St Journal, said that Ukraine's relatively low missile interception success rate indicated that it needed urgent improvements to its air defenses.
—Yaroslav Trofimov (@yarotrof) July 20, 2023
"Overnight, Ukraine managed to shoot down only 5 out of 19 missiles fired by Russia at Odesa and Mykolaiv port infrastructure," he tweeted Thursday, referencing data on Wednesday night's Odesa attack. "It urgently needs more and more modern air defenses — or an ability to take out Russian launchers in Crimea."
Anton Gerashchenko, a Ukrainian government advisor, said some of the missiles used to target Odesa were Oniks, a type of low-flying anti-ship missile Ukraine had no defenses against.
Ukraine was vulnerable to Russian missile and drone attacks in the early months of the conflict, but has built an effective multi-layered air defense system around Kyiv with the help of its Western allies, a report by the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR) said.
This means that it's able to shoot down most of the missiles and drones Russia uses to target the Ukrainian capital, reporting a 100% success rate on some nights in June.
But a problem is missile defense ammunition stockpiles, with a US defense official telling Reuters last year that Russia was deliberately trying to exhaust Ukraine's supply by launching waves of attacks, sometimes using unarmed missiles.
And according to the ECFR report, Kyiv is the only Ukrainian city with sufficient air defense protection, and Ukraine's other major cities remain vulnerable to Russian attacks.
"Extending the missile sanctuary to the rest of the country is no easy task, but it will enable future Ukrainian offensives and show the Russians that their illegal war cannot be won," it said, calling on Western countries to increase its supply or air defense systems and ammunition to Ukraine. | Not_Explicit |
England fails to impress in first look at Women's World Cup
It was one of the most pressing questions coming into this Women's World Cup.
Could England, despite missing four of the 11 starters from last summer's European Championship triumph – the only trophy, men's or women's, the country that invented the sport has won in more than half a century – overcome those absences and compete for soccer's ultimate prize?
If Saturday's 1-0 win over Haiti is anything to go by, the answer is probably not.
In a wildly entertaining match in Brisbane, Australia, the Lionesses rode a first-half penalty kick by Georgia Stanway to claim all three points against a tournament newcomer playing in its very first World Cup game. The win was fully expected. The manner of victory, well, that part was anything but impressive.
Even without the injured trio of Fran Kirby, Beth Mead, Leah Williamson and the retired Ellen White, FIFA's fourth-ranked squad was supposed to pummel the No. 53 Haitians. The bigger tests for England were supposed to come later in the first round, in matches against Denmark and China, and then in the knockout phase. The group stage was supposed to be nothing more than a formality.
But after watching the Lionesses struggle for long stretches against a plucky, athletic but decidedly inexperienced foe, it's all but impossible to see England standing on the podium with confetti raining down around them following the Aug. 20 final in Sydney.
England came into the competition with the bookies' second-best odds of winning it all, behind the two-time defending United States. But while the title-favorite U.S. was held to a single goal by debutant Vietnam until deep into first half stoppage time in their opening match on Friday, they still ran out as 3-0 winners by the time the final whistle blew.
Saturday marked just the third day of the 2023 World Cup, and already a trend has started to emerge. Billed as the most competitive tourney ever, that's precisely how it has played out so far.
So while it's possible that England will rebound from its lackluster opener and go on to make a deep run, it sure doesn't seem likely following its opening contest. That's not to take anything away from the Haitians, who deserve a ton of credit for their performance.
Les Grenadières defended their hearts out on Saturday and scared their more decorated opponent on more than one occasion. Haiti fought for every 50-50 ball. The players most certainly didn't play scared. And they might even have stolen a goal with just a little more patience and quality in England's end. Even then, Haiti came oh-so-close to netting the equalizer several times after falling behind, their three shots on target forcing a trio of superb saves out of goalkeeper Mary Earps in the second half. Melchie Daëlle Dumornay, just 19, was a revelation for the Haitians throughout.
While England still collected all three points, they really didn't look dangerous despite a 21-7 shot and 75-25 possession advantage, despite Haitian backstop Kerly Théus making nine saves – some of them spectacular – of her own.
The hard truth for England supporters is that Wiegman's side had next to no answers without veteran attackers Kirby, Mead and White in its first game, the Lionesses' only goal coming on a retaken effort from the spot after a silly (and totally avoidable) handball by winger Batcheba Louis.
In other words, England got lucky. And it's going to get much harder from here.
"What we want to do, of course, is finish our chances," Wiegman said afterward. "I hope the next game in open play we can score a goal."
The Lionesses are capable of that. Winning the World Cup without some of their most experienced and important players? They can still hope for that, too. But based on Saturday's evidence at least, that particular goal is almost certainly beyond them.
Doug McIntyre is a soccer writer for FOX Sports. Before joining FOX Sports in 2021, he was a staff writer with ESPN and Yahoo Sports and he has covered United States men’s and women’s national teams at multiple FIFA World Cups. Follow him on Twitter @ByDougMcIntyre.
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2023 Women's World Cup schedule: How to watch, TV channel, dates, results
Bettor places big bet, $70k on USWNT to beat Vietnam in Women's World Cup
Women's World Cup 2023 highlights: Nigeria-Canada ends in draw
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2023 Women's World Cup odds: Alternate betting options for USWNT-Vietnam
Women's World Cup Daily: Host countries New Zealand, Australia both pick up wins
Philippines-Switzerland, Spain-Costa Rica predictions, picks by Chris 'The Bear' Fallica
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How USWNT is prepping for Vietnam in World Cup opener
Women's World Cup power rankings: United States No. 1; Canada moves down after draw
Women's World Cup 2023 highlights: Switzerland tops Philippines, 2-0
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2023 Women's World Cup schedule: How to watch, TV channel, dates, results
Bettor places big bet, $70k on USWNT to beat Vietnam in Women's World Cup
Women's World Cup 2023 highlights: Nigeria-Canada ends in draw
-
2023 Women's World Cup odds: Alternate betting options for USWNT-Vietnam
Women's World Cup Daily: Host countries New Zealand, Australia both pick up wins
Philippines-Switzerland, Spain-Costa Rica predictions, picks by Chris 'The Bear' Fallica
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How USWNT is prepping for Vietnam in World Cup opener
Women's World Cup power rankings: United States No. 1; Canada moves down after draw
Women's World Cup 2023 highlights: Switzerland tops Philippines, 2-0 | Not_Explicit |
BELGRADE, July 21 (Reuters) - Bulgaria's parliament voted on Friday to end Russian oil firm Lukoil's (LKOH.MM) concession to run the Rosenets oil terminal near the Black Sea port of Burgas, a move lawmakers hope will speed the country's entry to the EU's Schengen borderless area.
The bill supported by 144 deputies in the 240-seat parliament, stipulates that Lukoil will be allowed to operate the oil terminal after the termination of the concession, but must pay fees to the Bulgarian government. It also says that the concession will end within a week.
The Rosenets port, just outside Burgas, is the only specialised oil terminal on the Bulgarian Black Sea coast. It has been under Lukoil's control since 2011, when the Russian company was granted a 35-year concession.
The terminal serves Bulgaria’s only refinery, Neftochim Burgas, which has capacity to process 196,000 barrels per day and is also owned by Lukoil. In January, Bulgarian lawmakers adopted a decision that paves the way for the government to take over operation of the refinery for up to a year.
In its proposal before parliament, the ruling centre-right GERB, We Continue the Change-Democratic Bulgaria (PP-DB), and the Movement for Rights and Freedoms parties, said the termination of the concession would prevent Russia from using Bulgarian facilities to finance its war in Ukraine.
It would also ensure the enforcement of EU sanctions, helping Bulgaria's Schengen bid, PP-DB co-chair Kiril Petkov, said the ahead of the vote. Bulgaria hopes to be admitted as early as this autumn.
"Our strategic goal is to enter Schengen and this is a big step towards it. This ... is also in line with the EU's ... sanctions" against Russia, Petkov said.
In a statement on Thursday, the Lukoil Neftochim refinery said it will seek court protection against parliament's decision.
On Wednesday, Bulgaria's pro-Russian President Rumen Radev also criticised the move.
"The proposal to terminate the concession ... is yet another rushed and wrong idea of political leaders," he told reporters.
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. | Not_Explicit |
WASHINGTON, July 19 (Reuters) - Senate Democrats are pursuing legislation this week that would set a binding ethics code for the U.S. Supreme Court following revelations that some conservative justices have failed to disclose luxury trips and real estate transactions - a measure facing an uphill battle thanks to Republican opposition.
Senate Judiciary Committee members on Thursday are set to debate and vote on a bill introduced by Democratic Senator Sheldon Whitehouse that would impose on the top U.S. judicial body new requirements for financial disclosures and for recusal from cases in which a justice may have a conflict of interest.
Unlike other members of the federal judiciary, the Supreme Court's nine life-tenured justices have no binding ethics code of conduct. They are subject, as many high-level federal officials are, to disclosure laws requiring them to report outside income and certain gifts, though food and other "personal hospitality" such as lodging at an individual's residence is generally exempted.
Justices also decide for themselves whether to step aside from cases involving a possible conflict of interest.
Democratic lawmakers have said that news reports in recent months detailing ties between wealthy benefactors and some conservative justices show the court cannot be trusted to police itself.
"To hold these nine justices to the same standard as every other federal judge is not a radical or partisan notion," Whitehouse and the committee's Democratic chairman Senator Dick Durbin said last week in a joint statement.
The legislation, even if it manages to gain committee approval, would face long odds to win passage on the Senate floor, where it would need some Republican support to advance. And it appears to have little chance to get through the Republican-led House of Representatives.
The news outlet ProPublica has detailed ties spanning decades between conservative Justice Clarence Thomas and billionaire Republican donor Harlan Crow, including real estate purchases and luxury travel paid for by the Dallas businessman. ProPublica also has reported that conservative Justice Samuel Alito failed to disclose a private flight to Alaska provided by a billionaire hedge fund manager whose business interests have come before the court as the justice took a luxury fishing trip.
Separately, the news outlet Politico has reported that conservative Justice Neil Gorsuch failed to disclose that the buyer of a Colorado property in which he had a stake was the chief executive of a major law firm whose attorneys have been involved in various Supreme Court cases.
The court's public approval cleaves along partisan lines as its 6-3 conservative majority continues to steer the law in a rightward direction, with 44% of respondents - including 28% of Democrats and 72% of Republicans - expressing a favorable view of it in a Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted in June.
Some Judiciary Committee Republicans have sought to portray the ethics reform push as an effort by liberals and Democrats to smear the court, and have argued that it should set its own rules.
"The Supreme Court does a good job of that on their own," Republican Senator Mike Lee of Utah, who sits on the Senate Judiciary Committee, told Reuters, referring to ethics rules. "My general inclination is to let them do it."
Senator John Kennedy, another Republican panel member, questioned whether lawmakers possess the power to impose ethics standards on the court.
"I'm not sure that Congress has the authority to do it under the separation of powers," Kennedy told reporters, referring to the U.S. Constitution's division of powers among the U.S. government's executive, legislative and judicial branches.
The Judiciary Committee held a hearing on Supreme Court ethics concerns in May, but conservative Chief Justice John Roberts rebuffed Durbin's invitation to testify, citing "the importance of preserving judicial independence."
Roberts has said the justices, in assessing their own ethics obligations, consult a code of conduct adopted by the policymaking body for the broader federal judiciary. That code, binding to lower federal court judges but not the justices, requires judges to avoid even the "appearance of impropriety."
Whitehouse's legislation would require the justices to adopt a code of conduct as well as create a mechanism to investigate alleged violations. Whitehouse has accused the justices of reading current ethics rules "in unique and eccentric ways."
"And when they're caught out of bounds," Whitehouse said at the May hearing, "they refuse to allow any investigation of the facts."
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. | Not_Explicit |
Derek McInnes hopes Kilmarnock's hard-fought Viaplay Cup win at Dunfermline is a sign of things to come for his side this season.
Goals in each half from Fraser Murray and Kyle Vassell sent McInnes' side to the Group F summit with full points from two games.
“Winning on the road is something we have to do a lot more of this season and this was always going to be a tough game for us," said the Rugby Park boss.
“The pitch was really dry and sticky. We tried to play an intense cup tie, but the ball wasn’t travelling along the surface well so the game became a bit feisty and slow. Sometimes you just need to dour it out and when we get the second goal it knocked the stuffing out of them.
“Vassell coming back is a huge lift for us, just as it was when he joined in January.”
Former Aberdeen forward Marley Watkins made his debut off the bench after signing for Killie on Friday. McInnes is eyeing further reinforcements but says nothing is "imminent".
He added: "We’re doing a lot of talking – we’d be top of the league for talking.
“We’ve made a pitch to try to get a couple of players and are still trying to get more balance to the squad but I’m pleased with the work we’ve done." | Not_Explicit |
WARSAW, Poland -- Hundreds of women in Poland protested outside police stations Tuesday to oppose the allegedly ruthless way officers treated a woman who had taken an abortion pill.
The protests in Krakow, Warsaw and some other cities were intended to show solidarity with the woman and to condemn police shaming practices.
The woman, identified publicly only as Joanna, has told Polish media outlets that police surrounded her and searched her belongings as she was preparing for an obstetrician to examine her at a Krakow hospital.
The woman's doctor had notified the ambulance service and police after the stressed-out patient had called to report she was feeling unwell at home after having taken the pill to end her pregnancy.
Officers were there when the medics were transporting the woman and also during her visit to the hospital.
The woman says she felt humiliated, which added to her stress and poor condition.
Police officials insist that having the officers on hand was required and non-oppressive, but Poland's political opposition is calling for the head of police to resign. The justice minister, who is also the chief prosecutor, has ordered an investigation.
Abortions only are allowed in Poland for pregnancies resulting from crimes like rape or incest. It is otherwise illegal to perform or aid in an abortion, although a woman terminating her own pregnancy does not break the law. | Not_Explicit |
As the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution, Britain led the world into modernity. Today, it seems determined to do the opposite, its politicians happier mouthing platitudes about net zero than they are with getting on with growth. Nowhere has this been more clearly illustrated than in the response to Michael Gove’s housing speech, which dangled the prospect of a new Cambridge quarter filled with beautiful, dense housing and lab space; a fitting gift for one of the world’s finest cities.
And how was this vision met? With objections so short-sighted they were almost comical. Anthony Browne, a local Tory MP, swore he’d do “everything I can” to block it. Cambridge has “run out of water”, and new reservoirs will take 20 years to build. Speeding this up by waving through plans and buying extra buckets and spades is apparently beyond the ken of man.
These objections are a perfect example of why Britain is poor – and apparently wants to be poorer. The Hungarian sinologist Étienne Balazs once described imperial China as “a regime of paperwork and harassment, endless paperwork and endless harassment”. At times, this feels like the state that Britain has chosen to model itself on. Every attempt to build or innovate is choked off.
As a result, we are slipping behind countries we once considered our peers. We invest far less of our GDP in machinery and buildings than other rich countries, and the effects are showing. Throughout the 1990s and early 2000s, the prosperity of Australia and the United Kingdom tracked one another. Today, Australians produce in real terms $8,000 more than their British counterparts.
Americans, meanwhile, might as well be living on a different planet; the gap in output per person between Britain and America is twice as large as the gap between Britain and Romania. And the rest are catching up. Poland, a country once ravaged by communism, is growing so quickly that, if you project pre-pandemic growth rates forward, it overtakes the UK’s GDP per capita in ten years’ time.
It’s no mystery why. Cambridge should be a shining star in the economy of the South East, churning out biotech unicorns and building on its deep heritage of academic expertise to forge the industries of the future. Yet its expansion is choked off by regulation that seems actively hostile to economic growth.
Prosperity comes through people, in the right place and the right jobs. Our own history shows how much this matters. In 1700, Manchester was a market town of around 10,000 people. As cotton spinning took flight, the economy grew and by 1850 some 300,000 people called it home. The city was dubbed “Cottonopolis”, filled with warehouses described in Dickens’s Household Words as “fit for the Town Hall of any respectable municipality”. Would that growth be permitted today?
Economists have estimated that loosening planning constraints in just three US cities would let people work in better jobs, boosting GDP by around 9 per cent. Lifting housing constraints in England’s South East could have a similar effect.
The Cambridge plan was put forward because past attempts to boost building have failed. But despite the economic case and the intent to build for beauty, people are still finding ways to object. At this point, if the UK is utterly determined to become the world leader in degrowth, we might as well pack it in and move to France – where they do at least build houses. | Not_Explicit |
Carlee Russell, the Alabama woman who returned home on July 15 after she was reportedly missing for two days, was never missing, Hoover Police Department Chief Nicholas Derzis told reporters at a news conference Monday.
Derzis read a statement he said was provided to police by Russell’s attorney, Emory Anthony, acknowledging “there was no kidnapping.”
“My client has given me permission to make the following statement on her behalf. There was no kidnapping on Thursday, July 13th 2023. My client did not see a baby on the side of the road. My client did not leave the Hoover area when she was identified as a missing person. My client did not have any help in this incident. This was [a] single act done by herself,” the statement, as read by Derzis, said.
“We ask for your prayers for Carlee as she addresses her issues and attempts to move forward. Understanding that she made a mistake in this matter, Carlee again asks for your forgiveness and prayers,” the statement continued.
Derzis said police have a meeting with Anthony scheduled to discuss the case, and they are in discussions with the Jefferson County District Attorney's office over “possible criminal charges related to this case.” He said there is no meeting with Russell or her family at present.
Derzis added that police will announce potential charges “when and if they are filed.”
The press conference on Monday came after police told the public last Wednesday that Russell searched for Amber Alerts and the movie "Taken" on her phone before her disappearance.
Russell also made searches related to bus tickets in the hours before she went missing, Derzis said.
"There were other searches on Carlee's phone that appeared to shed some light on her mindset," Derzis said, adding he would not share them out of privacy.
"Taken," the 2008 movie starring Liam Neeson, centers around a young woman who is abducted and the quest to save her from her kidnappers.
ABC News has reached out to Anthony and Russell's family for comment.
Russell told police that she was taken by a male and a female when she stopped to check on a toddler she saw on the highway, Derzis said last Wednesday.
"She stated when she got out of her vehicle to check on the child, a man came out of the trees and mumbled that he was checking on the baby. She claimed that the man then picked her up, and she screamed," he said at the time.
Asked if investigators saw a man abduct Russell in the surveillance video of the interstate, Derzis said that they did not.
Russell called 911 on July 12 at around 9:30 p.m. ET to report a toddler on Interstate 459 in Alabama before her disappearance, but the Hoover Police Department said in a press release last Tuesday that investigators did not find any evidence of a child walking on the side of the road.
"The Hoover Police Department has not located any evidence of a toddler walking down the interstate, nor did we receive any additional calls about a toddler walking down the interstate, despite numerous vehicles passing through that area as depicted by the traffic camera surveillance video," the press release said.
"People have to understand that when someone says something like this, we put every available resource -- everybody comes from a state, local, federal -- it's just a lot of work," he said last week.
Derzis was also asked last week if the next time a woman of color goes missing, the case may not be taken seriously. He replied: "We investigate every crime to the fullest just like we have this one."
ABC News' Nadine El-Bawab and Mariama Jalloh contributed to this report. | Not_Explicit |
International Chess Day 2023: Date, History, Significance, How To Celebrate
World Chess Day is a day to celebrate the game of chess and its benefits for people of all ages.
International Chess Day is celebrated on July 20 every year to commemorate the founding of the International Chess Federation (FIDE) in 1924. FIDE is the governing body of international chess and is responsible for organising the World Chess Championship and other major chess tournaments.
ð In two days, we celebrate the 99th birthday of FIDE and the International Chess Day!— International Chess Federation (@FIDE_chess) July 18, 2023
âï¸ Join us in our tradition and teach someone to play chess on July 20. ð¤ Let's make the chess community bigger and spread our love for chess to the world!
ð£ï¸ Share your videos and images⦠pic.twitter.com/fvdke4Mzac
International Chess Day 2023: History
International Chess Day was officially declared by the United Nations General Assembly on December 12, 2019. However, World Chess Day is celebrated on July 20 each year as the date coincides with the founding of the FIDE in 1924.
Chess, which originated in India around the 6th century, was originally known as 'chaturanga'. It eventually spread to Persia and then to the Islamic world, before reaching Europe by the late middle ages. The game has since evolved and grown exponentially, becoming a popular pastime and competitive activity worldwide.
International Chess Day 2023: Significance
International Chess Day is significant because it is not only for chess enthusiasts but also for communities worldwide. The day serves to highlight the educational benefits of chess, enhancing cognitive abilities, logical reasoning, and strategic thinking in children and adults alike. It also celebrates the game's universal appeal, transcending linguistic, cultural, and geographical barriers, as it is played in every corner of the world.
Moreover, chess fosters camaraderie and sportsmanship, teaching lessons in patience, decision-making, and resilience. The game, despite its competitive nature, encourages dialogue and mutual respect between opponents, making it a metaphor for peaceful coexistence.
International Chess Day 2023: How To Celebrate
There are various ways in which you can celebrate International Chess Day:
Participate in a Chess Tournament: Many chess clubs and organisations host special tournaments on World Chess Day. You could participate in one such event, testing your skills against other enthusiasts and potentially earning a bit of friendly prestige.
Host a Chess-Themed Party: Gather your friends and family for a fun-filled day of chess. You could set up multiple boards for people to play, and decorate your home with a chess theme. Make it an event for all, regardless of their level of knowledge or expertise in the game.
Learn the Game: If you've never played chess before, World Chess Day provides a perfect opportunity to learn. You can find tutorials online, or get a friend to teach you the basics. If you're already a player, consider deepening your understanding of strategy or studying the games of grandmasters.
Teach Chess: If you're already a proficient player, why not pass on your knowledge? Teaching chess to children or adults who want to learn can be incredibly rewarding.
Play Online: Chess platforms online host special events and tournaments on World Chess Day. There are many online platforms like Lichess that offers players to play online with different players across the world. | Not_Explicit |
North Korea has fired “several cruise missiles” into the Yellow Sea between China and the Korean Peninsula, South Korea’s joint chiefs of staff (JCS) says.
The launches, which the military said took place about 4am on Saturday (1900 GMT Friday), come as relations between the two Koreas are at one of their lowest points ever and as Pyongyang remained silent about the fate of a US soldier who fled across the border on Tuesday.
“South Korean and US intelligence authorities were analysing the launches while monitoring signs of additional activities,” the JCS said.
North Korea fired two ballistic missiles into the sea on its opposite coast towards Japan just three days earlier.
The recent weapons tests are the latest in a series by Pyongyang and come as Seoul and Washington ramp up defence cooperation in the face of soaring tensions with the North.
Diplomacy between Pyongyang and Seoul has stalled and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has called for ramping up weapons development, including tactical nukes.
In response, Seoul and Washington have staged joint military exercises with advanced stealth jets and US strategic assets, while an American nuclear-armed submarine this week made a South Korean port call for the first time in decades.
North Korea’s defence minister, Kang Sun-nam, issued a veiled threat on Thursday, suggesting the docking of the Kentucky could be grounds for a nuclear attack by the North. Pyongyang has used such rhetoric before, but the comments underscored how strained relations are now.
A day later, South Korea’s defence ministry reiterated that any use of nuclear weapons by the North would prompt an “immediate and decisive response” resulting in the “end” of the Kim regime.
Saturday’s incident also comes as a US soldier is believed to be in North Korean custody after breaking away from a tour group visiting the Demilitarised Zone.
The US has said it is “very concerned” about how Private Second Class Travis King would be treated, and that as of Thursday, Pyongyang had yet to respond to inquiries about the soldier.
King was due to return to the US to face military discipline after serving jail time in South Korea for assault.
Associated Press contributed to this report | Not_Explicit |
Republican Daniel Cameron selected state legislator Robby Mills as his running mate Wednesday in Kentucky's race for governor, turning to a steadfast conservative with a record of shepherding pro-coal and anti-transgender legislation that fits into his campaign themes.
Cameron, the state’s attorney general, introduced Mills to the campaign at a news conference at state GOP headquarters.
Choosing from a deep GOP bench, Cameron ended weeks of speculation about his lieutenant governor pick since emerging as his party's gubernatorial nominee in May to challenge Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear. Cameron adds a state senator to the ticket whose resume includes running his family business, ousting Democratic incumbents and sponsoring bills popular with Republicans.
Mills, 56, represents a district in western Kentucky — a region that has shifted heavily toward the GOP in recent years. The sprawling region is seen by Cameron's campaign as crucial to its strategy of overcoming Beshear's expected advantage in the state's largest cities. Mills had a hand in crafting relief legislation after tornadoes devastated parts of western Kentucky, including in his district. Beshear was front and center after the storm hit and was widely praised for mobilizing state support for the region in its aftermath.
Kentucky's showdown for governor is one of the nation’s most closely watched campaigns this year and could provide insight about voter sentiment heading into 2024 elections to determine control of the White House and Congress. Beshear is seeking a second term in November with incumbent Lt. Gov. Jacqueline Coleman as his running mate. Coleman's experience as a teacher and school administrator has reinforced the governor's theme of an education-first agenda.
Meanwhile, Cameron turned to a lawmaker who shares his decidedly right-leaning philosophy. He praised Mills as a "strong conservative" and "man of faith" who can team with him to promote GOP campaign priorities. Cameron has focused on a host of social issues, including abortion and transgender issues.
"As your attorney general, I’ve shown I will always defend Kentucky values and I’ve found that same conviction in Robby Mills," Cameron said in a statement.
Mills was elected to the Kentucky Senate in 2018, defeating a Democratic incumbent by fewer than 500 votes. In 2022, Mills won reelection with 66% of the vote. In 2016, he ousted a Democratic incumbent to serve a term in the Kentucky House. Prior to that, he served as a city commissioner in Henderson.
Mills' family has owned a regional dry-cleaning business for decades.
He is best known in the legislature as the chairman of the Senate State and Local Government Committee and sponsor of a host of high-profile bills.
Mills led the fight to ban transgender girls and women from participating in school sports matching their gender identity. He sponsored bills to defend the state's coal industry and require Kentucky residents to show a government-issued photo ID in order to vote.
Beshear has his own deep ties to western Kentucky. His father, former two-term Gov. Steve Beshear, grew up in Dawson Springs — a town that's in Mills' Senate district. | Not_Explicit |
The first incident during this period was on Oct. 5, 2022, when Commander allegedly jumped on and bit the "arm/wrist area" of an emergency response technician on the grounds of the executive mansion.
The most serious incident listed in the report was on Nov. 5, 2022, when the dog allegedly came toward a Secret Service officer from down the stairs of the White House and bit the person's arm and then bit the officer's leg when the officer stood up. The officer was reportedly treated by White House medical personnel before being transported to a hospital in the area.
In an email to a colleague two days after the incident, the Secret Service officer who was attacked said that he "bit me twice and ran at me twice." To which the other Secret Service employee replied, "What a joke … if it wasn’t their dog he would already have been put down — freaking clown needs a muzzle.”
“These shocking records raise fundamental questions about President Biden and the Secret Service. This is a special sort of craziness and corruption where a president would allow his dog to repeatedly attack and bite Secret Service and White House personnel," Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton said in a statement. "And rather than protect its agents, the Secret Service tried to illegally hide documents about the abuse of its agents and officers by the Biden family."
Judicial Watch announced legal filings in April to obtain documents related to alleged incidents with the first family's dog after it allegedly received a tip.
Biden's previous dog, Major, had been a problem for the first family in the early days of Biden's administration, biting Secret Service officials and using White House hallways as a restroom.
The White House later confirmed that Major was given away to family friends in December 2021, when the Biden family also welcomed Commander to the executive mansion. | Not_Explicit |
The Trump Organization and former President Donald Trump's one-time attorney Michael Cohen agreed Friday to settle a million-dollar dispute, just days before a jury trial was scheduled to start.
Cohen had accused the Trump Organization of failing to pay his legal fees of about $1 million.
The two sides announced the settlement agreement during a court hearing Friday in State Supreme Court in Manhattan.
Jury selection in the case was to have started Monday.
In the suit, Cohen alleged the Trump Organization broke an agreement to cover his legal bills when he appeared at congressional hearings and participated in investigations, including the probe by special counsel Robert Mueller about Russian election interference.
Trump has countersued Cohen in Florida, alleging that Cohen breached a fiduciary duty to maintain secrecy about his time working for Trump. That lawsuit is ongoing.
Cohen is expected to be a star witness for the prosecution in Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg's criminal case against Trump, who has pleaded not guilty to falsifying business records in connection with a hush money payment made to adult film actress Stormy Daniels days before the 2016 presidential election. Trump has denied all wrongdoing in the case. | Not_Explicit |
Police in South Carolina are investigating whether Gilgo Beach murder suspect Rex Heuermann may have been involved in the 2014 disappearance of a teenager, authorities confirmed to ABC News on Thursday.
In November 2014, 18-year-old Aaliyah Bell vanished in Rock Hill, about 20 miles from the vacant lots associated with Heuermann that police had been searching in connection with the Gilgo Beach case.
"Our investigators have been reviewing any information to see if there is a correlation between the disappearance of Aaliyah Bell and Rex Heuermann," Rock Hill Lt. Michael Chavis said in an email to ABC News. "So far there is no indication that leads us to identify Heuermann as a suspect in this case. We will continue to investigate Bell's disappearance and follow up on all tips and leads."
Unsolved murders and missing persons cases "around the nation" are getting a second look a week after Heuermann's arrest for the murders of three young women whose burlap-wrapped bodies were found along Gilgo Beach, Suffolk County Police Commissioner Rodney Harrison said.
Among those cases getting a second look are the 2006 killings of four women working as prostitutes in Atlantic City. Their bodies were found in a watery ditch along Black Horse Pike in Egg Harbor Township, New Jersey.
Police in Las Vegas, where Heuermann owned a timeshare, said this week they are also looking at possible connections to unsolved cases.
"We are working with partner law enforcement agencies, obviously the FBI continues to be engaged, to see if there are any other connections that need to be made," Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone told New York ABC station WABC on Thursday. "I can tell you this: the investigation continues. We will remain and our police department will remain focused on bringing justice for our other victims."
Evidence technicians were scouring Heuermann's Massapequa Park home for a seventh consecutive day on Thursday. The search of the house is expected to last at least another three days, a law enforcement official familiar with the search told ABC News.
Heuermann was arrested on July 13 in connection with three of the 10 victims linked to the Gilgo Beach murders. The 59-year-old father of two was charged with the murders of Melissa Barthelemy, Megan Waterman and Amber Costello, whose bodies were found along Ocean Parkway on Long Island's South Shore in December 2010, according to court records unsealed last week in Suffolk County Criminal Court.
Barthelemy disappeared in July 2009, Waterman disappeared in June 2010 and Costello was last seen in September 2010. The three women were between 22 and 27 years old and all worked as sex workers, court records said.
A fourth victim, Maureen Brainard-Barnes, who vanished in July 2007, was also tied to the three women. While Heuermann is not charged in the death of Brainard-Barnes, the court documents said he is the "prime suspect in her death." The investigation into Brainard-Barnes' death is ongoing, officials said last week.
Defense attorney Michael Brown entered a not guilty plea on Heuermann's behalf at his arraignment on Friday on three counts of first-degree murder and three counts of second-degree murder.
Brown told ABC News this week that the state has amassed "circumstantial evidence" against his client and that there were no eyewitnesses to the murders and no confessions from his client.
ABC News' Arielle Schwartz contributed to this report. | Not_Explicit |
Jim Cleveland/AP
toggle caption
In this image provided by the U.S. Navy, Vice Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Lisa Franchetti meets with leadership at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard on Nov. 17, 2022 in Kittery, Maine. President Joe Biden has chosen Franchetti to lead the Navy.
Jim Cleveland/AP
In this image provided by the U.S. Navy, Vice Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Lisa Franchetti meets with leadership at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard on Nov. 17, 2022 in Kittery, Maine. President Joe Biden has chosen Franchetti to lead the Navy.
Jim Cleveland/AP
President Biden has nominated Adm. Lisa Franchetti, the current vice chief of naval operations, to be the next chief of naval operations — the first woman who would serve in that role and on the Joint Chiefs of Staff — setting up a clash in the Senate where Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., has been holding up military nominations.
Franchetti, who has served as a commissioned officer for nearly four decades, "has demonstrated extensive expertise in both the operational and policy arenas," Biden said in a statement. She is the second woman to achieve the rank of four-star admiral in the U.S. Navy.
Biden also nominated Vice Adm. James Kilby, the deputy commander of U.S. Fleet Forces Command, to be the next vice chief of Naval Operations, Adm. Samuel Paparo for commander of Indo-Pacific Command and Vice Admiral Stephen "Web" Koehler for commander of U.S. Pacific Fleet.
In his statement, Biden urged the Senate to quickly confirm the nominations, along with others that are on hold.
"These leadership positions are far too important to delay filling while one Senator prioritizes his domestic political agenda over our military readiness," he said. "It has long been an article of faith in this country that supporting our servicemembers and their families, and providing for the strength of our national defense, transcends politics. What Senator Tuberville is doing is not only wrong — it is dangerous. In this moment of rapidly evolving security environments and intense competition, he is risking our ability to ensure that the United States Armed Forces remain the greatest fighting force in the history of the world. And his Republican colleagues in the Senate know it."
Tuberville, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, has refused to confirm officer positions since the start of this year, citing his disapproval of the Pentagon's 2022 decision to support service members and their families in traveling out of state to receive an abortion. | Not_Explicit |
English and Welsh manufacturers have experienced a decline in exports going to the EU since leaving the continent’s political group, research from Make UK found.
A report by the leading manufacturing trading body said that Northern Ireland and Scotland both experienced a jump in their share of exports to the EU since Brexit in 2020.
In 2022, the UK’s share of exports to the EU rose from 50% to 52%, largely driven by tariff-free trade in Northern Ireland and an increase in demand for Scottish oil and gas.
“This [jump] was a result of sharp increases in the share of exports to the EU from Northern Ireland and Scotland over the same period, without which the overall UK share of goods exports would also be on a downward trend,” the report said.
Since 2019 the UK’s share of exports to the US, Asia and Oceania has remained at around 16%, Make UK believe this is because manufacturers are targeting newer and less traditional markets.
The north of England was one of the worst affected places by a decrease in EU exports, with the northwest dropping from 52% to 50% and the northeast from 60% to 57%.
In London and the south-east, exactly half of the exports went to the EU, up one percentage point, and in the east of England, the figure rose from 49% to 54%.
Verity Davidge, director of policy at Make UK, said: “Given the EU remains the most important market for manufacturers, efforts still need to be made to improve the existing agreement with the EU to reduce barriers to trade.
“However, UK trade patterns may be undergoing a gradual shift, with many companies continuing to look for opportunities in other markets. | Not_Explicit |
Germany Confirms Off-Budget Fund To Support $22 Billion Chip Aid
Germany’s economy ministry said that the government is preparing aid worth about €20 billion ($22 billion) to support the development of local semiconductor production in the coming years.
(Bloomberg) -- Germany’s economy ministry said that the government is preparing aid worth about €20 billion ($22 billion) to support the development of local semiconductor production in the coming years.
The money will be drawn from the off-budget Climate and Transformation Fund starting next year, the ministry said Tuesday confirming a Bloomberg News report on Monday. The time frame for the planned aid wasn’t specified.
“We are only able to provide concrete funding amounts for individual projects once the European Commission has given its approval under state aid law and the funding decision has been handed over to the company,” the ministry said.
Fünf Themen des Tages
European countries have been under pressure to attract investments amid economic uncertainty, stubborn inflation and the impact of the US’s Inflation Reduction Act. The bulk of Germany’s funds are earmarked for international companies, highlighting the country’s limited tech expertise.
The German government has already agreed €10 billion in aid for a new Intel Corp. plant and is in the process of agreeing to about €6 billion more in subsidies to companies including Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. and Germany’s Infineon Technologies AG.
The economy ministry said the government also plans to support a $3 billion wafer factory that car-parts maker ZF Friedrichshafen AG and Wolfspeed Inc. plan to build in the Saarland region, as well as a battery-cell factory from Northvolt AB.
The total aid plan indicates there’s still at least €3 billion available for additional investments. That could benefit other companies active in Germany. GlobalFoundries Inc. has a sizable presence in Dresden, while German supplier Robert Bosch GmbH also runs a chip plant in the city.
The use of the off-budget fund, known as KTF, allows Germany to support investment plans billions in cuts to spending next year, including social benefits. The fund has a total of as much as €180 billion to dole out.
More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com
©2023 Bloomberg L.P. | Not_Explicit |
The government borrowed less than expected in June, helped by higher tax receipts and a big drop in debt interest payments.
Borrowing - the difference between spending and tax income - fell to £18.5bn, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
It is £400m lower than last June and below predictions by the government's independent forecaster.
But the ONS said borrowing is still the third highest for June on record.
The Office for Budget Responsibility had expected public borrowing to reach £21.1bn. Meanwhile, the ONS said that borrowing for April and May had been revised down by £7bn.
Ruth Gregory, deputy chief UK economist at Capital Economics, said that Chancellor Jeremy Hunt "now looks likely to have a little more wiggle room in the Autumn Statement to fund a few pre-election giveaways".
But she added: "With the full upward impact on borrowing from higher interest rates and weaker GDP growth still coming down the line, we continue to think any package of pre-election net tax cuts will probably need to be modest or swiftly reversed."
Mr Hunt said it was important to "avoid reckless spending".
"Now more than ever we need to maintain discipline with the public finances," he said. | Not_Explicit |
A new medal has been launched to honour the "unsung heroes" who provide aid during major disasters and emergencies, such as floods and earthquakes.
The Humanitarian Medal, which has been approved by the King, will be awarded to emergency workers and relief teams, including charities, military personnel and medical staff, who respond to crises at home and abroad.
This could range from natural disasters, such as tsunamis and hurricanes, through to war zones and epidemics.
The government point to the civilian and military response to Ebola outbreak across West Africa in 2015, which the UK marked with a bespoke medal.
Eligibility for the Humanitarian Medal will be for those providing assistance on behalf of the UK government, but will not be restricted to British nationals.
Deputy prime minister Oliver Dowden said: "Britain has a long and proud tradition of being first in line to help those in need, wherever they may be in the world.
"This new medal is a fitting tribute to our humanitarian heroes who put the needs of others before their own, often in the most challenging or dangerous environments."
Read more on Sky News:
Trying to escape Rhodes wildfires 'was literally like the end of the world', says UK tourist
Paul Pogba's 'goal' to end poverty as footballer launches new fund
International development minister Andrew Mitchell said: "At a time when the world faces increasing crises, this new Humanitarian Medal recognises the unsung humanitarian heroes who go above and beyond to provide aid when disasters hit.
"I applaud the efforts of those who show such courage and serve as inspiration in a range of desperate situations.
"Our work around the world depends on these extraordinary people, and this award honours their outstanding contribution in responding to a major crisis."
The medal's design features an image of the King on one side and the words "for humanitarian service" on the other.
It is decorated with a multi-coloured ribbon which aims to reflect "the different paths for humanitarian service and the variety of services involved in such responses", according to the Cabinet Office. | Not_Explicit |
- Russia saw an record $239 billion in net capital outflows — i.e. assets leaving — in 2022, per a think tank.
- The outflow was four times that in 2021 and 70% more than during the GFC in 2008.
- Some of the capital likely left for neighboring countries, where some Russians have fled to.
It's not just Russians who are leaving their homeland, a large swathe of capital has also left the country following its invasion of Ukraine.
Russia witnessed an unprecedented $239 billion in net capital outflows in 2022 amid the war in Ukraine, according to a Monday report from the Center for Macroeconomic Analysis and Short-term Forecasting, a Moscow-based think tank. According to Investopedia, capital outflows refer to the movement of assets out of a country.
Outflows this significant are even larger than Greece's GDP of $219 billion in 2022, according to World Bank data.
Countering that, Russia's current account surplus — meaning a country's exports eclipse its imports — hit a record high of $227 billion in 2022 as revenues from the country's oil and gas exports surged while imports plunged on the back of sweeping sanctions over the Ukraine war.
Last year's capital outflows were four times that of 2021 and 70% more than in 2008 amid the Global Financial Crisis, according to the analysis. Another $27 billion has flowed out of Russia so far in the first half of 2023, the report states. Insider could not independently verify these numbers.
The outflows out of Russia are not all about money getting transferred out of the country. They would also cover overseas investments.
But it's not just Russia — emerging markets, in general, have become increasingly exposed to capital outflows last year as the US dollar strengthened against local currencies, Bloomberg reported in September 2022.
Part of the capital outflows likely left for neighboring countries, where some Russians have fled to, following the start of the Ukraine war.
Russians transferred about $1.75 billion to Armenia in 2022, Martin Galstyan, the country's central bank governor, said in January, Armenia's News.am reported. Money transfers from Russia to Georgia rose fivefold, from $411 million in 2021 to $2.1 billion in 2022, according to data from Georgia's central bank.
Many of these Russians landed in neighboring countries, setting up new lives and businesses, and ended up boosting the economies of these nations, the independent Russian media outlet Novaya Gazeta reported Friday.
Although Russia's economy appeared to be holding up in the first year of the Ukraine war, the situation has gone from bad to worse due to stifled exports, a weak ruble, and now, record-breaking capital outflows.
In fact, Russia's current account has collapsed by 93% since last year, Insider reported on July 13.
"It is a slow burn," said Timothy Ash, an associate fellow at Chatham House's Russia and Eurasia program, the UK media outlet Telegraph reported on Monday. "As time goes on, the more difficult it gets for them. They will have to make choices, guns versus butter." | Not_Explicit |
The 2023 Women's World Cup is in full swing, and these daily files will give you the latest reporting from around the 2023 World Cup as well as betting lines, what-to-watch-for information and best reads. Check in with ESPN throughout the tournament as we bring you the latest from Australia and New Zealand.
THE LEAD: USWNT starts strong with 3-0 win over Vietnam
The U.S. women's national team got the result it expected, though perhaps not the margin of victory it anticipated going in, defeating Vietnam 3-0 in the teams' 2023 FIFA World Cup opener. Sophia Smith scored two first-half goals and Lindsey Horan added a third on a day when the U.S. defense was untroubled.
Smith scored the opener in the 14th minute, finishing through the legs of Vietnam keeper Tran Thi Kim Thanh after she was put through thanks to Alex Morgan's layoff. Morgan should have added to the U.S. scoreline, but her 44th-minute penalty was saved by Tran. It was left to Smith to extend the Americans' lead, scoring deep into first-half stoppage time as she fired home after a weak attempted punch by Tran.
The U.S. kept up its territorial dominance in the second half, and finally broke through in the 77th minute with Smith assisting on Lindsey Horan's goal.
NEWS OF THE DAY
Netherlands coach Andries Jonker criticized tournament organizers over the team's training conditions in New Zealand, but they are still using the Bay Oval in Tauranga to prepare for their opening game on Sunday. Jonker told reporters he feared his players could be injured on the field, which has a hard cricket pitch in the middle, and which the Dutch had asked to be taken out months ago.
Megan Rapinoe won her 200th cap for the USWNT, becoming the 14th American to reach that mark with her appearance in the win over Vietnam. Rapinoe, 38, made her debut with the USWNT in 2006 and has enjoyed a standout career, winning World Cup titles in 2015 and 2019 as well as an Olympic gold medal in 2012.
Just hours before Perth was set to host their first World Cup game between Denmark and China, the local A-League side Perth Glory was placed into receivership and stripped of their license to operate while the club's future is determined. So much for celebrating the arrival of the World Cup in Western Australia.
TODAY IN THE USWNT CAMP
Ali Krieger and Herculez Gomez react to the United States Women's National Team's 3-0 win vs. Vietnam.
In the end, the USWNT won 3-0, missing a slew of quality scoring chances in the process -- 28 shots in all -- and it almost didn't matter who Andonovski put on the field. But the U.S. coach appeared to be setting the stage for a tournament in which the USWNT will be difficult to predict, and the notion of the "best possible lineup" will be less straightforward than it seems.
- Caitlin Murray, in Auckland, reports on how U.S. coach Vlatko Andonovski was being risky with his team selections against Vietnam.
While it didn't hurt the team in its opener, Andonovski will have to get his lineups right vs. the Netherlands on Wednesday if the defending champs are going to remain on a winning course.
SIGHTS AND SOUNDS
USWNT made to work for win
AUCKLAND, New Zealand -- The U.S. women's national team got off to winning start, even as it wasted a tournament's worth of chances in a 3-0 win over Vietnam. Sophia Smith -- one of six World Cup debutantes for the U.S. -- was the star of the game with two goals and an assist. But the U.S. was made to work hard for its win, as Vietnam proved to be organized and disciplined in frustrating the Americans for long stretches. Alex Morgan having a penalty saved by Vietnam keeper Tran Thi Kim Thanh added to the frustration.
But ultimately the U.S. did more than enough to the win -- it held a 28-0 shot advantage, though only seven were on target, and even got a look at Julie Ertz as a center-back. Ertz had previously been thought to be the team's starting midfielder, but the recent injury to Becky Sauerbrunn changed the plans of manager Vlatko Andonovski, and Ertz looked solid alongside Naomi Girma.
Both Rose Lavelle and Megan Rapinoe made appearances late in the match, with Rapinoe's giving her 200 appearances with the U.S. women's national team. All in all, a good night. -- Jeff Carlisle
Sophia Smith discusses her 2-goal performance in the United States' 3-0 win over Vietnam.
BRISBANE, Australia -- England are off and running, but it was far from convincing as they survived a scare to beat World Cup debutants Haiti 1-0 in Brisbane. Goalkeeper Mary Earps was England's best player, while Haiti will have felt aggrieved to not come away from this match with at least a point as their marauding midfielder Melchie Dumornay was the best outfield player on the pitch.
Before the game, Haiti manager Nicolas Delépine pointed out England's recent wastefulness in front of goal and there was little evidence to suggest they've solved that problem. For so much of the match England were living off scraps up front, with Georgia Stanway's 29th minute penalty the only thing separating the teams (which she scored at the second time of asking, after her first effort was saved and then ruled out as goalkeeper Kerly Théus had come too far off her line.)
Sam Marsden and Marissa Lordanic give their verdict on England's performance after their 1-0 win vs. Haiti.
The introduction of Lauren James on the hour mark didn't bring the required fluidity in attack to England's game as Ella Toone struggled to get into the game in the No. 10 role, while Alessia Russo had a series of half-decent chances but saw them well saved by Theus. Instead, it was Haiti who had the best chances to score. Roselord Borgella missed a one-on-one in the first half, Haiti had two decent chances when players were left unmarked in the box from corners, while Lyon-bound Dumornay forced Earps into a smart save in the second half.
It was only further heroics from Earps in the 80th minute which kept Haiti out as she was forced into a fine stop with her feet against Roseline Eloissaint, who had escaped England's defence to carve out a huge chance. A 1-0 win is job done for England, but it was far from convincing. -- Tom Hamilton
Japan off to a fine start
HAMILTON, New Zealand -- Since they won the 2011 World Cup and then a silver medal at the 2012 Olympics, the last decade for Japan's women has been a casual slide into frustration, backed by a sense of apathy from the JFA. Even when they reached the World Cup final in 2015, Japan did so without really flexing their muscles, moving the ball but rarely pressing the issue.
With almost all of the 2011 side now phased out or retired, the team have struggled to reach their enigmatic best. Yet, following the appointment of Futoshi Ikeda -- the former U20 and U17 coach -- the team have finally started to find form, even though it took over a year to start seeing positive performances.
Needing a strong start against Zambia, Nadeshiko fell foul of VAR and the offside flag on multiple occasions as they took their time to settle into the game, finding calm and joy in their attacking football. The deadlock was broken with a 43rd-minute goal from Hinata Miyazawa, then the floodgates opened once Mina Tanaka finally found the net in the second half (after having two earlier efforts called back for offside by VAR) and Miyazawa scored again. Jun Endo and substitute Riko Ueki added some gloss to the scoreline and Zambia goalkeeper Catherine Musonda was dismissed late on for two yellow cards.
More than just keeping the ball and going forward well, Japan managed to stop the supply lines to the Copper Queens' talismanic Barbra Banda, taking the captain out of the game and muting the entire opposition in the process. With a potentially long journey ahead of them, their commanding 5-0 win should provide firm foundations for the team to build on as they work their way through the tournament. For now the win takes them top of the table, ahead of Spain on goal difference. -- Sophie Lawson
Penalties, VAR an early theme of this World Cup
The penalties keep on coming in Australia and New Zealand. By the end of England's narrow win over Haiti on Saturday, all eight games played had seen one awarded. Only half of them have been scored, though, with some big players missing from 12 yards.
New Zealand's Ria Percival, Canada's Christine Sinclair, Spain's Jenni Hermoso and USA's Alex Morgan have all squandered spot kicks, although only Sinclair's miss proved crucial as Canada dropped two points against Nigeria. England's Georgia Stanway and Japan's Riko Ueki also saw penalties saved, although they were handed a second chance by VAR because the goalkeepers had encroached. Both then converted their second efforts.
It is the use of VAR that has led to the spike in penalties. Five of the eight given in the tournament were not spotted in real time; instead, the referees awarded them after reviewing the pitchside monitor, announcing the decision over the microphone as FIFA trials a new method of keeping fans informed. Perhaps the most controversial call came in Switzerland's win over the Philippines when Jessika Cowart was deemed to have fouled Coumba Sow, although play had continued without any protest from the Swiss.
At the current rate of one per game, the record for penalties at a Women's World Cup will be smashed. Four years ago, 26 were given in 52 games, setting the current high at an average of 0.5 penalties per game. In 2015, 22 were awarded (0.42 per game), but prior to that the average had never gone beyond 0.35 and the count never higher than 11, although the number of games played in the World Cup has continued to increase. -- Sam Marsden
Denmark 1-0 China
Given that the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup marked the end of a 16-year gap between tournament appearances for Denmark, some sense of nervousness and disjointedness was to be expected in their opening game. Few Danish fans, though, will be happy that it took almost 90 minutes for coach Lars Sondergaard's side to find the back of the net in future contests.
De rod-hvide finally broke through a spirited Chinese defence to secure a 1-0 winning start to their World Cup in Saturday's late kickoff, when Pernille Harder swung in a corner in the dying stages that substitute Amalie Vangsgaard drove home with a powerful header. Making it sweeter, it was Vangsgaard's maiden international goal and her side's first effort on target all game long.
Neither the Danes nor Shui Qingxia's China had been clean or decisive in possession across a cagey opening stanza, though the reigning Asian champions were able to fashion more of the game's half-chances across the first 45. The tempo quickened and both units began to fashion more chances in increasingly back and forth chaos in the second half but it was the Danes eventually breaking through to win the first game of the 2023 World Cup to finish without a penalty being awarded. -- Joey Lynch
MATCH PREVIEWS
Odds: Sweden -1400, Draw +750, South Africa +3500
Sweden's hugely talented team will look to lay down a marker when they open their campaign against South Africa at Wellington Regional Stadium. Milan's Kosovare Asllani, Barcelona's Fridolina Rolfo and Bayern Munich's Magdalena Eriksson are all hugely experienced and form the spine of a side looking to go one better than 2019, when they reached the semifinals. "Sweden are at their best when we have a clear identity -- and we have that this tournament," Eriksson warned Saturday.
South Africa's preparations, meanwhile, were hampered by a pay dispute, but captain Refiloe Jane insists "everything is resolved" and the players are focused on football. Coach Desiree Ellis wants Morocco's men's World Cup semifinal run to serve as inspiration. "They were in a tough group and no one gave them a chance," she said. "We take a lot of heart from that."
Group E: Netherlands vs. Portugal (Forsyth Barr, Dunedin; 7.30 p.m. local / 3.30 a.m. ET / 8.30 a.m. UK)
Odds: Netherlands -215, Draw +320, Portugal +550
Finalists four years ago, the Netherlands have been flattering to deceive for some time. Even in France 2019, the Oranje reached the final without really hitting top gear. This time around the considerations are different: The squad is younger, star striker Vivianne Miedema is still rehabbing an ACL injury, and next-most important player (Lieke Martens) has been battling with her own injuries this year.
Despite the context, the pressure will still be on the Dutch to deliver, especially against a debuting but evolving Portugal team. In an unforgiving group, there is little room for error. -- Sophie Lawson
Alexis Nunes explains why it's a given that Jamaica will beat France in their opening match of the 2023 World Cup.
Group F: France vs. Jamaica (Sydney Football Stadium; 8 p.m. local / 6 a.m. ET / 11 a.m. UK)
Odds: France -6000, Draw +1200, Jamaica +8000
Coming into yet another tournament as something between favourites and sneaky contenders, France's problems off of the pitch -- like Jamaica's -- have been well-documented but even with Hervé Renard bringing positivity and joy back to Les Bleues, the World Cup may have come just too soon for France. Without Marie-Antoinette Katoto, Amandine Henry, Griedge Mbock and Delphine Cascarino, there's no question that France have been considerably weakened in each third of the pitch.
We have also seen them struggle for their best in the limited time Renard has had with the squad. Favourites against the Reggae Girlz, France will be looking for a strong showing against Jamaica to build through the group stage but their defence will be given a stern test by Bunny Shaw & Co. -- Sophie Lawson
FEATURES OF THE DAY
Crystal Dunn playing with freedom and fury
Motherhood and finding her voice have helped the U.S. women's national team veteran liberate herself from the pressure to perform.
England's turbulent World Cup prep
It's been a difficult year for the Lionesses since winning the Euros at home last summer. Can they rally, shrugging off key injuries and off-field conflict, to make a strong run at the World Cup?
Why are so many Women's World Cup stars missing due to torn ACLs?
The list of absentees is depressingly long. Why is this long-term injury so much more prevalent in the women's game?
AND FINALLY...
When you score (twice) in your first ever World Cup game, chances are you are going to be named the player of the match. So when Sophia Smith was tabbed as the top player from the USWNT's 3-0 win over Vietnam, she got the snazzy trophy -- from her dad!
As dads often do, Kenny Smith was quite doting over his daughter as he gave her a big hug for her stellar performance. As she said, "Thanks, Dad!" | Not_Explicit |
The House Oversight Committee will hold an unusual hearing Wednesday on what's being called "unidentified aerial phenomena" — better known as UFOs. Several witnesses, including a former Navy commanding officer, are expected to testify about what they've seen in the skies.
The number of so-called "close encounters" has risen dramatically in recent years, with 366 reports of unidentified aerial phenomena since March 2021.
Videos from across the globe appear to show strange objects flying through the air, like a triangle hovering over a California military base or an unidentified object zipping across the sky over the Middle East.
Retired Navy Commander David Fravor previously described another incident near San Diego on ""
During a 2004 training exercise, Fravor and another pilot were diverted to check out an anomalous object. Both said they found an area of roiling whitewater the size of a Boeing 737, and then they saw something strange above the water.
"We saw this little white Tic-Tac-looking object… and it's just kind of moving above the whitewater area," Fravor said.
Fravor went down for a closer look at the object, which he said was about the size of his F/A-18F, but with no markings, no wings, and no exhaust plumes.
"It goes boop! And just turns abruptly. and it starts mirroring me. So I'm coming down, it starts coming up," he said.
Fravor tried to cut off the object, but it accelerated away so fast that it seemed to disappear, he said. Seconds later, the USS Princeton, the ship that had detected the phenomena in the first place, reacquired the UAP on its radar — approximately 60 miles away.
Tennessee Republican Tim Burchett believes the Pentagon is withholding evidence of possible extraterrestrial encounters.
"I think there's a lot of questions that the American public needs to know," he said. "I want transparency, just release all the files that they have on it. Quit with this redacted stuff and let's get it out there."
Former intelligence officer David Grusch will tell Congress during the hearing that he was "denied access" to information on a secret government UFO "crash retrieval program." The Pentagon disputed that claim.
Astronomer Seth Shostak said the Pentagon would have little incentive to cover up UFO encounters.
"Why would they do that? And almost invariably the response is, well, the public couldn't handle the news," he said. "That's totally bonkers, right?"
But New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand said more transparency is critical, as the increasing number of objects in the sky could be a threat to military aircraft.
"These pilots, they see it as urgent for a national security reason to have domain awareness," she said. "They could crash into the objects."
for more features. | Not_Explicit |
In Iceland, the world's newest "baby" volcano is throwing a temper tantrum: It's overflowing and spewing "spatter bombs," or blobs of molten lava, into the surrounding crater.
The volcano formed on July 10, when an underground eruption opened a 1.7-mile-long (2.7 kilometers) fissure in the ground of Iceland's Reykjanes peninsula, southwest of the capital, Reykjavík. Leading up to this event, the region experienced a "seismic swarm," during which more than 7,000 earthquakes shook the area starting on July 4, according to a statement from the Icelandic Met Office. Lava trickled from the fracture in the ground, and seismic activity decreased for about a week after the eruption.
On July 18, however, "there was a major shift in the vent activity overnight," according to a post on the Facebook page of Rannsóknarstofa í eldfjallafræði og náttúruvá (the Laboratory of Volcanology and Natural Hazards), a research group from the University of Iceland. At around 11:30 p.m. local time, "the crater filled up to the brim with lava and the fountaining began to throw spatter bombs well beyond the crater rims." Roughly three hours later, a small opening formed, allowing lava to spill over the crater, the post added. By early morning, a section of the crater's rim had collapsed, releasing a river of lava to the north and west. The lava pouring from this crater is roughly 2,192 degrees Fahrenheit (1,200 degrees Celsius), the scientists said.
"The crater became unstable and collapsed," Ingibjörg Jónsdóttir, an associate professor of geography at the University of Iceland and member of the lab, told Live Science in an email. "It had built up quite fast and it was filling up with lava on the inside, causing pressure to the walls. Not unusual as such but spectacular and of concern since there were people quite close by not long before it happened (in a closed area though)."
On the opposite side of the volcano, lava flowing south stalled and eventually crusted over, the post said. The area around the eruption site is uninhabited, and the eruption does not currently post a risk to infrastructure, according to the Icelandic Met Office. Firefighters in Grindavík, a nearby Icelandic town, have already contained the potential spread of fire from July 18's lava spill, and they no longer believe it is a threat, according to the Icelandic National Broadcasting Service.
Scientists will continue to monitor the volcano's behavior because future lava flows could ignite wildfires and reduce air quality in the region, according to the statement. Watch a livestream of the volcano on the Icelandic National Broadcasting Service's website here.
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Kiley Price is a Live Science staff writer based in New York City. Her work has appeared in National Geographic, Slate, Mongabay and more. She holds a bachelor's degree from Wake Forest University, where she studied biology and journalism, and is pursuing a master's degree at New York University's Science, Health and Environmental Reporting Program. | Not_Explicit |
A recent research study from Germany has illuminated the top-performing agricultural robots for potato farming in Europe: the Robotti LR and Robotti 150 D from Danish company AgroIntelli. The research was carried out by a group of scientists from the Leibniz Institute for Agricultural Engineering Potsdam and the Technical University of Berlin.
As Future Farming reports, the study evaluated about 35 various field robots based on their compliance with plant development requirements, with a particular focus on geometric dimensions.
The findings indicated that the Robotti LR and Robotti 150 D stood out as highly effective for potato farming. Equipped with the appropriate carrier tools, they can autonomously drive, perform spraying tasks, and carry out mechanical weed control.
The advent of agricultural robots introduces new possibilities for automation and enhanced precision for potato farming.
[The video below was published on the Dewulf YouTube channel and can be viewed here as well.]
Source: Future Farming. Read the full story here
Photo: In the spring of 2021, the AgroIntelli Robotti robot and a Dewulf planter planted potatoes on the Dutch experimental farm Farm of the Future in Lelystad. That went surprisingly well. Credit Koos Groenewold via Future Farming | Not_Explicit |
Trump Attempt To Stoke Auto Worker Tension With Biden Is Failing
Trump released a video on Twitter Thursday attacking President Joe Biden’s environmental policies, including the Inflation Reduction Act and its incentives for electric vehicles.
(Bloomberg) -- Donald Trump wants the United Auto Workers, with its almost 1 million active and retired members, to endorse his candidacy for president by saying that Democrats are “setting the stage for the destruction of American auto production.”
For all his bluster, the former president is failing to make inroads.
UAW President Shawn Fain and his executive board have no plans to endorse Trump, said people with knowledge of the situation, who asked not to be named because the union hasn’t thrown support behind any candidate.
Trump released a video on Twitter Thursday attacking President Joe Biden’s environmental policies, including the Inflation Reduction Act and its incentives for electric vehicles. The Republican front-runner promised to gut the programs and said, “you better endorse Trump.”
While Trump has very little chance of getting the UAW’s backing, the union is also withholding its endorsement of Biden to see if his administration will press automakers to raise battery-plant wages, a potential setback for a politician who’s sided with organized labor his entire career and is wooing them again as he seeks a second term.
Fain has bristled at the IRA’s incentives that provide automakers with billions of dollars in incentives to create battery production in the US, but at lower pay than auto workers get today.
At Ultium Cells LLC, a joint venture between General Motors Co. and South Korea’s LG Energy Solution, workers start as low as $15.50 an hour, half the top rate at GM assembly plants.
“US taxpayers have and are going to continue to funnel over $1 billion a year to Ultium despite their paying poverty wages and having horrifying health and safety conditions,” Fain said at a town hall meeting with union members last month.
Fain has also criticized the Biden administration for giving Ford Motor Co. a $9.2 billion loan to open three battery plants with Korea’s SK On. The plants will open mid-decade and the union wants the same wages paid by Ford.
The UAW is currently bargaining for a new four-year deal with GM, Ford and Stellantis NV and, separately, a deal with Ultium for its sole plant in Lordstown, Ohio, which the union successfully organized in December. Pay and benefits for battery workers is a central issue in bargaining.
Fain met with Biden and senior White House staff on Wednesday to brief them on contract negotiations. The union wants the administration to attach a version of wage-based qualification to EV production incentives, or at least pressure automakers to raise pay.
If Biden doesn’t help, the UAW could simply not endorse anyone, which would be tantamount to a vote of no confidence in Biden, one of the people said. Fain said in May he wasn’t quite ready to endorse Biden.
While the UAW hierarchy has little interest in Trump, the former president does have support among its membership. The union’s internal polling shows about one-third of members voted for Trump in the last election. Democratic presidential candidates typically have gotten support from more than 70% of union members.
--With assistance from Gregory Korte.
More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com
©2023 Bloomberg L.P. | Not_Explicit |
El precio de Solana (CRYPTO: SOL) ha bajado un 6,57% en las últimas 24 horas hasta los 23,04 dólares, continuando así la tendencia bajista que siguió la semana pasada de un -13,00%, pasando de los 26,94 dólares a su precio actual.
La siguiente gráfica compara el movimiento de los precios y la volatilidad de Solana durante las últimas 24 horas (izquierda) con el movimiento de los precios de la semana pasada (derecha). Las bandas grises son las bandas de Bollinger, que miden la volatilidad de los movimientos de precios diarios y semanales. Cuanto más anchas sean las bandas o mayor sea el área gris en un momento determinado, mayor es la volatilidad.
El volumen de operaciones de la moneda ha caído un 41,00% durante la última semana, moviéndose de forma opuesta, direccionalmente, al suministro circulante total de la moneda, que ha subido un 0,72%. Esto coloca el suministro circulante en 404,14 millones. Según nuestros datos, por capitalización de mercado, SOL ocupa actualmente el puesto #10 en 9,41 mil millones.
¿Dónde se puede comprar Solana?
Si estás interesado en comprar Solana o quieres obtener más información sobre ella, sigue este enlace a Benzinga Money. Nuestro equipo de Benzinga Money cuenta con contenido educativo que no solo explica los detalles de la moneda en profundidad, sino también cómo y dónde se puede comprar.
¿Quieres aprender más sobre trading y ser capaz de analizar tu propia cartera de acciones o criptomonedas? Suscríbete a Benzinga Pro. Benzinga Pro te ofrece noticias y análisis actualizados que te permitirán perfeccionar tu estrategia de inversión y trading. Sigue este enlace para visitar la web.
Esta publicación contiene enlaces de afiliados a través de los que Benzinga podría obtener una comisión. | Not_Explicit |
NEWS AND OPINION:
The all-important pairing of potential White House candidates has begun — at least among the folks in New Hampshire who support former President Donald Trump in his quest to return to the nation’s highest office. A Daily Mail headline tells all:
“Donald Trump’s supporters in New Hampshire have a new favorite choice for vice president: They want youthful, anti-woke entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy on the ticket. He displaces Arizona’s election-denying Kari Lake in the affections of MAGA world, according to a new DailyMail.com poll,” the news organization said.
The future bumper sticker would look like this: TRUMP/RAMASWAMY 2024.
What do the numbers say? Mr. Ramaswamy earned 19% of the vice president vote in the survey, ahead of both Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina and Ms. Lake, who ran for Arizona governor in 2022.
Both received 17% of the vote.
The poll’s leading vice presidential hopeful may not be so keen on the idea however.
“For his part, Ramaswamy told DailyMail.com he is in the race to win it, not settle for a runners-up prize,” the news organization said.
Meanwhile, Nikki Haley was in fourth place with 11% of the vote, followed by Ben Carson (4%); Marjorie Taylor Greene (3%), Mike Pence and Mike Pompeo (each with 2%) and Chris Christie (1%).
Another 12% of the respondents, however, are unsure about the matter.
The poll of 591 registered New Hampshire Republicans was conducted by J.L. Partners from July 13 to 20.
IN CASE YOU WONDERED
The aforementioned Vivek Ramaswamy has met all fundraising and polling criteria, making him eligible to participate in future Republican National Committee candidate debates. Among other things, that criteria includes garnering support in a half dozen significant national and state-level polls and attracting a minimum of 40,000 donors.
“The debate stage criteria are stringent but fair,” he said in a written statement shared with the Beltway.
“I am a first-time candidate who started with a very low name ID, no political donors, and no pre-existing fundraising lists. If an outsider can clear the bar, politically experienced candidates should be able to as well: if you can’t hit these metrics by late August, you have absolutely no chance of defeating Joe Biden in the general election.” Mr. Ramaswamy said.
“Vivek’s momentum is undeniable,” Ben Yoho, CEO of Vivek 2024, also noted in a written statement.
And one more thing. He added that the candidate “looks forward” to facing his foes on the debate stage.
MEANWHILE IN TEXAS
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has officially responded to a recent letter he received from the U.S. Department of Justice. Mr. Abbott reveals that the letter informed him that the federal agency plans “to sue the State of Texas over the floating marine barriers placed in the Rio Grande River to deter illegal crossings near Eagle Pass.”
The governor revealed this development in a simple press release, then chose to make his response on Twitter. Here is what he said:
“The tragic humanitarian crisis on the border was created because of Biden’s refusal to secure the border. We will continue to deploy every strategy to protect Texas and Americans — and the migrants risking their lives. We will see you in court, Mr. President,” Mr. Abbott said in his succinct reply, which he shared on Sunday.
FOXIFIED
Following the recent departure of prime-time host Tucker Carlson, Fox News revamped its prime-time lineup — and it appears that the new schedule suits viewers just fine. According to Nielsen Media Research numbers for Thursday evening, the network drew 2.1 million viewers during the 7-11 p.m. time period.
In contrast, MSNBC had an audience of 1.4 million while CNN attracted 611,000 viewers. If we do the math on this, the new prime-time lineup on Fox News appears to have bested the audience numbers of MSNBC and CNN combined.
Meanwhile, which program ruled the roost on Fox News?
That would be “The Five”, with an audience of 2.7 million viewers, followed by “Hannity” 2.5 million), “Jesse Watters Primetime” (2.3 million), “Gutfeld” (2 million) and “The Ingraham Angle” (1.8 million).
BOURBON REVISITED
The Beltway recently highlighted 2A Bourbon, a new offering from North Carolina-based Constitutional Spirits LLC. Our coverage noted that the company had “partnered” with the Second Amendment Foundation in the new endeavor.
Here’s a clarification on that: The two forces are not actually partners — and the foundation was not involved in the conception or creation of the bourbon. Instead, the foundation will get a portion of the proceeds from each bottle sold.
And they are handsome bottles.
“We’re delighted at this special method of providing corporate support for our activities,” the foundation’s founder and executive vice president Alan M. Gottlieb said in a written statement.
2A Bourbon is available for sale in 44 states through mail order. Curious bourbon fans can visit 2ABourbon.com for more information.
Find Mr. Gottlieb’s group at SAF.org.
POLL DU JOUR
• 41% of Republican voters think economic issues such as inflation, jobs and taxes will be most important in deciding who they will support for the Republican nomination.
• 15% cite immigration issues, such as border security and legalization as the most important.
• 15% cite social issues, such as religion, abortion and gender in school.
and sports.
• 12% cite foreign policy and defense issues, such as terrorism and relations with China and Russia.
• 9% cite populist issues, such as corruption, elite power and corporate activism.
• 5% say all of the issues will be important.
• 2% don’t know.
• 1% say some other issue will be most important in their decision.
Source: A Fox Business poll of 806 Iowa Republican caucus-goers conducted July 15-19.
• Follow Jennifer Harper on Twitter @HarperBulletin.
• Jennifer Harper can be reached at [email protected].
Copyright © 2023 The Washington Times, LLC. Click here for reprint permission.
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Sometimes it seems like golf fans are treated harshly. There are a lot of competitions throughout the year, but almost all events require a subscription to watch. You might think that this is just how the world works these days, but we're not having it. We're on a mission to provide the information you need to watch golf for free this year.
It is possible to watch the British Open Championship 2023 for free from anywhere in the world, with the help of a VPN.
When is The Open in 2023?
The 151st Open Championship begins on July 20, with the final round July 23. This competition is the final major of the year.
Where is The Open in 2023?
The Open Championship will take place at Royal Liverpool in 2023. Royal Liverpool is a golf club in Wirral in Merseyside, England. The Open Championship has been played 12 times at this famous venue.
Where can you watch the The Open in 2023?
It's always good to have options, and there are plenty of streaming services offering live coverage of the British Open Championship in 2023:
Australia — Foxtel Now (free trial) or Kayo Sports (free trial)
UK — Sky Sports Golf via NOW TV
USA — Peacock or Sling Blue
The key thing here is that Foxtel Now and Kayo Sports offer free trials. You can access these free trials by using a VPN.
How to watch the British Open Championship for free
You can watch The Open by using the free trials offered by Foxtel Now and Kayo Sports. The problem is that you can't sign up for these free trials from outside Australia, unless you're using a VPN.
With a VPN, you can hide your real IP address and connect to a secure server in another country, meaning you can access sites like Foxtel Now and Kayo Sports from anywhere in the world. This process might sound complicated, but it's actually really straightforward:
Sign up for a streaming-friendly VPN (like ExpressVPN)
Download the app to your device of choice (the best VPNs have apps for Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, Linux, and more)
Open up the app and connect to a server in Australia
Visit Foxtel Now or Kayo Sports and start free trial
Watch The Open from anywhere in the world
It's important to remember to cancel your subscription before the end of your free trial, otherwise you'll end up paying full price for a subscription. It's also important to note that the best VPNs for this task are not free, but they do tend to offer free trials or money-back guarantees.
By using these offers, you can access the Foxtel Now and Kayo Sports free trials without committing with your cash. This is obviously not a long-term solution, but it does give you plenty of time to watch The Open for free. There are a few steps to take, but it's worth the hassle for free coverage.
What is the best VPN for streaming?
There are plenty of VPNs that can reliably unblock Foxtel Now and Kayo Sports, but ExpressVPN is tough to beat. ExpressVPN is the best service for unblocking streaming services, for a number of reasons:
Servers in 94 countries including Australia
Easy-to-use app available on all major devices including iPhone, Android, Windows, Mac, and more
Strict no-logging policy so your data is secure
Fast streaming speeds free from throttling
Up to five simultaneous connections
30-day money-back guarantee
A one-year subscription to ExpressVPN is on sale for £82.82 and includes an extra three months for free — 49% off for a limited time. This plan also includes a year of free unlimited cloud backup and a 30-day money-back guarantee. The money-back guarantee means you can unblock the Foxtel Now and Kayo Sports free trials, and then recover your investment after the final round of The Open. This is sneaky, but it works.
Watch The Open for free with ExpressVPN. | Not_Explicit |
Sharda Cropchem Q1 Results Review - Subdued; Near Term Outlook Bleak: Prabhudas Lilladher
Volume/price decline of 11%/18% YoY; forex up 6.5% YoY in Q1 FY24.
BQ Prime’s special research section collates quality and in-depth equity and economy research reports from across India’s top brokerages, asset managers and research agencies. These reports offer BQ Prime’s subscribers an opportunity to expand their understanding of companies, sectors and the economy.
Prabhudas Lilladher Report
We trim our FY24/25E estimates of Sharda Cropchem Ltd. by 27%/16% and downgrade the rating to ‘Accumulate’ (earlier 'Buy') citing near term pressure on both revenues and margins, led by adverse weather conditions in key geographies and high inventory concerns both at manufacturer and distributor levels which in turn exerts pressure on revenue growth and margins.
Sharda Cropchem reported subdued set of results with revenue decline of 23% YoY to Rs 6.3 billion (our estimate: Rs 8.0 billion), led by volume/price de-growth of 11%/18%YoY partially aided by positive forex variance of 6.5% YoY.
Gross margins contracted 1670 basis points YoY to 8.7% (lowest in the last 10 years), largely led by-
high cost inventory provisions of Rs 710 million;
higher sales return of Rs 1.35 billion; and
acute pressure on price realizations particularly in the NAFTA region.
Lower gross margin coupled with higher opex up 530 bps YoY has resulted into an Ebitda loss of Rs 688 million (including IU&AD write-off of Rs 27 million in Q1 FY24 versus Rs 29 million in Q1 FY23).
Citing cautious near term growth outlook, management has revised downward their FY24E revenue growth guidance to 8-10% (earlier ~15%) thereby putting pressure on margins (Ebitda margins guided earlier at 18-20% for FY24E).
Click on the attachment to read the full report:
DISCLAIMER
This report is authored by an external party. BQ Prime does not vouch for the accuracy of its contents nor is responsible for them in any way. The contents of this section do not constitute investment advice. For that you must always consult an expert based on your individual needs. The views expressed in the report are that of the author entity and do not represent the views of BQ Prime.
Users have no license to copy, modify, or distribute the content without permission of the Original Owner. | Not_Explicit |
You have never seen a live band like Young Fathers.
Headlining the BBC Sounds stage at the Latitude festival, you don't even need to know their songs to be swept away by the sheer force of their musical attack.
This is a show that is pure propulsion.
The band's music is a blend of soul, gospel, hip-hop and tribal chants: I Saw has a loping glam rock beat and a playground chorus; Geronimo is all coiled, sinister tension; and the anthemic hook of Get Up is so incendiary, it threatens to set the moshpit on fire.
On this tour, founder members Alloysious Massaquoi, Kayus Bankole and Graham 'G' Hastings are joined on stage by two female vocalists - and, at times, each of them seems to be singing their own version of the same song, lost in the music, before they suddenly snap back in sync with a ferocious roar.
The show is thrilling to watch, to be a part of, and it has rightfully earned them a reputation as Britain's most exciting live act.
It's a title they prize.
Before making their latest album, Heavy Heavy, the Edinburgh trio drew a chart of the bands they wanted to emulate: Talking Heads, Massive Attack, Suicide, Sly and the Family Stone.
"What I was trying to do was write a list of bands who have created their own artistic thing," says Hastings, speaking to the BBC backstage at Latitude.
"They don't sound like anyone else. They live in their own space. That's what we were trying to do."
It was almost as if they needed something to aspire to, says Massaquoi.
"If you train yourself to run a mile in under five minutes, you notice over the months that you have more energy and you can run further. Whereas, with music and creativity, it's hard to gauge when you've improved."
They decided to rely on their instincts.
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Their messy studio, a windowless squat next to a graveyard in Scotland, was set up so that they could record as soon "as soon as we came through the door", says Massaquoi.
The goal was to capture the spontaneity and joy they've always conveyed on stage - a decision prompted by the pandemic, when "everybody had time to reflect and gain a bit of appreciation for what we do".
In practice, it meant the album was created in the almost the same way they started out, rapping into a karaoke machine in Hastings' teenage bedroom.
Vocals were sung communally around the microphone. If one person made a mistake, the other two would roll with it, folding the chaos into the creative process.
"We hardly even talk," says Massaquoi. "A lot of it is instinctual."
In the end, they recorded over four album's worth of material - a patchwork of group vocals, free-flowing percussion, politically-charged hip-hop and African melodies.
But, betraying their origins as a "weird kind of boyband" (their words), they edited that music down to a ruthlessly efficient 32 minutes.
"As people that love a pop song, we're pretty brutal with ourselves," says Hastings, recalling how direct the studio conversations could be: "Just take that out. Get to the point. This is the best it."
"We like short songs and hooks and sweet things," he explains.
The reviews were effusive, even for a band that's used to critical acclaim.
"Heavy Heavy pulls in the listener with an empathetic lust for life that never wavers," wrote AllMusic's Andy Kellman.
"From the opening woody drag of the bassline on Rice to the chug and claps of Holy Moly, Heavy Heavy bursts with overwhelming momentum, as if to say, 'Keep up, if you can,'" added Will Pritchard in Pitchfork.
"Succinct and underpinned by a catchy melodic structure, it further cements Young Fathers' as one of the more unique acts to exist today," concluded the NME's Dhruva Balram.
The album is already being tipped for a nomination at this year's Mercury Prize (they previously won with their debut, Dead, in 2014) and it's success has seen them rise to the top of this summer's festival bills.
But even though they're a semi-mainstream prospect in 2023, they've never felt fully embraced by the industry.
The trio met at a high school youth club and were signed at the age of 15 to what they've previously called, "a nasty, horrible production deal".
After a series of false starts, they landed on their unique sound over two mixtapes, Tape One and Tape Two, the second of which won them the Scottish Music Prize.
"When we were young, we were outsiders in Scotland," says Hastings. "We were outsiders at hip-hop nights, we were outsiders at any night."
"None of our friends used to come to the gigs," adds Massaquoi. "Some of them didn't like the music - although I like that. That's honest."
Despite, or perhaps because of, those challenges, they maintain an enormous sense of self-belief.
"We're one of these bands that comes about every 15 or 20 years," says Massaquoi, referencing that list of iconoclasts that Hastings drew up in the studio.
"In the end, people will realise that, but you have to hold onto the vision and say, 'people will get it eventually'.
"It's frustrating while it's happening but the world doesn't owe you any favours. All you can do is put in the time and the effort and increase your chances of the luck happening."
The band hit the headlines with their Glastonbury performance last month, after they dedicated Shame to Home Secretary Suella Braverman, leading the audience in a chant of: "Say it loud and say it clear, refugees are welcome here".
As with everything they do, Young Fathers' protest came from experience. Massaquoi came to the UK when he was four years old, as his parent fled the civil war in Liberia.
He doesn't remember much of the transition - but what sticks is hearing Maxi Priest's version of Wild World in a refugee camp in Ghana.
The song's message of hope amidst the sadness of leaving home resonates with him to this day.
He wants Young Fathers' music to have the same impact on their fans - and being outside pop's inner circle makes that easier, they argue.
"Historically, a lot of bands get worse over time," observes Hastings.
"But when you get a bit more comfortable and things get a bit easier and there's a bit of budget from the record label, you start to realise why the music can take second place to the lifestyle... Not that I'm living a mad lifestyle, but you can see the seeds of it happening.
"But because we can work on our own - the three of us in a room, no windows, pretty spartan - I hope that makes us a bit foolproof."
"We're a working class band at a time when there's a lack of them, and that's a completely different mind-set to have," adds Massaquoi.
"We come from a place where if we're not doing this, we have to get a job." | Not_Explicit |
WASHINGTON -- A federal judge on Tuesday blocked a rule that allows immigration authorities to deny asylum to migrants who arrive at the U.S.-Mexico border without first applying online or seeking protection in a country they passed through. But the judge delayed his ruling from taking effect immediately to give the administration time to appeal.
The order from U.S. District Judge Jon Tigar of the Northern District of California takes away a key enforcement tool set in place by the Biden administration as coronavirus-based restrictions on asylum expired in May. The use of a rule known as Title 42 allowed the U.S. to expel millions of people starting in early 2020 on the grounds of preventing the spread of COVID-19.
The new rule imposed severe limitations on migrants seeking asylum. It included room for exceptions and did not apply to children traveling alone. Tigar's order will not take effect for two weeks.
Immigrant rights groups that sued argued it was a violation of U.S. law that protects the right to asylum regardless of how a person enters the country. The groups said it forced migrants to seek protection in countries that don’t have the same robust asylum system and human rights protections as the United States and leaves them in a dangerous limbo. They also argued that the CBP One app the government wants migrants to use doesn't have enough appointments and isn’t available in enough languages.
The Biden administration said the asylum rule was a key part of its strategy to strike a balance between strict border enforcement and ensuring several avenues for migrants to pursue valid asylum claims. The rule was a response to political and economic instability fueling an exodus of migrants from countries including Brazil, Colombia, Cuba, Ecuador, Haiti, Nicaragua, Peru and Venezuela.
Critics have argued that the rule is essentially a newer version of two efforts by President Donald Trump to limit asylum at the southern border. The Supreme Court eventually allowed the Trump administration to limit asylum for people who don't apply for protection in a country they travel through before coming to the U.S. to go into effect. But another Trump effort to bar people from applying for asylum except at an official border entry point was caught up in litigation and never took effect.
In announcing the new rule, the Biden administration emphasized the complex dynamics at play when it comes to immigration that at one time consisted largely of adults from Mexico seeking to come to the U.S. They could easily be returned home. Now migrants come from across the Western Hemisphere and beyond. | Not_Explicit |
KYIV, July 20 (Reuters) - Ukraine's Defence Ministry said on Thursday it would consider all ships travelling to Russian ports and Ukrainian ports on the Black Sea that are occupied by Moscow as potential carriers of military cargo from July 21.
A day after Russia said that any ships travelling to Ukraine's Black Sea ports will be seen as possibly carrying military cargoes, the Ukrainian defence ministry said it could repel what it called Russian aggression at sea.
"The fate of the cruiser 'Moskva' proves that the Defence Forces of Ukraine have the necessary means to repel Russian aggression at sea," the ministry said, referring to the flagship of Russia's Black Sea Fleet which was sunk last year.
"Ukraine's Ministry of Defence warns that from 00:00 on July 21, 2023 (2100 GMT on Thursday) all vessels heading in Black Sea waters in the direction of the Russian Federation's seaports and Ukrainian seaports on Ukrainian territory temporarily occupied by Russia may be considered by Ukraine as carrying military cargo with all the relevant risks."
Russia this week quit the Black Sea Grain Initiative that was brokered by the United Nations and Turkey a year ago and allowed safe Black Sea shipments of Ukrainian grain, and revoked guarantees of safe navigation.
Ukrainian officials want to continue the Black Sea grain shipments and are trying to establish a temporary route.
The Ukrainian Defence Ministry also said that navigation in the northeastern part of the Black Sea and the Kerch-Yenikal Strait of Ukraine was banned as dangerous from 05:00 a.m. (0200 GMT) on July 20.
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. | Not_Explicit |
More Michigan lawmakers targeted for recall
- Rep. Noah Arbit, a West Bloomfield Democrat, faces recall over supporting LGBTQ protections against hate crime
- Donni Steele of Orion becomes second Republican to face recall challenge
- Eight lawmakers — all in first term — are up against recall efforts; all are long-shots
LANSING — Six House Democrats and two Republicans are now facing recall threats for votes they cast earlier this year, as efforts to unseat incumbent lawmakers continued to grow this week.
House Reps. Noah Arbit, D-West Bloomfield, and Donni Steele, R-Orion, became the two latest targets of recall petitions earlier this week.
All eight lawmakers are serving their first term in the state Legislature. Although it is unclear if the recall petitions are connected, they were all filed by Republican activists or past candidates in those lawmakers’ districts, Bridge Michigan previously reported.
The lawmakers are targeted for their votes to support a series of issues, including the “red flag” gun law allowing a judge to temporarily take firearms away from dangerous people, protections for LGBTQ communities against hate crimes and the naming of Rep. Joe Tate, D-Detroit, as House Speaker.
In a Friday statement, Arbit — the main sponsor of the hate crime legislation — said the recall petition targeted him for supporting the measure.
“I wrote it and I sponsored it - in one of the proudest, most meaningful moments of my life,” he said. “I will never apologize for fighting to protect ALL Michiganders from hate violence, and I will never be intimidated or cowed out of achieving my mission.”
By Friday, the first-term Democrat is already fundraising off of the recall efforts, which have yet to be certified by the Board of State Canvassers. The fundraising website called the recall efforts “baseless, extremist” and “likely backed by dark money conservative donors.”
“Defeating this extremist, anti-democratic recall effort is going to take everything we have,” the website said.
Steele faces recall threats because of her vote in March for the safe storage law, which would require gun owners to store weapons in secure locations away from children, according to the petition document obtained by Bridge.
She told Bridge on Friday she supports the law because most gun owners support the idea of safe storage. She noted she voted against other gun restrictions backed by Democrats.
“Safe storage for minors in the house when the parents aren’t there — that’s what that’s for,” she said.
Steele said with the recall threats, she has now faced blowback from both Republican and Democratic groups for her stance on gun measures — for opposite reasons.
“I must be doing something right,” she said.
Steele deemed the recall efforts a “disappointing” waste of “taxpayer dollars.”
“It takes away from the job at hand, which is representing my district and taking care of constituents’ needs,” Steele said.
The language and content of the recall petitions must be approved by the Michigan Board of State Canvassers before circulation for signatures. The board is scheduled to meet Aug. 1 to consider at least six of the recall petitions announced Monday.
With board approval, recall organizers must — within 60 days — collect thousands of signatures equal to or more than 25 percent of total voters for governor in each district during the 2022 election.
While it is hard to recall a sitting lawmaker, any recall efforts that make it onto the ballot could threaten the slim two-seat Democratic majority in the state House, especially when several of the targeted lawmakers represent competitive areas.
See what new members are saying about why they donated to Bridge Michigan:
- “In order for this information to be accurate and unbiased it must be underwritten by its readers, not by special interests.” - Larry S.
- “Not many other media sources report on the topics Bridge does.” - Susan B.
- “Your journalism is outstanding and rare these days.” - Mark S.
If you want to ensure the future of nonpartisan, nonprofit Michigan journalism, please become a member today. You, too, will be asked why you donated and maybe we'll feature your quote next time! | Not_Explicit |
El ministro de Economía y precandidato presidencial por Unión por la Patria (UxP), Sergio Massa, anunció, en el discurso que pronunció en la Exposición Rural, que, "a partir del 1° de septiembre, ninguna economía regional va a pagar retenciones"; aseguró que "no todo vale en la campaña" electoral; y pidió al sector agropecuario que considere las "medidas transitorias" que el Gobierno debe tomar teniendo en cuenta "la coyuntura", marcada por los condicionamientos que "el programa con el Fondo (Monetario Internacional) y la sequía".
"Hay medidas transitorias que pueden ser más o menos agradables o más o menos cuestionables, pero que tienen que ver con la realidad del momento y no se las puede analizar sin tener en cuenta la coyuntura", expresó Massa en su disertación en el marco de la tradicional Exposición Rural que se lleva a cabo en el barrio porteño de Palermo.
Las declaraciones de Massa se dieron en el marco de la presentación de un paquete de medidas, entre las que se destacó la aplicación de un dólar diferencial de $ 340 para las exportaciones de maíz, en el cierre de una serie de exposiciones de precandidatos presidenciales.
Esas disertaciones fueron presentadas por el presidente de la Sociedad Rural Argentina (SRA), Nicolás Pino, quien aseguró que a los productores agropecuarios las medidas anunciadas anoche por el Gobierno "no les generan confianza".
"Ninguno de ustedes puede desconocer el momento que el programa con el FMI y la sequía le imponen a la economía", planteó Massa al respecto.
Tras aclarar que no quería "entrar en polémicas", el titular del Palacio de Hacienda y precandidato presidencial cuestionó a quienes lo habían precedido en el uso de la palabra y habían cuestionado la aplicación de retenciones a "doscientas economías regionales".
Massa justificó las medidas sobre el dólar que se implementan desde este lunes
Massa: fin de las retenciones a las economías regionales
"No todo vale en la campaña", advirtió Massa, quien luego precisó que, "hasta el 31 de agosto, quedan seis" en esa situación, y que, "a partir del 1° de septiembre, ninguna economía regional va a pagar retenciones".
Por otra parte, sostuvo que "es fundamental" que el Congreso sancione la ley de Fomento al Desarrollo Agroindustrial, por entender que le dará "competitividad al sector agropecuario" y constituirá "un primer sendero de recaudación impositiva que nos va a permitir ir aliviando la carga" tributaria.
Además, en su exposición, Massa destacó el aporte que representará el Gasoducto Presidente Néstor Kirchner (GPNK) al sector agrícola, en tanto permitirá "desarrollar con Brasil y Paraguay un programa de inversión, producción y comercialización en materia de fertilizantes". | Not_Explicit |
PRAGUE -- British spies are already using artificial intelligence to hamper the supply of weapons to Russia, the head of Britain’s MI6 agency said Wednesday, predicting that Western spies will increasingly have to focus on tracking the malign use of AI by hostile states.
In a speech that depicted machine learning as both a huge potential asset and a major threat, Richard Moore said his staff at Britain's foreign intelligence agency "are combining their skills with AI and bulk data to identify and disrupt the flow of weapons to Russia for use against Ukraine."
Calling China the “single most important strategic focus” for his agency, Moore said, "we will increasingly be tasked with obtaining intelligence on how hostile states are using AI in damaging, reckless and unethical ways.”
Moore, who has previously warned that the West was falling behind rivals in the AI race, said his service “together with our allies, intends to win the race to master the ethical and safe use of AI.”
But he said AI would not replace the need for human spies, arguing that the “human factor” will remain crucial in an era of rapidly evolving machine learning.
“As AI trawls the ocean of open source, there will be even greater value in landing, with a well-cast fly, the secrets that lie beyond the reach of its nets,” he said.
He argued that “the unique characteristics of human agents in the right places will become still more significant,” highlighting spies’ ability to “influence decisions inside a government or terrorist group.”
Moore also told an audience at the British ambassador’s residence in Prague that Russia's military campaign in Ukraine had run out of steam and “there appears to be little prospect of the Russian forces regaining momentum.”
He said Ukraine's counteroffensive was proving “a hard grind,” but he was optimistic it would succeed.
Moore said the government of President Vladimir Putin was beset by “venality, infighting and callous incompetence" and the mutiny by Wagner Group mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin had “exposed the inexorable decay of the unstable autocracy over which Putin presides.”
He accused Russia of using Wagner as a tool of imperialism in Africa, offering leaders in the Central African Republic, Mali and other countries a “Faustian pact” of protection in return for handing over mineral wealth to Russia.
Moore also called out Iran for fueling further conflict in Ukraine by supplying Russia with drones and other weapons — a policy he said “has provoked internal quarrels at the highest level of the regime in Tehran.”
Speaking publicly about spycraft is still something of a novelty for Britain’s intelligence services. The government refused even to confirm the existence of MI6 until 1992, and public speeches by its leaders are infrequent.
Moore chose to give Wednesday's address in the Czech capital, home of the 1968 “Prague Spring” freedom movement that was crushed by Soviet tanks.
Moore’s only other public speech since becoming head of the Secret Intelligence Service, or MI6, almost three years ago also touched on the power and threat posed by AI. In the November 2021 address, he accused the West of being slow to reckon with AI’s disruptive impact and of lagging behind adversaries who are “pouring money and ambition” into AI and other cutting-edge technologies.
In that speech, he said China was the agency’s “single greatest priority” and said Britain and its allies “must stand up to and deter Russian activity which contravenes the international rules-based system.”
Three months later, Russia invaded Ukraine. | Not_Explicit |
A New Jersey Ponzi scheme architect, whose 24-year prison sentence was commuted by then-President Donald Trump in 2021, has been arrested again Wednesday on charges he defrauded investors by making false promises involving humanitarian supplies destined for Ukraine.
Eliyahu Weinstein and four other men were charged with conspiring to defraud 150 individual investors of more than $35 million and with conspiracy to obstruct justice, according to federal prosecutors in New Jersey.
"This is now the third time this office has charged Weinstein with a large-scale scheme to rip off investors," U.S. Attorney Philip Sellinger said during a news conference in Newark on Wednesday.
This time, Weinstein allegedly used a fake name and falsely promised access to deals involving scarce medical supplies, baby formula, and first-aid kits supposedly destined for wartime Ukraine, prosecutors said.
"These were brazen and sophisticated crimes that involved multiple coconspirators that can came from Weinstein's playbook of fraud," Sellinger said.
Weinstein was convicted twice in New Jersey federal court for defrauding investors. His first case involved a real estate Ponzi scheme, and his second case stemmed from additional fraud Weinstein committed while on pretrial release. Those crimes resulted in combined losses to investors of $230 million, prosecutors said. He was sentenced to serve 24 years in prison.
On Jan. 19, 2021, after Weinstein had served less than eight years, Trump commuted Weinstein's term to time served.
Soon after his release from prison, Weinstein allegedly began orchestrating a new scheme to solicit money from investors through a company called Optimus Investments Inc., according to the criminal complaint.
Weinstein ran Optimus while using a fake name, "Mike Konig," keeping his true name and identity hidden because, as Weinstein acknowledged in a secretly recorded conversation, investors wouldn't give them "a penny" if they learned of Weinstein's involvement, the complaint said.
Weinstein joins a growing list of people who secured clemency from former President Donald Trump and have since faced additional legal scrutiny, as ABC News reported earlier this year.
At the time, ABC News reviewed the 238 people who were pardoned or had their sentences commuted during the Trump administration and found at least ten who were back under investigation, charged with a crime, or already convicted.
Legal experts called this recurring theme unprecedented -- but not entirely unexpected, given the former president's unorthodox approach to the pardon process.
"President Trump bypassed the formal and orderly Justice Department process in favor of an informal and fairly chaotic White House operation, relying in some cases on his personal views and in others on recommendations from people he knew or who gained access to him in various ways," said Margaret Love, a lawyer who represents clients seeking pardons and a former U.S. Pardon Attorney, a Justice Department appointee who helps advise presidents on grants of clemency.
"So, it might have been predicted," Love said at the time, "that some who made it through that lax gauntlet were going to get in trouble again." | Not_Explicit |
Two whistleblowers who alleged the Justice Department politically interfered with an investigation into President Joe Biden’s youngest son, Hunter, will testify before Congress at 1 p.m. Wednesday, including "Whistleblower X," a 13-year special agent of the IRS whose identity will be revealed for the first time during the hearing and former investigation supervisor Greg Shapley.
According to an opening statement released ahead of the hearing, the unidentified official intends to describe himself as a "whistleblower compelled to disclose the truth" and to shed light on "the shadow that looms over our federal legal system."
"I have witnessed the corrosion of ethical standards and the abuse of power that threaten our nation. It is within this context that I have chosen to shed light on these actions and expose those responsible. I recognize that while I was present at the start of this investigation and was closely involved with the investigation for roughly five years — that I am just a part of the story," the opening statement continued. "My aim is to address systemic problems that have allowed misconduct to flourish. It is not a call for blame but a call for accountability and reform."
"Transparency is the foundation of our democracy," the unidentified IRS agent will tell Congress Wednesday. "Without it, people lose their trust in the institutions and the bonds that tie the fabric of our nation start to fray. The American people deserve to know the truth no matter how uncomfortable or inconvenient it may be for either political party."
The IRS whistleblowers claim there was a pattern of "slow-walking investigative steps" into Hunter Biden, which included instructions not to speak with him at his residence, tipping the president’s son and staff off about the ongoing efforts and delaying enforcement actions in the months before the 2020 presidential election.
Leaders of the House Judiciary, Oversight and Accountability, and Ways and Means committees will join together Wednesday to host the IRS whistleblowers for what is expected to be an intense hearing.
The two IRS agents were assigned to the federal investigation into Hunter Biden’s tax and gun charges. Biden ultimately pleaded guilty to the misdemeanor tax offenses as part of an agreement with federal prosecutors in a lenient deal that prompted criticism from Republican lawmakers. The hearing comes as House Republicans continue to investigate the president and his family after the Justice Department failed to find evidence of criminal conduct.
The congressional inquiry into the Justice Department's case against Hunter Biden was launched last month, days after Hunter Biden’s plea deal was announced.
The House Ways and Means Committee previously voted to publicly share hundreds of pages of testimony from the IRS employees. In the testimony, the agents described several roadblocks agents on the case, such as trying to interview individuals relevant to the case or issue search warrants, which they ultimately claim impeded their investigation.
In one specific case, Shapley described IRS agents’ efforts to execute a search warrant of a storage facility in Virginia where the younger Biden’s documents were being stored. He said the assistant U.S. attorney involved in the case reached out to Hunter Biden’s lawyers and the tip-off ruined "our chance to get to evidence before being destroyed, manipulated, or concealed."
Shapley also claimed that U.S. Attorney David Weiss, the federal prosecutor who led the investigation into Hunter Biden, asked to be provided special counsel status in order to bring the tax cases to jurisdictions outside Delaware, including Washington, D.C., and California
Shapley claims Weiss was denied this request but both Weiss and the Justice Department refuted the claim. They said Weiss had "full authority" of the case and never sought to bring charges in other states.
The second IRS whistleblower said he started the investigation into Hunter Biden in 2015 and described persistent frustrations with the way the case was handled, including under the Trump administration and then-Attorney General William Barr.
He said he began to hit roadblocks when he attempted to delve deeply into Hunter Biden’s life and finances. Other agents involved in the case have so far not been willing to testify.
The three chairmen of the committees —Reps. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, James Comer, R-Kentucky, and Jason Smith, R-Missouri — have jointly claimed the Justice Department is rife with political interference and bias.
They have also called the plea agreement Hunter Biden made with prosecutors to likely avoid jail time a "sweetheart deal."
High-ranking officials at the Justice Department have provided some information confirming certain accounts of the whistleblowers but have mostly countered their claims and those from the Republican leaders.
The officials have said federal prosecutors and investigators often disagree about how to conduct an investigation and can reach different determinations and conclusions. They have also pointed to the extraordinary circumstances of investigating the son of a leading presidential candidate. And, Department policy warns prosecutors to take care in charging cases with potential political overtones especially around the time of an election, to avoid any possible influence on the outcome, they have said.
House Democrats have defended the Justice Department, pointing out that Weiss was appointed by former President Donald Trump and the federal investigation into Hunter Biden was initiated by Trump's Justice Department. Biden also kept Weiss on the case after he won the presidency.
Hunter Biden is scheduled to appear for his plea hearing next week.
The Associated Press contributed to this report. | Not_Explicit |
My psychotherapy colleagues and I are fed up with the grim Jonah Hill situation being put down to the inadequacies of therapy, so it was nice to see Daisy Jones speaking to qualified therapists and putting some distance between unqualified opinions being shared via TikTok and the profoundly delicate and valuable work of long-term psychotherapy (Are Jonah Hill’s texts really ‘therapy speak’? I asked a therapist, 13 July). However, it’s still grating that the unpleasant actions of a famous actor are being conflated with therapy at all. Hill plays a fair amount of golf, too – perhaps it’s golf culture that’s really to blame?
Jane Nash
London
According to George Orwell in The Road to Wigan Pier, cheap and nutritious fish and chips was one of the things that kept Britain from revolution during the economic crisis of the 1930s. They remain nutritious, but no longer cheap or even always easy to obtain (The long read, 20 July). Surely sorting this out is worthy of a pledge from Keir Starmer?
Keith Flett
Tottenham, London
Derek Malcolm (Obituary, 17 July) was a living legend for Guardian readers. Who could forget his satirical 1974 review of the fictional “Magnum Fart”, playing on the title of Magnum Force, the 1973 Dirty Harry film starring Clint Eastwood.
David Simpson
Datchet, Berkshire
Does Prince Andrew still bank with Coutts (Sunak, Braverman and City regulator wade into Farage banking row, 19 July)?
Dora Henry
Birmingham | Not_Explicit |
BEIJING/SINGAPORE, July 20 (Reuters) - Climate talks this week between China and the United States were buoyed by goodwill, but the world's two biggest carbon polluters achieved more on righting their diplomatic relationship than battling climate change.
Despite a strong rapport between the countries' veteran envoys, expectations for a breakthrough were low when John Kerry and Xie Zhenhua sat down for three days of talks in Beijing through Wednesday.
Kerry claimed progress, if mostly on getting relations back on track, but issues from U.S. politics to the diplomats' job prospects could make further advances difficult. China has not yet published an official reaction to the talks.
"We came here first of all to get back into sync," Kerry told reporters. "That is breaking ground: We were stopped, stymied for almost a year."
With relations at a low over national security issues, U.S. export bans on advanced technologies and China's state-led industrial policies, Washington has been trying to repair ties between the world's two biggest economies.
High-level U.S. visits to China had been halted due to Beijing's anger at a visit by U.S. then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in August 2022 to Taiwan, a self-governed island claimed by China. But in recent weeks, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen visited ahead of Kerry, a former secretary of state and Democratic presidential candidate.
'AS GOOD AS IT CAN GET'
Washington and Beijing share a desire to accelerate the transition away from coal and abate methane, a potent greenhouse gas. Kerry said China agreed that a target to keep global temperatures rises within 1.5 Celsius of pre-industrial levels should remain "alive".
China has previous shown scepticism around the ability to achieve 1.5C, favouring the less stringent Paris target of 2C.
"I'm very comfortable we came out at a place where we had China ready and willing to work in an aggressive way - providing someone else or something else doesn't screw it up."
Li Shuo, climate adviser with environmental group Greenpeace in Beijing, said building more resilience into a still "fragile" diplomatic relationship was a crucial element in the talks.
"Overall, this is as good as it can get," said Li, who has been closely following China-U.S. climate diplomacy for more than a decade.
Kerry and Xie focussed on progress headed toward COP28, the annual U.N. climate summit in November.
Questions remain about the longer term, should political winds shift in the United States or the two diplomats leave their posts.
Kerry, powered by orange juice and ice cream sundaes during this week's marathon talks, turns 80 in December. Xie, 73, has been plagued by ill-health, limiting his trips overseas.
The U.S. envoy would not speculate on what would happen if he or Xie stepped down but acknowledged that U.S. politics, heating up before next year's presidential election, would make diplomacy harder.
Republicans who favour a harder line against China have criticised his trip.
NO 'PUSHING PEOPLE AROUND'
"We all understand the difficult situation for John Kerry," said Ma Jun, director of the Institute of Environment and Public Affairs, a Beijing environment group.
"He is passionate on climate, just like his counterpart, Special Envoy Xie," Ma said. "But in America, climate collaboration has been affected by local politics and that does make it quite difficult."
Disputes remain. Premier Li Qiang, meeting Kerry on Tuesday, raised the issue of finance, urging richer countries to make money available as soon as possible.
Top diplomat Wang Yi rejected Kerry's plea to ring-fence climate from broader bilateral disputes, saying climate "cannot be separated from the overall environment of Sino-U.S. relations".
The Communist Party-run People's Daily said last week the "oasis" of climate change cooperation could soon be a desert if the United States did not "meet China halfway" on issues like U.S. trade sanctions on solar panels.
But Kerry told reporters he was still optimistic that diplomacy could bring more rewards in the run-up to COP28 in Dubai.
"You don't come crashing in here and start pushing people around," he said. "You work through it. You talk. You build a relationship."
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. | Not_Explicit |
KYIV – Volodymyr Zelenskyy has fired Vadym Prystaiko as Ukraine’s ambassador to the United Kingdom, after the envoy criticized the Ukrainian president in public.
Zelenskyy’s decree, announcing the dismissal of the ambassador, does not give a reason for his decision. But it comes after Prystaiko criticized Zelenskyy’s punchy response to U.K. Defense Minister Ben Wallace, who suggested that Ukraine should show more gratitude to its allies.
Speaking to reporters at the NATO summit in Vilnius earlier this month, Wallace said that the U.S. is heading for a presidential election next year, and lawmakers from countries making big military donations to Kyiv could face a political problem if they are met with Ukrainian anger. There is concern across much of Europe that NATO-skeptic Donald Trump could return as U.S. president.
Zelenskyy responded with an ironic remark during the press briefing in Vilnius, saying he does not understand how much more he should express his thanks, in response to Wallace’s comment. “He can write to me about how he wants to be thanked, so we can fully express our gratitude. We can make a point to wake up (every) morning and thank him,” Zelenskyy said.
During the interview with Sky News Prystaiko was asked if that remark had a hint of sarcasm. He agreed. “I don’t believe that this sarcasm is healthy. We don’t have to show Russians that we have something between us. They have to know we are working together,” Prystaiko said. | Not_Explicit |
Washington, 24 jul (EFE).- EE.UU. lamentó este lunes que la Knéset (Parlamento israelí) aprobara con "la mayoría más estrecha posible" la ley que anula la doctrina de la razonabilidad, la primera ley del paquete legislativo de la polémica reforma judicial impulsada por el Gobierno de Benjamín Netanyahu.
"Es lamentable que la votación de hoy haya tenido lugar con la mayoría más estrecha posible", afirmó en un comunicado la portavoz de la Casa Blanca, Karine Jean-Pierre.
La portavoz recordó que el presidente de Estados Unidos, Joe Biden, como "amigo de toda la vida de Israel" ya ha expresado en público y en privado su visión de que "los cambios importantes en una democracia deben contar con el consenso más amplio posible" para que perduren en el tiempo.
Pese a ese deseo de consenso por parte de Estados Unidos y las protestas en las calles, la votación en la Knéset siguió adelante y la ley de la razonabilidad fue aprobada con 64 votos a favor -de todos los diputados de los partidos de la coalición del Gobierno israelí-; y cero en contra, ya que la oposición en bloque, 56 legisladores, boicotearon la votación ausentándose del pleno.
Aunque esa primera pieza de la reforma judicial fue aprobada, la Casa Blanca dijo que apoya los esfuerzos del presidente del Estado de Israel, Isaac Herzog, para intentar que avancen las negociaciones entre el Gobierno y la oposición para intentar lograr un consenso.
La ley se votó en una sesión plenaria que comenzó el domingo, después de 30 horas de acalorados debates, mientras miles de manifestantes acampados frente a la Knéset desde la noche del sábado protestaban contra la reforma, vista como una amenaza a la democracia porque socava la separación de poderes y la independencia de la Justicia.
Las protestas han dejado de momento 19 detenidos por "violar el orden público" y cinco herido leves, en los altercados desatados con la Policía, que tuvo que recurrir a la Policía montada y a cañones de agua para dispersar a los manifestantes que trataban de bloquear el acceso principal al parlamento.
(c) Agencia EFE | Not_Explicit |
President Biden will reportedly establish a national monument this week to honor Emmett Till, the Black teen from Chicago whose 1955 lynching while on vacation in Mississippi helped galvanize the civil rights movement.
A White House official, who spoke on condition on anonymity, reportedly told the Associated Press that Biden will sign a proclamation on Tuesday to create the Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley National Monument across three sites in Illinois and Mississippi. Tuesday is the anniversary of Emmett Till's birth in 1941.
CBS News also reported Saturday it had learned in advance of Biden's planned announcement Tuesday.
Till's mother's insistence on an open casket to reveal how her 14-year-old son had been brutalized and Jet magazine's decision to publish photos of his mutilated body contributed to the rousing of the civil rights movement.
The Illinois site is Roberts Temple Church of God in Christ in Bronzeville, a historically Black neighborhood on Chicago’s South Side. Thousands of people gathered at the church to mourn Emmett Till in September 1955.
The Mississippi locations are Graball Landing, believed to be where Till’s mutilated body was pulled from the Tallahatchie River, and the Tallahatchie County Second District Courthouse in Sumner, Mississippi, where Till’s accused killers were tried and acquitted.
Till was visiting relatives in Mississippi when Carolyn Bryant Donham said the 14-year-old Till whistled and made sexual advances at her while she worked in a store in the small community of Money.
Till was later abducted, and his body eventually pulled from the Tallahatchie River, where he had been tossed after he was shot and weighted down with a cotton gin fan.
Two White men, Roy Bryant and his half-brother J.W. Milam, were tried on murder charges about a month after Till was killed, but an all-White Mississippi jury acquitted them. Months later, they confessed to killing Till in a paid interview with Look magazine. Bryant was married to Donham in 1955. She died earlier this year.
The Justice Department announced in December 2021 that it was closing its investigation into Till's killing.
In 2022, a grand jury in Mississippi had declined to indict Donham, ruling there was insufficient evidence to bring charges of kidnapping and manslaughter against the woman by then in her 80s.
The Associated Press contributed to this report. | Not_Explicit |
Former President Donald Trump on Friday received some bad news from the firm of his own pollster about the 2024 presidential race.
A Fabrizio Ward and Impact Research poll surveying voters in 40 competitive House districts across the nation found that while President Joe Biden has an edge over Trump in those crucial swing districts, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis was a bigger threat to the incumbent.
While Biden led Trump 47 percent to 43 percent in a hypothetical matchup, Biden and DeSantis were to be tied at 45 percent. Trump and DeSantis are both gunning to be the Republican nominee. DeSantis has been the only other GOP candidate to break away from the crowded field, but polls continue to give Trump a wide lead over DeSantis, suggesting that he's still the favorite among Republican voters.
Participants were surveyed by Fabrizio Ward, a firm headed by Tony Fabrizio and Bob Ward. Fabrizio, who is credited with writing an influential internal memo that helped Trump switch his 2016 campaign strategy two weeks before Election Day, was Trump's chief pollster in 2016 and 2020. He is currently a pollster with MAGA Inc., a Trump-aligned super political action committee.
Newsweek reached out to Trump's campaign for comment.
The poll, commissioned by the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP), was conducted between July 5 and 11 and surveyed 1,752 likely general election voters in House districts that the Cook Political Report rated as "Lean" or "Toss Up" as of July 5. It has a 2.83+/- margin of error among participants 18 and older and for those 50 and above.
Women over 50 in those competitive districts also seemed to favor Biden over Trump and DeSantis over Trump. When Trump and Biden go head to head, 48 percent back the Democrat, compared to the 44 percent who support Trump. But in a Biden-DeSantis matchup, the two tie at 46 percent among women over 50.
Although the majority of voters seemed to prefer Biden over Trump, the former president did better among four nonpartisan demographics than Biden. Trump had a 17-point lead over Biden among rural voters, an 11-point lead among those without a college degree, an 2-point lead among white voters.
Trump also had an 11-point lead over Biden when it came to voters age 50 to 64, but Biden did better with voters 65 and above, earning 50 percent support to Trump's 42 percent.
"We know that voters age 50-plus will make up the majority of the electorate in 2024," Nancy LeaMond, AARP executive vice president and chief advocacy and engagement officer, said in a Friday press release. "The fact that this group is divided shows that no one running for office should take them for granted or write them off. Candidates who want to win need to connect with them and address their concerns."
The discrepancy between voters 50 to 64 and those 65 and up seemed to remain in a hypothetical matchup between Biden and DeSantis, with the earlier group favoring the Republican and the latter group favoring the Democrat. DeSantis had a 15-point lead over Biden among the 50-64 age group, while Biden say a 4-point lead over DeSantis among those 65 and above. | Not_Explicit |
The stars are all over this year’s Toronto International Film Festival lineup—but that’s to be expected. The real surprise here is that, in a bit of a twist, they’ll likely be able to appear in Canada, despite ongoing SAG-AFTRA strike rules that largely prohibit promotional appearances at film festivals. Why? A whole bunch of those stars also happen to be filmmakers.
This year’s preliminary TIFF lineup, released Monday, includes films directed by the likes of Tony Goldwyn (Ezra), Michael Keaton (Knox Goes Away), Kristin Scott Thomas (North Star), Chris Pine (Poolman), Viggo Mortensen (The Dead Don’t Hurt), Ethan Hawke (Wildcat), and Anna Kendrick (Woman of the Hour). What’s more, these are all sales titles, meaning they’re not beholden to a studio (and thus, the AMPTP) yet. It’s great, necessary timing for the fall-festival community, which is reeling from studio pullbacks in the wake of the dual SAG and WGA strikes.
That said, TIFF still appears to be playing its usual role of awards-season central station. Each year, TIFF immediately follows the overlapping Venice and Telluride festivals, presenting films that previously premiered at those events. Indeed, the most newsworthy part of this lineup may be the number of Telluride debuts we can infer, based on premieres that have been labeled “Canadian” or “International” debuts rather than “worldwide” debuts. (Telluride does not announce its lineup until just before Labor Day Weekend.) Netflix’s Nyad and Rustin, which feature already buzzy performances from Annette Bening and Colman Domingo, respectively, both appear to be going that route, as does Focus’s The Holdovers—which reunites Sideways director Alexander Payne and star Paul Giamatti—and Apple’s Fingernails, whose killer cast includes Jessie Buckley, Riz Ahmed, and Jeremy Allen White.
Toronto will also bring in the top prize winners from Cannes, Neon’s Anatomy of a Fall and A24’s The Zone of Interest—both of which star German actress Sandra Hüller, presumably not bound by SAG-AFTRA rules—as well as a few Sundance successes like Netflix’s Fair Play. Several sales titles beyond those aforementioned celeb-directed ones could also catch fire as late-season contenders, if they play well. Kate Winslet portrays war photographer Lee Miller in the biopic Lee, from Ellen Kuras, while Jessica Chastain top-lines Michel Franco’s Memory.
Notably, while the list is littered with implicit Telluride debuts—Anatomy of a Fall can also be counted on showing up at the earlier fest—the list is much smaller, among notable titles, when it comes to presumed Venice launches. (One seeming exception is Richard Linklater’s Hitman.) Venice recently lost its opening film, Luca Guadagnino’s Challengers (which is moving to a 2024 release), due to the ongoing strikes; we’ll have to see whether the typically starry fest has been further affected by postponed titles when it announces its lineup on Tuesday. Major fall films yet to secure a festival announcement include Bradley Cooper’s Maestro, Ridley Scott’s Napoleon, Emerald Fennell’s Saltburn, and David Fincher’s The Killer; according to the lineup, none of these four are debuting at TIFF. We’ll soon know whether more of their rollouts have changed for them, or if Toronto simply wasn’t in the cards for these films.
See the full lineup below.
GALAS
- Concrete Utopia Um Tae-Hwa | South Korea North American Premiere Sales Title - North America Rights Available
- Dumb Money Craig Gillespie | USA World Premiere
- Fair Play Chloe Domont | USA International Premiere
- Flora and Son John Carney | Ireland/USA Canadian Premiere
- Hate to Love: Nickelback Leigh Brooks | Canada World Premiere Sales Title - International Rights Available
- Lee Ellen Kuras | United Kingdom World Premiere Sales Title - US Rights Available
- Next Goal Wins Taika Waititi | USA World Premiere
- NYAD Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi, Jimmy Chin | USA International Premiere
- Punjab ’95 Honey Trehan | India World Premiere Sales Title - International Rights Available
- Solo Sophie Dupuis | Canada World Premiere Sales Title - US Rights Available
- The End We Start From Mahalia Belo | United Kingdom World Premiere Sales Title - North American Rights Available
- The Movie Emperor Ning Hao | China World Premiere Sales Title - International Rights Available
- The New Boy Warwick Thornton | Australia North American Premiere Sales Title – North American Rights Available
- The Royal Hotel Kitty Green | Australia/United Kingdom Canadian Premiere
SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS
- A Difficult Year Éric Toledano and Olivier Nakache | France International Premiere Sales Title - US Rights Available
- A Normal Family Hur Jin-ho | South Korea World Premiere Sales Title - North American Rights Available
- American Fiction Cord Jefferson | USA World Premiere
- Anatomy of a Fall Justine Triet | France Canadian Premiere
- Close to You Dominic Savage | Canada/United Kingdom World Premiere Sales Title - US Rights Available
- Days of Happiness Chloé Robichaud | Canada World Premiere Sales Title - International Rights Available
- El Rapto Daniela Goggi | Argentina North American Premiere Sales Title - North American Rights Available
- Ezra Tony Goldwyn | USA World Premiere Sales Title - International Rights Available
- Fingernails Christos Nikou | USA International Premiere
- Four Daughters Kaouther Ben Hania | France/Tunisia/Germany/Saudi Arabia North American Premiere Sales Title - Some Rights Available
- His Three Daughters Azazel Jacobs | USA World Premiere Sales Title - International Rights Available
- Hitman Richard Linklater | USA North American Premiere Sales Title - US Rights Available
- In Restless Dreams: The Music of Paul Simon Alex Gibney | USA World Premiere Sales Title - International Rights Available
- Kidnapped Marco Bellocchio | Italy/France/Germany North American Premiere
- Knox Goes Away Michael Keaton | USA World Premiere Sales Title - US Rights Available
- La Chimera Alice Rohrwacher | Italy/France/Switzerland North American Premiere
- Last Summer Catherine Breillat | France North American Premiere
- Les Indésirables Ladj Ly | France World Premiere Sales Title - North America Rights Available
- Memory Michel Franco | USA/Mexico North American Premiere Sales Title - International Rights Available
- Monster Kore-eda Hirokazu | Japan North American Premiere
- Mother Couch Niclas Larsson | USA World Premiere
- North Star Kristin Scott Thomas | United Kingdom World Premiere Sales Title - International Rights Available
- One Life James Hawes | United Kingdom World Premiere Sales Title - International Rights Available
- Pain Hustlers David Yates | USA World Premiere
- Poolman Chris Pine | USA World Premiere Sales Title - Some Rights Available
- Reptile Grant Singer | USA World Premiere
- Rustin George C. Wolfe | USA International Premiere
- Seven Veils Atom Egoyan | Canada World Premiere Sales Title - US Rights Available
- Shoshana Michael Winterbottom | United Kingdom/Italy World Premiere Sales Title - North American Rights Available
- Sing Sing Greg Kwedar | USA World Premiere Sales Title - US Rights Available
- Smugglers Ryoo Seung-wan | South Korea North American Premiere Sales Title - International Rights Available
- Swan Song Chelsea McMullan | Canada World Premiere Sales Title - Some Rights Available
- The Beast Bertrand Bonello | France/Canada North American Premiere Sales Title - International Rights Available
- The Burial Maggie Betts | USA World Premiere
- The Convert Lee Tamahori | Australia/New Zealand World Premiere Sales Title - International Rights Available
- The Critic Anand Tucker | United Kingdom World Premiere Sales Title - Some Rights Available
- The Dead Don’t Hurt Viggo Mortensen | Mexico/Canada/Denmark World Premiere Sales Title - North American Rights Available
- The Holdovers Alexander Payne | USA International Premiere
- The Peasants DK Welchman, Hugh Welchman | Poland/Serbia/Lithuania World Premiere Sales Title - Some Rights Available
- The Zone of Interest Jonathan Glazer | United Kingdom/Poland/USA Canadian Premiere
- Together 99 Lukas Moodysson | Sweden/Denmark World Premiere
- Unicorns Sally El Hosaini, James Krishna Floyd | United Kingdom/USA/Sweden World Premiere Sales Title - International Rights Available
- Uproar Paul Middleditch, Hamish Bennett | New Zealand World Premiere Sales Title - International Rights Available
- Wicked Little Letters Thea Sharrock | United Kingdom World Premiere Sales Title - International Rights Available
- Wildcat Ethan Hawke | USA International Premiere Sales Title - North American Rights Available
- Woman of the Hour Anna Kendrick | USA World Premiere Sales Title - US Rights Available | Not_Explicit |
ICICI Bank Q1 Results Review - Relatively Soft Quarter But No Structural Red Flags: Yes Securities
Sequential growth in opex outpaced balance sheet and income growth but this was not entirely structural.
BQ Prime’s special research section collates quality and in-depth equity and economy research reports from across India’s top brokerages, asset managers and research agencies. These reports offer BQ Prime’s subscribers an opportunity to expand their understanding of companies, sectors and the economy.
Yes Securities Report
ICICI Bank Ltd.'s slippages were higher sequentially due to slippages from the Kisan Credit Card portfolio, which amounted to Rs 6.66 billion. Higher KCC slippages is a seasonal phenomenon for the odd quarters. Provisions were Rs 12.9 billion, down by -20% QoQ but up 13% YoY.
Reported provisions declined since there were no contingent provisions made during the quarter whereas Q4 had seen contingent provisions worth Rs 16 billion.
Thus, there was a moderate rise in specific provisions on a sequential basis. However, key reasons for the rise were KCC slippages and the writeback on corporate recoveries being lower for the quarter, neither of which are structural.
Cost of deposits moved up 33 basis points QoQ to 4.31%. This was despite retail deposit rates having stabilized and wholesale deposits rates having declined. Retail term deposits rates have, in fact, stayed stable for the last six months or so. The rise in cost of deposits is due to the rapid pace of deposit growth where new higher-cost deposits now occupy a large proportion of the overall deposits book.
Staff cost was driven by annual increment and employee addition. The employee count is up ~27650 over the past 12 months. Non-employee expenses were driven by the retail business and tech expenses. 174 branches were added during the quarter, taking the branch count to 6074.
Result Highlights
Asset quality: Gross non-performing asset additions amounted to Rs 53.18 billion for the quarter, translating to an annualised slippage ratio of 2.0% in Q1 FY24.
Margin picture: Net interest margin at 4.78% was down -12 bps QoQ, with cost of deposits moving up faster than yield on advances.
Asset growth: Advances grew 3.7%/18.1% QoQ/YoY driven sequentially by healthy growth in retail, business banking and SME loans.
Opex control: Total opex grew 6.7%/25.9% QoQ/YoY, Employee expense grew 14.2%/36% QoQ/YoY and other exp. rose 2.0%/19.5% QoQ/YoY .
Fee income: Fee income grew 0.3%/14.1% QoQ/YoY. Fees from retail, rural, business banking and SME customers constituted about 78% of total fees.
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DISCLAIMER
This report is authored by an external party. BQ Prime does not vouch for the accuracy of its contents nor is responsible for them in any way. The contents of this section do not constitute investment advice. For that you must always consult an expert based on your individual needs. The views expressed in the report are that of the author entity and do not represent the views of BQ Prime.
Users have no license to copy, modify, or distribute the content without permission of the Original Owner. | Not_Explicit |
Democratic New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy on Friday announced that his administration has filed a lawsuit against the federal government over its approval of a New York plan to reduce traffic congestion.
Murphy said New Jersey filed the lawsuit against the Department of Transportation (DOT) and Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), and accused the federal agencies of violating environmental laws. In May, the FHWA authorized a plan from New York's Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) to charge commuters an increased fee to enter Manhattan in an effort to reduce congestion and improve the city's air quality.
"After refusing to conduct a full environmental review of the MTA’s poorly designed tolling program, the FHWA has unlawfully fast-tracked the agency’s attempt to line its own coffers at the expense of New Jersey families," Murphy said Friday in a statement. "The costs of standing idly by while the MTA uses New Jersey residents to help balance its budget sheets are more than economic."
"At the MTA’s own admission, its tolling program would divert traffic and shift pollution to many vulnerable New Jersey communities, impacting air quality while offering nothing to mitigate such considerable harm," he added. "Today we stand as a unified front against this reckless scheme and reaffirm our commitment to combat the unjust taxation of our hardworking residents by other states."
After the plan received federal approval in May, Murphy said it also violated President Biden's own environmental justice agenda and Justice40 initiative, which requires 40% of certain federal investments to flow to disadvantaged communities that are "marginalized, underserved, and overburdened by pollution."
In a letter to New York officials dated May 5, the FHWA approved the release of the proposal's final environmental assessment, one of the final hurdles the project faced. The agency said it determined the assessment met the statutory threshold to move forward.
Under the plan, which the state is planning to begin implementing in 2024, commuters entering midtown or downtown Manhattan could be hit with a fee of up to $23 during peak hours and up to $12 during nighttime hours. The program is projected to boost state revenue by about $1 billion.
While the proposal was heralded as a major climate win by top New York officials — New York City Mayor Eric Adams said it would clean up the air in the most polluted communities — New Jersey lawmakers blasted it, saying it would force traffic through and increase emissions in New Jersey.
"As the senior senator of New Jersey, I have made it abundantly clear that it’s unacceptable for New York to try balancing its budget on the backs of New Jersey commuters. Their proposed congestion tax scheme is nothing more than a shakedown and must be defeated," Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., said Friday.
"If the MTA gets its way, trucks will be backed up here in North Jersey, billowing cancer-causing pollution into the lungs of our children. I want to thank our Governor for punching back at a state that decided to use Jersey as their piggy bank to solve their years of criminal mismanagement at the MTA," Rep. Josh Gottheimer, D-N.J., added. "I don’t know how the MTA Chairman looks at himself in the mirror."
Gottheimer and Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., introduced legislation earlier this year that would strip federal funding from infrastructure projects in New York unless the state exempted commuters from all congestion pricing fees.
Local lawmakers and business groups like the New Jersey Chamber of Commerce, Meadowlands Chamber of Commerce and New Jersey Business and Industry Association also opposed the plan.
In addition, Murphy signed legislation Friday that would enable New Jersey to tax remote employees who live out of state but work for companies based in New Jersey.
The FHWA declined to comment, saying it doesn't comment on pending litigation. | Not_Explicit |
Ahn Young-joon/AP
toggle caption
A TV screen shows a file image of North Korea's missile launch during a news program at the Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea, on Saturday.
Ahn Young-joon/AP
A TV screen shows a file image of North Korea's missile launch during a news program at the Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea, on Saturday.
Ahn Young-joon/AP
SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea fired several cruise missiles toward its western sea Saturday, South Korea's military said, marking the second launch event this week, apparently in protest of the docking of a nuclear-armed U.S. submarine in South Korea.
While adding to its barrage of missile launches in recent months, North Korea remained publicly silent for a fifth day on the fate of an American soldier who bolted into the North across the heavily armed Korean border this week.
South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said the launches were detected beginning around 4 a.m. but did not immediately report how many missiles were fired or how far they flew. It said the United States and South Korean militaries were closely analyzing the launches.
North Korea in recent years has been testing newly developed cruise missiles it describes as "strategic," implying an intent to arm them with nuclear weapons. Experts say the main mission of those weapons would include striking naval assets and ports. Designed to fly like small airplanes and travel along landscape that would make them harder to detect by radar, cruise missiles are among a growing collection of North Korean weapons aimed at overwhelming missile defenses in the South.
On Wednesday, North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles from an area near its capital, Pyongyang. They flew about 550 kilometers (340 miles) before landing in waters east of the Korean Peninsula.
The flight distance of those missiles roughly matched the distance between Pyongyang and the South Korean port city of Busan, where the USS Kentucky on Tuesday made the first visit by a U.S. nuclear-armed submarine to South Korea since the 1980s.
Also Tuesday, American soldier Pvt. Travis King sprinted across the border into North Korea while on a tour of an inter-Korean truce village.
Ahn Young-joon/AP
toggle caption
A TV screen shows a file image of American soldier Travis King during a news program at the Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea, on Saturday.
Ahn Young-joon/AP
A TV screen shows a file image of American soldier Travis King during a news program at the Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea, on Saturday.
Ahn Young-joon/AP
North Korea's state media has yet to comment on King and the country has not responded to U.S. requests to clarify where he is being kept and what his condition is. U.S. officials have expressed concern about King's well-being, considering North Korea's previous rough treatment of some American detainees. It could be weeks, or even months, before North Korea releases meaningful information about King, analysts say, as the country could drag out his detention to maximize leverage and add urgency to U.S. efforts to secure his release.
Some experts say the North may try to use King for propaganda or as a bargaining chip to coax political and security concessions from Washington, possibly tying his release with the United States cutting back its military activities with South Korea.
"With so many moving pieces, it's important not to attribute causation to mere correlation of events. But North Korea's missile provocations do not foreshadow an easy negotiation to secure Travis King's release," said Leif-Eric Easley, a professor at South Korea's Ewha University. "Unauthorized border crossings endanger personnel, risk a political and even military incident, and can be exploited by North Korean hostage diplomacy."
The United States and South Korea have been expanding their combined military exercises and have agreed to increase the regional deployment of U.S. strategic assets like bombers, aircraft carriers and submarines in a show of force against North Korea, which has test-fired around 100 missiles since the start of 2022.
The allies also kicked off new rounds of nuclear contingency planning meetings that are partially aimed at easing fears among the South Korean public about the North's growing nuclear threat and suppressing voices within the country that it should pursue its own deterrent.
North Korea's defense minister issued a veiled threat Thursday suggesting the docking of the Kentucky in South Korea could be grounds for a nuclear attack by the North. North Korea has used such rhetoric before, but the comments underscored how much relations are strained now.
South Korea's Defense Ministry on Friday described the deployment of the Kentucky and the nuclear contingency planning meetings between Washington and Seoul as "defensive response measures" to counter the North Korean threat. The ministry said in a statement it "strongly warns" that any nuclear attack by the North on the allies would face an "immediate, overwhelming and decisive response ... that would bring an end to the North Korean regime." | Not_Explicit |
The UK: Must change? Won’t change!
Backlashes against green taxes speak to a paralysed future
Greetings, this piece is free to read but please support my journalism by signing up as a paying subscriber (cost £1.15 a week) or as a free subscriber (cost, well, nothing). Best, Nick
All sane commentators expect the British Conservatives to lose the next general election. To reinforce their conviction, the government suffered staggering defeats in two by elections early this morning.
In the West Country constituency of Somerset and Frome the Liberal Democrats overturned a 19,000 Conservative majority to take the seat with 55 per cent of the vote. In Selby in Yorkshire an astonishing Labour victory showed that the Brexiteers “northern strategy” was dead. Boris Johnson was meant to have given the Conservatives new territory by smashing the “red wall” of previously safe Labour seats in the north of England. Such is the disillusion with the government, the party could not hold the previously safe Conservative seat of Selby and Ainsty.
Labour overturned a Conservative majority of 20,137 in a white, semi-rural constituency with a disproportionately elderly population.
An epic Tory defeat is surely coming at the next election.
It almost certainly is. And yet and yet. The result that will have the most effect on the future government of the United Kingdom will be the Conservatives clinging on against all expectations in the outer London suburb of Uxbridge. It speaks to a paralysed future.
This was Boris Johnson’s seat. No voters had more right to be angry at his lies and failures than the voters of Uxbridge.
But Labour could not capture it because the issue was no longer disillusion with Brexit, Johnson’s scandals, Liz Truss’s madness, the cost of living or national decline, but a Labour environmental tax.
Steve Tuckwell defies expectations in Uxbridge.
Steve Tuckwell, the winning Tory candidate, was certain that his victory had nothing to do with the merits or otherwise of Rishi Sunak’s government. Instead, he explained that, “Sadiq Khan has lost Labour this election, and we know that it was his damaging and costly ULEZ policy which lost them this election.”
Khan, the Labour mayor of London, is expanding London’s Ultra-Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) to cover Uxbridge and the rest of outer London. He explained his admirable motives when he said that he was seeking, “to address the triple challenges of toxic air pollution, the climate emergency and traffic congestion”. Owners of old, polluting vehicles would have to pay a charge of £12.50 a day if they insisted on keeping them. To encourage them to send their wheezing cars to the junkyard, Khan offered compensation in the form of a scrappage scheme. .
Not enough.
Across the West you can see a pattern. Record breaking heat waves in southern Europe and north America, and extreme hunger in east Africa ought to burn the need to tackle the climate crisis into the public’s consciousness. But the cost of dealing with it hits relatively poor people in rich countries the hardest.
Wealthy Londoners can afford modern vehicles. The self-employed working class, which relies on old diesel cars and battered white vans, struggles.
In Germany, the Green party has learned the hard way that people want to save the planet but are reluctant to pay the price. The Green leader in the governing coalition Robert Habeck may rage, but his party is suffering its worst results in provincial elections in 20 years because of the price of phasing out fossil fuel heating in private homes. Environmentally friendly heat pumps cost 13,000 Euros per installation. The charge is like a poll tax that hits those least able to pay hardest.
Meanwhile, the Farmer Citizen Movement has upended the politics of the Netherlands. The alliance of the righteously angry countrymen and women, infuriated by controls on nitrogen pollution, has come from nowhere to being a major player in the country’s politics.
And now we have the Uxbridge election result.
Come on, I hear you say how many constituencies are likely to revolt against the London mayor’s policies? Ten, maybe. Fifteen at most. It’s nothing.
But I fear the effect may be wider. The UK is in a desperate position. It needs radical reform to break out of years of national decline. But the message from Uxbridge the naturally cautious Keir Starmer will take is that any reform that raises opposition, as all reforms do, is too risky to contemplate.
Contrary to the rhetoric of his critics on the left, Labour is proposing one sweeping policy: a rewriting of the UK’s Byzantine planning system. Everyone knows planning needs to be tackled to make it easier and cheaper to build new homes, infrastructure and workplaces.
Then, everyone knows that climate change must be tackled. It’s the tackling of it that is the problem.
I wonder how Labour’s promise to simplify the planning system will survive in an election campaign. The Conservatives will inflame the residents of suburban and semi-rural England’s perfectly reasonable dislike of development.
The one radical plan Labour could offer is immediate steps to rejoin the European single market. Economically there is no cost, only benefits. Most people now realise that Johnson and Farage sold them a false bill of goods. And yet, the minority who still support Brexit is concentrated in marginal seats Labour needs to win. The party has duly made it clear that it will ask the EU for little beyond minor changes to a dreadful settlement.
The average Briton has not had a real pay rise since 2007. The public services are visibly crumbling. The national debt is 100 percent of GDP. Sweeping change is necessary if the UK is not to sink further into the mire.
Yet the lesson I am sure the Labour leadership will draw from the one disappointment in an otherwise triumphant night is that it pays to do nothing or next to nothing because, however angry voters are, they are not angry enough to embrace change.
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Asia Cup 2023 Schedule Announced; India vs Pakistan On September 2, Check Full Fixtures
Asia Cup 2023 will be played from August 30 to September 17. Here is all you need to know
The schedule for the highly awaited Asia Cup 2023 was announced by Asian Cricket Council president Jay Shah on Wednesday.
Pakistan will play against Nepal in the tournament opener on August 30 in Multan while India will play their first game against Pakistan on September 2 in Kandy.
Asia Cup 2023 will be held from August 30 to September 17 and will feature teams like India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Nepal.
A total of 13 ODI matches will be played in the tournament which will be hosted in a hybrid model with four matches being across two venues in Pakistan and the remaining nine matches being played in Sri Lanka's Kandy and Colombo.
"I am happy to announce the schedule for the highly anticipated Men's ODI #AsiaCup2023, a symbol of unity and togetherness binding diverse nations together! Let's join hands in the celebration of cricketing excellence and cherish the bonds that connect us all," Jay Shah said in a tweet.
Asia Cup 2023: Schedule And Fixtures
I am happy to announce the schedule for the highly anticipated Men's ODI #AsiaCup2023, a symbol of unity and togetherness binding diverse nations together! Let's join hands in the celebration of cricketing excellence and cherish the bonds that connect us all. @ACCMedia1 pic.twitter.com/9uPgx6intP— Jay Shah (@JayShah) July 19, 2023 | Not_Explicit |
L&T Shares Hit Record High On Bagging 'Mega-Order' For Its Heavy Civil Infra Business
Although L&T has not specified the order value, it classifies projects worth over Rs 7,000 crore as mega-orders.
Shares of Larsen & Toubro Ltd. hit a record high on Friday after it won a 'mega-order' for its heavy civil infrastructure business.
The company was awarded a contract by The National High-Speed Rail Corporation Ltd. to construct the 135.45 km stretch of the MAHSR-C3 package, which is part of the Mumbai-Ahmedabad high-speed rail project, , according to an exchange filing.
Although L&T has not specified the order value, it classifies projects worth over Rs 7,000 crore as mega-orders, the filing said.
The scope includes building viaducts, stations, major river bridges, depots, tunnels, earth structures, and auxiliary works, it said.
The Mumbai Ahmedabad High-Speed Rail Project will cover approximately 508 km, passing through Maharashtra, Dadra & Nagar Haveli, and Gujarat, with 12 stations. With this package, L&T will execute 92% of the main line between Shilphata, Maharashtra and Ahmedabad, Gujarat.
Separately, the company said its board will meet on July 25 to consider the proposals for the buyback of shares and the declaration of a special dividend for this fiscal. If approved, the record date for the same is set for Aug 2.
Shares of L&T rose 3.36% intraday before paring gains to trade 2.37% higher as of 10:23 a.m. This compares to a 0.82% dip in the NSE Nifty 50.
Total traded volume so far in the day stood at 7.3 times its 30-day average. The relative strength index was at 72.5, indicating that the stock may be overbought.
Of the 41 analysts tracking the company, 38 maintain a 'buy' rating, one recommends a ‘hold’, and two indicate a ‘sell', according to Bloomberg data. However, the average 12-month consensus price target implies an upside of 0.8%. | Not_Explicit |
- Foxconn is best known as the main assembler of Apple's iPhones. But in last couple of years, the Taiwanese firm has made a push into semiconductors.
- Foxconn agreed last year with Indian metals-to-oil conglomerate Vedanta to set up a semiconductor and display production plant in India as part of a $19.5 billion joint venture.
- But the joint venture failed, highlighting the difficulty for new players to enter a market dominated by established firms with huge experience and a highly intricate supply chain.
Foxconn is best known as the main assembler of Apple's iPhones. But in last couple of years, the Taiwanese firm has made a push into semiconductors, betting that the rise of technologies like artificial intelligence will boost demand for these chips.
But Foxconn's semiconductor foray has had a tough start, highlighting the difficulty for new players to enter a market dominated by established firms with huge experience and a highly intricate supply chain.
"The industry presents newcomers with high barriers to entry, mainly high levels of capital intensity and access to coveted intellectual property," Gabriel Perez, ICT analyst at BMI, a unit at Fitch Group, told CNBC via email.
"Established players such as TSMC, Samsung or Micron count with several decades of R&D (research and development), process engineering and trillions of dollars in investment to reach their current capabilities."
Foxconn, officially known as Hon Hai Technology Group, is a contract electronics manufacturer that assembles consumer products like iPhones. But in the last two years, it has stepped up its presence in semiconductors.
In May 2021, it formed a joint venture with Yageo Corporation, which makes various types of electronic components. That same year, Foxconn bought a chip plant from Taiwanese chipmaker Macronix.
The biggest ramp-up in effort came last year when Foxconn agreed with Indian metals-to-oil conglomerate Vedanta to set up a semiconductor and display production plant in India as part of a $19.5 billion joint venture.
Neil Shah, vice president of research at Counterpoint Research, said Foxconn's push into semiconductors is about diversifying its business, and the company's decision to launch an electric car unit is part of that plan. Its aim is to become a "one stop shop" for electronics and automotive companies, Shah said.
If Foxconn could assemble electronics and manufacture chips, it would be a very unique and competitive business.
Foxconn looked to India for its joint venture with Vedanta because the country's government is looking to boost its domestic semiconductor industry and bring manufacturing on shore.
"Foxconn's decision to establish a JV in India responds to two key trends – one of them being the market's growing role as a consumer electronics manufacturing hub, the second one being India's ambitions – mirroring other major markets such as the US, the EU and Mainland China - to develop its domestic semiconductor industry through public subsidies and regulatory incentives," BMI's Perez said.
This month, Foxconn pulled out of its joint venture with Vedanta. The two sides "mutually agreed to part ways," Foxconn said in a statement at the time.
"There was recognition from both sides that the project was not moving fast enough, there were challenging gaps we were not able to smoothly overcome, as well as external issues unrelated to the project," Foxconn said.
Deadlocked talks with European chipmaker STMicroelectronics, which was the technology partner for the project, was one major reason for the venture's failure, Reuters reported this month.
Foxconn and Vedanta wanted to license the technology from STMicro and India wanted the firm to have a stake in the joint venture, but the European chipmaker did not, Reuters reported.
Foxconn's hurdles point to a broader issue — it's hard for newcomers to get into semiconductor manufacturing.
The manufacturing of chips is dominated by one player — Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, better known as TSMC — which has a 59% market share in the foundry segment, according to Counterpoint Research.
TSMC doesn't design its own chips. Instead, it makes these components for other companies like Apple. TSMC has had more than two decades of experience and billions of dollars of investment to get to where it is.
TSMC also relies on a complex supply chain of companies that make critical tools to allow it to manufacture the most advanced chips in the world.
Foxconn and Vedanta's effort appeared to rely heavily on STMicro, but once the European company bailed, the joint venture was without much expertise in semiconductors.
"Both companies ... lacked the core competency of manufacturing a chip," Counterpoint Research's Shah said, adding that they were dependent on third-party technology and intellectual property.
Foxconn's attempts to crack the semiconductor space highlight how difficult it is for a new entrant to do so — even for a $47.9 billion giant.
"The semiconductor market is highly concentrated with few players which have taken more than two decades to evolve to this point," Shah said, adding that there are high barriers to entry, such as large amounts of investment and specialized labor.
"On an average, it takes more than two decades to be at the level of skill and scale to be a successful semiconductor manufacturing (fab) company." | Not_Explicit |
- Summary
- Companies
- Russian air strikes hit southern Ukrainian port cities
- President Volodymyr Zelenskiy condemns the attacks
- Russia says it carried out retaliatory strikes
MYKOLAIV, Ukraine, July 20 (Reuters) - At least three people were killed and a Chinese consular building was damaged on Thursday in a third successive night of air strikes on southern Ukrainian port cities, Ukrainian officials said.
Regional governor Oleh Kiper posted a photograph showing at least one broken window at the Chinese consulate in the Black Sea city of Odesa, but there was no sign of any other damage.
Beijing, a Russian ally, did not immediately comment on the incident, one day after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said 60,000 tons of agricultural products destined for China had been destroyed in an attack on another Ukrainian port city.
Moscow said it had carried out "retaliatory strikes", days after it quit a deal allowing Ukrainian Black Sea grain shipments and accused Ukraine of being behind blasts on a bridge used to transport Russian military supplies.
Ukraine's military said Russian forces launched 19 missiles and 19 drones overnight, and that five of the missiles and 13 of the drones were shot down.
"Russian terrorists continue their attempts to destroy the life of our country," Zelenskiy said on the Telegram messaging app. "Together we will make it through this terrible time. And we will withstand the attacks of Russian evil."
In Odesa, a security guard was killed and at least eight other people were hurt, including a child, Kiper said.
A married couple was killed in the city of Mykolaiv, mayor Oleksandr Senkevych said.
Regional governor Vitaliy Kim had said earlier on Thursday that 19 people were hurt in the city, and several residential buildings were damaged.
Fire fighters in Mykolaiv tackled a huge blaze that left a three-storey residential building without its top floor, and adjacent buildings were gutted by the fire.
A Russian attack on the port of Chornomorsk on Wednesday damaged grain export infrastructure as well as the agricultural products Zelenskiy said were meant for China.
Ukrainian officials see the air strikes as an attack on global food security because Kyiv is a major grain exporter. Mykhailo Podolayk, a senior adviser to Zelenskiy, urged the international community to do more in response.
"Will we see an emergency convocation of the UN Security Council to discuss global food security? The international community chooses... to stand aside," he wrote on Twitter.
Authorities in the northeastern region of Kharkiv said separately a 61-year-old man had been killed there by Russian shelling on Thursday.
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. | Not_Explicit |
Bajaj Auto Q1 Results Review - Miss On Ebitda Margin Largely Led By Unfavorable Mix: Motilal Oswal
Triumph-order book at 17,000 units; aims to hit a run-rate of 5,000 units/month by September 2023.
BQ Prime’s special research section collates quality and in-depth equity and economy research reports from across India’s top brokerages, asset managers and research agencies. These reports offer BQ Prime’s subscribers an opportunity to expand their understanding of companies, sectors and the economy.
Motilal Oswal Report
Bajaj Auto Ltd. posted lower Ebitda margin (-30 basis points QoQ) at 19.0% (versus estimate: 19.5%) due to unfavorable mix as the share of commuter segment rose during the marriage season in Q1 FY24.
Despite volume recovery and stable raw material, we project Bajaj Auto's Ebitda margin to remain rangebound over next few quarters due to weak mix-driven ramp-up in Chetak volumes and recovery in exports.
We maintain our FY24E earnings per share while marginally upgrade our FY25E EPS by 2.6% to factor in higher other income.
We reiterate our 'Neutral' rating with a target price of Rs 5,150 (based on 16 times September-25E consolidated EPS).
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This report is authored by an external party. BQ Prime does not vouch for the accuracy of its contents nor is responsible for them in any way. The contents of this section do not constitute investment advice. For that you must always consult an expert based on your individual needs. The views expressed in the report are that of the author entity and do not represent the views of BQ Prime.
Users have no license to copy, modify, or distribute the content without permission of the Original Owner. | Not_Explicit |
A new photograph has been released of a smiling Prince George to mark his 10th birthday on Saturday.
The second in line to the throne is seen wearing a check shirt and teal trousers as he sits on outdoor steps at Windsor.
The image was taken by photographer Millie Pilkington, who also snapped Prince Louis ahead of his fifth birthday in April.
And she took a Father's Day picture, released last month, of the Prince of Wales embracing his three children - Prince George, eight-year-old Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis.
George has had a busy month leading up to his 10th birthday.
At the start of July, he and his father were spotted watching the second Ashes Test at Lord's cricket ground in London.
George was seen tucking into a slice of pizza while Prince William talked to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.
A couple of weeks later, George and his younger siblings sat in the cockpit of a C-17 transport aircraft and played with the switches as they enjoyed a family day out at the Royal International Air Tattoo, at RAF Fairford, Gloucestershire.
And last Sunday at Wimbledon, George and Charlotte watched from the Royal Box on Centre Court as Carlos Alcaraz beat Novak Djokovic in the men's singles final.
Prince George Alexander Louis was born in the private Lindo Wing of St Mary's Hospital, Paddington, on 22 July 2013, weighing 8lb 6oz. | Not_Explicit |
Spandana Q1 Results Review - Improving Trajectory In Earnings Sustained: ICICI Securities
RoA expanding to industry-leading 5.9%.
BQ Prime’s special research section collates quality and in-depth equity and economy research reports from across India’s top brokerages, asset managers and research agencies. These reports offer BQ Prime’s subscribers an opportunity to expand their understanding of companies, sectors and the economy.
ICICI Securities Report
Since the new management took charge in March 2022, Spandana Sphoorty Financial Ltd. has embarked on a transformation journey to build a sustainable long-term microfinance lending model.
In all five quarters since then, earnings trajectory kept on improving and in Q1 FY24 its return on asset expanded to 5.9% versus 5.1% in Q4 FY23, 3.7% in Q3 FY23, 2.9% in Q2 FY23 and net loss in Q1 FY23.
Spandana's earnings in Q1 FY24 were driven mainly by strong top-line growth (adjusted for assignment income) and credit cost normalisation.
Total provisions fell to Rs 286 million translating into credit cost moderating to 1.4% versus ~7% in FY23. With management highlighting further yield expansion in Q2/Q3 FY24 and credit cost at 1.6% in FY24, we increase our earnings estimate by 23% each year in FY24E/FY25E.
Maintain 'Buy' with a revised target price of Rs 1,100, valuing at two times September-24 book value per share versus 1.5 times earlier.
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DISCLAIMER
This report is authored by an external party. BQ Prime does not vouch for the accuracy of its contents nor is responsible for them in any way. The contents of this section do not constitute investment advice. For that you must always consult an expert based on your individual needs. The views expressed in the report are that of the author entity and do not represent the views of BQ Prime.
Users have no license to copy, modify, or distribute the content without permission of the Original Owner. | Not_Explicit |
Carlethia "Carlee" Nichole Russell, a 25-year-old Alabama nursing student who told police she was abducted, admitted Monday through a statement from her lawyer that she was not kidnapped.
A massive search for Russell began on July 13 after she called 911 and reported seeing a toddler on the side of the highway. Sheon July 15 and in a brief statement told Hoover police officers she'd been abducted.
In the days since, police said they wereabout being captured. Officers thought they were finally going to meet with her again Monday, but Russell's attorney emailed a statement instead, Hoover Police Chief Nick Derzis said.
Derzis read out the statement at a press conference.
"We ask for your prayers for Carlee as she addresses her issues and attempts to move forward," Derzis read on behalf of Russell's lawyer. "Understanding that she made a mistake in this matter, Carlee again asks for your forgiveness and prayers."
Police still do not know where Russell was during the approximately 49 hours after her disappearance, though they built aof the days before her disappearance. Some of the timeline focuses on "very strange" online searches, Derzis said.
On July 11, Russell searched: "Do you have to pay for an Amber alert," according to police. On the day of her disappearance, Russell searched online for the Birmingham bus station and information on bus tickets. She searched for information on taking money from a register without being caught. Russell also did an online search for the movie "Taken," which is about a woman who is abducted and the ensuing quest to rescue her.
Russell left work in Birmingham, about 10 miles from Hoover, on the day she disappeared, around 8:20 p.m. local time. Surveillance video shows her leaving her workplace with a bathrobe, a roll of toilet paper and other items, all of which police said she kept "concealed."
The Alabama woman ordered food from a nearby business at The Colonnade shopping mall and picked it up before she headed to a Target on Highway 280. She bought some granola bars and Cheez-Its and stayed in the store parking lot until 9:21 p.m.
Russell called 911 at 9:34 p.m. to report a toddler on the highway, saying she'd stopped to check on the boy, police said. Investigators on Wednesday said they never found any evidence of a child on the road.
"My client did not see a baby on the side of the road," Derzis read on behalf of Russell's lawyer during Monday's press conference.
for more features. | Not_Explicit |
UN begins extracting oil from tanker, mitigating risk of environmental catastrophe
The United Nations announced Tuesday morning that it began operations to remove oil from a deteriorating supertanker, the first step toward preventing a natural disaster from unfolding in the Red Sea.
“In the absence of anyone else willing or able to perform this task, the United Nations stepped up and assumed the risk to conduct this very delicate operation,” U.N. Secretary–General António Guterres said about the project in a press statement.
FSO Safer, the 47-year-old tanker, has been a burden on the U.N.’s shoulders since 2015, when Yemen halted maintenance on the vessel due to an outbreak of a civil war in the country.
As a result, FSO Safer has been abandoned and stranded off the coast of Yemen for more than 8 years.
Despite numerous reports over the years warning that the tanker’s structural integrity is failing, Yemen’s rebel group, the Houthis, continued to block foreign attempts to access and inspect the ship.
The U.N.’s project to prevent a colossal oil spill by extracting the tanker’s 48 million gallons of oil was initially launched in 2019, but they also faced pushback from the Houthis when trying to access FSO Safer.
President Biden’s foreign policy regarding Yemen also complicated the matter. Shortly after being inaugurated, Biden stopped U.S. aid to Saudi Arabia’s offensive against the Houthis, which was the strategy of the two previous administrations.
This change, along with removing the Houthis’ designation as a foreign terrorist organization, signaled a shift toward diplomacy within U.S.’s approach to the country’s conflict.
But Biden’s policy switch-up did not have any immediate effect on the effort to stop the oil spill, which is projected to be four times the size of the Exxon Valdez leak. The 1989 incident was the second-largest oil spill in U.S. history.
On February 24th 2021, 20 days after the policy change, the Houthis made a new list of requests that delayed the U.N.’s mission.
After a drawn out process, the U.N. was finally able to begin offloading oil from FSO Safer with the help of a $10 million donation from the U.S. The U.N. anticipates the operation will last 19 days.
“This is an all-hands-on-deck mission and the culmination of nearly two years of political groundwork, fundraising and project development,” Guterres said in the press statement.
U.S. Department of State spokesperson Matthew Miller called on the global community and private industries in a press release to supply the additional $22 million needed to complete the project.
“The oil transfer is a critical step towards averting an economic, environmental, and humanitarian crisis in the Red Sea and beyond,” Miller said.
United Nations Development Program (UNDP) spokesperson Sarah Bel estimated that the potential oil spill would take $20 billion and multiple years to clean up during a press briefing in Geneva.
Copyright 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. | Not_Explicit |
DUESSELDORF, Germany -- A year before the Paris Olympics, and nearly a year-and-a-half since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, officials governing many of the sports on the 2024 program are still split on how to treat Russian athletes.
Increasingly, various governing bodies are allowing them back into Olympic qualifying competitions as neutral competitors without national flags or anthems. Most sports initially barred Russians from competing soon after last year's full-scale invasion.
The International Olympic Committee strongly backs those moves even as the body itself says it hasn't decided if athletes from Russia and ally Belarus can compete at the Paris Games. However, the IOC has delayed action on the one sport whose qualification it runs in-house, boxing.
Most of the sports which have allowed Russians to return also followed IOC advice on its preferred name — "individual neutral athletes” — and to keep barring those who are under contract with the military or who have supported the war publicly. The IOC also recommends blocking Russia from team sports like soccer or basketball.
Ukraine is opposed to any Russians competing. Since last year, Ukrainian athletes and national teams have been boycotting competitions which allow Russians back in, a policy enforced in April by a government decree. Activists from Ukraine have been trawling Russian athletes' social media for pro-war posts that could disqualify them from competing.
Here is a look at the situation for Russian and Ukrainian athletes in key sports on the Olympic program:
TRACK AND FIELD
World Athletics excluded athletes from Russia and Belarus from competitions after the invasion of Ukraine. That remains in place “for the foreseeable future," after a vote of the World Athletics council in March. President Sebastian Coe said at the time that deaths and destruction in Ukraine have only “hardened” his resolve to keep a ban in place.
SWIMMING
World Aquatics is one of the sports taking Russia's return slowly. It has said it favors Russia and Belarus returning to its sports — swimming, diving, water polo, artistic swimming — but set up a task force that won't report back with suggestions until late July. That means no Russians at the world championships this month in Japan.
TENNIS
The big exception among Olympic sports in tennis. The men’s and women’s tours didn’t exclude Russian or Belarusian players when Russia launched its invasion. They even fined tournaments including Wimbledon which did impose restrictions.
Ukrainian players continued competing but often refuse to shake hands with Russians or Belarusians. Aryna Sabalenka, who is from Belarus and won the Australian Open in January, has been questioned about her past support for Belarus’ authoritarian leader, President Alexander Lukashenko. She has said she does not support the war.
Russian and Belarusian players still can’t enter national team competitions like the Davis Cup and Billie Jean King Cup. The International Tennis Federation hasn’t made a final decision on the Olympics but has plenty of time because qualification is decided by the June 2024 world rankings.
GYMNASTICS
Gymnasts from Russia and Belarus will be allowed to take part in sanctioned competitions as “individual neutral athletes” from the start of 2024.
That timetable pushed their return beyond the world championships in early October in Belgium.
Russian gymnasts have been some of the most vocal supporters of the war. Days after the invasion, Ivan Kuliak wore a pro-war “Z” symbol on a competition podium while standing next to a Ukrainian athlete. He was suspended for a year. Other Russian gymnasts appeared on stage at a rally in support of the war, and Olympic gold medalist Nikita Nagornyy heads a military youth organization in Russia.
BOXING
This is the one sport the IOC has total control over, but that doesn't mean a quick decision. The IOC is running Olympic boxing in Paris and qualifiers in-house after a long-running feud with the International Boxing Association and its Russian president. Qualifiers were held at the European Games in June but the host nation, Poland, refused to allow any Russian athletes. A plan to qualify Russians via the Asian Games has been suggested but not confirmed. That could mean any Russian return only happens at two last-chance qualifying tournaments in early 2024.
COMBAT SPORTS
Sports like fencing, judo and taekwondo have seen some of the bitterest disputes. Ukraine boycotted the world championships in both judo and taekwondo, taking a big hit to its Olympic qualifying hopes, after Russians were allowed to compete. In judo the “neutral” delegation of Russian athletes included some previously listed by the Defense Ministry as holding military ranks. The International Judo Federation, which had last year opposed excluding any Russians, said all the Russian competitors were employed at a state sports training facility.
Ukraine is also boycotting some events at the fencing world championships in Italy, another key Olympic qualifier. The International Fencing Federation — whose former president, Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov, said last year he was stepping aside from his duties — has been a strong supporter of reintroducing Russian and Belarusian fencers this year. Competition organizers in several European countries canceled their events in protests, disrupting the Olympic qualifying calendar, and the European Championships were stripped of their status as a qualifier when Poland refused to allow Russians to compete.
TEAM SPORTS
Don't expect to see Russian teams competing in soccer, volleyball, basketball or handball at the Paris Olympics. The IOC still backs excluding Russia from team sports and no Olympic sport has yet defied that regulation. In some events, like men's basketball and soccer, Russia has already missed its last chance to qualify. The IOC also recommends a ban on “team events in individual sports” like relay races or the team all-around in gymnastics.
OTHER SPORTS
Russia is boycotting weightlifting events after its team refused to sign a waiver accepting the conditions for “neutral” status, including a promise to “continue to abstain from expressing any support to the war.” Belarusian athletes signed and are competing.
Some sports like archery have delayed things further. World Archery is exploring plans for a Russian return but said in February it would be “very unlikely” this year, potentially restricting Russia to a limited number of events in the months just before the Olympics.
Canoeing is planning to allow Russians back in some Olympic qualifiers but is giving the local organizers of each competition a veto. Rowing will only allow single sculls and pairs, no larger Russian crews.
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AP Sports Writer Graham Dunbar in Geneva contributed to this report.
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AP coverage of the Paris Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports | Not_Explicit |
The India Opportunity: India In Boom Phase For Small, Mid Caps, Says S Naren
People don't hold investments till long term when they invest in a boom market, says Naren.
Markets are in the boom phase for small and mid caps, according to veteran fund manager S Naren
"I define markets into five phases," Naren, chief investment officer at ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co., said during a discussion at BQ Prime's The India Opportunity Summit on July 13.
The first is bust like when Lehman Brothers collapsed, World Trade Centre was attacked and Covid broke out—that's the best time to invest, if "you have the guts to invest", he said.
The second phase is 'best', when there's no such crisis, but markets are in bad shape. The third phase is 'boring', when there are few notable happenings with moderate buying from foreign institutional investors, and moderate buying in mutual funds. The fourth is 'boom'--like now when small and mid caps are surging.
"What we've seen in boom phase is if you've invested, you normally don't make money in the medium term," Naren said. During the boom market, the medium term is the problem, he said.
In the short term, markets may go up, and in the long term India is a good structural story. "But normally, people don't hold till long term when they invest in a boom market."
The last phase is the bubble, and whoever invests then will lose money, he said. "In bubble phase, the market narrows. There'll be only a few stocks which go up."
Today, according to Naren, we're in the boom phase in only small and mid caps. "We are not in the boom phase in large-cap or multi-cap or flexi-cap."
"Where three-four year returns are very good, you have to be extremely careful," said Sailesh Bhan, chief investment officer, equity, Nippon India Mutual Fund, who was part of the discussion.
Watch the full conversation here: | Not_Explicit |
LINCOLN, Neb. -- A former Nebraska State Patrol evidence technician who stole $1.2 million worth of drugs from evidence storage areas — drugs later tied to a series of overdoses — was sentenced Wednesday to nearly 22 years in prison.
Anna Idigima, 38, pleaded guilty to one drug conspiracy count in federal court in February. Idigima and her boyfriend, George Weaver Jr., conspired to steal cocaine, some of it laced with fentanyl, and sell it, the Lincoln Journal Star reported. Weaver is awaiting sentencing in October.
Idigima apologized during her sentencing hearing. Senior U.S. District Judge John Gerrard said the ramifications were huge: The drugs were connected to a series of overdoses, and nearly 100 criminal cases had to be dismissed because of the lost evidence.
“And for what? A guy? A little bit of cash on the side?" Gerrard asked. “There just isn’t any reason that can explain this.”
Puzzled by an unprecedented spate of overdoses in 2021, narcotics investigators in the Lincoln area uncovered the plot. They audited storage areas where Idigima had access and found 154 pounds (70 kilograms) of marijuana, 19 pounds (9 kilograms) of cocaine and 6 pounds (3 kilograms) of fentanyl missing. | Not_Explicit |
Chinese foreign minister ousted in shakeup
Chinese Foreign Affairs Minister Qin Gang was removed from his post Tuesday and replaced by his predecessor, fueling speculation of personal rivalries within the Chinese Communist Party, according to The Associated Press.
Qin has served as foreign minister since the end of December, but has not made any public appearances since late June. The party gave no explanation for the cabinet change, which is normal for moves in the Chinese government.
Wang Yi will take over as minister of foreign affairs for a second stint, previously serving for nearly a decade from 2013 to December.
Qin was absent from an international summit in Indonesia last week, fueling speculation over his job security. The ministry blamed Qin’s health for the absence.
The change comes as the U.S. ramps up its attempts to mend relations with China amid rising tensions. Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited Beijing last month, meeting with both Qin and Wang, as well as other senior officials including President Xi Jinping.
A State Department spokesperson described those talks as “productive.”
Blinken and Qin discussed “the importance of diplomacy and maintaining open channels of communication across the full range of issues to reduce the risk of misperception and miscalculation,” spokesperson Matthew Miller said last month.
The U.S. and China are dealing with ongoing tensions regarding China’s relationship with Russia, trade and patent disputes and U.S. support for Taiwan.
Copyright 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. | Not_Explicit |
Research Highlights:
- An analysis of more than 202,000 heart attack deaths between 2015-2020 in a single Chinese province found that days that had extreme heat, extreme cold or high levels of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) air pollution were significantly associated with the risk of death from a heart attack, especially in women and older adults.
- The greatest increase in the risk of death from heart attack was seen on days that had the combination of extreme heat and high levels of PM2.5.
- The days with extreme heat were associated with an increased risk of heart attack death in women vs. men, and in older adults than in younger adults. Older adults were also at a greater risk of heart attacks compared to younger adults during days with extreme cold or high levels of PM2.5.
Embargoed until 1 p.m. CT/2 p.m. ET Monday, July 24, 2023
DALLAS, July 24, 2023 — The combination of soaring heat and smothering fine particulate pollution may double the risk of heart attack death, according to a new study of more than 202,000 heart attack deaths in China. The study published today in the American Heart Association’s flagship journal Circulation.
“Extreme temperature events are becoming more frequent, longer and more intense, and their adverse health effects have drawn growing concern. Another environmental issue worldwide is the presence of fine particulate matter in the air, which may interact synergistically with extreme temperatures to adversely affect cardiovascular health,” said senior author Yuewei Liu, M.D., Ph.D., an associate professor of epidemiology in the School of Public Health at Sun Yat-sen University in Guangzhou, China. “However, it remains unknown if and how co-exposure to extreme temperatures and fine particulate pollution might interact to trigger a greater risk of death from heart attack, which is an acute response potentially brought on by an acute scenario and a great public health challenge due to its substantial disease burden worldwide.”
To examine the impact of extreme temperatures with and without high levels of fine particulate pollution, the researchers analyzed 202,678 heart attack deaths between 2015-2020 that occurred in Jiangsu province, a region with four distinct seasons and a wide range of temperatures and fine particulate pollution levels. The deaths were among older adults with an average age of 77.6 years; 52% were older than age 80; and 52% were male. Particulate exposure on the day of each death and one day before death were included in the analysis.
Extreme temperatures were gauged according to the daily heat index (also referred to as apparent temperature) for an area, which captures the combined effect of both heat and humidity. Both the length and extremeness of heat waves and cold snaps were evaluated. Heart attack deaths, or case days, during these periods were compared with control days on the same day of the week in the same month — meaning that if a death occurred on a Wednesday, all other Wednesdays in the same month would be considered control days. Particulate levels were considered high on any day with an average level of fine particulate matter above 37.5 micrograms per cubic meter.
“Our findings provide evidence that reducing exposure to both extreme temperatures and fine particulate pollution may be useful to prevent premature deaths from heart attack, especially for women and older adults,” Liu said.
Compared with control days, the risk of a fatal heart attack was observed at the following levels:
- 18% higher during 2-day heat waves with heat indexes at or above the 90th percentile (ranging from 82.6 to 97.9 degrees Fahrenheit), increasing with temperature and duration, and was 74% higher during 4-day heat waves with heat indexes at or above the 97.5th percentile (ranging from 94.8 to 109.4 degrees Fahrenheit). For context, 6,417 (3.2%) of the 202,678 observed deaths from heart attack happened during heat waves with heat indexes at or above the 95th percentile (ranging from 91.2 to 104.7 degrees Fahrenheit) for three or more days.
- 4% higher during 2-day cold snaps with temperatures at or below the 10th percentile (ranging from 33.3 to 40.5 degrees Fahrenheit), increasing with lower temperatures and duration, and was 12% higher during 3-day cold snaps with temperatures at or below the 2.5th percentile (ranging from 27.0 to 37.2 degrees Fahrenheit). For context, 6,331 (3.1%) of the 202,678 observed deaths from heart attack happened during cold spells with temperatures at or below the 5th percentile (ranging from 30.0 to 38.5 degrees Fahrenheit) for 3 or more days.
- Twice as high during 4-day heat waves that had fine particulate pollution above 37.5 micrograms per cubic meter. Days with high levels of fine particulate pollution during cold snaps did not have an equivalent increase in the risk of heart attack death.
- Generally higher among women than men during heat waves.
- Higher among people ages 80 and older than in younger adults during heat waves, cold snaps or days with high levels of fine particulate pollution.
- The mean age of all individuals who died from a heart attack in Jiangsu from 2015-2020, including during non-extreme temperature events, was 77.6 years old; 52.1% of these individuals were over 80 years old.
The researchers estimated that up to 2.8% of heart attack deaths may be attributed to the combination of extreme temperatures and high levels of fine particulate pollution (> 37.5 micrograms per cubic meter), according to WHO targets.
“Strategies for individuals to avoid negative health effects from extreme temperatures include following weather forecasts, staying inside when temperatures are extreme, using fans and air conditioners during hot weather, dressing appropriately for the weather, proper hydration and installing window blinds to reduce indoor temperatures,” said Liu. “Using an air purifier in the house, wearing a mask outdoors, staying clear of busy highways when walking and choosing less-strenuous outdoor activities may also help to reduce exposure to air pollution on days with high levels of fine particulate pollution. To improve public health, it is important to take fine particulate pollution into consideration when providing extreme temperature warnings to the public.”
In a 2020 scientific statement and a 2020 policy statement, the American Heart Association details the latest science about air pollution exposure and the individual, industrial and policy measures to reduce the negative impact of poor air quality on cardiovascular health. Reducing exposure to air pollution and reversing the negative impact of poor air quality on cardiovascular health, including heart disease and stroke, is essential to reducing health inequities in Black and Hispanic communities, those that have been historically marginalized and under-resourced, and communities that have the highest levels of exposure to air pollution.
The investigators recommended additional research about the possible interactive effects of extreme weather events and fine particulate pollution on heart attack deaths in areas with different temperature and pollution ranges to confirm their findings. The study did not include adjustments for any adaptive behaviors taken by individuals, such as using air conditioning and staying indoors, when temperatures are extreme or pollution levels are high, which could cause misclassification of individuals’ exposure to weather and alter their risk patterns. These results also may not be generalizable to other regions in China or other countries due to potential variations of adaption capacity and temperature distribution.
Background:
- Fine particulates are less than 2.5 microns in size and may be inhaled deep into the lungs, where they can irritate the lungs and blood vessels around the heart. Most are associated with fuel combustion, such as particles from car exhaust, factory emissions or wildfires.
- Previous research has confirmed that exposure to particulate matter including fine particulates is linked to heart disease, stroke and other health issues.
- For context, the World Health Organization’s target for average annual exposure to fine particulate pollution level is no more than 5 micrograms per cubic meter and no more than 15 micrograms per cubic meter for more than 3-4 days per year.
- In this study, heat waves were defined as periods at or above the 90th, 92.5th, 95th and 97.5th percentiles of daily heat indexes (ranging from 82.6 to 109.4 degrees Fahrenheit across Jiangsu province, China) for at least 2, 3 or 4 consecutive days.
- Cold spells were defined as periods at or below the 10th, 7.5th, 5th, 2.5th percentiles of daily heat indexes (ranging from 27 to 40.5 degrees Fahrenheit) for at least 2, 3 or 4 consecutive days.
Co-authors and authors’ disclosures are listed in the manuscript. This study was funded by China’s Ministry of Science and Technology.
Statements and conclusions of studies published in the American Heart Association’s scientific journals are solely those of the study authors and do not necessarily reflect the Association’s policy or position. The Association makes no representation or guarantee as to their accuracy or reliability. The Association receives funding primarily from individuals; foundations and corporations (including pharmaceutical, device manufacturers and other companies) also make donations and fund specific Association programs and events. The Association has strict policies to prevent these relationships from influencing the science content. Revenues from pharmaceutical and biotech companies, device manufacturers and health insurance providers and the Association’s overall financial information are available here.
Additional Resources:
- Multimedia is available on right column of release link
- After July 24, 2023, view the manuscript online.
- AHA news release: Extremely hot and cold days linked to cardiovascular deaths (December 2022)
- AHA news release: Personal protection and public policy change can decrease health impact of pollution (Nov. 2020)
- Follow AHA/ASA news on Twitter @HeartNews
- Follow news from the AHA’s flagship journal Circulation @CircAHA
About the American Heart Association
The American Heart Association is a relentless force for a world of longer, healthier lives. We are dedicated to ensuring equitable health in all communities. Through collaboration with numerous organizations, and powered by millions of volunteers, we fund innovative research, advocate for the public’s health and share lifesaving resources. The Dallas-based organization has been a leading source of health information for nearly a century. Connect with us on heart.org, Facebook, Twitter or by calling 1-800-AHA-USA1.
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Journal
Circulation
Article Title
Risk of fatal heart attack may double in heat wave & high fine particulate pollution days | Not_Explicit |
Former President Trump could be facing his third indictment after he said earlier this month that the Justice Department had notified him that he was a target in their Jan. 6 probe. Some Republicans see the mounting legal problems as only aiding Trump.
As our Alex Bolton reports this morning, some Republican senators are convinced that Trump’s legal controversies will serve to help the former president, not hinder him, as Trump vies for a third GOP presidential nomination.
So far, Trump has been indicted in a probe overseen by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg over an alleged hush money scheme, in addition to a separate Justice Department probe looking into his handling of classified documents that were found at Mar-a-Lago.
The former president is now facing a possible second federal indictment in an investigation being conducted by the Justice Department revolving around the events of the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack. Trump could also face charges around a separate probe overseen by Fulton County District Attorney Fanni Willis around efforts to overturn the 2020 election results in Georgia.
“The things that one would have thought were disqualifying can be enhancing, can be improving your standing,” one GOP senator, who also requested anonymity to speak candidly, told Alex.
Trump has used his compounding legal controversies as a fundraising opportunity. At the same time, polls have shown the difficulty other 2024 contenders have experienced in trying to close the gap between Trump and the rest of the field.
The indictments also come at a particularly bad time for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, whose campaign has gone through several rounds of staff layoffs and whom Republican strategists have said have made some early missteps in his campaign. | Not_Explicit |
HAMILTON, New Zealand -- Japanese players wore black armbands in their Women's World Cup opener against Zambia on Saturday following the death of Fumiko Tottori, the mother of Japanese Princess Takamado.
The princess is the honorary patron of the Japan Football Association, and her mother, Tottori, 96, died Tuesday in Tokyo. FIFA granted the association’s request to wear the bands as a tribute.
The Japanese team wore the armbands days after New Zealand and Norway held a moment of silence ahead of the tournament's opening match after two men were killed in a shooting in downtown Auckland.
Before the tournament, FIFA announced it would permit team captains to wear eight specially designed armbands unveiled earlier this month.
The eight armband designs were based on anti-discriminatory themes including inclusivity toward Indigenous peoples, ending domestic violence and creating gender equality.
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AP Women’s World Cup coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/fifa-womens-world-cup and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports | Not_Explicit |
Historic flooding hits Nova Scotia amid torrential downpours
This weather event appears to be heaviest rainfall in Halifax area since Hurricane Beth in 1971
Nova Scotia is experiencing a historic flooding event as significant rainfall sweeps the province this weekend.
The heaviest rain has fallen across an area which stretches from near Liverpool in Queens County on the South Shore, through Lunenburg County, then across to northwest Halifax County and into Hants County.
Preliminary numbers show rainfall totals in this area ranging from 150-250+ millimetres of rain as of 6 a.m. AT Saturday.
- Cross Country Checkup wants to know how wildfires and extreme heat are changing your summer plans? Are extreme weather events changing the way you think about the future? Fill out the details on this form and send us your stories.
Some folks in these areas, especially near Bedford, Sackville and Windsor, picked up much of that rain in just five to seven hours.
As a result, rivers and streams are overflowing and numerous road washouts are being reported by the Department of Public Works.
The rain continues
Unfortunately, it's not finished yet.
Tropical moisture will continue to stream into the province from the south throughout the day.
Rainfall warnings remain in effect for the Atlantic coastline, including Halifax, as well as Hants County, Kings County and Colchester County.
Additional rainfall amounts in the 50 to 100-millimetre range are possible throughout the day, with even higher amounts possible locally due to more downpours and thunderstorms in this tropical setup.
The rain will finally begin to clear from western areas through Saturday afternoon and then central areas through the evening.
Past events
The most recent similar event occurred in Ingonish, Victoria County, in November 2021, when a rain and wind storm washed out several roads and bridges.
Before that, on Thanksgiving Day in 2014, Sydney experienced serious flooding, which forced dozens of homes to be evacuated.
But this appears to be the heaviest rainfall event to hit the Halifax area since Hurricane Beth in 1971.
That storm dropped 266 millimetres of rain at the Halifax airport and 238 millimetres at Shearwater. | Not_Explicit |
Australia Aims To Conclude Trade Talks With India By Year-End
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in May visited Sydney, and hailed the fast-growing Indian diaspora in Australia for the improving bilateral relations.
(Bloomberg) -- Australia hopes to complete an agreement with India that will expand market access for Australian exporters by the end of the calendar year and before next year’s Indian election, Agriculture Minister Murray Watt said.
Watt and a delegation of agribusiness representatives visited India earlier this month to discuss improving market access for Australian producers under a proposed Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement, which would expand the partial free trade pact that came into effect at the end of last year.
“We are starting to see Australian producers take advantage of those opportunities under the existing deal,” Watt said in an interview. “But we are in the process of negotiating what we hope will be a broader deal.”
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in May visited Sydney, where he held discussions with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and hailed the fast-growing Indian diaspora in Australia for the improving bilateral relations.
Other points:
- Australia is planning to continue talks with the European Union on a free-trade deal in August. While Canberra remains open to continuing negotiations, their EU counterparts are only open “to a point.” Issues to be resolved include access for some Australian agricultural exports, in particular beef.
- Australia is “very hopeful” China’s curbs on barley will be lifted in August. Canberra has agreed to suspend a World Trade Organization case for a fourth month while Beijing reviews the restrictions.
China imposed trade sanctions on a range of Australian goods in 2020 following a call by then-Prime Minister Scott Morrison for an international investigation into the origins of Covid-19. Relations between the countries improved following the election of Albanese’s Labor government in May 2022.
More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com
©2023 Bloomberg L.P. | Not_Explicit |
Almost half in new poll would consider third-party presidential candidate
Almost half of voters in a poll released Wednesday said that they would consider casting their ballot for a third-party presidential candidate in the 2024 election.
The Quinnipiac University poll found that 47 percent said they would consider voting for a third-party candidate, while another 47 percent said they would not.
Independents were much more likely than Democrats or Republicans to say they would consider voting for a candidate not running under a major party banner. While 64 percent of Independents they would consider a third-party ticket, just 35 percent of Democrats and 38 percent of Republicans said the same.
“With neither President Biden nor former President Trump knocking it out of the park on favorability, almost half of the country would consider another option,” Tim Malloy, a Quinnipiac University polling analyst, said in a press release.
“No specific name for the candidate, no specific designation for the party, but it is a vivid indication that for many voters, the status quo is a no-go,” he added.
As the 2024 race heats up, it appears increasingly likely that the election will be a Biden-Trump rematch. Biden, who is facing challenges from two long-shot Democratic candidates, sits well ahead of both, with 71 percent support among Democratic and Democratic leaning voters, the poll found.
Trump is also the clear frontrunner in a crowded Republican field, garnering 54 percent among Republican and Republican leaning voters, the poll found. His closest competitor, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, sits 29 points behind.
However, both Biden and Trump have low favorability ratings. While 40 percent of voters in the poll said they had a favorable opinion of the incumbent president, 38 percent said the same of the former president.
The poll underlines Democratic concerns that third-party candidates could help hand the election to Trump, should he win the GOP primary.
Professor and activist Cornel West has already launched his presidential bid as the People’s Party candidate. And the centrist political group No Labels stoked speculation with an event in New Hampshire this week featuring Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), a moderate who has refused to count out his own presidential run.
The Quinnipiac University poll was conducted July 13-17 with 2,056 adults and had a margin of error of 2.2 percentage points. The poll included 1,809 registered voters with a margin of error of 2.3 percentage points.
Copyright 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. | Not_Explicit |
Carlethia "Carlee" Nichole Russell, a 25-year-old Alabama nursing student who told police she was abducted, admitted Monday through a statement from her lawyer that she was not kidnapped.
A massive search for Russell began on July 13 after she called 911 and reported seeing a toddler on the side of the highway. Sheon July 15 and in a brief statement told Hoover police officers she'd been abducted.
In the days since, police said they wereabout being captured. Officers thought they were finally going to meet with her again Monday, but Russell's attorney emailed a statement instead, Hoover Police Chief Nick Derzis said.
Derzis read out the statement at a press conference.
"We ask for your prayers for Carlee as she addresses her issues and attempts to move forward," Derzis read on behalf of Russell's lawyer. "Understanding that she made a mistake in this matter, Carlee again asks for your forgiveness and prayers."
Police still do not know where Russell was during the approximately 49 hours after her disappearance, though they built aof the days before her disappearance. Some of the timeline focuses on "very strange" online searches, Derzis said.
On July 11, Russell searched: "Do you have to pay for an Amber alert," according to police. On the day of her disappearance, Russell searched online for the Birmingham bus station and information on bus tickets. She searched for information on taking money from a register without being caught. Russell also did an online search for the movie "Taken," which is about a woman who is abducted and the ensuing quest to rescue her.
Russell left work in Birmingham, about 10 miles from Hoover, on the day she disappeared, around 8:20 p.m. local time. Surveillance video shows her leaving her workplace with a bathrobe, a roll of toilet paper and other items, all of which police said she kept "concealed."
The Alabama woman ordered food from a nearby business at The Colonnade shopping mall and picked it up before she headed to a Target on Highway 280. She bought some granola bars and Cheez-Its and stayed in the store parking lot until 9:21 p.m.
Russell called 911 at 9:34 p.m. to report a toddler on the highway, saying she'd stopped to check on the boy, police said. Investigators on Wednesday said they never found any evidence of a child on the road.
"My client did not see a baby on the side of the road," Derzis read on behalf of Russell's lawyer during Monday's press conference.
for more features. | Not_Explicit |
24.07.2023
THEME: WORLD
The New Frontlines: Grain Deals, Drone Strikes, and Global Consequences
The ongoing conflict between Ukraine and Russia has recently escalated, with Ukraine's retaliation to Russia's missile attack on the Black Sea port of Odesa. Early on Monday, Ukrainian drones targeted Moscow and annexed Crimea, hitting two buildings in Moscow and an ammunition depot in Crimea. Although Moscow's electronic warfare systems reportedly intercepted the drones, causing no serious damage or casualties, the strikes marked a significant escalation in the conflict. Russia’s Foreign Ministry denounced the drone strikes as an act of international terrorism, while Crimea saw the evacuation of residents and the suspension of transport services for safety reasons.
Simultaneously, the US imposed new sanctions on Russia, targeting the nation's access to crucial front-line electronics and logistics. Announced on Thursday, these sanctions aim to restrict Kremlin's war funding by limiting its income from the metals and mining sector. The sanctions extend to members of the Russian security service, a regional governor, six deputy ministers, and private military companies, including Gazprom-owned Okhrana. The Russian embassy in Washington has criticized these sanctions as destructive actions aimed at the Kremlin.
The conflict has also had severe implications for global food security, with Russia initially blockading supplies of Ukrainian wheat and cereals, causing a surge in food prices. Although a UN-Turkey brokered deal lifted the blockade last summer, Russia withdrew from the agreement this week. The situation has been further complicated by Ukraine's decision to declare ships traveling to Russia and occupied territories as military targets, in response to Moscow's similar warning.
Recent Russian attacks have damaged the Chinese consulate in Odesa and export facilities in Odesa and nearby Chornomorsk, resulting in the loss of 60,000 tons of grain. This happened following Ukraine's counteroffensive to recapture territory occupied by Russia, which has led to escalated fighting in the region.
In an unexpected development, the Kremlin seized the Russian assets of foreign firms Carlsberg and Danone, handing control of these subsidiaries to regime loyalists. This move has reignited debates about the future of Russia’s Central Bank assets, worth $300 billion, frozen by the G7 at the start of the conflict.
As the conflict intensifies, the world watches with apprehension. The implications of this war extend beyond Ukraine and Russia, impacting global food security, international relations, and the world economy's stability. The decisions made in the coming weeks will undoubtedly have lasting effects, shaping the course of history for years to come.
LINKS TO THE JOURNALS
WORLD PIONEER | Not_Explicit |
DUESSELDORF, Germany -- A year before the Paris Olympics, and nearly a year-and-a-half since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, officials governing many of the sports on the 2024 program are still split on how to treat Russian athletes.
Increasingly, various governing bodies are allowing them back into Olympic qualifying competitions as neutral competitors without national flags or anthems. Most sports initially barred Russians from competing soon after last year's full-scale invasion.
The International Olympic Committee strongly backs those moves even as the body itself says it hasn't decided if athletes from Russia and ally Belarus can compete at the Paris Games. However, the IOC has delayed action on the one sport whose qualification it runs in-house, boxing.
Most of the sports which have allowed Russians to return also followed IOC advice on its preferred name — "individual neutral athletes” — and to keep barring those who are under contract with the military or who have supported the war publicly. The IOC also recommends blocking Russia from team sports like soccer or basketball.
Ukraine is opposed to any Russians competing. Since last year, Ukrainian athletes and national teams have been boycotting competitions which allow Russians back in, a policy enforced in April by a government decree. Activists from Ukraine have been trawling Russian athletes' social media for pro-war posts that could disqualify them from competing.
Here is a look at the situation for Russian and Ukrainian athletes in key sports on the Olympic program:
TRACK AND FIELD
World Athletics excluded athletes from Russia and Belarus from competitions after the invasion of Ukraine. That remains in place “for the foreseeable future," after a vote of the World Athletics council in March. President Sebastian Coe said at the time that deaths and destruction in Ukraine have only “hardened” his resolve to keep a ban in place.
SWIMMING
World Aquatics is one of the sports taking Russia's return slowly. It has said it favors Russia and Belarus returning to its sports — swimming, diving, water polo, artistic swimming — but set up a task force that won't report back with suggestions until late July. That means no Russians at the world championships this month in Japan.
TENNIS
The big exception among Olympic sports in tennis. The men’s and women’s tours didn’t exclude Russian or Belarusian players when Russia launched its invasion. They even fined tournaments including Wimbledon which did impose restrictions.
Ukrainian players continued competing but often refuse to shake hands with Russians or Belarusians. Aryna Sabalenka, who is from Belarus and won the Australian Open in January, has been questioned about her past support for Belarus’ authoritarian leader, President Alexander Lukashenko. She has said she does not support the war.
Russian and Belarusian players still can’t enter national team competitions like the Davis Cup and Billie Jean King Cup. The International Tennis Federation hasn’t made a final decision on the Olympics but has plenty of time because qualification is decided by the June 2024 world rankings.
GYMNASTICS
Gymnasts from Russia and Belarus will be allowed to take part in sanctioned competitions as “individual neutral athletes” from the start of 2024.
That timetable pushed their return beyond the world championships in early October in Belgium.
Russian gymnasts have been some of the most vocal supporters of the war. Days after the invasion, Ivan Kuliak wore a pro-war “Z” symbol on a competition podium while standing next to a Ukrainian athlete. He was suspended for a year. Other Russian gymnasts appeared on stage at a rally in support of the war, and Olympic gold medalist Nikita Nagornyy heads a military youth organization in Russia.
BOXING
This is the one sport the IOC has total control over, but that doesn't mean a quick decision. The IOC is running Olympic boxing in Paris and qualifiers in-house after a long-running feud with the International Boxing Association and its Russian president. Qualifiers were held at the European Games in June but the host nation, Poland, refused to allow any Russian athletes. A plan to qualify Russians via the Asian Games has been suggested but not confirmed. That could mean any Russian return only happens at two last-chance qualifying tournaments in early 2024.
COMBAT SPORTS
Sports like fencing, judo and taekwondo have seen some of the bitterest disputes. Ukraine boycotted the world championships in both judo and taekwondo, taking a big hit to its Olympic qualifying hopes, after Russians were allowed to compete. In judo the “neutral” delegation of Russian athletes included some previously listed by the Defense Ministry as holding military ranks. The International Judo Federation, which had last year opposed excluding any Russians, said all the Russian competitors were employed at a state sports training facility.
Ukraine is also boycotting some events at the fencing world championships in Italy, another key Olympic qualifier. The International Fencing Federation — whose former president, Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov, said last year he was stepping aside from his duties — has been a strong supporter of reintroducing Russian and Belarusian fencers this year. Competition organizers in several European countries canceled their events in protests, disrupting the Olympic qualifying calendar, and the European Championships were stripped of their status as a qualifier when Poland refused to allow Russians to compete.
TEAM SPORTS
Don't expect to see Russian teams competing in soccer, volleyball, basketball or handball at the Paris Olympics. The IOC still backs excluding Russia from team sports and no Olympic sport has yet defied that regulation. In some events, like men's basketball and soccer, Russia has already missed its last chance to qualify. The IOC also recommends a ban on “team events in individual sports” like relay races or the team all-around in gymnastics.
OTHER SPORTS
Russia is boycotting weightlifting events after its team refused to sign a waiver accepting the conditions for “neutral” status, including a promise to “continue to abstain from expressing any support to the war.” Belarusian athletes signed and are competing.
Some sports like archery have delayed things further. World Archery is exploring plans for a Russian return but said in February it would be “very unlikely” this year, potentially restricting Russia to a limited number of events in the months just before the Olympics.
Canoeing is planning to allow Russians back in some Olympic qualifiers but is giving the local organizers of each competition a veto. Rowing will only allow single sculls and pairs, no larger Russian crews.
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AP Sports Writer Graham Dunbar in Geneva contributed to this report.
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AP coverage of the Paris Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports | Not_Explicit |
|Fourth LV= Insurance Ashes Test, Emirates Old Trafford (day three of five):|
|Australia 317 (Labuschagne 51, Marsh 51; Woakes 5-62) & 113-4 (Labuschagne 44*; Wood 3-17)|
|England 592 (Crawley 189, Bairstow 99; Hazlewood 5-126)|
|Australia are 162 runs behind|
|Scorecard|
Mark Wood struck crucial late blows in England's battle against Australia and the Manchester weather in the fourth Ashes Test at Old Trafford.
Wood, bowling with high pace and hostility, snared 3-17 to leave Australia 113-4, a considerable 162 runs behind.
In any other circumstances, England would be huge favourites, yet heavy rain is forecast for the weekend - particularly Saturday's fourth day.
The home side's strong position was forged by piling up 592, their highest total in a home Ashes Test since 1985, to take a first-innings lead of 275.
Harry Brook made 61 and Ben Stokes 51, but the real pyrotechnics came from Jonny Bairstow, who clobbered a thrilling 99 not out.
Bairstow added 66 in a riotous last-wicket partnership with James Anderson and was only denied a deserved hundred when Anderson was lbw to Cameron Green.
At 2-1 up in the series and knowing a draw is enough to retain the Ashes, Australia are batting for time and the rain. They lost openers Usman Khawaja and David Warner to Wood and Chris Woakes respectively.
Stubborn pair Marnus Labuschagne and Steve Smith quietened the crowd before Wood had Smith caught hooking and bounced out Travis Head.
Labuschagne remains unbeaten on 44, an obstacle as large as the weather in the home side's bid to continue an unprecedented English comeback from 2-0 down in an Ashes series.
England weigh up weather conundrum
Ordinarily, England would be well on course for a series-levelling victory, but could face a race against time win their first Ashes Test on this ground since 1981. If the weather forecast is to be believed, Saturday is a washout and Sunday curtailed.
All of this would have been factored into their approach with the bat on Friday. Their stated aim was to get as many runs as possible in the first innings, the theory being that would be the quickest way to win and it is easier to score runs in the first innings than in a tricky second-innings chase.
Whether or not England batted too long will only be revealed over the next two days. Their innings did not end until nearly 15:00 BST - later than most would have expected at the beginning of the day.
In that time, there was further evidence that Australia have had their minds frazzled by England's aggression. Ambitions of winning the match were abandoned by the first ball of the day, there was noticeable frustration at Pat Cummins' tactics and the chaos caused by Bairstow and Anderson was comical.
England find themselves 2-1 down because of the mistakes they made in the first two Tests, but have been superb at Old Trafford to engineer the chance of victory.
They now look the superior team and, regardless of the outcome of this match, will go to The Oval as favourites to win the final Test.
Wood and Woakes strike vital blows
Even if England are set to be hampered by the weather, they will take encouragement from a pitch that is showing increasing evidence of uneven bounce.
They were times when Australia were settled - the mini partnerships between Khawaja and Warner, then Labuschangne and Smith - but Wood and Woakes have been difference-makers since coming into the England side for the third Test.
Wood needed only two deliveries to have Khawaja poking an edge behind, while Woakes caused enough uncertainty for Warner to play on to his own stumps.
Woakes almost had Smith without scoring, only for the third umpire to adjudge an edge had not carried to Joe Root at first slip.
Just as Smith was starting to look ominous, Wood switched ends and cranked up the velocity. Smith's top edge to Bairstow was Wood's 100th Test wicket before Head, never comfortable against the short ball, gloved a catch to gully from a 91mph delivery.
Labuschagne was joined by Mitchell Marsh, who defended 27 balls for his one not out.
Brilliant Bairstow toys with Australians
From a platform of 384-4 overnight, England were looking to push forward on Friday morning. Though they added 122 runs in the morning session, it was not the out and out carnage that could have materialised.
Brook and Stokes, resuming on 14 and 24 respectively, helped themselves to half-centuries but, with the field back and ball soft, boundaries were hard to come by. When Australia took the second new ball some 10 overs after it became available, Josh Hazlewood removed Brook and Woakes with successive deliveries.
It was only when last man Anderson joined Bairstow, who at that point was 49 from 50 balls, did the fun really begin.
Bairstow went to 50 by pulling Mitchell Starc for six and the assault was on. Australia spread all nine fielders to the boundary and, just as they did on Thursday, lost control.
In an attempt to farm the strike, Bairstow three times pinched a bye to wicketkeeper Alex Carey, a measure of revenge for Carey's controversial stumping in the second Test at Lord's.
Bairstow belted three more sixes, one a huge wallop over mid-wicket off Cummins. He took 50 runs off the last 31 balls he faced, with Anderson bravely fending off bouncers and even swiping a four of his own.
With Bairstow on 98, he looked for the two to take him to three figures, only to send Anderson back. Next ball, Anderson was palpably leg before to Green, leaving Bairstow as the first England batter stranded on 99 in a Test since Alex Tudor 24 years ago. | Not_Explicit |
On Tuesday Israel’s sovereign credit rating was lowered by credit rating agency Morgan Stanley, and Moody's warned of a "significant risk" that political and social tensions will lead to "negative consequences for Israel's economy and security situation," following the Knesset’s vote to pass the first law of its controversial judicial reform on Monday.
Morgan Stanley updated Israel’s sovereign credit to a "dislike stance," noting that the government has reaffirmed the trajectory of its economy in a direction that is likely to scare off investors.
"We see increased uncertainty about the economic outlook in the coming months and risks becoming skewed to our adverse scenario,” the agency said. “Markets are now likely to extrapolate the future policy path and we move Israel sovereign credit to a 'dislike stance.’”
They added that recent events indicate "ongoing uncertainty" in Israel and that the shekel is likely to continue depreciating alongside the Tel Aviv Stock Market, which has lost nearly 10% since November of last year.
Shoveling more problems onto the pile
Moody's warned that there is "a significant risk that political and social tensions over the [judicial reform] will continue, with negative consequences for Israel's economy and security situation."
The credit rating agency warned that it believes that "the wide-ranging nature of the government's proposals could materially weaken the judiciary's independence and disrupt effective checks and balances between the various branches of government, which are important aspects of strong institutions."
The agency added that "the executive and legislative institutions have become less predictable and more willing to create significant risks to economic and social stability."
Moody’s announcement was made outside of its standard schedule for rating updates, which would have seen the next update in October. Given the outlook of Morgan Stanley and prior statements from Moody’s, the latter can likely be expected to demote Israel’s rating as well.
In April, the agency affirmed Israel’s sovereign credit rating at "A1" but downgraded the outlook on the Israeli government's credit ratings to "stable" from its prior status as "positive." Moody’s cited “a weakening of institutional strength and policy predictability” and “a deterioration of Israel's governance” as its primary concerns for Israel’s economy.
Netanyahu, Smotrich dismiss Moody's announcement as a 'momentary reaction'
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich dismissed the announcement set to be published by Moody's on Tuesday afternoon, stating "This is a momentary reaction, when the dust settles it will become clear that Israel's economy is very strong."
"Israel's economy is based on solid foundations and will continue to grow under an experienced leadership that leads a responsible economic policy."
For months, hundreds of economists, experts, and executives throughout Israel and around the world have warned against the current government’s plan for judicial reform, claiming that it will lead to a sharp decline in foreign investment due to a lack of economic stability brought about by the weakened legal system.
Recent credit rating downgrades are only the latest signs of damage to the country’s economy. According to a report from Start-Up Nation Central published on Sunday, 68% of start-ups have already initiated steps such as withdrawing cash reserves, relocating their headquarters outside of Israel, moving employees abroad, and conducting layoffs in response to the judicial reform’s impending effects on the economy.
“Whatever your political views about it, what's happening now in the country reflects big time on the business community. Now, doing business with Israel is a little bit more complicated, more risky, and that's largely affected Israel’s overseas income,” Aman Group CEO Ben Pasternak told the Post. “Now, uncertainty is very large around the world as it is, but in Israel it’s even higher… Uncertainty kills business.” | Not_Explicit |
BEIJING, July 24 (Reuters) - China is struggling to revive foreign investment in its financially battered cities and provinces as foreign firms remain wary of political risks and new incentives fall far short of sweeteners once used to attract overseas money.
With their coffers depleted after an economically bruising pandemic and property crisis, local authorities have been racing to find new revenue sources, with foreign investment particularly coveted.
Premier Li Qiang in March declared China open for business again, and since then provinces and cities from Sichuan to Chaozhou have sent delegations across the globe to pitch and invited investors to rare symposiums.
However, foreign industry executives and lobbyists say the incentives many local governments now offer are far less attractive than they were a decade ago, when companies could easily win subsidies or free land use and the regulatory environment seemed more predictable.
"Clearly the China-side is very much getting on the front foot with international engagement," said Kiran Patel, senior director at the China-Britain Business Council. He cited five meetings between their London office and delegations from Chinese local governments in late June.
But "there’s still a lot of work to do in terms of warming up or reheating interest in China," he warned.
The charm offensive contrasts with Beijing's more hawkish overtures about dominance in supply chains and President Xi Jinping's increased focus on national security.
Dollar-denominated foreign direct investment (FDI) fell 5.6% in January-May from the same period last year, despite the end of strict COVID curbs, as the post-pandemic recovery in the world's second-largest economy faltered.
China's Ministry of Commerce did not respond to a request for comment.
BENEFITS, NOT INCENTIVES
Noah Fraser, managing director of the Canada China Business Council, said his organisation had also been on the receiving end of a "charm offensive" from municipal, provincial and regional authorities, but that his understanding from most of them was that cash would not be forthcoming and projects would need to be self-financed.
"They'll be friendly, they'll be open minded, but I don't suspect that they have a great deal of financial capital to move with," he said. "So I think any equity or any assets will be...in the relationships and permissions that get rid of the red tape."
Senior executives from three large Western companies that Reuters spoke to on the condition of anonymity said they were similarly unconvinced after discussing prospective investment with local authorities.
"(The incentives) are not worth engaging our finance team over, it's public affairs work, as it's a conversation we're having with the local government, but it's not going to affect the company's investment or operational decisions," said one of the executives.
He added that while in the past his company had been offered enterprise tax waivers and deals on land to put in fresh investment, an eastern Chinese government had recently only offered him a deal on personal income tax for their top executives amounting to 6 million yuan.
"I wouldn't say its an incentive. It's a benefit. But would our company stay in China forever for this 6 million yuan? No."
PART OF THE SYSTEM
Local authorities carry out a delicate balancing act when courting foreign investment and dealing with critical questions about Xi's security policies.
Many foreign companies have expressed concerns over the changing business environment in China, which in recent years has been marked by a crackdown on consultancies affecting how investors can perform due diligence, as well as new data and anti-espionage laws.
Analysts say there is now very little tolerance for deviation from Chinese Communist Party thinking on business, which has forced many foreign firms to rethink their approach to China.
"I do think (Li Qiang) wants and intends to bring inbound investment back, but he's someone who's loyal and so should he be asked to lock down Shanghai again or do anything that isn't business friendly, he would," said Agatha Kratz, director at Rhodium Group, a China-focused consultancy.
One of the three executives, whose employer is a foreign automaker, said he had been surprised by how officials had repeatedly raised Xi's policies on self-reliance and self-strengthening in a recent meeting in a southern Chinese city.
"As far as the macro situation is concerned, local governments can't do anything to reassure foreign investors. Actually, they are part of the system," he said.
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. | Not_Explicit |
Research Highlights:
- An analysis of more than 202,000 heart attack deaths between 2015-2020 in a single Chinese province found that days that had extreme heat, extreme cold or high levels of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) air pollution were significantly associated with the risk of death from a heart attack, especially in women and older adults.
- The greatest increase in the risk of death from heart attack was seen on days that had the combination of extreme heat and high levels of PM2.5.
- The days with extreme heat were associated with an increased risk of heart attack death in women vs. men, and in older adults than in younger adults. Older adults were also at a greater risk of heart attacks compared to younger adults during days with extreme cold or high levels of PM2.5.
Embargoed until 1 p.m. CT/2 p.m. ET Monday, July 24, 2023
DALLAS, July 24, 2023 — The combination of soaring heat and smothering fine particulate pollution may double the risk of heart attack death, according to a new study of more than 202,000 heart attack deaths in China. The study published today in the American Heart Association’s flagship journal Circulation.
“Extreme temperature events are becoming more frequent, longer and more intense, and their adverse health effects have drawn growing concern. Another environmental issue worldwide is the presence of fine particulate matter in the air, which may interact synergistically with extreme temperatures to adversely affect cardiovascular health,” said senior author Yuewei Liu, M.D., Ph.D., an associate professor of epidemiology in the School of Public Health at Sun Yat-sen University in Guangzhou, China. “However, it remains unknown if and how co-exposure to extreme temperatures and fine particulate pollution might interact to trigger a greater risk of death from heart attack, which is an acute response potentially brought on by an acute scenario and a great public health challenge due to its substantial disease burden worldwide.”
To examine the impact of extreme temperatures with and without high levels of fine particulate pollution, the researchers analyzed 202,678 heart attack deaths between 2015-2020 that occurred in Jiangsu province, a region with four distinct seasons and a wide range of temperatures and fine particulate pollution levels. The deaths were among older adults with an average age of 77.6 years; 52% were older than age 80; and 52% were male. Particulate exposure on the day of each death and one day before death were included in the analysis.
Extreme temperatures were gauged according to the daily heat index (also referred to as apparent temperature) for an area, which captures the combined effect of both heat and humidity. Both the length and extremeness of heat waves and cold snaps were evaluated. Heart attack deaths, or case days, during these periods were compared with control days on the same day of the week in the same month — meaning that if a death occurred on a Wednesday, all other Wednesdays in the same month would be considered control days. Particulate levels were considered high on any day with an average level of fine particulate matter above 37.5 micrograms per cubic meter.
“Our findings provide evidence that reducing exposure to both extreme temperatures and fine particulate pollution may be useful to prevent premature deaths from heart attack, especially for women and older adults,” Liu said.
Compared with control days, the risk of a fatal heart attack was observed at the following levels:
- 18% higher during 2-day heat waves with heat indexes at or above the 90th percentile (ranging from 82.6 to 97.9 degrees Fahrenheit), increasing with temperature and duration, and was 74% higher during 4-day heat waves with heat indexes at or above the 97.5th percentile (ranging from 94.8 to 109.4 degrees Fahrenheit). For context, 6,417 (3.2%) of the 202,678 observed deaths from heart attack happened during heat waves with heat indexes at or above the 95th percentile (ranging from 91.2 to 104.7 degrees Fahrenheit) for three or more days.
- 4% higher during 2-day cold snaps with temperatures at or below the 10th percentile (ranging from 33.3 to 40.5 degrees Fahrenheit), increasing with lower temperatures and duration, and was 12% higher during 3-day cold snaps with temperatures at or below the 2.5th percentile (ranging from 27.0 to 37.2 degrees Fahrenheit). For context, 6,331 (3.1%) of the 202,678 observed deaths from heart attack happened during cold spells with temperatures at or below the 5th percentile (ranging from 30.0 to 38.5 degrees Fahrenheit) for 3 or more days.
- Twice as high during 4-day heat waves that had fine particulate pollution above 37.5 micrograms per cubic meter. Days with high levels of fine particulate pollution during cold snaps did not have an equivalent increase in the risk of heart attack death.
- Generally higher among women than men during heat waves.
- Higher among people ages 80 and older than in younger adults during heat waves, cold snaps or days with high levels of fine particulate pollution.
- The mean age of all individuals who died from a heart attack in Jiangsu from 2015-2020, including during non-extreme temperature events, was 77.6 years old; 52.1% of these individuals were over 80 years old.
The researchers estimated that up to 2.8% of heart attack deaths may be attributed to the combination of extreme temperatures and high levels of fine particulate pollution (> 37.5 micrograms per cubic meter), according to WHO targets.
“Strategies for individuals to avoid negative health effects from extreme temperatures include following weather forecasts, staying inside when temperatures are extreme, using fans and air conditioners during hot weather, dressing appropriately for the weather, proper hydration and installing window blinds to reduce indoor temperatures,” said Liu. “Using an air purifier in the house, wearing a mask outdoors, staying clear of busy highways when walking and choosing less-strenuous outdoor activities may also help to reduce exposure to air pollution on days with high levels of fine particulate pollution. To improve public health, it is important to take fine particulate pollution into consideration when providing extreme temperature warnings to the public.”
In a 2020 scientific statement and a 2020 policy statement, the American Heart Association details the latest science about air pollution exposure and the individual, industrial and policy measures to reduce the negative impact of poor air quality on cardiovascular health. Reducing exposure to air pollution and reversing the negative impact of poor air quality on cardiovascular health, including heart disease and stroke, is essential to reducing health inequities in Black and Hispanic communities, those that have been historically marginalized and under-resourced, and communities that have the highest levels of exposure to air pollution.
The investigators recommended additional research about the possible interactive effects of extreme weather events and fine particulate pollution on heart attack deaths in areas with different temperature and pollution ranges to confirm their findings. The study did not include adjustments for any adaptive behaviors taken by individuals, such as using air conditioning and staying indoors, when temperatures are extreme or pollution levels are high, which could cause misclassification of individuals’ exposure to weather and alter their risk patterns. These results also may not be generalizable to other regions in China or other countries due to potential variations of adaption capacity and temperature distribution.
Background:
- Fine particulates are less than 2.5 microns in size and may be inhaled deep into the lungs, where they can irritate the lungs and blood vessels around the heart. Most are associated with fuel combustion, such as particles from car exhaust, factory emissions or wildfires.
- Previous research has confirmed that exposure to particulate matter including fine particulates is linked to heart disease, stroke and other health issues.
- For context, the World Health Organization’s target for average annual exposure to fine particulate pollution level is no more than 5 micrograms per cubic meter and no more than 15 micrograms per cubic meter for more than 3-4 days per year.
- In this study, heat waves were defined as periods at or above the 90th, 92.5th, 95th and 97.5th percentiles of daily heat indexes (ranging from 82.6 to 109.4 degrees Fahrenheit across Jiangsu province, China) for at least 2, 3 or 4 consecutive days.
- Cold spells were defined as periods at or below the 10th, 7.5th, 5th, 2.5th percentiles of daily heat indexes (ranging from 27 to 40.5 degrees Fahrenheit) for at least 2, 3 or 4 consecutive days.
Co-authors and authors’ disclosures are listed in the manuscript. This study was funded by China’s Ministry of Science and Technology.
Statements and conclusions of studies published in the American Heart Association’s scientific journals are solely those of the study authors and do not necessarily reflect the Association’s policy or position. The Association makes no representation or guarantee as to their accuracy or reliability. The Association receives funding primarily from individuals; foundations and corporations (including pharmaceutical, device manufacturers and other companies) also make donations and fund specific Association programs and events. The Association has strict policies to prevent these relationships from influencing the science content. Revenues from pharmaceutical and biotech companies, device manufacturers and health insurance providers and the Association’s overall financial information are available here.
Additional Resources:
- Multimedia is available on right column of release link
- After July 24, 2023, view the manuscript online.
- AHA news release: Extremely hot and cold days linked to cardiovascular deaths (December 2022)
- AHA news release: Personal protection and public policy change can decrease health impact of pollution (Nov. 2020)
- Follow AHA/ASA news on Twitter @HeartNews
- Follow news from the AHA’s flagship journal Circulation @CircAHA
About the American Heart Association
The American Heart Association is a relentless force for a world of longer, healthier lives. We are dedicated to ensuring equitable health in all communities. Through collaboration with numerous organizations, and powered by millions of volunteers, we fund innovative research, advocate for the public’s health and share lifesaving resources. The Dallas-based organization has been a leading source of health information for nearly a century. Connect with us on heart.org, Facebook, Twitter or by calling 1-800-AHA-USA1.
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Journal
Circulation
Article Title
Risk of fatal heart attack may double in heat wave & high fine particulate pollution days | Not_Explicit |
Wheat prices soar after Russian attack on Danube port
Wheat prices hit a five-month high after Russia attacked a port on the Danube, disrupting a vital export route for Ukrainian grain to global markets, Bloomberg reported.
On Monday, Russia launched a drone attack on the port of Reni on the Danube in Ukraine, destroying a grain storage facility. This attack came about a week after Moscow terminated an agreement that allowed Ukraine to transport its harvest through the Black Sea and subsequently targeted ports in Odesa.
Michael Magdovitz, a senior commodity analyst at Rabobank Group, said that wheat is likely to be most affected by any shutoff in export capacity, followed by corn
Magdovitz added that vegetable oils may still be transported on truck and train, but it’s less cost effective for grains to be exported that way.
Wheat futures climbed as much as 2.6% in Chicago to $7.7725 a bushel, the highest since Feb. 21. Futures jumped by the exchange limit the previous day. Corn for December delivery rose as much as 0.7%.
Reni is one of Ukraine’s biggest river ports for grain and is located on the Danube at the border with Romania. Local traders had been expanding capacity there in response to Russia’s sea blockade. While it’s unclear how far the attacks will impact exports from Reni, the strikes increase operational risks.
Russian attack on the port of Reni
On the night of July 24, Russian forces attacked the Ukrainian river port of Reni on the Danube, located near the Romanian border.
The drone strike resulted in the destruction of a grain storage facility and damage to several reservoirs containing other types of cargo, as well as other port facilities.
This attack came after Russia's withdrawal from the grain deal which has a significant impact on food security worldwide. | Not_Explicit |
As he headlines the Latitude Festival, George Ezra offers some redundant instructions.
"Halfway through this song," he tells the audience, "I'm going to introduce you to some words and we're going to sing them together."
The audience don't need asking. They already know the drill. They've been singing at the top of their lungs all day.
By luck or design, festival organisers have planned a whole day of singalongs. A Radio 2 playlist of golden oldies and modern classics.
Ezra is at the top of the bill, playing the last show of his 18-month world tour.
But 12 hours earlier, the main stage in Suffolk opened with Manchester indie band James, celebrating their 40th anniversary by reworking their back catalogue with an orchestra and a gospel choir.
They start with an ace - a hushed version of Sit Down that blows away any campsite cobwebs in the audience.
"We came on at this time, where there wouldn't be any noise pollution, so we could do some of our more quiet songs," says frontman Tim Booth.
Frustratingly, they almost squander the goodwill, continuing the set with the 2010 album track Dust Motes and an obscure b-side, The Lake. Even Booth admits these tracks will test the audience's "concentration and patience", which makes you wonder why they bothered.
But when they turn to the hits - Tomorrow, Born Of Frustration, Laid - everything comes to life. Then an audience member screams, "Play Say Something!" and, to his surprise, the band agree.
"Don't tell anyone we took a request," asks Booth. "It'd be terrible if this caught on."
The highlight is Sometimes, which ends with a long, lingering chorus that alternates between the choir and the crowd. The band line up at the front of the stage to take it in, clearly moved at the response.
The stage manager feels the same - and gifts them an extra 10 minutes to keep the magic flowing.
After Ireland's Picture This deliver some high-energy pop kicks, The Bootleg Beatles take the stage, boasting the rather unfair luxury of the world's best song catalogue to construct their setlist from.
Thankfully, they avoid Maxwell's Silver Hammer and open with the mop top classics - Can't Buy Me Love, Twist and Shout, Help - before swerving into the post-Pepper era with I've Got A Feeling, Get Back and Come Together.
They illustrate the two halves with era-appropriate costume changes, transforming from clean-cut youngsters to shaggy-haired iconoclasts.
"It's amazing what LSD can do for your hair," quips the Bootleg John Lennon.
The set ends with Hey Jude (what else?) producing more na-nas than the man from Del Monte.
Sophie Ellis-Bextor covers Madonna's Like A Prayer, but she's more like a Ray of Light - high kicking and shimmying around the stage, saying hello to everyone in the audience while streamers flail from her epaulettes.
Complying with proper festival etiquette, she completely ignores her new album to play a Kitchen Disco set that interspersed her hits with covers of Moloko's Sing It Back and Mojo's Lady (Hear Me Tonight).
But the emotional high point comes when she introduces her mum, former Blue Peter presenter Janet Ellis, who was watching from the side of the stage.
"This is her first ever festival," Sophie announces. "It's taken me 25 years to get her to come to a field⦠It's a bit like seeing the Queen."
As she plays Young Blood - written about the enduring love between her mum and step-dad John Leach, who died in 2020 - the camera pans to Ellis, wiping tears from her eyes.
After a brief reset, Scottish rockers The Proclaimers take the reins, attracting a massive crowd who just want to belt out (I'm Gonna Be) 500 Miles.
Newcomer Mimi Webb has a smaller, younger, but no less enthusiastic audience, chanting her name and sitting on parent's shoulders to scream the words to Red Flags and House On Fire.
Webb's parents also make an appearance - staging a stage invasion to present her with a 23rd birthday cake and lead everyone in an impromptu chorus of Happy Birthday.
The singer later confesses her birthday wish in 2022 had been to play Latitude.
"That was my goal for this year [and] I am so, so stoked to be here."
Ezra gets the biggest crowd of the entire weekend, and a young one too - toting glow sticks, bubble guns and Pokemon hats as they dance around to his effortlessly sunny pop songs.
It would take a hard heart not to warm to tracks like Anyone For You, Budapest, and Paradise, all of which hold the tantalising promise of escape (a dream everyone is trying desperately to hold onto, as the festival ends and they face the quagmire of the carpark).
When he switches to the romantic beauty of Hold My Girl, you can hear a pin drop; and when he plays the ebullient Green Green Grass - "a celebration of life" - the party spills out beyond the Obelisk arena, with kids and parents dancing around the food stalls.
Ezra's job seems simple - but writing life-affirming pop songs is much harder than moping around being edgy. The audience embrace him not because he's cool, but because there's a mountain top we're all dreaming of.
Or most of us, at least.
The BBC Sounds tent caters to the audience who want something more visceral, with a noisy, jolting set from Black Midi; and a rare chance to see Siouxsie Sioux, playing only her second UK gig in 10 years.
She twists bewitchingly across the stage in a silver jumpsuit, punching out the beats of goth-punk anthems like Spellbound, Happy House and Hong Kong Garden.
Her still-loyal fans are so eager to get close that she has to admonish them.
"You're all packed in like sardines," she declares before launching into Kiss Them For Me. "You need some room to dance".
Back on the main stage, Ezra is about to wrap up.
"We've been on tour playing these songs for 18 months and this is our last show," he declares.
"It has been an absolute pleasure to share it with you."
Then he launches into Shotgun, his biggest, singalongiest number, augmented by fireworks and confetti and arms being punched in the air.
But, as if to prove a point, Latitude didn't let their headliner have the last word.
As the audience file away, the speakers start playing Matthew Wilder's 1980s oddity Break My Stride.
And that, for no apparent reason, becomes the closing chorus of Singalong Sunday. | Not_Explicit |
Crowned Miss England, Jessica Gagen is on a mission to become an astronaut, and has just graduated from university with a bachelor’s degree in Aerospace Engineering.
The 27-year-old became the first ever redhead winner of the prestigious beauty pageant last year in October and, after juggling competitions on the catwalk alongside her studies at the University of Liverpool, was delighted when she graduated alongside her classmates this week.
She now wants to use her degree and beauty queen title to inspire the next generation of female engineers and get more women into STEM subjects.
Her university journey was fraught with obstacles as she suffered insomnia and chest pains while combining her studies with being Miss England.
“I think it’s important that today’s youth know that sometimes things don’t go entirely to plan, and that’s perfectly okay,” said Jessica, who’s from Lancashire, near Liverpool.
“But I’m incredibly proud with what I have achieved. I don’t think it’s quite sunk in yet.
“Aerospace engineering was very challenging, covering topics like aerodynamics, structural mechanics, programming, and advanced materials. It equips candidates with a range of skills sought after by different industries, making them highly employable in the fields of science, technology and finance.
“I absolutely loved it. It certainly opens up a lot of opportunities for me and I can’t wait to see what the future holds.”
She says she went out to celebrate “with the lads” after graduation because there weren’t many girls in her department.
When she started her college career she had no intention of entering Miss England, but after noticing the lack of females at school—only about 10 percent of her classmates were women—she made it her mission to advertise the subject to the next generation through social media, which subsequently lead her to be scouted for Miss England.
“There’s a lot of work that goes into becoming Miss England, and I really wanted to win because I knew I could use the platform to get more girls into engineering.”
Upon winning the contest, Jessica recalls, “I was ecstatic and life went crazy.
“I had to protect my health and my grade – I was set to be traveling around the world with the Miss England team from February, a once in a lifetime opportunity. But was thrilled to be able to attend the graduation ceremony.
“The lads in class felt like little brothers, we had the best relationship and I missed them incredibly, so it was lovely still being able to graduate with them.
Jessica now spends a lot of time visiting schools up and down the country giving free talks about STEM subjects, aimed to advertise them to the next generation.
She plans to go back to school and get her Masters degree but will continue the pageant circuit by competing in the 71st annual Miss World Contest in December.
With an eye toward space her ambitions include becoming an astronaut—the first beauty queen in outer space.
INSPIRE Girls to Show Off Beauty AND Brains By Sharing on Social Media… | Not_Explicit |
Silencing Dissent
The UK Government's Authoritarian Crackdown on Protest
In recent years, the UK government has embarked on a disturbing path, systematically dismantling the right to protest, and in doing so, trampled on civil liberties. Despite the legal protection of peaceful demonstrations under the European Convention of Human Rights, the government has implemented restrictive measures that infringe upon the fundamental right to protest. These actions raise concerns about the state of democracy and the preservation of civil freedoms in the UK.
One of the most controversial pieces of legislation, used to this end, is the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022, introduced by the Conservative government. This act grants the police unprecedented powers to impose conditions on protests and demonstrations. Police officers can now dictate start and finish times, limit locations, and enforce maximum noise levels, effectively suppressing the ability of protesters to convey their message effectively.
Furthermore, the act enables government ministers to create regulations without parliamentary approval, altering the definitions of “serious disruption to the life of the community” and “serious disruption to the activities of an organization.” This executive power undermines democratic checks and balances, allowing the government to redefine and expand the scope of what constitutes “serious disruption” at will, and not only that – but I would wager that this change was made intentionally so that successive governments would find an easier path when seeking to curtail the freedoms of protesters.
Previously, static demonstrations enjoyed more lenient regulations compared to protest marches. However, under the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act, static demonstrations are now subjected to the same stringent conditions as protest marches. This includes location restrictions, limiting the duration of the protest, and restricting the number of participants. These conditions effectively hamper the ability of peaceful demonstrators to assemble and express their grievances, which, whilst no longer a surprise to me, will likely come as a surprise to many that don’t read or watch the news often.
The Act introduces a broad offence of “intentionally or recklessly causing public nuisance,” replacing the common law offence of public nuisance. This new definition extends the scope of what can be considered a criminal offence, potentially criminalizing actions that cause serious annoyance, inconvenience, or disturbance. By giving the police significant discretion in interpreting this offence, the Act creates a chilling effect on protest activities, making it difficult for individuals to exercise their right to protest without fear of arrest and punishment.
Another concerning development is the expansion of stop and search powers, particularly in London during recent protests. Civil liberties campaigners have criticized the police for misusing these powers to deliberately target demonstrators. The Public Order Bill further extends the grounds for justifying a search, allowing police to search individuals without suspicion if they are close to a protest deemed to be causing “annoyance.” This overreach of police authority undermines the principle of freedom of assembly and gives rise to concerns about the suppression of dissenting voices.
These restrictive measures imposed by the UK government severely hamper the exercise of democratic rights and freedoms. By stifling protests and limiting the ability of individuals to express their grievances, the government is undermining the foundations of a free and democratic society. The erosion of civil liberties and the concentration of power in the hands of government ministers raise alarm bells about the future of democracy in the UK. Since this assault on protest, hundreds of protesters have been arrested and held using the glaringly overreaching Bill. Opposition to the monarchy from Republicans was ruthlessly put down, those protesting against the lack of action on the climate crisis, and those protesting and striking for better pay and working conditions, have also been unfairly targeted by these new powers.
To me there is no longer a concern that this power ‘could’ be abused, the evidence of that abuse is everywhere before us – A simple search of protests since the bill became law can provide the evidence for you. The UK government's increasing restrictions on protests represent a worrying trend towards the erosion of civil liberties and the stifling of dissenting voices. The Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 and the Public Order Bill grant excessive powers to the police, limit the right to peaceful assembly, and curtail freedom of expression. These actions not only undermine the democratic principles upon which the UK is founded, but also create a chilling effect on protest activities. It is crucial for civil society and advocates of freedom to challenge these measures and safeguard the right to protest, ensuring that the voices of the people are not silenced in the face of governmental overreach. | Not_Explicit |
WASHINGTON, July 20 (Reuters) - A Senate panel on Thursday was set to debate and vote on Democratic-backed legislation that would mandate a binding ethics code for the U.S. Supreme Court following revelations that some conservative justices have failed to disclose luxury trips and real estate transactions.
The measure, however, faces Republican opposition that may doom its chances even if it is approved by the Judiciary Committee at its session due to start at 9:30 a.m. (1330 GMT).
Introduced by Democratic Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, the bill would impose on the top U.S. judicial body new requirements for financial disclosures and for recusal from cases in which a justice may have a conflict of interest. It would require the justices to adopt a code of conduct as well as create a mechanism to investigate alleged violations.
Unlike other members of the federal judiciary, the Supreme Court's nine life-tenured justices have no binding ethics code of conduct. They are subject, as many high-level federal officials are, to disclosure laws requiring them to report outside income and certain gifts, though food and other "personal hospitality" such as lodging at an individual's residence is generally exempted.
Justices also decide for themselves whether to step aside from cases involving a possible conflict of interest.
The legislation would face long odds to win passage on the Senate floor, where it would need some Republican support to advance. And it appears to have little chance to get through the Republican-led House of Representatives.
The news outlet ProPublica has detailed ties spanning decades between conservative Justice Clarence Thomas and billionaire Republican donor Harlan Crow, including real estate purchases and luxury travel paid for by the Dallas businessman. ProPublica also has reported that conservative Justice Samuel Alito failed to disclose a private flight to Alaska provided by a billionaire hedge fund manager whose business interests have come before the court as the jurist took a luxury fishing trip.
Separately, the news outlet Politico has reported that conservative Justice Neil Gorsuch failed to disclose that the buyer of a Colorado property in which he had a stake was the chief executive of a major law firm whose attorneys have been involved in various Supreme Court cases.
Democratic senators have said these reports show that the court cannot be trusted to police itself.
Some Republican senators have sought to portray the ethics reform push as an effort by liberals and Democrats to smear the court as its 6-3 conservative majority continues to steer the law in a rightward direction. They have said the court should set its own rules and have questioned whether lawmakers possess the power to impose ethics standards on it under the U.S. Constitution's division of powers among the federal government's executive, legislative and judicial branches.
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. | Not_Explicit |
He said his party’s narrow victory in Uxbridge and South Ruislip, where they saw their 7,000 majority reduced to just 495, showed the next election is still all to play for.
The result plunged Labour into a civil war over London mayor Sadiq Khan’s decision to expand the Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ), which proved deeply unpopular with voters in Boris Johnson’s old seat.
Speaking on Sky News, Mitchell said: “I think it shows that the ULEZ scheme that the Labour mayor had put in place was the wrong scheme. It was the wrong time and it was conducted in the wrong way.
“But I think overall what Uxbridge shows is that those who have written off this government at the next election have done so prematurely and that the next election is wide open.”
But his remarks sparked a backlash on Twitter, with many poking fun at his prediction. | Not_Explicit |
U.S. State Department officials and a recent report by ApplyBoard, a Canadian-based international student recruitment platform, indicate the United States is set to issue the most student visas in a year since fiscal 2016.
The tally of visas issued in fiscal 2023 has passed 392,000 to date. In fiscal 2016, a total 471,728 F1 visas were issued.
It could be close: Compared to fiscal 2022 — October 1, 2021 to September 30, 2022 — more than 411,131 international student visas were issued, including F1, according to the State Department.
An F1 visa is for those attending an academic program or seeking a full-time degree at a U.S. institution.
In order to pass fiscal 2022, the U.S. will have to issue more than 40,000 international visas before the end of September.
"Facilitating the ability of foreign students and academic exchange visitors to study at U.S. universities and colleges is a priority," a State Department spokesperson told VOA by email. "We are on track to issue the most student visas in a year since [fiscal year] 2016.
"While the US has a long way to go before rivaling its high mark of over 644,000 student visas issued in FY2015, these numbers inspire confidence that long-term, sustainable growth is ahead," ApplyBoard's July 18th report states.
Last September, the Institute of International Education released its annual study showing that international enrollment had largely recovered from the steep drop it took during the pandemic, and U.S. colleges were seeing an increase in applications for admission after significantly fewer new international student enrollments in 2020 and 2021.
Countries
According to ApplyBoard, the six countries the saw the largest percentage increases in student visas issued from fiscal 2021 to fiscal 2022 were Asian. Uzbekistan is at the top of this list for the first time, while Nepal, Bangladesh, and Vietnam show continued growth in visa issuance.
"All four countries hit 25-year highs in student visas issued," according to the report.
Meanwhile, more African students were awarded F1 visas in 2022 than ever before, the report said. Nigeria and Ghana were issued the most student visas in their histories in 2022.
According to the State Department records, the number of visas issued to students from Africa in fiscal 2022 surpassed 30,700. This marked a significant increase compared with 21,037 visas issued in fiscal 2018, followed by 20,165 in fiscal 2019, a notable dip to 7,333 because of the pandemic in 2020, and then a rebound to 23,229 in fiscal 2021.
According to the 2022 Open Doors report and State Department data, the top two countries are China and India, which together represent the majority of all international students in the United States, or about 52%.
In 2022, China remained the top country, with 290,086 students on U.S. campuses, a decrease of 9% year-over-year. That same year, India had the second most international students, with about 200,000, an increase of 19% year-over-year.
"In fiscal year 2022, our Embassy and Consulates in India broke the all-time record for most student and exchange visitor visas issued in a year, issuing more than 125,000 [new] visas. India now is the second largest origin country for U.S. international students," according to State.
Approval rate
The approval rate for nonimmigrant student visa applicants also hit a 10-year high in fiscal 2022.
"In [fiscal year] 2022, worldwide, we issued 411,131 F1 visas and refused 220,676 F1 visas," the State Department spokesperson told VOA. "In [fiscal] 2021, worldwide, we issued 357,839 F1 visas."
ApplyBoard called the data "overwhelmingly good" in its analysis.
"The new F1 visa data should be music to the ears of international recruitment offices around the United States," said ApplyBoard's report. | Not_Explicit |
Large Hadron Collider Upgrade Will Open Opportunities For India’s Scientists: CERN Scientist
India is playing a major role and could play an even bigger one in the upgrade of the Large Hadron Collider, the world’s most powerful particle accelerator that helps scientists understand the fundamental structure of matter, says European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) scientist Archana Sharma.
India is playing a major role and could play an even bigger one in the upgrade of the Large Hadron Collider, the world’s most powerful particle accelerator that helps scientists understand the fundamental structure of matter, says European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) scientist Archana Sharma.
The upgrade of the LHC -- a 27-km ring of superconducting magnets buried under the ground between France and Switzerland -- expected in 2025 could lead to new and exciting opportunities for India's researchers and industry, says the Indian-origin senior scientist.
“There is a very big upgrade happening… The potential benefits of this upgrade for India's scientific community and industrial sector hold the promise of pushing the boundaries of knowledge and technological advancements,” Sharma told PTI.
“And, of course, India is playing a major role and can play an even bigger role because I see huge potential, huge competence, huge industry component as well, huge student population that can be trained and build capacities for future leaders,” she added.
CERN, headquartered in Geneva, has been at the forefront of groundbreaking discoveries in particle physics for decades.
The LHC has been instrumental in unravelling the mysteries of the universe, including the discovery of the Higgs boson, or the ‘god particle’ in 2012. Higgs boson is an elementary particle in the standard model of particle physics.
Sharma is best known for her work in gaseous detectors which she contributed to the discovery of the Higgs boson, the only Indian scientist to do so.
"You and everything around you are made of particles. But when the universe began, no particles had mass; they all sped around at the speed of light. Stars, planets and life could only emerge because particles gained their mass from a fundamental field associated with the Higgs boson. The existence of this mass-giving field was confirmed in 2012, when the Higgs boson particle was discovered at CERN,” according to the CERN website.
The forthcoming upgrade to the LHC, known as the High-Luminosity LHC (HL-LHC), is expected to further enhance the collider's capabilities, allowing scientists to delve even deeper into the fundamental constituents of matter and the forces that govern the universe.
“I feel that is an opportunity (for India). So yes, we should engage in these and we are engaging, it’s not that we aren’t. However, the room I see is large,” said Sharma, the recipient of this year’s Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Award for her contribution to science and technology.
Sharma received her masters in nuclear physics from the Banaras Hindu University. In 1989, she received her PhD in experimental particle physics from Delhi University.
She is in India to attend a conclave on ‘Bridging the Gap: Particle Physics and its Relevance in our Everyday Lives’ organised by the Shiv Nadar School, Gurugram, and her NGO Life Lab Foundation on Tuesday.
Sharma said there is an ambitious plan to build a new, much larger collider in Geneva.
“In the future, there are bigger programmes that are on the horizon. One programme is the Future Circular Collider (FCC) and which is going to be 100 km in circumference... there is room for research and development (R&D), there is room for taking big chunks of responsibility and making our industry engage in a way that is never done before,” she explained.
The goal of the FCC is to push the energy and intensity frontiers of particle colliders, with the aim of reaching collision energies of 100 TeV, in the search for new physics.
TeV stands for tera electron Volts or 1,000,000,000,000 electron Volts. 1 TeV is about the energy of motion of a flying mosquito.
Sharma said the Indian scientific community has long been engaged in collaborative efforts with CERN, contributing to various experiments and research projects.
"Indians have played quite a big role at CERN from the 1960s and 70s. There were stalwarts like (particle physicist) Prof Prince Malhotra who were already working at CERN, in collaboration with Delhi University, Punjab University, and so on. But everybody has been contributing for several decades."
“Our contribution became much bigger, and we became an observer state in 1999. Then we became an associate member in 2017. So, opportunities started opening for Indian nationals,” she noted.
Sharma is now working on making experiments at CERN more environment friendly.
“I think we all have a duty towards the planet. So we need to look at ways and means on how we can work sustainably, especially given the very long nature of our experiments,” she added.
CERN, the scientist said, is phasing out greenhouse gases such as freons as a coolant.
“In the next generation, that is the upgrade, we have freon-less cooling. All the cooling that was leaking or giving (carbon) footprint in the atmosphere is going to be zero starting from 2027,” she said.
CERN is also working on reducing carbon footprint by optimising energy usage in experiments.
“We are reusing the waste energy that is being created from the accelerators into heating, because we need to heat buildings, and there are programmes on R&D. So we are definitely very conscious and we have a team that is looking into ways of improving sustainability,” Sharma said.
The physics conclave at Shiv Nadar School, she said, gave her an opportunity to directly interact with the students.
“I keep coming back because I feel that whatever little I have done in my life, it can inspire students, particularly girls. So I try to do what I can to inspire the students.” “And I think scientific temperament in India is much better than in many other countries. Education and particularly scientific education is highly regarded in our country,” she added. | Not_Explicit |
South Carolina law enforcement officials say there is “no danger to the transgender community” as a transgender teenager was found dead this week after going missing and two suspects were taken into custody.
Family members reported Jacob Williamson, 18, as a missing person to authorities in the city of Laurens, according to the Union County Sheriff’s Office. The family said they last saw or heard from Williamson on the evening of June 30, a sheriff’s news release said. The sheriff’s office launched an investigation into Williamson’s disappearance on July 2, according to the release.
Joshua Newton, 25, has been charged with first-degree murder and obstruction of justice. Victoria Smith, 22, has been charged with obstruction of justice and assisting Newton after he allegedly committed the crime, according to the sheriff’s office.
Newton is being held at the Union County Jail without bond, while Smith is being held on a $3 million bond at the same jail, records show. As of Thursday morning, it was unclear if either had obtained attorneys. Their next court dates are scheduled for August 8, records show.
Union County Sheriff’s Office Lt. James Maye said law enforcement doesn’t have a reason to believe Williamson’s preferred name and gender marker were part of the suspects’ motive.
Victim’s body found on July 4
The victim had an online relationship with the alleged suspect, Maye told CNN.
Williamson had established an online dating relationship with Newton a month prior to their first face-to-face encounter, Maye said, and Williamson had plans to meet up with Newton.
Williamson’s family told law enforcement that he had met with Newton and gave his family phone tracking information, which led deputies to the Monroe, North Carolina, area, Maye said.
The sheriff’s office said it received information that Williamson was “believed to be at a residence” in Monroe. Deputies made contact with Newton at his home and determined Williamson’s disappearance “needed some serious attention” due to “the way the suspect was acting,” Maye said. The investigation later led to Newton’s arrest.
The sheriff’s office and the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation conducted an “extensive search and investigation” over the course of 36 hours before Williamson’s body was found on July 4.
The Union County Sheriff’s Office is asking anyone with information related to the case to call 911, the sheriff’s office or Union County Crime Stoppers.
“My thoughts and prayers go out to the family of the victim in this case as they begin to mourn this unimaginable loss,” said Union County Sheriff Eddie Cathey in the news release. “Over the past several days, the men and women of the Union County Sheriff’s Office have fully dedicated themselves to this case and ensuring the people responsible for this tragic loss were brought to justice.” | Not_Explicit |
A Russian-born billionaire oil tycoon is challenging the UK government's decision to freeze his assets.
Eugene Shvidler had two of his private jets, worth up to $60m (£45m), detained last March.
He was sanctioned over ties with ex-Chelsea FC owner Roman Abramovich and a mining company operating in Russia.
In the first such case of its kind at the High Court, the 59-year-old, who moved to the US in 1989, wants the sanctions lifted.
Lord Anderson KC, representing Mr Shvidler, said there could be no doubt his client was "sought to be used as a poster boy for Russian sanctions" in light of comments made by ministers at the time his planes were seized.
He added that other similar challenges are understood to be waiting behind Mr Shvidler's case, which is due to be ruled on at a later date.
Mr Shvidler is seeking a declaration that his designation under post-Brexit regulations on sanctions was unlawful, and an order quashing the designation.
Lord Anderson said the designation had destroyed Mr Shvidler's ability to deal with his assets and conduct his business, disrupted his life and the lives of his family, deprived employees of their livelihoods and shattered his reputation.
He said his client has no relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin nor any influence on Russian policy - and had spoken out against the war in Ukraine.
He added that England had been Mr Shvidler's main home since 2004 and his five children were all British citizens at UK schools - although two "were required to leave those schools" because of the sanctions.
Mr Shvidler has demonstrated his commitment to the UK through philanthropy, including funding a library and scholarships for disadvantaged young people, Lord Anderson added.
Opposing the challenge, government lawyers argued the decision to impose sanctions was neither disproportionate nor discriminatory and asked the court to dismiss the case. | Not_Explicit |
Liberal justices dissent from order allowing Alabama to move ahead with execution
Justice Sonia Sotomayor, joined by the Supreme Court’s two other liberal justices, publicly dissented from an order that allowed Alabama to move forward with its first execution since a recent pause.
Before dawn on Friday morning, Alabama executed James Barber, who was convicted of murdering a 75-year-old woman in 2001. Barber had raised concerns about the state’s lethal injection method in his emergency appeal to the high court.
“Alabama plans to kill him by lethal injection in a matter of hours, without ever allowing him discovery into what went wrong in the three prior executions and whether the State has fixed those problems. The Eighth Amendment demands more than the State’s word that this time will be different,” Sotomayor dissented.
Alabama had paused executions after officials experienced issues securing the IV lines during attempts last year. The state had canceled the executions of Alan Eugene Miller and Kenneth Eugene Smith after spending at least an hour trying to secure the needed IV access, according to court filings. Some groups have also accused officials of botching the execution of Nathan James, Jr. earlier in the year.
Barber was the first to receive a lethal injection following the pause.
“If it takes hours to set Barber’s IV line, like Miller and Smith before him, the State may subject Barber to an intolerable level of pain under the Eighth Amendment,” Sotomayor wrote. “If it successfully executes him anyway, like James, it will have mooted his claim. The Eighth Amendment does not tolerate playing such games with a man’s life.”
The Alabama Department of Corrections (ADOC) conducted a review of its executions policies during the pause, but Sotomayor’s dissent sided with critics and Barber’s lawyers, who contended the changes did not substantively solve the past issues.
“There is no evidence in the record explaining what may have caused such difficulties. Nor is there evidence that the State has addressed what went wrong. It has replaced its IV team with new members, but revealed nothing about how those members are different from or similar to its 2022 team,” Sotomayor wrote.
ADOC Commissioner John Hamm said at a press conference that it took officials three sticks in six minutes to secure the necessary IV access.
Officials had a deadline of roughly sunrise time on Friday in Alabama to complete the execution. Barber lost in a lower court on Wednesday, and he and the state filed opposing briefs with the justices throughout the day on Thursday.
The Supreme Court handed down its order just after 1 a.m. ET on Friday. The majority did not explain its decision, but Sotomayor issued a written 11-page dissent.
Barber was pronounced dead roughly two hours later, according to the ADOC.
Copyright 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. | Not_Explicit |
- In the latest update to its World Economic Outlook, the IMF raised its 2023 global growth prediction by 0.2 percentage points to 3%, up from 2.8% at its April assessment.
- The IMF kept is 2024 growth forecast unchanged at 3%.
- The IMF highlighted concerns with tighter credit conditions, depleted household savings in the U.S. and a shallower-than-expected economic recovery in China from strict Covid-19 lockdowns.
The International Monetary Fund on Tuesday raised its growth forecast for the global economy, turning slightly more positive despite slowing momentum from China.
In the latest update to its World Economic Outlook, the IMF raised its 2023 global growth prediction by 0.2 percentage point to 3%, up from 2.8% in its April assessment. The IMF kept its 2024 growth forecast unchanged at 3%.
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In terms of inflation, the fund also expects an improvement from last year. Headline inflation is projected to reach 6.8% this year, falling from 8.7% in 2022. However, core inflation, which strips out volatile items, is seen declining more slowly to 6% this year, from 6.5% last year.
"The global economy continues to gradually recover from the pandemic and Russia's invasion of Ukraine. In the near term, the signs of progress are undeniable," Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas, chief economist of the IMF, said in an accompanying blog post Tuesday. "Yet many challenges still cloud the horizon, and it is too early to celebrate," he added.
The IMF highlighted concerns with tighter credit conditions, depleted household savings in the U.S. and a shallower-than-expected economic recovery in China from strict Covid-19 lockdowns.
"In the United States, excess savings from the pandemic-related transfers, which helped households weather the cost-of-living crisis and tighter credit conditions, are all but depleted. In China, the recovery following the reopening of its economy shows signs of losing steam amid continued concerns about the property sector, with implications for the global economy," Gourinchas said.
The U.S., the world's largest economy, is set to grow 1.8% this year and 1% in 2024, according to the IMF. In China, gross domestic product is seen falling from 5.2% this year to 4.5% for 2024.
"Continued weakness in the [Chinese] real estate sector is weighing on investment, foreign demand remains weak, and rising and elevated youth unemployment, at 20.8% in May 2023, indicates labor market weakness," the IMF said in its report. It added that "high-frequency data through June confirm a softening in momentum into the second quarter of 2023."
The comments come after Chinese stocks rallied Tuesday off the back of remarks from the country's authorities that they are preparing more stimulus. Beijing is reportedly working on new measures to expand domestic demand, according to Reuters, citing China's state news agency.
Among Europe's major economies, Germany is the only one where the IMF has cut its growth expectations for this year. The fund sees the German economy contracting by 0.3% this year, that's a reduction of 0.2 percentage point from April's forecast. This is due to weaker manufacturing output and lower growth performance during the first quarter of this year, the IMF said.
Data released Monday showed business activity shrinking at a faster pace than expected in July across the euro zone. In Germany, the data pointed to an economic contraction with manufacturing production levels dropping for the third month in a row and at the fastest pace since May 2020.
"This is a bad start to the third quarter for Germany's economy, with the flash PMI dropping into contraction territory. The downturn continues to be led by the manufacturing sector, while the slowdown in services sector growth that started last month has extended into July," Cyrus de la Rubia, chief economist at the Hamburg Commercial Bank, said about the data release. | Not_Explicit |
With three by-elections approaching, the race between the now-two Tory hopefuls vying to take on Sadiq Khan in the 2024 mayoral election has taken something of a backseat.
But following the exit of former No10 advisor Daniel Korski, the odds have shortened for both those standing.
Former Conservative group leader in the London Assembly Susan Hall is pitching herself against rival Tory candidate Moz Hossain as the no-nonsense, law and order option.
Passion for policing
A former hair salon owner, entrepreneur and council leader, Hall is a robust presence at City Hall debates.
She’s keen to be seen as taking the mayor to task on his record, particularly on policing, which she tells City A.M. would be her top priority if elected.
“My passion in life is policing – always has been,” she says. “I do think things are getting less and less safe.
“We don’t see police around like we used to, we don’t see response cars, or blue lights. And certainly from talking to residents, people are feeling less and less safe, especially women.
“Many years ago, I was threatened – somebody threatened to kill me. And it suddenly occurred to me that actually to feel safe is more important.
“I’d rather feel hungry than really unsafe, really, it’s just a knot in your stomach, you just feel so vulnerable.”
Her experiences have clearly informed her campaign with ‘Safer with Susan’ literature echoing her focus on law enforcement.
She has pledged to take £200m from the City Hall budget to fund a ‘low level’ policing unit to tackle burglaries.
“If you’re burgled it’s not low level, you feel violated,” she adds. “It’s absolutely my first priority.”
Protecting small businesses
Safety is an area she believes crosses into the economy, affecting small businesses and communities.
“If you’ve got a shop in an area that’s got nothing but gangs running around, you’re going to lose customers, because they’re not going to want to come into your area,” Hall says.
“I do think that the main thrust of what I want to do will help businesses, I want to make the streets safer,” she says.
Listening, she says, is crucial, rather than assuming you know what’s needed.
“It should always be an open dialogue, talk to people, see what they need, see how you can help. The mayor doesn’t always know best… you mustn’t ever assume you know.”
The city’s finances, Hall says, would also be safe in her hands.
She tells me: “If you are spending somebody else’s money, which is what the [London Assembly] budget is, then you look after it.
“I mean, I’m shocking with my own money, I will just go buy things and buy things for the kids all the time.
“[But] if it’s somebody else’s money, oh my god. I’m always able to handle other people’s money because it’s not mine.”
‘Doesn’t like women’
Khan and Hall disagree on much. ULEZ aside, they’ve butted heads on everything from crime to housing during often testy exchanges.
Her pitch that he’s afraid of her, though, is an interesting one. What’s the thinking behind it?
“He clearly doesn’t like women,” Hall responds. “He absolutely doesn’t like me, you’ve only got to see the videos of it. He literally snarls. He doesn’t like loud women, who will be heard.”
She continues: “One of the great reasons for picking me is I know how City Hall works. I know how the boroughs work, because I’ve been a leader of one. I know how the whole mechanism works.
“And I have got the ability to challenge him at least once a month between now and the election. And I have been doing that for six years, I’ve never been a pushover.
“He needs to be called out on these things. And I’m not frightened of calling him out.”
Khan’s office declined to comment, but a Labour source close to the mayor hit back, describing it as a “desperate and nonsense attack”.
“Sadiq has been a proud feminist in City Hall, leading the way in areas such as equal pay, combating violence against women and girls, and introducing ground-breaking policies supporting women with the menopause in the workplace,” the source said.
“It’s even more ridiculous coming from Susan Hall who has championed Donald Trump and his abhorrent views.” | Not_Explicit |
AUSTIN, Texas -- The Justice Department on Monday sued Texas Gov. Greg Abbott over a newly installed floating barrier on the Rio Grande that is the Republican's latest aggressive tactic to try stopping migrants from crossing into the U.S. from Mexico.
The lawsuit asks a federal judge in Austin to force Texas to remove a roughly 1,000-foot (305-meter) line of bright orange, wrecking ball-sized buoys that the Biden administration says raises humanitarian and environmental concerns. The suit claims that Texas unlawfully installed the barrier without permission between the border cities of Eagle Pass and Piedras Negras, Mexico.
The buoys are the latest escalation of Texas’ border security operation that also includes razor-wire fencing, arresting migrants on trespassing charges and sending busloads of asylum-seekers to Democratic-led cities in other states.
In anticipation of the lawsuit, Abbott sent President Joe Biden a letter earlier Monday that defended Texas’ right to install the barrier. He accused Biden of putting migrants at risk by not doing more to deter them from making the journey to the U.S.
“Texas will see you in court, Mr. President,” Abbott wrote.
The Biden administration has said illegal border crossings have declined significantly since new immigration restrictions took effect in May.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters that Abbott's policies as a whole have made it difficult for U.S. Border Patrol agents to access the river.
“Those are unlawful actions that are not helpful and is undermining what the president has put forward and is trying to do," she said.
In a letter last week, the Justice Department gave Texas until Monday to commit to removing the barrier or face a lawsuit. The letter said the buoy wall “poses a risk to navigation, as well as public safety, in the Rio Grande River, and it presents humanitarian concerns.”
The state deployed the buoys without notifying the International Boundary and Water Commission or the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Mexico's secretary of state asked the federal government to intervene, saying the barrier violates international treaties.
___
Gonzalez reported from McAllen, Texas. | Not_Explicit |
- TikTok Shop, the e-commerce marketplace of the short video app, will offer "buy now, pay later" service Atome in Malaysia, as part of its e-commerce push into Southeast Asia.
- The partnership is expected to "drive growth" and "enable merchants and small businesses to offer their customers a convenient and flexible payment option," Jonathan Low, e-commerce lead of strategy and special projects at TikTok Shop, said in a statement on Friday.
- TikTok Shop has been aggressively expanding into e-commerce in Southeast Asia, as the company looks outside the U.S. for growth.
TikTok struck a partnership with "buy now, pay later" service Atome to offer installment payments on its e-commerce marketplace in Malaysia, the latest in the company's e-commerce push into Southeast Asia.
TikTok Shop will include Atome as a payment option, which would allow customers to spread deferred payments over three or six months.
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Atome is the BNPL arm of Singapore-based fintech firm Advance Intelligence Group, which is backed by major investors like SoftBank Vision Fund 2 and Warburg Pincus.
The partnership is expected to "drive growth" and "enable merchants and small businesses to offer their customers a convenient and flexible payment option," Jonathan Low, e-commerce lead of strategy and special projects at TikTok Shop, said in a statement on Friday.
"By integrating Atome as a payment option on TikTok Shop, we're excited to help drive ecommerce growth and support brands of all sizes," said William Yang, head of commercial at Atome.
The partnership comes as TikTok looks to markets outside of the U.S. for growth. While the U.S. is the company's largest market, TikTok faces headwinds there after Montana became the first state to ban the app. The app has also been banned in India.
TikTok's CEO previously said the company will pour "billions of dollars" into Southeast Asia over the next few years. As of April, TikTok said it has more than 325 million monthly users in Southeast Asia.
In June, the company said it would invest $12.2 million to help over 120,000 small and medium-sized businesses sell online. The investment consists of cash grants, digital skills training and advertising credits for these businesses. | Not_Explicit |
U.S. says F-16s will arrive in Ukraine ‘towards the end of the year’
The comments signal that the Biden administration is feeling a new sense of urgency to deliver the warplanes as quickly as possible.
The Biden administration expects American-made F-16 fighter jets will arrive in Ukraine near the end of this year, a top spokesperson said, signaling that U.S. officials are feeling a new sense of urgency to deliver the warplanes as quickly as possible.
“Now look, the F-16s will get there probably towards the end of the year,” John Kirby, a spokesperson for the National Security Council, said on Fox News on Thursday. “But it’s not our assessment that the F-16s alone would be enough to turn the tide here.”
National security adviser Jake Sullivan echoed Kirby’s comments on Friday, saying the U.S. is “moving rapidly” to get F-16s to Ukraine.
“We are going to push as fast as possible,” Sullivan said during remarks at the Aspen Security Forum in Aspen, Colo.
The Ukrainians have been pleading for modern fighter jets to help repel Russian invaders for more than a year. President Joe Biden in May lent U.S. support to an international effort to train Ukrainian pilots on F-16s, but the U.S. has yet to formally approve the training program, which is required under export restrictions.
In the meantime, a coalition of 11 nations, led by Denmark and the Netherlands, has taken early steps to make the training program a reality. European officials said last week that they hope to begin the training in Denmark in August, and a training center will also be set up in Romania. The U.K., in the meantime, will soon start English language instruction for Ukrainian pilots.
F-16 manufacturer Lockheed Martin plans to supervise pilot training through a subcontractor, Draken International, according to Ukrainian press reports.
However, countries have been hesitant to commit to sending F-16s from their own fleets to the battlefield after training concludes. Norway has plans to send two trainer aircraft for Ukrainians to learn on, according to a Norwegian defense official, but that has not been announced publicly.
Kirby’s remarks are “aspirational,” as the administration is still working to finalize plans to deliver the jets and train Ukrainian pilots, said a U.S. official, who like the Norwegian official was granted anonymity to speak about a sensitive technology transfer.
The U.S. is working to get Ukraine the F-16s “as quickly as possible, but it will take some time,” the official added. Neither Kirby nor the official specified which countries would be sending their F-16s.
The timeline Kirby laid out is faster than Ukrainian officials have predicted, signaling a new sense of urgency. Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said in a July 12 interview that he expected the first F-16s will fly in Ukrainian skies by the end of the first quarter of 2024.
Kirby’s comments come days after Sullivan was forced to respond to questions about whether the U.S. was committed to training Ukrainian fighter pilots, after POLITICO reported that Europe was still waiting on formal approval from the U.S.
Sullivan stressed that the president had promised to meet “whatever timeline our European partners need.”
“The United States will not be the hold up in ensuring that this F-16 training can get underway,” he told CNN.
Sullivan said the main roadblock was that the European partners needed a few more weeks to create the necessary training infrastructure. He did not commit to a specific timeline for training or delivery.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has pressed his Western partners to deliver the jets as soon as possible. Speaking ahead of a NATO defense summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, last week, he blamed his colleagues for what he characterized as a delay in sending the aircraft.
“We have agreed, we have pressed, and we have a coalition of countries that are ready to start training for Ukrainian pilots. [But] there is no schedule for training missions, and they’re delaying it. I don’t know why they’re doing this,” he said.
Alexander Ward contributed to this report. | Not_Explicit |