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Home > Newsmedia > 'It's so cool to see': Building dams by night, beavers resurface along Arizona's San Pedro River
'It's so cool to see': Building dams by night, beavers resurface along Arizona's San Pedro River
Under cover of darkness, beavers are swimming through tranquil pools in the San Pedro River. They're gnawing on tree trunks. They're building dams.
We know this because of the work of volunteers who have recently walked miles along the river searching for signs of beavers.
Next to the piled branches of one beaver dam, a volunteer strapped a wildlife camera to a tree several months ago. And in the middle of the night, two beavers repeatedly turned up in the infrared images, their eyes glowing in the darkness.
"It's so cool to see the beavers," said Mike Foster, a member of the group Friends of the San Pedro River. For years, Foster has walked the river seeking out the animals and filming educational videos that show them swimming, grooming and chewing on branches.
"When you're walking down the river, you'll see what looks like maybe a ridge, almost like a platform," Foster said. "You'll see the river flowing and then all of a sudden, you'll see a step, and then the water above the step is very calm." He's found beaver dams ranging from several inches to 5 feet high.
He's seen how some beavers start building by plowing up mud and rocks like a foundation, and how they'll drag tree branches to continue erecting their dam. Mike Foster stands by a beaver dam on the San Pedro River in November 2020.
The creatures are generally nocturnal, so Foster has learned to spot their structures and then return at dawn, when they sometimes are still out floating across the water.
Beavers were once plentiful along the San Pedro River. When fur trappers rode through in the early 1800s, they found so many that some called the San Pedro "Beaver River."
Trappers killed them to sell the prized fur, decimating their populations in streams across the country. By the late 1800s, beavers had been wiped out along the San Pedro.
More than a century later, in 1999, wildlife officials released eight beavers in the San Pedro Riparian National Conservation Area in southeastern Arizona. Five more beavers were reintroduced in 2000, and two more in 2002.
The goal was not only to bring back the beavers but also to improve the watershed's ecological health, because when beavers block the water and slow the flow, they also help boost groundwater recharge, hold back erosion and nourish the riparian habitat.
Beavers are considered a keystone species that helps the overall health of stream ecosystems, so the reintroduction plan was carried out by the federal Bureau of Land Management with the involvement of Arizona's Game and Fish Department.
Over the next decade, the beaver population flourished and growing numbers of dams appeared. The population was estimated to have risen to more than 100 animals in 2010, when surveys confirmed a total of 39 dams. In a 2014 article, wildlife biologist Marcia Radke of the Bureau of Land Management wrote that she and others had mapped and documented the expansion of active beaver dams and had found an average of about 20 dams per year from 2000 to 2013.
Foster began walking the river and keeping an eye on the beavers years ago when he worked as a technician at Sierra Vista public schools, where he shared his videos with students. He helped Radke with the surveys over the years, but then other work came up and he stopped doing surveys.
In the mid-2010s, for reasons that aren't known, the population of beavers in the conservation area plummeted. Foster said he guesses some beavers could have been preyed upon by mountain lions or killed by humans, or might have succumbed to a combination of factors, such as lower water flows or bacteria-contaminated water.
When Foster resumed doing surveys on his own a couple of years ago, he and others were concerned about the drop in the population.
In 2019, three active dams were found in the conservation area. In 2020, Foster and others found six dams.
"The numbers went way down and now they seem to be inching back up," Foster said.
That's good news for the whole ecosystem, he said, because as beavers topple trees and build barriers in the water, they help the water soak in and give a boost to the vegetation, which helps other animals. "It's almost like gardening. But here in this case, you have an animal that comes in and does the gardening for you," Foster said. "The beaver comes in and makes the environment better for all the other members of the environment."
The North American beaver — scientific name Castor canadensis — is the largest rodent in the United States. The webbed-footed herbivores typically grow 2 to 3 feet long, not including the tail.
Beavers have been widely recognized as a species that, when they return to a habitat or are returned by humans, can help restore healthier streams, wetlands and floodplains — bringing resilience to habitats that are increasingly stressed by water withdrawals and the changing climate.
Journalist Ben Goldfarb described the vital role beavers play in shaping watersheds in his book "Eager: The Surprising, Secret Life of Beavers and Why They Matter," writing: "Beavers are agents of profound change, responsible for sculpting streams' forms and dictating their functions." Two beavers appear in front of a wildlife camera in the San Pedro River in December.
Steve Merkley, an instructor who teaches ecology and environmental biology at Cochise College in Sierra Vista and Douglas, has joined Foster on surveys and has brought along students.
In November, Merkley strapped one of his wildlife cameras to a tree by the beaver dam, and he's been collecting images of the beavers over the past several months.
In some images, he saw one beaver swimming with twigs in its mouth and placing them on the dam. Other photos showed a beaver rearing up on its hind legs in the water, looking toward the camera.
On some occasions, two beavers appeared together, clambering on the riverbank.
Merkley said he hopes it's a breeding pair and that he might eventually see young beaver kits. Though he'd known the beavers were there, he said just seeing the pictures has been exciting.
"I'm hopeful that the population will continue to increase," Merkley said.
"I think that we just need to continue to support their existence there. There's lots of room for them," Merkley said. "There's lots of good habitat that we didn't find beaver in."
For the latest survey in December, volunteers and conservation advocates from the Tucson-based nonprofit Watershed Management Group joined Foster and Merkley at the San Pedro Riparian NationalConservation Area, where they split up into groups. Walking along the banks and wading in the water, they found trees with scarred bark showing beaver-gnawing and "slides" in the riverbank where the animals had repeatedly slid into the water.
"You can see actually what looks like a little chute," said Lisa Shipek, executive director of Watershed Management Group, whose team also found other signs including chewed trees. "You do have to walk through the middle of the river to try to really see what's happening on either bank down below. So you're looking for evidence of dams. You're looking for bank lodges."
During dry times when the river is low, Foster has seen the round entrances of empty burrows exposed in the earth of the dry riverbanks.
In places, the surveyors move slowly along the river as they pick through thick vegetation. The cool weather in November and December tends to be best, Shipek said, because the rattlesnakes usually aren't out.
Shipek said this past December's outing will become her group's first annual survey, and they plan to return this coming winter with more volunteers.
Her group has also begun a larger effort to gather and document accounts of beavers along the river, which rises from its headwaters in Mexico and flows about 140 miles, in places disappearing underground, until meeting the Gila River. They've contacted scientists, conservationists and ranchers on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border, and they've collected reports of beaver activity far north and south of the area where beavers were released two decades ago.
Shipek and her colleagues think the beavers must have moved upstream across the border into Sonora. And they've also confirmed beaver sightings along the upper reaches of the Santa Cruz River in Mexico, so they presume the beavers must have moved overland into the neighboring watershed.
"They were reintroduced into one specific area in 1999 and 2000, and today they're all over the place," Shipek said. "The beavers have been so resilient to move to so many other areas, and they've set up new populations."
Watershed Management Group has launched a campaign called Release the Beavers, advocating for more releases of animals to augment the population. The group's members plan to coordinate population surveys on both sides of the border, and they're also promoting a proposal to release beavers elsewhere in Ciénega Creek.
Trevor Hare, the group's restoration director, said he had known previously that there were some beavers in Sonora. In 2012, he had seen signs of beavers on the banks of the Santa Cruz River.
But he had no idea how many beavers there were in Mexico until he recently contacted colleagues at Profauna, a Mexican conservation group.
"The reports of beaver came flooding in," Hare said. "We now have about 22 reports of beaver in Sonora in the San Pedro watershed."
Other beavers have been found far north of the area where animals were released. A couple of years ago, Hare said, one injured beaver was found at an auto mechanic shop in Benson.
"They're resilient critters. So we're just pleased and happy that they found homes in Sonora," Hare said, and are "doing what beavers do."
The group doesn't yet have a solid population estimate for the watershed, but they hope to pull together more data in the next surveys later this year.
Hare has worked for years on stream restoration projects, enlisting volunteers to help build rock structures that slow the flow of water and help habitats recover after years of heavy cattle grazing and erosion.
"But beavers can do it a heck of a lot better than I can. They are nature's engineers," he said. And that's why he and others with the group believe beavers can play an important role in helping to restore creeks and rivers in southern Arizona.
Along the San Pedro, beavers face various threats.
The river is fed by groundwater that emerges in springs, but many segments have suffered long-term declines as wells have pulled down groundwater levels.
Foster said a live trap was found by the river at one point. Foster said he's also concerned about ranchers letting cattle wander in the river bottom, including in the national conservation area.
"When cattle get down there, they cause erosion, they eat the vegetation, and they shouldn't be down there," Foster said. "So actually practicing serious conservation in there would begin by keeping the cattle out."
When the Trump administration built new stretches of border wall over the past year, one portion of the steel fence was erected across the bed of the San Pedro River, where workers installed floodgates.
Shipek said she wants the government to ensure the border wall doesn't block wildlife along the river so that animals can move freely across the border — as the beavers presumably did at some point, moving south before their reappearance in Mexico.
She said she's convinced beavers can play a vital role in river restoration in the Southwest.
"If we're serious about restoring our desert creeks and rivers and adapting to climate change," Shipek said, beavers are "one of the best tools we have."
"You put beavers on the land and they start doing it naturally, automatically," she said. "It's what they're here to do. And so I think we need to somewhat get out of their way and let them do the work."


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Q: Magento 2 auto backup is not working I want magento 2 to backup automatically.I have set all the things suggested on https://www.humcommerce.com/tutorial/schedule-backups-in-magento-2 .
But it is not working and not creating any backup for me.Maybe it is not creating cron job for backup.Please let me know what I am missing or suggest if there are any additional steps to create auto backup.Or how can I debug at my end.

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Archive for the tag "Jubilee"
The Jubilee and Dunkirk spirit
Sixty years ago Princess Elizabeth's honeymoon in Kenya was cut short when her father died and she returned to the the UK as Queen Elizabeth II (but was only actually crowned a year later in June 1953).
Whatever your views on monarchy you have to admit that she has done well to stick it out through thick and thin for sixty years!
But sticking out out is what the British royal family does. During my research for my first wartime novel, Lavender Road, I discovered that people who lived through the war had been impressed that King George VI and the royal family (including the two young princesses) stayed on in London right through the Blitz. As we all now know from the film The King's Speech, the Queen's father King George VI had terrible problems with public speaking. Nevertheless, despite his stammer, people admired his courage in trying to give them moral support during those dangerous times. In Oct 1940, right in the middle of the Blitz, even the fourteen year old Princess Elizabeth made a radio broadcast (her first of many) to reassure the evacuee children of Britain.
Some of the other European royals weren't quite so gritty. Historians believe that when Mussolini fell in 1943, the vacillation of the Italian King, Victor Emmanuel, not only prolonged the war but also caused immeasurable suffering to his own people. His chronic indecision about what to do allowed the Nazis to occupy Italy, which meant the Allied forces had to fight the whole way up the peninsula. And in May 1940 the King of Belgium let the side down in a big way by surrendering his country far too soon, thus causing the Allied troops to be encircled at Dunkirk.
In fact, as well as the Jubilee, this weekend is also an anniversary (the 72nd) of Dunkirk. As 750,000 Nazi forces poured into Belgium, Allied forces frantically retreated to the coast where they became stranded due to the lack of vessels to evacuate them from the beaches. While their rearguard forces fought a valiant defensive action to hold the Germans at bay, a call eventually went out for private boats to come and help. And suddenly what had seemed like a crushing defeat turned into one of the most amazing and spectacular rescue efforts ever as hundreds of tiny inadequate vessels ploughed across the English channel, braving bombs and heavy machine gun fire from the Nazi air force, to rescue their compatriots. And what's more, some (like my character Alan Nelson in Lavender Road) went back more than once, risking their own lives in their determination not to leave anyone to the mercy of the Nazis.
And so was born the concept of the Dunkirk spirit. Whether it was partly due to the continuing presence of the King in London we will never know, but I am quite sure that the Queen believes it was, and it is her innate Dunkirk spirit that has helped her weather the storms of the last sixty years!
Posted in helen carey posts and tagged courage, Dunkirk, Jubilee, Queen

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Home » Europe » Harry's 'damaged morale' of our soldiers blasts war hero
Harry's 'damaged morale' of our soldiers blasts war hero
Prince Harry: Queen 'would've been advised by Charles' says expert
Former Army Staff Sergeant Trevor Coult, who won the Military Cross in Iraq, labelled the prince "absolutely appalling" for his criticisms of the Royal Family and for his scathing six-part Netflix docu-series.
Leading royal experts on both sides of the Atlantic are also warning that the rift between Princes Harry and William may never be healed.
It comes as a Sunday Express poll reveals a mere two percent of the UK population still support the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.
An overwhelming two-thirds – 66 percent – also said they support William and Kate, while 63 percent say that Harry and wife Meghan should be stripped of their titles.
Staff Sgt Coult declared: "I find it absolutely appalling that Harry and Meghan spend every living moment trying to bring down the monarchy."
Sgt Coult told how he watched friends die on the battlefield and his own mental health suffered before he was discharged with PTSD.
But he insisted: "We were prepared to make these sacrifices because we understood what duty to the Crown meant. Harry should have a serious think about the damage he is doing to those soldiers whose morale he is undermining with his constant attacks on the monarchy.
"There are probably many veterans wondering if their sacrifices were worth it after hearing what Harry has been saying."
Harry served in the Army for 10 years between 2005 and 2015, rising to the rank of captain in the Household Cavalry's Blues and Royals and serving two frontline tours of Afghanistan.
He has since worked tirelessly to support veterans and wounded servicemen and women, including through his Invictus Games. Former Staff Sgt Coult, 47, served five tours in Iraq and Afghanistan with the Royal Irish Regiment, before being discharged on medical grounds.
He was awarded the Military Cross in 2006 for drawing fire in a machine gun ambush to allow other soldiers in a convoy of trucks time to escape.
Along with widespread condemnation of the royal couple in the UK, the tide is also turning in the US – despite the fact that their Netflix series, Harry & Meghan, is already the biggest documentary in the streaming giant's history.
It has racked up 81.55 million viewing hours worldwide after last week's final three episodes.
TV chat show co-host and columnist Meghan McCain – daughter of late US senator and presidential candidate John McCain – fumed after the latest shows: "Kiss America goodbye, Harry and Meghan, you've finally lost us. We're covering our eyes, plugging our ears and screaming: Please God, make it stop!"
Ms McCain blasted the couple's refusal to name names or give specific details about their accusations of Palace racism and bullying.
She said: "That's their style – all tease and no payoff. We still don't know the identity of the 'royal racist'… We have no tangible proof the Royal Family is institutionally racist."
Even the august New York Times admitted in a "review of reviews": "Some critics have had their fill of the couple's account."
One critic labelled the series "out of touch, self-absorbed and cornier than a Hallmark movie".
Former BBC royal correspondent Jennie Bond described it as shot through with vitriol. And, like fellow critics, she was left wanting: "You have had six hours to dish the dirt; we needed names, places, dates."
She also believes that "a reconnection with the Royal Family is now almost inconceivable".
Royal author Margaret Holder said: "This was a study in jealousy dressed up as a rom-com, a love story about a Hollywood actress who captured her prince and took him away from everyone and everything he knew and held dear."
And royal biographer Hugo Vickers adds that, like Netflix's controversial hit series The Crown, the docu-series "will be widely believed – but not by me. Nothing of interest emerges from Prince Harry and from a study of easily checked facts, I do not believe what his wife says."
In our poll, carried out on behalf of the Sunday Express by UK data firm Techne, respondents were asked who they now support.
An overwhelming 66 percent said they back Team Wales – William and Kate – with just two per cent in favour of Team Sussex. And 63 percent answered "Yes" to the question: Should Harry and Meghan lose their royal titles, including Duke and Duchess of Sussex? Just 21 percent replied "No".
And in the US, a poll for TMZ last night found that 74 percent of readers think William is the "better royal", with 26 percent for Harry. Kate got 81 percent, while Meghan scraped just 19 percent of the vote.
But Harry does have some supporters, including a distinguished military commander.
Retired Major General Tim Cross, now a lay minister in the Church of England, praised the Prince's service in the Army and admitted he has cancelled his Netflix subscription and said he regrets "anything that undermines the Royal Family".
He said: "Harry was a very good officer. He was genuinely very fond of soldiers and they were very fond of him." Expressing concern about the prince, he added: "I don't sense he's a very happy man and I don't want anybody in that position."
Mr Cross added: "My prayer is he would live a contented life and that family divisions would be healed."
There may be a glimmer of hope as it has been reported that the couple will be invited to Charles's Coronation, despite the fallout.
Prince William pictured at the wedding of former flame
Charles issued warning over stripping Meghan and Harry of titles
Dog stuns neighbours by ripping off letterbox and chewing hole in door


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Pedal cyclist crash injuries, Oklahoma, 2008.
Injury Prevention Service, Oklahoma State Department of Health, 1000 N.E. 10th Street, Oklahoma City, OK 73117, 405-271-3430.
balance and coordination, and helps strengthen the cyclist's heart and respiratory functions. However, it is not risk free.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported 716 pedal cyclist crash deaths in the United States in 2008.
This report describes pedal cyclist crash injuries in Oklahoma using 2008 data from the Traffic Data Linkage Project.
– Seventy-eight percent were male.
children under 15 and adults 40-59 years of age.
– Children under 18 years old accounted for 36%.
• Five cyclists (30-55 years of age) were alcohol impaired.
• One in every six cyclist crashes was a hit-and-run incident.
• Half of crashes occurred on roadways with a posted speed limit of 25-30 miles per hour (mph).
– Fatal crashes occurred on roadways with higher speed limits (30-55 mph).
with the flow of traffic (22%), and crossing at an intersection (16%).
• Cyclist crashes peaked on Saturday (22%), followed by Friday and Wednesday (16%, each).
– Three of the four fatalities occurred on a weekend (Saturday/Sunday).
• Eighty-four percent of cyclists were injured from 1:00pm to 9:00pm with peaks from 4:00pm-5:00pm and at 9:00pm.
• Only five injured cyclists wore a helmet; they were all 25 years and older. All helmeted persons survived their injuries.
wounds (12%). Nineteen cyclists (38%) suffered traumatic brain injuries.
• The typical hospital charge for nonfatally injured cyclists was $30,500, with patients generally staying three days.
• Of the hospitalized patients, 37% were on Medicaid, 15% were uninsured, and 7% were on Medicare.
• Sixty-nine percent of survivors were discharged home; the remaining required some type of longer-term care.
Title Pedal cyclist crash injuries, Oklahoma, 2008.
Purpose Pedal cyclists, in this report, include riders of any nonmotorized vehicle, (uni-, bi-, or tricyles) powered by pedals. Pedal cycling has both environmental and health benefits. It is non-fuel-consuming and non-polluting, helps improve overall balance and coordination, and helps strengthen the cyclist's heart and respiratory functions. However, it is not risk free. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported 716 pedal cyclist crash deaths in the United States in 2008. This report describes pedal cyclist crash injuries in Oklahoma using 2008 data from the Traffic Data Linkage Project.


Sunday Trading: should there be changes?
Various people in the Church of England have criticised the government's latest proposals to change the Sunday trading laws in England and Wales (Scotland and Northern Ireland have separate laws).
Here is the actual consultation document, a 21 page pdf file.
And here is a helpful explanation of it from David Pocklington: Consultation – Sunday Trading.
All of which has led the government to write to the bishops: Church told: Back Sunday shopping to save the high street.
Earlier this month, Bryony Gordon wrote this in the Telegraph Sunday opening won't destroy the Church – but the Church might destroy itself.
Last time I was involved in consulting on Government policy we were expected to consult for a minimum of 12 weeks, and longer if the period included a holiday season. This was to help small businesses respond, and consequently to help the relevant Minister understand the impact on small businesses. This consultation does not meet the old requirements, and the policy change appears to be driven by big business.
We live in Scotland, and our personal Sunday habits have not changed. The Sunday Mass is our regular food.
The local shops are there for emergency, and it is up to Christians to live according to their faith, in a much different world to our childhood many years ago now.
Keeping sunday special is up to the believer who chooses it. it's not the business of government to enforce it. those days are past. Long past.
Perhaps the biggest incentive to opt out of Sunday Church here in New Zealand is the predominance of sporting and outdoor activities. These often take preference – especially for families with growing children. Sunday shopping is only one such disincentive.
I do not feel this is simply or predominantly a question of the church imposing its values on the country. It may well also be a question of a people sticking to its traditions unless these are proved manifestly to be wrong in several ways (not just economic,but social, medical, etc). (As a Welshman I am anecdotally reminded of the vision vouchsafed in 1172 to Henry II in a chapel in front of Cardiff Castle – now beneath the city's busiest traffic artery – which ensured the absence of Sunday markets in chartered towns for some 800 or so years).
May I remind Erika that limits on Sunday trading go back as far as 321 when Constantine became the first Christian Emperor.


Greetings, would like to clarify here that - my friend works in an advertising agency and she also does part time on her own time some advertising jobs. Her boss found out and termiated her with a 24 hours notice, she has been working there 5 years. She was not paid the current month salary. So we saw a frind lawyer, he advised us to go along and sign the letter her boss prepared saying that, my friend is willing to pay her back everything.
Question : Is this legal ? Her boss claims its CBT? Is this true?
Her boss even wants my friend to pay her back everything she earned in her partime job? And treathen her that she will lodge a police report if my friend din pay her.
7/2/2007 9:08:38 PM As far as the dismissal is concerned I would advise that she makes a claim for wrongful dismissal under Section 20 of the Industrial Relations Act at the Industrial Relations Department. As for the other matter like paying her boss, CBT, I am not in the position to give any advice except that she should be careful not to sign anything that may incriminate herself.


用适当的疑问词完成下列句子。What How many How old Where Who 1.- is his job?
1.- is his job? -He's a bus driver.
2.- watermelons can you see? -I can see eight.
3.- is the camera? -It's on the fridge.
4.- is your friend? -He's thirteen.
5.- is that student? -He's my friend, Xiaofang.


LONDON: A dog owner in Britain is being investigated for manslaughter after her pet mauled to death a 9-year-old boy at an English vacation park.
Police said on Sunday the woman has been released but is under investigation for manslaughter and having a dog dangerously out of control. She has not been identified or charged.
The boy was killed on Saturday morning by what police said was a "bulldog-type breed." The animal is being held at a kennel while the investigation proceeds.


We're pleased to colab with TiE Japan, and other community groups from years past, for a Super-Deluxe mixer Dec. 3rd. It's been a hectic year here in Japan and we look forward to gather everyone for a fun evening to network over food and drinks. This is an open to all friends and family event, details below, it will be Really Great to have all the Tokyo tribes together sharing year-end smiles.. aaaand expect a few surprises!
We also wanted to quickly note the annual GEW effort is rocking worldwide; props to Startup Weekend folks in Japan on their continued and energetic activities. Our very best wishes to all for a fantastic upcoming holiday season and road forward in 2013.


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Air Berlin's last flights
NewsBy AIRLIVE October 27, 2017 Leave a comment
Today is the last Day of Air Berlin. Last flights to land will be (local time): #AB6048 MUC-DUS STA 20:40 #AB8719 FCO-DUS STA 22:45 #AB8749 LIN-DUS STA 22:45 #AB6210 MUC-TXL STA 22:45 Dusseldorf Airport will send out the Fire Department to welcome the the last flight from Rome with a water salute. Visitors Terrace will…
NEWS NAACP Issues Travel Advisory for American Airlines
NewsBy Bryan Pearce October 27, 2017 Leave a comment
The National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People (NAACP) has issued a travel advisory for African-Americans travelling on American Airlines, stopping short of calling for a boycott. They advise that African-Americans "… exercise caution, in that booking and boarding flights on American Airlines could subject them disrespectful, discriminatory or unsafe conditions. This travel advisory…
Drunk female passenger who forced TUI flight from Manchester to divert to Quebec is jailed
A drunk British woman who was restrained as her violent outburst on a flight to Mexico forced the plane to divert to Canada has been jailed for 20 days. The passenger faced charges of 'disturbing the peace, mischief, and jeopardising the safety of an aircraft', following the incident on Sunday. The plane made an emergency…
A man screaming obscenities was arrested at Miami International Airport
A man was arrested Wednesday afternoon at Miami International Airport, airport officials announced on Twitter. A spokesman said the man was making threatening remarks about the airport at the Concourse D check-in area. Local news reporter was inside Concourse D at about 12:30 p.m., when he said at least six Miami-Dade police officers held the suspect down as…
This woman was the only passenger of Jet2 189-passenger plane to Crete
Karon Grieve was hoping Jet2 flight to Crete to be fairly quiet this last Sunday as it's the tail-end of the season and she imagined that not many people were headed to the Greek island… and she was right! "I asked the girl at check-in how many were going to be flying and she said I should…
Flying to the US? Get ready for new security rules from Thursday
New security measures including stricter passenger screening take effect on Thursday on all U.S.-bound flights. The new measures, which could include short security interviews with passengers at check-in or at the gate, would be in place by Thursday. . They will affect 325,000 airline passengers on about 2,000 commercial flights arriving daily in the United…
Lufthansa to dissolve Air Berlin's Niki brand
NewsBy Jakob Wert October 24, 2017 Leave a comment
Lufthansa plans to dissolve the brand name of Austrian based Niki The German flag-carrier wants to fully integrate Air Berlin's subsidiary Niki into its low-cost airline Eurowings. On September 26th, Lufthansa's Supervisory Board approved a one billion Euro investment for the acquisition of up to 61 aircraft for Eurowings. Niki operates short and medium haul flights from…
Boeing begins production of 777X
Boeing began production on Monday of it's first 777X wide-body plane at it's factory in Everett. Wings for the new plane will be produced at the Composite Wing Center at the Boeing Everett factory. A traditional airplane wing is aluminum. The new 777X wing is much larger and lighter and it made of a carbon fiber composite. The…
FAA's tests could lead to laptop ban in checked baggage
The FAA conducted 10 tests of laptops inside of suitcases. A heater was set against the lithium ion cell to force the battery to overheat. In one of the tests, a can of aerosol dry shampoo was in the suitcase. The currently permitted shampoo ignited from the overheating battery and caused a fire that could…
#TyphoonLan live updates
Super Typhoon Lan is threatening Japan with winds of up to 155mph (250km/h) on Sunday and Monday. Please reload the page for updates… UPDATE 16:22 UTC Tokyo Haneda Airport is reporting winds of 46kts+, flights to HND are diverting/returning. UPDATE 15:55 UTC Tokyo Haneda Airport is reporting winds of 31kts+, flights to HND are diverting/returning.…
BREAKING Air Berlin to fire around 4000 employees in the coming weeks
Air Berlin to fire around 4000 employees in the coming weeks, if no additional buyers can be found. In an interview with Rheinische Post, Air Berlin liquidator Frank Kebekus said the airline may will have to fire around 4000 employees in late October/early November. "I expect that in the end of October/beginning of November, we will…
#StormBrian live updates
Gusts of over 70mph were recorded on Saturday morning, with forecasters warning of the potential for flooding, power cuts and transport disruption. Please reaload the page for updates… UPDATE 14:50 UTC Flights to Shannon and Cork are holding and diverting UPDATE 14:02 UTC Several flights to Bristol Airport are performing go-arounds due to high winds…
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South Carolina's Slave Relic Museum is committed to preserving and celebrating the rich culture of people from an African descent. The museum displays artifacts that were created by and used by enslaved Africans in the 1700's and 1800's.
South Carolina Artisans Center features a juried selection of artworks from over 300 artists working in a variety of mediums, with a focus on promoting crafts and folk art produced in the state.
Specializing in a natural training, PaperShell Stables provides personalized lessons for developing a bond between the visitor and their horse. The lessons consist of the horse and visitor working together to overcome obstacles.
At the Colleton Museum & Farmers Market, visitors can view a variety of historical artifacts, including photographs and models of the B-25 bomber. The location also has a gift shop which sells items that are related to the history and culture of the area.
Visitors can view the works and paintings of local, regional, and national artists at Palmetto Frame Gallery. They gallery also offers fashion jewelry and custom picture framing, featuring over a thousand frames.
Leading visitors on excursions through the region's marshlands, Lowcountry Wildlife Photo Safaris provides visitors with the opportunity to capture images of shorebirds, waterfowl, and seabirds. The guide takes visitors on a boat through the surrounding creeks, rivers, and ocean.
With a variety of shows and entertainment, USCB Center for the Arts is a local family favorite. Shows include A Midsummer Night's Dream, lunch with popular authors, and holiday favorites.
Activity in Beaufort, South Carolina is focused along Bay Street, a historic thoroughfare that is a popular staging spot for festivals, fairs and large community events. It is also lined with charming shops, boutiques and restaurants.
Beautfort's Henry C. Chambers Waterfront Park is one of city's best family-friendly attractions. The park includes a large children's playground, a band shell, gorgeous views of the Beaufort River and many shady spots that are perfect for picnics.
The Point offers guests the opportunity to view a variety of homes and moss-laden trees. This location, which is primarily a residential district, can be toured via horse-drawn carriage or van rides.


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Tag: Lino Oviedo
Monday, February 4th 2013 - 05:01 UTC
Paraguay promises international investigation into the death of Oviedo in helicopter crash
The Paraguayan government announced on Sunday that it will invite international experts to investigate the circumstances of the death of presidential candidate and controversial political figure Lino Oviedo Saturday night when the helicopter transporting him crashed.
Friday, August 3rd 2012 - 08:20 UTC
Chavez claims Paraguayan senators tried to blackmail him to vote for Venezuela in Mercosur
President Hugo Chavez said that the incorporation of Venezuela to Mercosur was "exemplary" because it never yielded to "blackmail" from the Paraguayan extreme right and revealed that he met with Paraguayan Senator Lino Oviedo, considered the mastermind behind those attempts.
Wednesday, July 25th 2012 - 21:54 UTC
French president Hollande welcomes new Paraguayan ambassador to Paris
Paraguayan ambassador Emilio Gimenez Franco presented last July 11 his credential letters to French president Francois Hollande, making him the country's representative before Paris.
Saturday, February 5th 2011 - 03:40 UTC
Paraguayan congress puts price to Venezuela's Mercosur incorporation
The Paraguayan political system is willing to consider the incorporation of Venezuela to Mercosur as a full member if there is a "significant gesture or compensation" from the government of President Hugo Chavez, according to congressional sources in Asunción.
Monday, December 13th 2010 - 23:26 UTC
Paraguay finally says 'aye' to Venezuela's Mercosur full membership
Venezuela's incorporation as a full member of Mercosur has been secured following the confirmation of a political agreement in Paraguay, the only of the four-country group that still had a vote pending in congress.


The EU are beginning to advise insurance companies to send communications to customers explaining they'll need a 'Green Card' to ride in the EU, EEA, Switzerland, Serbia or Andorra.
What this means, in practice, is that customers will need to contact their insurance providers and let them know of travel plans for going abroad. Frankly, that's something we'd always advise regardless of Brexit, but it's worth reinforcing the point that it's necessary whenever you plan to take your bike abroad. You'll either be able to get a Green Card by calling, or by filling in an online form.
Both the RAC and AA, two of the biggest breakdown cover providers in the UK, have stated that leaving the EU will not affect breakdown cover in Europe.
The only thing that may change is the cost of policies, which could rise as a result of a predicted change in the exchange rate.
Some motorcycle insurance providers, like Bennetts, provide cover for 90 days per trip with the same level as their customers have in the UK. Bennetts Managing Director, Vince Chaney has moved to assure customers that the level of cover will not be affected. Yet. Whilst other providers have remained more on the fence, meaning there is a chance your european insurance cover (if you have it) could be affected by our decision to leave.
Unfortunately, if we leave the EU your EHIC (European Health Insurance Card) won't be valid anymore, so you'll need to get private health insurance to make sure you'll qualify for healthcare on the continent in the event of illness or injury.
Depending on the exit-deal, you may need an IDP, latest information regarding this is available on Gov.uk and Post Office sites.
Confusingly, all countries within Europe can decide between three types of IDP – dated 1926, 1949 and 1968 – so you may well need multiple types to complete that big across-europe trip you've been planning!
Riders in Lichenstein will require a 1926 IDP, while those travelling in Cyprus, Malta, Iceland and Spain will need a 1949 one.
All the others (including France, Belgium, Netherlands, and Germany) will require a 1968 IDP.
To get an IDP, you've got to visit a Post Office (there's no way to get one in the post) and not all Post Office branches can issue them. Good news? It's a quick process, so you can walk in with your driving licence and come out with an IDP five minutes later. Find out where you can get an IDP here. Bad news, the Post Office will relieve you of £5.50 for the privilege!
Once you have acquired the correct IDP/s, green cards and health insurance, the final hurdle concerns the length of time UK bikers would be allowed to continuously travel around Europe.
Without a Visa, UK bikers would be able to stay in Europe for potentially 90-days before a Visa is required, however, the actual number of days is yet to be confirmed.
You will have known him as "Ray"; as one of "The Three Amigos"; or "That bloke on the Blue Harley".
Those of you at the C19 Christmas meal on December 2, 2017 will have seen Ray at his best; smartly dressed; enjoying the good company and the meal; apparently in good health. He spent Christmas at home with his family and all seemed well. Early in the new year he fell victim to Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), the name for a group of lung conditions that cause breathing difficulties, and passed away.
Thursday February 8, 2018 was his funeral at Southend Crematorium, followed by a wake at Ekco Sports and Social Club, also in Southend. Four bikes from C19 followed the hearse from Rayleigh to Southend.
Here are two pictures from a collage in the order of service.
The way you pay the Dartford Crossing charge has changed.
Motorcycles continue to be free, but for cars it will be £2.50 for a one-off payment or £1.67 if you have an account and pre-pay. The crossing will be free for all vehicles between 22:00 and 06:00 each day.
Dart Charge — the new remote payment system being introduced November 30, 2014 will reduce congestion and ease traffic flow at the Crossing. The Dart Tag system will end. If you currently have a DART-Tag it will be easy for you to move to a new Dart Charge account.
Please ensure the contact information on your account is up to date because you will be contacted with further information about how to move to the new account shortly.
Current DART-Tag holders will not lose any credit from their existing accounts and any remaining funds will either be transferred or refunded, as appropriate.
Once Dart Charge has been introduced, it will no longer be possible to pay the charge at a barrier as you use the Crossing. Instead, you will need to pay in advance of crossing or by midnight the following day. You will be able to pay in several ways, including; online, by phone, at one of many payzone retail outlets, or by post.
The penalty charge is £70 and must be paid within 28 days. It's reduced to £35 if you pay within 14 days and increased to £105 if you don't pay. You also have to pay the crossing charge.
After the introduction of Dart Charge, there will be road works at the Crossing to remove the booths and introduce a new road layout. This work is due to be completed in spring 2015.
The French government confirmed that from 1 July 2012 drivers of all motor vehicles and motorcycles (excluding mopeds) must carry a breathalyzer. The regulation was to be enforced from 1 November 2012 and anyone stopped after that date who failed to produce a breathalyzer when requested would receive an on the spot fine of €11.
October 2012 - the French government announced that the implementation of the sanction (€11 fine) for drivers not carrying a breathalyzer had been postponed from 1 November 2012 to 1 March 2013.
January 2013 - the French government announced that the implementation of the sanction for drivers not carrying a breathalyser has been postponed indefinitely. So theoretically you are still required to carry a self-test breathalyzer when driving in France but there is no current legislation demanding a fine for non-compliance.
The original official announcement stated that one unused, certified breathalyzer must be produced showing the French certification mark NF. Carrying two single-use breathalyzers will ensure that if one is used or damaged, you will still have a spare to produce. The breathalyzer produced has to be in date - single-use breathalyzers normally have a validity of around twelve months and are available on e-Bay.
January 2012 - the French government announced that from 1 January 2013 all drivers and passengers of a motorcycle over 125cc or a motor tricycle over 15 KW/h must wear reflective clothing when riding their vehicles and in the event of an emergency stop/breakdown.
January 2013 - the French government announced that the law that made reflective clothing compulsory for motorcycle riders and passengers in France from 1 January has been abolished.
Since 3 January 2012 French laws have prohibited drivers from carrying any device capable of detecting speed cameras. This includes not just radar detectors but also products or devices able to warn or inform of the location of speed cameras e.g. SatNav or GPS systems capable of showing speed camera sites as Points of Interest.
The law is primarily aimed at speed camera detectors and SatNav. It is unlikely that the French police will turn their attention to atlases showing fixed camera locations but there is no guarantee this would be the case.
As well as the ban on warning devices, the French government is installing around 400 new, unsigned, fixed speed cameras as well as taking down alll signs indicating the location of existing camera sites.
If you have a SatNav capable of displaying French camera locations in France then you must at least disable camera alerts. Contact the manufacturer for advice as a software or database update is likely to be available that will remove camera data for France from the device.
This area has suffered from conflicting advice; for some time Moto-Guzzi and Harley Owners Group forums took the view that the law was only for French riders, not visitors from other EU countries.
The French law followed a UN directive in 2000 that member countries must pass legislation making crash helmets mandatory for all motorcyclists. The directive also proposed a voluntary requirement to attach reflecting stickers to the helmet. France was the only country to sign up to this addition. It is mandated in France that all helmets must carry these stickers, and that any helmet not carrying them is considered not homologated.
All new "French" helmets must have four reflective stickers: one on the front, one at the rear and one on each side. The surface of each sticker must be 18 cm2 and, within each sticker, you must be able to draw a 40 mm diameter circle, or a 12.50 cm2 rectangle with a minimum of 20 mm length. When you buy a new helmet in France, compliant stickers come with it; however, it is your responsibility to correctly stick them on your helmet. There also a requirement that the stickers should not be removable without damaging the helmet and must remain reflective over time. They must also be water resistant and not interfere with the opening and closing mechanism of the helmet (if applicable).
There have been some concerned questions about whether this law effects visiting riders, so in his capacity as legal moderator on a French based English speaking biker forum, he asked the question to the FFMC (Federation Francaise de Motards en Colere). Their legal coordinator wrote back to Pongo to confirm that France does apply this law to all riders in and visiting France, although to their knowledge no visiting rider has yet been cautioned or fined.
The reason this is relevant now is that since the scrapping of the reflective clothing law at the beginning of 2013, the Parisian Gendarmerie have been very active with the Helmet homologation requirements, and helmets not considered correct (i.e. without stickers) can get you a €135 on the spot fine.
I f you intend to visit France on motorized two or three wheels, you must by law enter France with compliant reflective stickers on your helmet. It is entirely your choice whether you do or not, but if a "jobs-worth" French policeman pulls you over for another offence he may take umbrage and charge you for a non-homologated helmet. The chance of being pulled over just for the lack of reflective helmet stickers would appear fairly remote away from Paris .
Stickers are available, in sets of four, in a variety of colours and shapes on e-Bay.
Here is a link to a local company that specialises in re-building alternators and starter motors (they also supply new batteries). They do both car and motorcycle items. Some parts are available on an "off the shelf" exchange basis and others can be a refurbishment of your own old item.
Here is a link for a web site with all sorts of goodies including the pin badge holders that lock on to the pin badge and prevent them falling off.
Unwitting motorists face £1,000 fines as thousands of photo card driving licenses expire. Thousands of motorists are at risk of being fined up to £1,000 because they are unwittingly driving without a valid license.
They risk prosecution after failing to spot the extremely small print on their photo card license which says it a automatically expires after 10 years and has to be renewed - even though drivers are licensed to drive until the age of 70.
The fiasco has come to light a decade after the first batch of photo licenses was issued in July 1998, just as the they start to expire.
Motoring organisations blamed the Government for the fiasco and said 'most' drivers believed their licenses were for life.
They said officials had failed to publicize sufficiently the fact that new-style licenses - unlike the old paper ones - expire after a set period and have to be renewed.
Official DVLA figures reveal that while 16,136 expired this summer (2011), so far only 11,566 drivers have renewed, leaving 4,570 outstanding.
With another 300,000 photo card licenses due to expire over the coming year, experts fear the number of invalid licenses will soar, putting thousands more drivers in breach of the law and at risk of a fine.
At the heart of the confusion is the small print on the tiny credit-card-size photo license, which is used in conjunction with the paper version.
Just below the driver name on the front of the photo card license is a series of dates and details - each one numbered.
Number 4b features a date in tiny writing, but no explicit explanation as to what it means.
The date's significance is only explained if the driver turns over the card and reads the key on the back which states that '4b' means 'license valid to'.
Even more confusingly, an adjacent table on the rear of the card sets out how long the driver is registered to hold a license - that is until his or her 70th birthday.
A total of 25million new-style licenses have been issued but - motoring experts say - drivers were never sufficiently warned they would expire after 10 years.
Motorists who fail to renew their licenses in time are allowed to continue driving. But the DVLA says they could be charged with 'failing to surrender their license', an offence carrying a £1,000 fine.
AA president, Edmund King said: 'It is not generally known that photo card licenses expire: there appears to be a lack of information that people will have to renew these licenses.
'People think they have already paid them for once over and that is it.
There is a link on the 'Links' page for Woodford Motorcycles, they are a Yamaha dealer, and have given us some goodies for our rally. They have also offered a 10% discount on parts, servicing and repairs to VSOC members on production of a valid membership card. The shop owners name is Keiron, and he is looking forward to seeing us.


You might not want to mention that. The English of time-domain reflectometrists is as much English as that of nannies. Leigh seems conservative. Nancy looks very tired. The dancer's graceful action charmed the audience. Our host offered us a drink. What did you mean by that? The king exacted taxes from his people. He has gotten better, so he'll soon be able to leave the hospital. I had a horrible day at work.
I wonder if we'll have enough money to buy Stu the painting he wanted. Have you ever written a computer program? I tried my best to help them. Dan knew what he was looking for. Novo isn't scared of snakes. You must take care driving. The wise one knows what he says; the foolish one says what he knows. Dean wanted to be a mechanic. Sandeep has gone into the tunnel. One plane after another took off.
You said you wouldn't do that. We can do that. What would your boyfriend do if he found out? She was pleased with the new dress. I hate the sound of my voice. I'll come back. I promise. Generally we all eat together at the table. Myrick can see me. When do you need them? Santa seems really happy to be here.
Facebook always finds a way to annoy promoters. The tree casts a long shadow. Roland used to be as rich as Micheal is now. I wish I had the courage to do that. I'm a teacher of Spanish for foreigners, so believe me, I know what I'm talking about. Which dessert should he eat? Isabelle told me it was an emergency. When Larry bought his car, he didn't know that it had been involved in a serious accident. I have to stop Tran. I grew up in the mountains.
It looks like Gerard was right. I've never stolen anything. Hans didn't like Boston. Amir put the key in the lock and paused a moment before he turned it. What am I going to eat with 20 pesos? Nils told Paul something he'd never told anyone. I was scared of Terrence. We already know you did it. In order to get it done, you'll have to take risks. It would be better for you to speak to him.
Marilyn began to feel sleepy. Did you eat all your broccoli? We live on a farm near the village. Can I go next? I knew you'd be talking about Markus. We'll be here for three more days. How long do I have to wait for the next bus? Rudy should've done it the way you told him to do it. Edinburgh already offers a busy and traditional city experience, with many historic buildings and tourist attractions. Would it be OK if I turned off the lights?
Do you think Galen is unscrupulous? This is the most wonderful evening I've ever had. I find myself in a rather delicate situation. I just talked to him. It isn't permitted. I'm in Modena. She knows nothing about the birds and the bees. I don't know whether to believe him or not. Sharan is prepared, isn't he? A liter of milk contains about thirty grams of protein.
I have never been good at French. Do you like English? That's why I asked you about jobs for teachers in your country. I might as well die as do such a thing. Ken did that. France is to the south of England. The train arrived on time. This is the year 1990. I only spent three dollars. Sooner or later his luck will run out.
This is smaller than Tokyo. I think I should explain myself. I don't follow. What Naren predicted would happen has happened. Do you want to be my partner? Suffer pangs of conscience. They all killed themselves. Why can't we tell them? I hope this is resolved quickly. Clara seemed distracted.
Ian promised he wouldn't say anything. Another change in family life is the attitude of parents toward children. In this article you will learn how to translate the untranslatable. That young man can't get the sort of jobs he wants and doesn't have any friends; he's really at a loss. I couldn't sleep well last night because there were lots of things on my mind. The policeman was rather abrupt with me. I came to help. I carried one bag, but the other one was left behind. How large are they? Srivatsan is wiping his nose.


and speaking of setting your own work hours, i decided to work late this week and spend part of the days finishing up some yard work. we thought it might be nice to actually *see* our house. it's definitely different! we took out trees and bushes and gained a few windows! and we got some landscaping rocks to get control of the ground cover. i'm not sure if we're about finished with it all, but i'm sure tired!! the before and after pics are below.
looks like a whole new house way to go margie!!!


Christmas Competition: Win A Pair Of Tickets To A Mega Gig Of Your Choice!
To celebrate the most wonderful time of the year, we've launched a Christmas competition to offer one lucky live music fan a pair of tickets to a mega gig of their choice! All you have to do is pick one 2019 show listed on livenation.co.uk that you'd love to see, and share your choice with us on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram along with the hashtag #AllIWantForGigmas, and don't forget to tag in your friends and family to help give them the hint 😜). The lucky winner of the competition will be selected on 7th January!
Prize tickets are not transferable, and the winner will be solely responsible for their own accommodation and travel. Full T&Cs can be found here.
Christmas Gift Guide: Comedy What makes a better Christmas gift than a good laugh?!


The Ontario Volunteer Firefighters would like to invite the citizens of Ontario and surrounding communities to celebrate the 38th Annual firefighter's Benefit Dance on Saturday, March 10, 2018 at the Four Rivers Cultural Center, 676 SW 5th Avenue, Ontario, Oregon. We cordially invite you to attend, have a good time and help support our efforts in providing you, the citizens of Ontario, with the best fire and rescue protection possible.
Chicken & Beef BBQ dinner will be served from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. with takeout available. A no-host beer and wine bar will be open throughout the evening. Dancing with live music starts at 8:00 p.m., along with raffles and a Silent Auction. Tickets are $25.00 per person or $40.00 per couple.
Your support provides equipment and training for your firefighters, who are here to serve you 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The Ontario Firefighters also provide a variety of services to the community such as fire safety training, burnout assistance and our annual smoke detector checkup program.
We hope you will support your local fire department by joining us for an evening of great fun and entertainment at this year's 38th annual benefit dance and barbeque.
Are you interested in becoming a Volunteer Firefighter for the City of Ontario? It just might be one of the most rewarding jobs you could ever have. Click HERE for an application and job description.


After political controversy over the tampering of Electronic Voting Machine (EVM), the Supreme Court issued notice to Election Commission of India (ECI) on a PIL seeking an order for testing of machines by foreign experts.
A bench headed by Chief Justice of India Justice JS Khehar asked ECI to respond to the PIL.
Advocate ML Sharma filed the petition saying EVMs which are not tested till date can't be relied as temper proof.
"When tampered by the criminals for vote-stealing by changing voting numbers in favour of a political party for grabbing power, it's a fraud upon the basic structure of democratic constitutional systems which is not only liable to be stopped but also investigated and ," as per the PIL.
"There is now a serious and substantial body of evidence for vote-stealing by tampering with EVMs.
Be pleased to initiate suitable action for none compliance of the order dt.18.10.2013 in Civil appeal no. 9093 of 2013 (Annexure P-4) passed by this Hon'ble court in the interest of justice.
Because within the serious and substantial body of evidence for vote-stealing by tampering with EVMs it is proved that political party and their candidates have controlled EVMs via wireless remote control device or fixing malware in software which is not investigated/ examined by any electronic software and computer expert. Within recently, fraud and tampering complaint in Feb 2017 MCD election in Mumbai where Zero votes were recorded in favor of an independent candidate while he and his family had voted for himself, prove further that one of the political party having such wireless device to change voting result.


CE – General: A CE mark on a product can mean many different things = which means that if you see a CE mark on a product, you have no way to know what it means. In order to know what a specific CE mark means, you must have a copy of the CE Declaration of Conformity (DoC) for the product. The CE DoC defines to what CE Directives & Standards the product complies. For products intended for use in a potentially explosive environment ("zone" rated products), the CE DoC should indicate the "ATEX Directive" (2014/34/EU) with the appropriate EN explosion protection standards identified.
CE – ATEX Directive: The CE-ATEX Directive provides the requirements for all products intended for use in a hazardous-explosive environment in the European Union (EU). The CE-ATEX Directive is a "Notified Body" Directive which means that an ATEX-NB (accredited EU certification body) must verify the product complies with the ATEX Directive and the appropriate EN explosion protection standards. A CE mark issued from a Notified Body (NB) has a 4 digit number adjacent to the CE mark that is traceable to the specific NB.
Although the ATEX Notified Bodies conduct a very thorough review and testing of the product to the EN explosion protection standards, the NB does not review or even verify that the product also meets the EN basic safety standard. The CE-ATEX Notified Bodies simply confirm in writing that it is the manufacturer's responsibility. That's it! And even then, it's manufacturer's self-declaration of compliance – not an accredited 3rd party lab. This is a significant difference from a "UL" Certification.
In the U.S., products must be "UL" certified to the basic product safety standard that applies to the product for "ordinary" location (not hazardous/explosive). This is a big difference from CE ATEX. In addition, products intended for use in a potentially explosive environment (class/division rated products), must also be certified to the appropriate explosion protection standards.
Standards & Area Classification Systems: While some of the UL explosion protection standards are harmonized with the EN standards, some are not. In addition, the explosive environment classification system in Europe (zone based) is different from that in the U.S. (class/division based).
CE in the U.S.: A common misconception is that the CE mark is just like a UL mark and therefore it should be accepted in the United States. But the CE mark program is very different than the US-UL NRTL program and the CE mark is definitely not equivalent or suitable in the US. This includes a CE-ATEX mark.
Conclusion: The "UL" certification mark and the CE mark are very different regulatory compliance programs that have few things in common. There are significant differences that make the CE-ATEX mark a lower level of compliance from a "UL" certification. The fact that CE ATEX excludes Notified Body verification of basic safety compliance is a very big difference. Consequently, it is easy to see that UL ≠ CE.


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Tag: Sounds
Local health department sounds alarm on increasing ER visits
| Dept Of Health
Group uses gong to remembers Hoosiers lost to COVID-19, Friday, Oct. 9, 2020.
MUNCIE, Ind. — The sharp rise in emergency room visits during the COVID-19 pandemic caused Delaware County Health Department officials to sound the alarm Tuesday.
Jammie Bane, Delaware County Health Department administrator, said that ongoing discussions with local healthcare providers have raised concerns over the status of COVID-19 in East Central Indiana.
"Early on we talked about flattening the curve in order to protect our critical healthcare infrastructure and its ability to care for individuals needing any form of medical care," Bane said in the release. "We're seeing some changes to this now, with single digit hospitalization numbers in the past (increasing) to numbers approaching 50 at some points now."
On Oct. 8, IU Health Ball Memorial Hospital saw more than 170 people utilize its emergency department, about one-third of whom were coming in
The Latest: Belgium sounds alarm amid spike in virus cases
BRUSSELS — Authorities in Belgium, one of the European countries hit hardest by the coronavirus, are warning that the number of cases is rising at a "quite alarming" rate and that 10,000 people could be catching the virus each day by the end of the week.
Yves Van Laethem, a spokesman for Belgium's COVID-19 crisis center, says that "all the indicators continue to rise, it must be said, in a quite alarming way, in all provinces and all age groups."
An average of 4,145 new cases of the disease were being recorded every day in Belgium in the week of Oct. 2-8, an increase of 89% over the previous week, according to new data released Monday. More than 6,500 new cases were reported last Wednesday alone.
Van Laethem said that "if this rise continues at the same rate, we could see 10,000 new cases a day at the end of
Heart Sounds magazine produces special 'social distancing' edition – Coronavirus
| Health Magazine
Historians will likely look back at the COVID-19 global health pandemic and the Black Lives Matter social protests as a unique period in the history of the world.
The editors of Heart Sounds, the annual magazine of literary, auditory and visual art published by the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences' Center for Medical Humanities, felt it was deserving of a special "social distancing" edition.
"We sought to exhibit how we have managed to stay in high spirits during this period of social distancing. We hope that this issue will highlight the talents housed in our community and inspire creativity within our readers," chief editors Brian Yu and Jee Eun Choi wrote in the edition's introduction.
Heart Sounds was started two years ago by Sara Xu, a current fourth-year medical student, to allow artistic and literary expression in the Jacobs School community.
The magazine seeks to emphasize the importance
Heart Sounds magazine produces special 'social distancing' edition – UB Now: News and views for UB faculty and staff


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The Way Too Early 2020 NFL Mock Draft
Posted on May 6, 2019 May 10, 2019 by Justin Worsley
1. Cincinnati Bengals – Tua Tagovailoa (QB/Alabama)
Cincinnati has a new head coach and if they do bottom out, Andy Dalton can be released for $17.7 million in cap relief. Tagovailoa would have definitely been in discussion for the first overall pick in 2019 had he been eligible and has been compared to Russell Wilson.
2. Las Vegas Raiders – Justin Herbert (QB/Oregon)
Another quarterback who would have been in consideration for the top pick in the 2019 draft, Herbert decided to stay in Eugene in order to play this season with his younger brother. The Raiders were reportedly considering selecting Dwayne Haskins, so unless Derek Carr has a career year, it's hard to imagine he will still be on the team in 2020. The soon-to-be Las Vegas Raiders would save $16.5 million with his release.
3. New York Giants – Trey Smith (OT/Tennessee)
The Giants addressed a number of positions in the 2019 draft, but waited until the seventh round to address the situation at right tackle, where Chad Wheeler will enter the season as the starter. This can't continue and Nate Solder turning 32 next year, they need a long-term answer at left tackle. Smith could start off as a right tackle his rookie year before switching spots with Solder in 2021.
4. Arizona Cardinals – Derrick Brown (DT/Auburn)
Arizona declined their option on the disappointing Robert Nkemdiche, so they will be in the market to replace him. Brown may have benefitted from not declaring for the draft due to the surplus of talent at the position in the 2019 draft, he could have fallen further than his true value.
5. Detroit Lions – A.J. Epensa (EDGE/Iowa)
Detroit added Trey Flowers in free agency, but they should continue to build through the trenches. Epensa was dominant last year as a true sophomore, racking up 16.5 tackles for losses and 10.5 sacks.
6. Buffalo Bills – Jerry Jeudy (WR/Alabama)
Buffalo didn't draft any receivers last month, so unless a trade happens, Josh Allen's top targets are free agent acquisitions Cole Beasley and John Brown as well as Zay Jones. Allen deserves better. Jeudy has been compared to Odell Beckham Jr.
7. Tennessee Titans – Jake Fromm (QB/Georgia)
Marcus Mariota is talented, but he struggles both with consistency and durability. He has yet to play a full season and if Tennessee is picking in the top 10, selecting a quarterback will definitely be in play. There is a chance Fromm returns to school if he thinks he has a better chance being selected first overall in 2021.
8. Carolina Panthers – Trevon Diggs (CB/Alabama)
James Bradberry and Donte Jackson aren't bad players, but I think Carolina would benefit from adding another player in the fold. Besides, you can't have too many cornerbacks in today's pass-heavy league. Diggs is the younger brother of Vikings receiver Stefon Diggs.
9. Pittsburgh Steelers – Andrew Thomas (OT/Georgia)
Both Alejandro Villanueva and Ramon Foster enter the final years of their deals in 2020, which would cause the Steelers to let one of them go and draft a younger, cheaper replacement.
10. Tampa Bay Buccaneers – Chase Young (EDGE/Ohio State)
Jason Pierre-Paul put up 12.5 sacks last season, the first Buccaneer with a double-digit sack season since Simeon Rice in 2005. That said, he enters the final year of his contract in 2020. Tampa Bay has struggled to put pressure on the quarterback for the past decade and have avoided using their top picks to address this issue, something that needs to change.
11. Seattle Seahawks – Grant Delpit (S/LSU)
The Legion of Boom is no more with Earl Thomas, the final remaining member of the group, signing with the Ravens last March. Secondary help is needed and Delpit can more than fill the void. He is an absolute playmaker with the ideal size and athleticism for the safety position.
12. Washington Redskins – Laviska Shenault (WR/Colorado)
Washington declined the disappointing Josh Doctson's option and the Redskins as a whole are thin at receiver. Shenault is used in a variety of ways for Colorado and is an explosive player who is dangerous with the ball in his hands.
13. Denver Broncos – Isaiah Simmons (S/Clemson)
Broncos strong safety Justin Simmons is in his contract year, so here is a replacement if he isn't retained. Isaiah Simmons shifted to linebacker for Clemson last season, but should revert to strong safety for the NFL.
14. Miami Dolphins – Walker Little (OT/Stanford)
Laremy Tunsil is a solid player for the Dolphins, but the rest of the offensive line is weak, including right tackle Zach Sterup. Little also provides Miami with some insurance in case Tunsil leave via free agency in 2021.
15. Minnesota Vikings – Mekhi Becton (OT/Louisville)
Minnesota took Garrett Bradbury with their top pick in the draft last month, but they're not done rebuilding the offensive line. Louisville head coach Bobby Petrino compared Becton to former Ravens tackle Jonathan Ogden.
16. New York Jets – C.J. Henderson (CB/Florida)
New York waited until the sixth round to address the cornerback position. Darryl Roberts could be cut for $6 million in cap relief next year, so here is a replacement to line up across Trumaine Johnson.
17. Atlanta Falcons – Raekwon Davis (DT/Alabama)
The Falcons used their early draft picks addressing the offensive line, but the other side of the trench needs attention too. Grady Jarrett received the franchise tag, but if the two sides can't agree to a deal, there is a mammoth-sized hole on their defense.
18. Dallas Cowboys – Albert Okwuegbunam (TE/Missouri)
Dallas' tight end situation was so dire they did the world a favor by getting Jason Witten out of the broadcast booth to limp around the field at age 37. Okwuegbunam has the size and speed to be a threat in the passing game, but he needs to improve as a blocker.
19. Baltimore Ravens – Terrell Lewis (EDGE/Alabama)
Cornerstone edge rusher Terrell Suggs is gone after signing with the Cardinals in the offseason and Matthew Judon is in his contract year. Baltimore is getting into unfamiliar territory.
20. Los Angeles Chargers – Najee Harris (RB/Alabama)
Melvin Gordon is in the final year of his deal and Los Angeles could let him walk if Gordon commands too much money. With Josh Jacobs and Damien Harris now in the NFL, Harris could show he can be a workhorse back.
21. San Francisco 49ers – Tommy Kraemer (G/Notre Dame)
The 49ers declined the option on Joshua Garnett, who could actually be fighting for his roster spot in training camp. San Francisco built their roster to run, now they need to build the interior offensive line.
22. Jacksonville Jaguars – Xavier McKinney (S/Alabama)
Tashaun Gipson was released to save cap space and the Jaguars failed to add his replacement in the draft. Now, Ronnie Harrison's former teammate can play alongside him.
23. Green Bay Packers – Dylan Moses (LB/Alabama)
Blake Martinez is in his contract year and Oren Burks struggled in limited action across from him. Regardless of whether or not Martinez is retained, another inside linebacker is needed.
24. Cleveland Browns – Trey Adams (OT/Washington)
Cleveland is entering 2019 with Greg Robinson as their starting left tackle, something that can't happen in 2020. Adams looked like he was on his way to being a top five pick in 2017, but injuries have taken their toll over the last two years. Despite this, he is still being looked at as a potential first rounder as long as he stays healthy in 2019.
25. Houston Texans – J.K. Dobbins (RB/Ohio State)
With Lamar Miller slated to hit free agency in 2020, it's hard to imagine the Texans would move forward with D'Onta Foreman as their lead back due to his durability issues.
26. Philadelphia Eagles – Jacob Phillips (LB/LSU)
PFF darling Zach Brown was signed, but just to a one-year deal. If Philadelphia doesn't extend him in the offseason, they will again be in the market for a middle linebacker.
27. Kansas City Chiefs – Jaylon Johnson (CB/Utah)
Despite the secondary being far and away the weak link on this team, the Chiefs waited until the sixth round to address the position in the draft. They can't make this mistake again.
28. Las Vegas Raiders – Colby Parkinson (TE/Stanford)
A safety valve for their new quarterback, the top tight end for the Raiders at the moment is Derek Carrier. That needs to change.
29. Los Angeles Rams – Nick Coe (DE/Auburn)
The Rams let Ndamukong Suh walk in free agency and failed to find a replacement in the draft. A quality bookend across from Aaron Donald is needed to help prevent double teams.
30. Indianapolis Colts – CeeDee Lamb (WR/Oklahoma)
Devin Funchess was signed on a one-year deal, but the Colts need another quality receiver across from T.Y. Hilton.
31. New Orleans Saints – K.J. Costello (QB/Stanford)
Drew Brees is 40 years old and if the Saints make it to the Super Bowl, it could be the final game of his career. If he does return, the Saints can take Costello to serve as an understudy for a year while also retaining a new franchise quarterback at a cheap cost with five years of team control.
32. New England Patriots – Jake Breeland (TE/Oregon)
The Patriots surprisingly didn't draft a tight end after Rob Gronkowski retired. Maybe they take one in the opening round this time.
Posted in Mock Drafts, SportsTagged 2020 NFL Draft, 2020 NFL Mock Draft, NFL Mock Draft, Tua Tagovailoa


I'm lucky to have a routine that gets a shake-up each week. My husband and I take turns getting up with the kids. So the days that my husband gets up with the kids, I get to sleep in a little longer. I'm not going to lie, it's a pretty sweet deal. Working and going to school from home has its perks.
Getting up so early wouldn't be so bad if it weren't for the fact that our house is one of the first stops for the school buses in the morning. Sometimes I have them miss the bus so that the mornings are less hectic and chaotic. During the fall, this wouldn't have been possible for me because I was going to school on campus and had to leave pretty early myself. But this semester I'm taking classes online so I can relax at home.
I will tell you one thing, I can't function without coffee in the mornings. I feel like I'm in a fog, bumping into things and forgetting to sign things for the kids. I am a walking "but first, coffee" meme. It's my jump start button. Aside from the fact that the caffeine wakes me up, I just like the taste of coffee. I drink it as a snack sometimes in the afternoons and evenings. Once I have my Crazy Good Coffee, I'm like a machine starting up. I'm far more productive with work and school in the mornings. I can crank out more content and tasks before lunch. After lunch, I'm easily sidetracked and end up slacking off on social media. The kids also come home in the afternoon, I should just blame it on them.
Those mornings that we are in a huge rush I stop I stop into RaceTrac for a quick Crazy Good Coffee and breakfast. I love that they have a coffee bar of choices also. I still reach for the dark roasts in the morning. The other day, I picked up a RaceTrac reusable coffee mug because it was only $3.99 and it had a coupon for 5 free refills inside. I generally don't have whatever for breakfast because coffee is enough for me, but I like the snack trays that RaceTrac has because they are light and I can nibble on them at my desk. The fruit, cheese, and almond one is my favorite. RaceTrac prepares a large selection of products and puts them out in the mornings. So you can get a classic breakfast sandwich or you can change it up and get pizza, a chicken sandwich, or a roller grill item. It's Whatever gets you going in the morning. My husbands favorite is breakfast pizza. He likes it cold though. He's weird.
I commend the super early risers that get up to exercise before their kid's alarms go off in the morning. I don't go to bed early enough for all that!
Want to win some free food from RaceTrac? Enter to win by commenting on the Facebook post below.
Winner will receive a coupon good for free food items from RaceTrac (ten winners a day)! Ends March 25th.
I spy a death star Mickey!!
I that that vinyl. Make me happy each morning when I see it!


Fourth Dimension noticed new job circular at Fourth Dimension Job circular Offer 02 Vacancy in Dhaka. Fourth Dimension Career updates like Educational Qualification, Job Experience , Age Limit update by www.ejobscircular.com . Read below this short Information about Fourth Dimension jobs and then Apply if you are Qualified. You must have to apply before 25 January 2018 .
Most of the job seeker find Fourth Dimension job circular in Google. If you also want to get a jobs in Dhaka keep reading below this short information.
Organization/Company Name : Fourth Dimension.
Minimum Educational Qualification : B.Sc in Computer Science/ Diploma.
Develop IT networking for interior and building project.
Responsible for providing day to day support for a network of computers, Laptop & email server.
Responsible for all IT Technology of company.
Good leadership & Inter personal skill.
Fourth Dimension Job Applicaton process are to easy and you can apply through online Seending your CV. Let`s Sent CV bdjobs official website bellow this company address.
Business : Architects and Engineers Firms.
Hope you read Fourth Dimension jobs News on my website at www.ejobscircular.com . For Next Updates about Fourth Dimension Jobs in Dhaka will be found in this page. You May Bookmark this website on Your Browser. Feel free to share this jobs on your Social site like Facebook,Twitter and gets daily updates from our Website. Thanks for Stay with Us.


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Ambassador Limousine Service Lauded for Making Client's 90th Birthday Unforgettable
Atlanta, Georgia – Ambassadors Limousine Service, a company based in Atlanta, Georgia, received praise from one of its clients today. The company reportedly helped Mrs. Diana Ross plan a special birthday party as her mother turned 90.
"We grew up poor," Diana Ross noted as she explained her experience with Ambassador Limousine Service. "As a result, none of us enjoyed a birthday party as kids. However, we worked hard and are fortunate to have made good money while our parents are still alive."
"So," continued Diana Ross, "yesterday was my mum's birthday party. She was turning 90, and we wanted to prepare a special experience to celebrate the start of her 9th decade on earth. My mum has always talked about visiting the Georgia Aquarium. My siblings and I, therefore, decided to surprise her with a visit to the Aquarium."
Diana Ross noted she planned to ensure her mum enjoyed the whole experience from start to finish. Therefore, she called a couple of friends to determine the best travel company she could hire to give her mum an adventure she could not forget.
"I called about 15 friends to be 100% sure," said Diana Ross while explaining how she discovered Ambassador Limousine Service. "Interestingly, each friend had positive things to say about Ambassador Limousine Service."
Diana Ross noted that her friends mentioned that Ambassador Limousine Service allowed the clients to create a customized travel experience for themselves.
See how Ambassador Limousine Service gives its customers the best travel experience: https://www.atlanta-limos.com/
"When I called Ambassador Limousine Service to request a limousine for my mum's birthday party," said Diana Ross, "I specifically mentioned that the vehicle had to be customized for an elderly person. Funny enough, the person on the other end of the line seemed to understand everything I mentioned without requiring me to go into too many details. From my experience, the company's customer care agent had already handled similar bookings multiple times."
Diana Ross noted that after making her booking, the Ambassador Limousine Service agent pointed out that the limousine would be at the pickup location at least 15 minutes earlier.
"The company kept its word," said Diana Ross. "We had planned to leave the house at 10 am. Our driver was waiting outside the house at exactly 9:45 am. However, he did not rush us. He gave us enough time to finish our preparations and get in the vehicle. By 10:05 am, we were on the road."
Diana Ross noted that when she got in the car, she was mesmerized by how Ambassador Limousine Service had customized it to give it a birthday theme.
"The interior was extra comfy," said Diana Ross. "While on the road, our driver played us nice relaxing music. Ambassador Limousine Service stocked the limo with my mum's favorite wine and snacks."
Diana Ross noted that Ambassador Limousine Service surprised her mum with a customized birthday cake.
"We were allowed to celebrate the birthday inside the limousine," said Diana. "We sang happy birthday, cut the cake, and then when we left the limousine to go inside the Aquarium, the driver stuck around and waited for 3 hours. Finally, the driver took us home after the Aquarium visit."
Diana Ross concluded by mentioning that Ambassador Limousine Service had impressed her so much that she would continue using its services in the years to come. She also noted that she would recommend the company to others needing top-of-the-line travel services. Finally, she mentioned that people new to the company could read more about its services in the Ambassador Limousine Service media room.
Ambassador Limousine Service offices are located at 3355 Lenox Rd NE #750, Atlanta, GA 30326, United States. Interested parties can also reach the company at +1 404-621-2544 and info@atlanta-limos.com.
For more information about Ambassador Limousine Service, contact the company here:
Ambassador Limousine Service
info@atlanta-limos.com
3355 Lenox Rd NE #750


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Lurøy est une kommune de Norvège. Elle est située dans le comté de Nordland sur l'île de Lurøya.

Histoire
Lors d'une réunion au lieu où se faisait la justice à Lurøy, il a été décidé en 1775 d'établir une école communautaire dans la paroisse de Rødøy.

Le tremblement de terre de Lurøy de 1819 s'étendait de Lurøy à la frontière suédoise. Il est considéré comme le tremblement de terre le plus fort qu'ait connu la Norvège jusqu'au tremblement de terre du Svalbard le .

La commune en tant que telle a été fondée en 1837.

Localités
 Aldra () ;
 Brattland () ;
 Indre Kvarøy () ;
 Konsvikosen () ;
 Kvina () ;
 Lovund () ;
 Lurøy ;
 Nordsolvær ;
 Sleneset () ;
 Stokkvågen () ;
 Stuvland () ;
 Tonnes ().

Îles
Aldra () ;
Hestmannøy () ;
Lovund () ;
Lurøya () ;
Nesøya () ;
Onøya () ;
Solvær () ;
Stigen () ;

Références

Nordland

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


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Home >>Search Speakers >> Ramez Naam
Former Microsoft executive
Co-Chair for Energy and Environment at Singularity University
Innovation, author, futurist
Ramez Naam Speaker Biography
Ramez Naam was born in Cairo, Egypt, and came to the US at the age of 3. He's a computer scientist, futurist, angel investor, and award-winning author.
Ramez spent 13 years at Microsoft, where he led teams developing early versions of Microsoft Outlook, Internet Explorer, and the Bing search engine. His career has focused on bringing advanced collaboration, communication, and information retrieval capabilities to roughly one billion people around the world, and took him to the role of Partner and Director of Program Management within Microsoft, with deep experience leading teams working on cutting edge technologies such as machine learning, search, massive scale services, and artificial intelligence.
Between stints at Microsoft, Ramez founded and ran Apex NanoTechnologies, the world's first company devoted entirely to software tools to accelerate molecular design. He holds 19 patents related to search engines, information retrieval, web browsing, artificial intelligence, and machine learning.
Ramez lectures on energy, environment, and innovation at Singularity University. He invests in innovative energy startups. He's spoken to audiences on four continents, from Illinois to Istanbul and from corporate boardrooms to Harvard University. He's appeared on Sunday morning MSNBC, repeatedly on Yahoo! Finance, on China Cable Television, on BigThink, and Reuters.fm. His work has appeared in, or been reviewed by, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Los Angeles Times, The Atlantic, Slate, Business Week, Business Insider, Discover, Popular Science, Wired, and Scientific American. He's a graduate of the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign and the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy at Aurora Illinois.
In his leisure, Ramez has climbed mountains, descended into icy crevasses, chased sharks through their native domain, backpacked through remote corners of China, and ridden his bicycle down hundreds of miles of the Vietnam coast. He lives in Seattle, where he writes and speaks full time
Innovation. Disruption. Energy. Neuroscience. Technology. Future Trends. Environmental Challenges.
Scott Bedbury
Branding Speaker & CEO of Brandstream
Jason Chaffetz
Fox News Channel Contributor
Maaike Doyer
CFO & Strategy Designer
Thomas Keller
Award-Winning Chef & Entrepreneur
Jonathan Tilley
Brand Strategist who Helps Creative People Transition Into Successful Creative Freelancers and Entrepreneurs
Alex Kajitani
2009 California Teacher of the Year
Nathan Schulhof
Visionary and Innovator
Mike Hoefflinger
Director of Global Business Marketing
Tony Schwartz
John Coyle
Design Thinking & Innovation Expert
Dr. Freeman Hrabowski
President of the University of Maryland


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HomeHealthCivil society groups: Enact reproductive health bills
HealthYour CountyNakuru
Civil society groups: Enact reproductive health bills
By The County
Civil society groups in Nakuru have called for enactment of three Bills pending before local and regional legislative bodies which they said have been designed to curtail early teenage pregnancies and reduce HIV/AIDS infections among vulnerable groups.
Under the auspices of Nakuru Reproductive Health Network (NRHN), the lobbyists indicated that the Bills that touched on family planning, assisted reproduction and safe motherhood should be approved by respective lawmaking organs before current parliament's tenure lapses.
The proposed laws include Maternal, Newborn, Adolescent Child Health Bill, Reproductive Health Bill and East Africa Community Sexual Reproductive Health Rights Bill pending before the Nakuru County Assembly, the Senate and East African Legislative Assembly respectively.
NRHN Chairman Martin Lunalo noted that though the Bills also advocated for protection of women living with HIV and those living with disability against abuse, every time they were proposed, some Kenyans, including the church, vehemently oppose them.
"The East African Community Sexual and Reproductive health (EAC SRH) Bill, 2021 prohibits harmful practices that include child marriage, sexual exploitation, and female genital mutilation, forced or coerced sterilization. If enacted into law it will be critical in ensuring that we are not losing adolescents and young people to harmful practices," Lunalo observed.
The proposed regional statute added the chairman purposes to obligate each partner State to offer provider-initiated information and develop programs that include reproductive health care services for men such as screening and treatment of disorders of the male reproductive system including sexual dysfunctions, infertility and urological diseases.
Lunalo rebutted the Church's interpretation of the Bills to mean that they impressed upon teenagers that sex is for pleasure and that they encourage abortion.
He added, "The church's opposition, dictated by its position as the custodian of morality is understandable since anything that goes against biblical teachings is bound to raise its ire. The Bills advocate in part, termination of a pregnancy under special circumstances, like when the mother's life is in danger, or when the child faces complications incompatible with life outside the womb. That part is in sync with our constitution that forbids abortion."
The Maternal, Newborn, Adolescent Child Health Bill was drafted by The Kenya Legal Information Network (KELIN) and the Nakuru County Assembly Health Committee, while Reproductive Health Bill is sponsored by Nakuru Senator Susan Kihika.
Ms Evelyne Wairimu, Director to Octre Kenya, a reproductive health community based organization, noted that the New Born, Adolescent and Child Health Bill is aimed at ensuring access to quality and comprehensive provision of health services to women and children.
Ms Wairimu said if passed into law, every child will be entitled to free immunization and free annual medical check-up at any hospital owned by the county government.
The proposed law will also establish and support Maternal Mortality Review Committees at all public health facilities. The committees will be required to review every pregnancy-related death as well as develop recommendations to prevent future deaths, she added.
The Director observed that the County was facing an upsurge of teenage pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections which could be addressed if the counties are compelled by law to commit financial, technical and human resources towards adolescent health care.
Ms Wairimu stated that there was inadequate allocation of funds towards reproductive health care services targeting the youth and adolescents. Low public participation in the county budget making process she said had led to missed opportunities in prioritizing reproductive health issues.
"We must face reality and acknowledge that teen pregnancies have risen exponentially, and the major reason that happens is that teenagers do not understand the consequences of pre-marital sex since the subject of sex is anathema in society. This lack of knowledge is compounded by teenager's exposure to sexual content through the internet, films and lewd music but worse, lack of parental guidance," she pointed.
NRHN Secretary Mr. Cosmas Mutua said the Bills did not normalize underage sex and if passed, would not open the door for children between the ages of 10-17 to receive and use contraceptives or procure safe abortion.
Mutua suggested that instead of poking holes in the Bills, parents, schools and the church owed it to teenagers to equip them with knowledge that would help them make choices from a point of information and knowledge.
County Executive Committee Member for Health Dr Gichuki Kariuki in a separate interview indicated that teenage pregnancies and HIV infections among youngsters had reached alarming proportions in the devolved unit.
He noted that in some sub-counties, prevalence of teenage pregnancies was higher than 18 percent adding that there was need to promote safe sexual practices and stop early pregnancies that deny girls social economic progress.
"The Kenya Demographic and Health Survey 2014 for instance, showed that girls between the ages of 15 and 18 years indulged in sex," Dr Kariuki said.
According to the World Health Organization, 21 million adolescent girls aged 15 – 19, get pregnant annually and were at a higher risk of adverse outcomes for themselves and their babies than women over 20.
WHO indicates that by addressing their unmet needs through increasing their access to modern methods of contraception and creating a supportive health care system, enabling policies and community environments for safer pregnancies for adolescents would prevent an additional 79,000 maternal deaths.
Secretary to Nakuru County Reproductive Health Network Nerry Mawere said the New Born, Adolescent and Child Health Bill sets up structures for mobilization of resources for health services and promotes healthy behaviours and practices.
"The aim of the drafters of the proposed legislation is to improve access and utilization of quality maternal health through evidence based intervention during antenatal care, providing respective care around time of birth, postnatal and postpartum care," she said.
"It intends to leverage on existing local and national government structures, strengthen health systems both in communities and facilities and ensure availability, access and use of lifesaving basic emergency obstetric and newborn care services," stated Mawere.
The Bill also focuses on providing Family Planning information and services to help girls delay childbearing, and to help women and couples to plan and space their pregnancies for improved health outcomes.
"We intend to anchor into law local delivery of family planning education and services, especially to adolescents. This can be done through training community health workers to provide a wide range of methods," said Mawere.
If the Bill sails through, no pregnant woman shall be tested for HIV/AIDS without her informed consent. The County Executive Committee Member shall in conjunction with the relevant health care providers within Nakuru County also be required to regularly disseminate accurate and comprehensive information to members of the public about HIV and AIDS.
Members of Civil society groups in Nakuru when they petitioned local and regional legislative bodies to enact three Bills designed to curtail early teenage pregnancies and reduce HIV/Aids infections among vulnerable groups
Such information will include prevention of mother to child infection and the options available to infected pregnant women.
Caregivers will now be legally obligated to ensure access to continuous and regular medical treatment of children born with HIV and to counsel pregnant women and their partners infected with HIV or suffering from AIDS.
Nakuru Reproductive Health Network (NRHN)
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How do you stay in business successfully for nearly 30 years? According to Loughton Tyres, who are based at the Seedbed Centre in Loughton, customer service is key, as they are now serving the grandchildren of their original clients.
Helpful, caring and honest are the three watchwords on which Loughton Tyres have built their success – and on which they're going to continue to thrive in the future.