Source: United States Senator for Oklahoma James Lankford
February 13, 2025
WASHINGTON, DC – Senator James Lankford (R-OK) today released the latest edition of his government waste book, Federal Fumbles: A Playbook for DOGE. Lankford reveals billions of dollars lost to wasteful spending, inefficiencies, fraud, and improper payments. The book also exposes the 30 different agencies involved in disaster relief and $2 billon that was given to the Taliban through United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
“Every time I talk with Oklahomans, they make it clear they want Washington to waste less and save more. My Federal Fumbles book is another edition of our playbook to cut waste and make government more efficient. This is the mandate that the American people voted to implement and we are committed to accomplish,” said Lankford.
CLICK HERE to read the report and CLICK HERE for a printable version.
CLICK HERE to view the Top 5 list.
Due to the nature of the works and available road space, these works will be carried out under a restricted hours road closure between 9.15am and 3pm Monday to Friday, with no weekend working planned, to minimise disruption. On street parking and loading will also be suspended in the works area.
During the road closure hours, the official diversion route will be via the A822, A85, A9, A823 and A822, and vice versa. The works area and official diversion route are both shown on the location plan(PDF,1 MB).
Outside the closure hours, temporary traffic signals may be used to protect road users and the work site.
During the works, vehicle access to properties within the works area will be limited and immediate entry/exit cannot be guaranteed. Our contractor will grant access when it is safe to do so, however we would advise residents and motorists to expect some delays. Access for emergency services vehicles will be maintained throughout, and on waste collection days bins should be presented as normal.
Some changes to bus services during the working hours will be necessary – arrangements for these will be detailed on our Public Transport pages.
We apologise for any inconvenience these essential works may cause and would thank residents and motorists for their patience while the resurfacing is carried out.
PORT SUDAN/NAIROBI– The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) welcomes a contribution of JPY 150 million (approx. US $1 million) from the Government of Japan for its operations in Sudan. This vital funding will enable WFP to purchase locally grown grains, such as sorghum or millet, which will be distributed to over 30,000 people as part of the emergency food rations.
The support from Japan arrives at a critical time as WFP works tirelessly to expand food and nutrition assistance to millions more people across Sudan – aiming to triple the number of people it supports to 7 million per month. WFP’s top priority is to deliver life-saving assistance to locations facing famine or teetering on its brink.
“We are working tirelessly to ramp up food assistance across Sudan and this contribution will help us to save lives and prevent vulnerable families from going hungry. We are incredibly grateful to the Government of Japan for their support to the Sudanese people,” said Laurent Bukera, WFP Regional Director for Eastern Africa.
Sudan continues to face a catastrophic humanitarian situation with approximately 24.6 million people – nearly half of Sudan’s population – facing acute food insecurity (Integrated Phase Classification, Phase 3+). Twenty-seven locations across Sudan are either in famine or at risk of famine, while more than one-third of children in the hardest hit regions are acutely malnourished, well above the threshold for a famine declaration.
Mr. Mizuuchi Kentaro, Chargé d’Affaires of the Embassy of Japan in the Republic of the Sudan, said: “In response to the severe humanitarian crisis in Sudan, Japan remains committed to addressing the urgent needs of those affected by the ongoing conflict, with a particular emphasis on food and nutrition assistance. Recognizing the critical role played by WFP in these efforts, Japan is dedicated to supporting its invaluable work in alleviating the suffering.”
“Japan’s contribution will help alleviate the food insecurity crisis facing the most vulnerable populations in Sudan,” he added.
With Japan’s generous contribution, WFP will provide a lifeline to thousands of people enduring the devastating effects of conflict and hunger, while supporting the local economy through the purchase of grains from Sudanese farmers. Japan has been a steadfast supporter of WFP in Sudan, contributing over US$13 million since 2021.
# # #
The United Nations World Food Programme is the world’s largest humanitarian organization saving lives in emergencies and using food assistance to build a pathway to peace, stability and prosperity for people recovering from conflict, disasters and the impact of climate change.
Follow us on X, formerly Twitter, via @wfp_media and @wfp_sudan
Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News
BEIJING, Feb. 13 — China’s economy is expected to maintain stable growth in 2025, according to the Q4 2024 monetary policy report released by the People’s Bank of China on Thursday.
Stimulus measures rolled out in late 2024 have already begun to revitalize production, demand, and market sentiment, which will further sustain the recovery momentum, according to the report.
Domestic demand has shown great potential for improvement, with measures to boost consumption and investment delivering standout results. Notably, retail sales for home appliances jumped 11.8 percent year on year in 2024.
China will adopt a more proactive fiscal policy and a moderately loose monetary policy, prioritizing the stabilization of prices at reasonable levels, the central bank said.
Monetary authorities will deepen market-driven exchange rate reforms, strengthen foreign exchange market resilience, and enhance cross-border capital flow monitoring, in a bid to ensure the yuan remains stable at an equilibrium level.
China will accelerate institutional reforms and high-standard financial market opening, with measures to advance the yuan’s global use in cross-border trade and investment, and deepen international currency cooperation, the central bank added.
Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Lauren Hart, PhD candidate, Michigan Geomicrobiology Lab, University of Michigan
Lakes, natural and man-made, provide water, food and habitats for wildlife, as well as supporting local economies. Around the world, though, there’s a growing threat to lakes: toxic bacteria which turn the water green.
This is the same green as you see on stagnant ponds. It’s caused by tiny organisms called cyanobacteria and can be deadly.
Cyanobacteria thrive in warm, sunny lakes and ponds that contain excess nitrogen and phosphorus nutrients derived from fertiliser, manure and sewage. When conditions are right, cyanobacteria multiply rapidly and form smelly green scums on the water’s surface.
Known to science as cyanoHABs (cyanobacterial harmful algal blooms), the scums are harmful to livestock, wildlife, pets, people and aquatic organisms like fish. Toxins make untreated water unsafe to drink, swim in, or even touch. Sometimes they can become suspended in air and be inhaled. The cyanoHABs also harm ecosystems by depleting oxygen, killing off whatever lives in the water, and disrupting food webs and fisheries.
CyanoHABs are a global threat and receive considerable scientific attention in North America and Europe. Blooms are becoming more widespread worldwide because rising temperatures promote cyanobacterial growth and more intense rainfall delivers nutrients from the landscape. Only effective management of nutrients can reverse this trend.
The problem is understudied in Africa’s main lakes, including its largest – Lake Victoria. Past research on cyanoHABs has mostly used microscopy to study the kinds found there, but microscopy cannot differentiate between toxic and non-toxic cyanobacterial cells.
We are on a large project team of scientists who have been studying the socioeconomic and environmental effects of cyanoHABs in the Winam Gulf region of Lake Victoria in south-western Kenya.
Our latest study identified which cyanobacteria were the most abundant in the gulf and which ones were producing the main toxin of concern.
These findings can improve public safety:
local authorities can monitor for specific cyanobacteria and warn residents to stay away when blooms are present
cyanoHAB prevention practices (nutrient reduction, land-use practices) can target the cyanobacteria that cause the problem.
Greening of lakes
Lake Victoria now receives large influxes of nutrients because of growing lakeside populations and land-use changes. Nutrients from agriculture, industry and urbanisation fuel the growth of cyanoHABs.
CyanoHABs occur in many basins in Lake Victoria but are highly concentrated in Kenya’s shallow Winam/Nyanza Gulf. Changing nutrient and temperature conditions can also alter which types of cyanobacteria dominate the gulf and the types and levels of toxins in the water. Lakeside communities that rely on the gulf for drinking water and domestic tasks are at risk of exposure to cyanoHAB toxins.
CyanoHAB in the Winam Gulf. Photo by George Bullerjahn (BGSU)
Past research on cyanoHABs has mostly used the oldest of microbiological techniques — microscopy — to classify the types of cyanobacteria in the gulf. This cannot differentiate between toxic and non-toxic cyanobacterial cells.
Modern genome sequencing technologies can identify genes encoding the production of known and novel toxins and other molecules of interest, such as those with medicinal properties. Genomic data from African Great Lakes is scarce, so the chemical capabilities of bacteria in this region are largely unexplored. But this is beginning to change.
Our latest study adds to a growing number of recent studies our team has carried out in and around Lake Victoria. In this study, our research vessel stopped at over 31 sites to collect scientific samples and data. The samples were later analysed for DNA, the biological “instruction manual” inside every living thing. DNA tells an organism how to grow, function, reproduce, and – in the case of cyanobacteria – make deadly toxins. This analysis produced near-complete genome sequences – that is, the set of all genes in the DNA – for organisms at each sampling site.
Past reports identified Microcystis as the dominant cyanobacteria in the Winam Gulf. Our research, however, found Dolichospermum was the most abundant type in major cyanoHAB events there. This finding might be due to recent environmental changes in the region.
But we linked Microcystis to microcystin. This is a liver-damaging toxin that can kill livestock, wildlife and humans, especially those whose immune system isn’t working well. In Winam Gulf, it’s often more abundant than the health limits set by the WHO.
Our study also found that Microcystis occurs mainly in murkier river mouths where green scums are not visible, making scientific monitoring and public alerts even more important.
Local authorities can now monitor for these cyanobacteria and warn residents to stay away when blooms are present.
The findings also mean that authorities know which cyanobacteria to target in prevention efforts like reducing the amount of phosphorus and other nutrients entering the gulf.
Lastly, our genomic study uncovered over 300 uncharacterised genes that may produce novel cyanobacterial molecules. These molecules could have toxic or therapeutic effects, and provide an opportunity for future investigators to explore.
A model for what is to come
Rapid human population growth and settlement around lakes and their watersheds is leading to high levels nutrients in lakes around the world. This results in excessive growth of algae and aquatic plants. This danger is likely to increase with global warming because warm temperatures promote algal blooms.
Our data provides a foundation for remedying this in Lake Victoria – and possibly discovering beneficial properties in cyanoHABs.
– Lake Victoria is turning green – the deadly bacteria behind it – https://theconversation.com/lake-victoria-is-turning-green-the-deadly-bacteria-behind-it-249298
A London court has found Sam Kerr not guilty of the racially aggravated harassment of Metropolitan Police officer Stephen Lovell.
As captain of the Australian women’s national soccer team, Kerr was widely condemned when news broke she had used a “racial slur” against an officer during an altercation.
The high-profile incident sparked debate across the globe.
Initially, former Australian soccer player Craig Foster criticised Kerr’s behaviour before retracting it and publicly apologising to her.
Meanwhile, politicians and academics argued her comments did not amount to racism given the power dynamics at play: not only is Kerr of Indian descent, but official inquiries have found the Metropolitan Police to be institutionally racist.
Kerr has maintained she and her partner – United States’ women’s national team player Kristie Mewis – believed they were being kidnapped by a cab driver.
He refused to let them out of the cab after Kerr vomited, taking them to Twickenham police station instead of their destination.
There, Mewis broke the cab window in an attempt to get out of the vehicle.
At the station, Kerr reportedly appealed to officers to “understand the emergency that both of us felt”, referencing the 2021 abduction, rape and murder of Sarah Everard by a Metropolitan Police officer.
However, Kerr soon faced an allegation of racism after becoming distressed and antagonistic towards the officers.
Believing they were siding with the cab driver after forming negative preconceptions because of her skin colour, she repeated “you guys are stupid and white, you guys are fucking stupid and white”.
What are the legal ramifications in the UK?
Kerr pleaded not guilty to the offence of intentionally causing harassment, alarm, or distress to another by using threatening, abusive, or insulting words under Section 4A of the Public Order Act 1986, and to the racial aggravation of the offence per the Crime and Disorder Act 1998.
She faced a maximum sentence of two years’ imprisonment and an unlimited fine.
Kerr accepted she used the words “fucking stupid and white”. But it still had to be proven she intended and caused harassment, alarm, or distress to Lovell and that the offence was racially motivated.
Initially, the Crown Prosecution Service concluded there was not enough evidence to charge Kerr.
But after receiving a request from the Metropolitan Police to review the case, and a new statement from Lovell about Kerr’s words making him feel “belittled” and “upset”, they authorised police to charge the athlete.
A jury found her not guilty after a seven-day trial.
Broadly speaking, public order offences criminalise words and behaviour that might breach the peace. Police have significant discretion to use these offences as tools to regulate people’s uses of public space.
In Australia and the UK, police have been shown to use these powers in discriminatory ways.
Kerr has conceded her behaviour was regrettable but the charge against her is difficult to align with the purpose of public order legislation.
What does it mean for Kerr’s soccer career?
It is unclear what this verdict means for Kerr’s career.
Her English club, Chelsea, is anticipating she will return from a long-term knee injury soon.
It is possible the club was kept in the loop about Kerr’s altercation with police from the beginning, as she reportedly threatened to involve its lawyers in the body-cam footage shown at trial.
The club is yet to make a statement about the trial or verdict.
Football Australia is in a different position though, having been blindsided by the news Kerr had been charged by police.
The fact Kerr is the captain of the Matildas, and the sport’s highest-profile marketing asset, adds layers of complexity to Football Australia’s decision-making.
CEO of Football Australia James Johnson declined to weigh in on Kerr’s captaincy until her trial concluded.
It is possible the governing body will impose a sanction, with Kerr falling afoul of clause 2.14 of their national code of conduct and ethics after being charged with a criminal offence.
Kerr could return to the pitch later this month, but has been left out of the Matildas squad for the SheBelieves Cup in the US because of her fitness.
With the AFC Women’s Asian Cup on the horizon, interim Matildas head coach Tom Sermanni no doubt hopes her recovery stays on track.
Meanwhile, Kerr is yet to play under Chelsea manager Sonia Bompastor. She could prove crucial as the club chases an elusive UEFA Women’s Champions League title, but faces competition for her spot.
Megan McElhone does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
Hate speech on X was consistently 50% higher for at least eight months after tech billionaire Elon Musk bought the social media platform, new research has found.
The research looked at the prevalence of overt hate speech including a wide range of racist, homophobic and transphobic slurs.
The study, published today in PLOS ONE, was conducted by a team of researchers led by Daniel Hickney from the University of California, Berkeley.
On October 27 2022, Musk officially purchased X (then known as Twitter) for US$44 billion and became its CEO. His takeover was accompanied by promises to reduce hate speech on the platform and tackle bots and other inauthentic accounts.
But after he bought X, Musk made several changes to the platform to reduce content moderation. For example, in November 2022 he fired much of the company’s full time workforce. He also fired outsourced content moderators who tracked abuse on X, despite research showing social medial platforms with high levels of content moderation contain less hate speech.
This new study is the first to show that this wasn’t an anomaly.
Hate speech including homophobic, racist and transphobic slurs was significantly higher on X after Elon Musk bought the platform. The black lines represent standard errors. Hickey et al., 2025 / PLOS One
More than 4 million posts
The study examined 4.7 million English language posts on X from the beginning of 2022 through to June 9 2023. This period includes the ten months before Musk bought X and the eight months afterwards.
The study measured overt hate speech, the meaning of which was clear to anyone who saw it – speech attacking identity groups or using toxic language. It did not measure covert types of hate speech, such as coded language used by some extremist groups to spread hate but plausibly deny doing so.
As well as measuring the amount of hate speech on X, the study also measured how much other users engaged with this material by liking it.
The researchers’ access to X data was cut off during the study due to a policy change by the platform, replacing free access to approved academic researchers with payment options which are generally unaffordable. This significantly hampered their ability to collect sample posts. But they don’t mention whether it affected their results.
A clear increase in hate
The study found “a clear increase” in the average number of posts containing hate speech following Musk’s purchase of X. Specifically, the volume of posts containing hate speech was “consistently” 50% higher after Musk took over X compared to beforehand – a jump from an estimated average of 2,179 to 3,246 posts containing hate speech per week.
Transphobic slurs saw the highest increase, rising from an average of roughly 115 posts per week before Musk’s acquisition to an average of 418 afterwards.
The level of user engagement with posts containing hate speech also increased under Musk’s watch. For example, the weekly rate at which hate speech content was liked by users jumped by 70%.
The researchers say these results suggest either hate speech wasn’t taken down, hateful users became more active, the platform’s algorithm unintentionally promoted hate speech to users who like such content – or a combination of these possibilities.
The study also detected no decrease in the activity of inauthentic accounts on X. In fact, it found a “potential increase” in the number of bot accounts partly based on a large upswing in posts promoting cryptocurrency, which are typically associated with bots.
An important data-driving deep dive
There were a number of limitations to the study. For example, it only measured hate speech posts in English, which accounts for only 31% of posts on the platform.
Even so, the study is an important, data-driven deep dive into the state of X. It shows it is a platform where hate speech is prolific. It also shows Musk has failed to fulfil his earlier promises to address problems on X such as hate speech and bot activity.
As Musk himself said at the White House earlier this week: “Some of the things I say will be incorrect and should be corrected”.
Michael Jensen receives funding from the Australian Research Council, Bayer, and the Australian Department of Defence Science and Technology Group.
Lakes, natural and man-made, provide water, food and habitats for wildlife, as well as supporting local economies. Around the world, though, there’s a growing threat to lakes: toxic bacteria which turn the water green.
This is the same green as you see on stagnant ponds. It’s caused by tiny organisms called cyanobacteria and can be deadly.
Cyanobacteria thrive in warm, sunny lakes and ponds that contain excess nitrogen and phosphorus nutrients derived from fertiliser, manure and sewage. When conditions are right, cyanobacteria multiply rapidly and form smelly green scums on the water’s surface.
Known to science as cyanoHABs (cyanobacterial harmful algal blooms), the scums are harmful to livestock, wildlife, pets, people and aquatic organisms like fish. Toxins make untreated water unsafe to drink, swim in, or even touch. Sometimes they can become suspended in air and be inhaled. The cyanoHABs also harm ecosystems by depleting oxygen, killing off whatever lives in the water, and disrupting food webs and fisheries.
CyanoHABs are a global threat and receive considerable scientific attention in North America and Europe. Blooms are becoming more widespread worldwide because rising temperatures promote cyanobacterial growth and more intense rainfall delivers nutrients from the landscape. Only effective management of nutrients can reverse this trend.
The problem is understudied in Africa’s main lakes, including its largest – Lake Victoria. Past research on cyanoHABs has mostly used microscopy to study the kinds found there, but microscopy cannot differentiate between toxic and non-toxic cyanobacterial cells.
We are on a large project team of scientists who have been studying the socioeconomic and environmental effects of cyanoHABs in the Winam Gulf region of Lake Victoria in south-western Kenya.
Our latest study identified which cyanobacteria were the most abundant in the gulf and which ones were producing the main toxin of concern.
These findings can improve public safety:
local authorities can monitor for specific cyanobacteria and warn residents to stay away when blooms are present
cyanoHAB prevention practices (nutrient reduction, land-use practices) can target the cyanobacteria that cause the problem.
Greening of lakes
Lake Victoria now receives large influxes of nutrients because of growing lakeside populations and land-use changes. Nutrients from agriculture, industry and urbanisation fuel the growth of cyanoHABs.
CyanoHABs occur in many basins in Lake Victoria but are highly concentrated in Kenya’s shallow Winam/Nyanza Gulf. Changing nutrient and temperature conditions can also alter which types of cyanobacteria dominate the gulf and the types and levels of toxins in the water. Lakeside communities that rely on the gulf for drinking water and domestic tasks are at risk of exposure to cyanoHAB toxins.
Past research on cyanoHABs has mostly used the oldest of microbiological techniques — microscopy — to classify the types of cyanobacteria in the gulf. This cannot differentiate between toxic and non-toxic cyanobacterial cells.
Modern genome sequencing technologies can identify genes encoding the production of known and novel toxins and other molecules of interest, such as those with medicinal properties. Genomic data from African Great Lakes is scarce, so the chemical capabilities of bacteria in this region are largely unexplored. But this is beginning to change.
Our latest study adds to a growing number of recent studies our team has carried out in and around Lake Victoria. In this study, our research vessel stopped at over 31 sites to collect scientific samples and data. The samples were later analysed for DNA, the biological “instruction manual” inside every living thing. DNA tells an organism how to grow, function, reproduce, and – in the case of cyanobacteria – make deadly toxins. This analysis produced near-complete genome sequences – that is, the set of all genes in the DNA – for organisms at each sampling site.
Past reports identified Microcystis as the dominant cyanobacteria in the Winam Gulf. Our research, however, found Dolichospermum was the most abundant type in major cyanoHAB events there. This finding might be due to recent environmental changes in the region.
But we linked Microcystis to microcystin. This is a liver-damaging toxin that can kill livestock, wildlife and humans, especially those whose immune system isn’t working well. In Winam Gulf, it’s often more abundant than the health limits set by the WHO.
Our study also found that Microcystis occurs mainly in murkier river mouths where green scums are not visible, making scientific monitoring and public alerts even more important.
Local authorities can now monitor for these cyanobacteria and warn residents to stay away when blooms are present.
The findings also mean that authorities know which cyanobacteria to target in prevention efforts like reducing the amount of phosphorus and other nutrients entering the gulf.
Lastly, our genomic study uncovered over 300 uncharacterised genes that may produce novel cyanobacterial molecules. These molecules could have toxic or therapeutic effects, and provide an opportunity for future investigators to explore.
A model for what is to come
Rapid human population growth and settlement around lakes and their watersheds is leading to high levels nutrients in lakes around the world. This results in excessive growth of algae and aquatic plants. This danger is likely to increase with global warming because warm temperatures promote algal blooms.
Our data provides a foundation for remedying this in Lake Victoria – and possibly discovering beneficial properties in cyanoHABs.
Lauren Hart receives funding from National Institute of Health.
George S Bullerjahn receives funding from the National Science Foundation.
Gregory J. Dick receives funding from the National Science Foundation, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the National Institutes for Health, and the US Geological Survey.
Kefa M. Otiso receives funding from the US National Science Foundation.
New York, N.Y., Feb. 13, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — NANO Nuclear Energy Inc. (NASDAQ: NNE) (“NANO Nuclear” or “the Company”), a leading advanced nuclear energy and technology company focused on developing clean energy solutions, is pleased to announce that it has been included in the MSCI USA Index, effective as of February 28, 2025, following the February index review by MSCI Inc.
The MSCI USA Index is a part of the MSCI Global Small Cap Indexes, which capture small cap representation across 23 Developed Market countries. The index covers approximately 14% of the free float-adjusted market capitalization in each country. MSCI is a leading provider of decision support tools and services for the global investment community, backed by over 50 years of expertise in research, data, and technology. Widely recognized by international financial markets and referenced by global investment institutions, MSCI’s stock indexes cover high-performing, high-potential companies.
“Our addition to the MSCI US Index is a validation of our business approach and trajectory as we continue to build upon a great 2024, during which our company was the top performing initial public offering in the U.S.,” said Jay Yu, Founder and Chairman of NANO Nuclear Energy. “We believe this will also significantly enhance our visibility and accessibility among capital markets and institutional investors worldwide. This continued global access will play a part to reinforce our position as a leading innovator in the advanced nuclear energy technology sector.”
Figure 1 – NANO Nuclear Energy Inc. Announces its Inclusion in the MSCI USA Index, effective February 28, 2025.
“Building on a strong 2024 for NANO Nuclear, we’re thrilled to begin 2025 with our inclusion in the MSCI USA Index,” said James Walker, Chief Executive Officer and Head of Reactor Development of NANO Nuclear Energy. “This milestone reflects the market’s growing appetite for next-generation nuclear energy technologies and endorses our strategic growth initiatives. We are eager to build on this achievement in the coming months.”
About NANO Nuclear Energy, Inc.
NANO Nuclear Energy Inc. (NASDAQ: NNE) is an advanced technology-driven nuclear energy company seeking to become a commercially focused, diversified, and vertically integrated company across five business lines: (i) cutting edge portable and other microreactor technologies, (ii) nuclear fuel fabrication, (iii) nuclear fuel transportation, (iv) nuclear applications for space and (v) nuclear industry consulting services. NANO Nuclear believes it is the first portable nuclear microreactor company to be listed publicly in the U.S.
Led by a world-class nuclear engineering team, NANO Nuclear’s reactor products in development include “ZEUS”, a solid core battery reactor, and “ODIN”, a low-pressure coolant reactor, each representing advanced developments in clean energy solutions that are portable, on-demand capable, advanced nuclear microreactors. NANO Nuclear is also developing patented stationary KRONOS MMR™ Energy System and space focused, portable LOKI MMR™.
Advanced Fuel Transportation Inc. (AFT), a NANO Nuclear subsidiary, is led by former executives from the largest transportation company in the world aiming to build a North American transportation company that will provide commercial quantities of HALEU fuel to small modular reactors, microreactor companies, national laboratories, military, and DOE programs. Through NANO Nuclear, AFT is the exclusive licensee of a patented high-capacity HALEU fuel transportation basket developed by three major U.S. national nuclear laboratories and funded by the Department of Energy. Assuming development and commercialization, AFT is expected to form part of the only vertically integrated nuclear fuel business of its kind in North America.
HALEU Energy Fuel Inc. (HEF), a NANO Nuclear subsidiary, is focusing on the future development of a domestic source for a High-Assay, Low-Enriched Uranium (HALEU) fuel fabrication pipeline for NANO Nuclear’s own microreactors as well as the broader advanced nuclear reactor industry.
NANO Nuclear Space Inc. (NNS), a NANO Nuclear subsidiary, is exploring the potential commercial applications of NANO Nuclear’s developing micronuclear reactor technology in space. NNS is focusing on applications such as the LOKI MMR™ system and other power systems for extraterrestrial projects and human sustaining environments, and potentially propulsion technology for long haul space missions. NNS’ initial focus will be on cis-lunar applications, referring to uses in the space region extending from Earth to the area surrounding the Moon’s surface.
This news release and statements of NANO Nuclear’s management in connection with this news release contain or may contain “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. In this context, forward-looking statements mean statements related to future events, which may impact our expected future business and financial performance, and often contain words such as “expects”, “anticipates”, “intends”, “plans”, “believes”, “potential”, “will”, “should”, “could”, “would” or “may” and other words of similar meaning. In this press release, forward-looking statements include those related to the anticipated benefits of being included in the MSCI USA Index as described herein. These and other forward-looking statements are based on information available to us as of the date of this news release and represent management’s current views and assumptions. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance, events or results and involve significant known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, which may be beyond our control. For NANO Nuclear, particular risks and uncertainties that could cause our actual future results to differ materially from those expressed in our forward-looking statements include but are not limited to the following: (i) risks related to our U.S. Department of Energy (“DOE”) or related state or non-U.S. nuclear fuel licensing submissions, (ii) risks related the development of new or advanced technology and the acquisition of complimentary technology or businesses, including difficulties with design and testing, cost overruns, regulatory delays, integration issues and the development of competitive technology, (iii) our ability to obtain contracts and funding to be able to continue operations, (iv) risks related to uncertainty regarding our ability to technologically develop and commercially deploy a competitive advanced nuclear reactor or other technology in the timelines we anticipate, if ever, (v) risks related to the impact of U.S. and non-U.S. government regulation, policies and licensing requirements, including by the DOE and the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, including those associated with the recently enacted ADVANCE Act, and (vi) similar risks and uncertainties associated with the operating an early stage business a highly regulated and rapidly evolving industry. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which apply only as of the date of this news release. These factors may not constitute all factors that could cause actual results to differ from those discussed in any forward-looking statement, and NANO Nuclear therefore encourages investors to review other factors that may affect future results in its filings with the SEC, which are available for review at www.sec.gov and at https://ir.nanonuclearenergy.com/financial-information/sec-filings. Accordingly, forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as a predictor of actual results. We do not undertake to update our forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances that may arise after the date of this news release, except as required by law.
NEW YORK, Feb. 13, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — FE International, the leading firm in lower and middle market tech M&A, is proud to announce the successful acquisition of Link My Books, an automated bookkeeping platform, by Visma, a global leader in cloud software solutions.
Link My Books is a software solution catering to e-Commerce merchants offering streamlined accounting solutions. The Company’s services focus on automating financial processes and reconciling sales data across multiple e-Commerce platforms with popular accounting software such as Xero and QuickBooks.
The accounting software market was valued at $18 billion in 2024 and is expected to reach $34 billion by 2029, growing at a CAGR of 14%. In recent years, Link My Books grew revenue 40% YoY – exemplary growth for a platform in the vertical.
Visma, the acquirer, is a privately held company that provides cloud accounting, payroll, invoicing, and HR business software products. This partnership will expand the resources available to Link My Books customers while maintaining their autonomy and customer-first approach.
“Visma shares our vision of simplifying financial processes for businesses of all sizes,” said Link My Books CEO Dan Little in a recent announcement by the business. “Their extensive experience in B2B cloud software and their reputation for fostering innovation make them the perfect partner for Link My Books.”
FE International is a leader in strategic acquisitions for sector-specific platforms, especially in fintech and ecommerce – where the team has successfully completed hundreds of deals. “Our in-depth knowledge of the space and industry connections helped us easily identify Visma as the ideal partner to drive Link My Books to international success,” said Ashley Bohn, Vice President at FE International and deal lead.
Learn more about Fintech and Ecommerce M&A in the recent industry reports published by the firm.
About FE International
Founded in 2010, FE International is an award-winning strategic advisor for technology businesses. FE’s team has completed over 1,500 transactions with a combined value of over $50 billion. FE International was named one of The Americas’ Fastest Growing Companies from 2020 to 2024 by the Financial Times and is also a four-time Inc. 5000 company.
About Link My Books
Link My Books automates the bookkeeping for e-commerce businesses in a way that cannot be achieved manually. They pair a deep understanding of the intricacies of selling online with cutting edge technology resulting in accounts that are accurate, automated and on time.
About Visma
Visma develops and delivers software to small businesses, medium businesses, and the public sector – improving the work-life of millions of people around the world. Their software simplifies and automates complex and manual work processes, empowering people’s everyday lives.
Debt Reduction of $5 Million: The Now Corporation (OTC: NWPN) has significantly improved its financial position by reducing $5 million in convertible debt.
Strategic Agreement with Medican Enterprises Inc.: Debt was exchanged for the research, development, and design of an advanced off-road electric vehicle.
Off-Road EV Innovation
Cutting-Edge Electric Vehicle Development: The new EV will feature a quad-motor configuration, solid-state battery technology, adjustable air suspension (24 inches of clearance), and superior off-road capabilities.
Green Rain Solar’s Expertise: The Now Corporation’s subsidiary, Green Rain Solar Inc., will lead the R&D, leveraging its strength in renewable energy and battery management.
Profit-Sharing Partnership
50/50 Revenue Split: Medican Enterprises Inc. retains ownership of the brand and IP, while The Now Corporation leads development. Net profits from commercial sales will be split evenly.
Corporate Digital Expansion
Website Revamp & Enhanced Online Presence: The Now Corporation is launching a fully redesigned corporate website (www.greenrainenergy.com) within 24 hours to provide investors and stakeholders with streamlined access to company updates.
Strategic Vision & Industry Impact
Commitment to Renewable Energy & EV Technologies: The Now Corporation aims to revolutionize off-road EVs by integrating solar-powered innovations and sustainable energy solutions through Green Rain Solar.
Market Leadership in Urban & Grid-Connected Solar Solutions: The company specializes in urban rooftop solar installations and advanced battery storage for high-energy-cost regions.
PASADENA, Calif., Feb. 13, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — The Now Corporation (OTC: NWPN) (“Now” or the “Company”) is pleased to announce a significant improvement in its financial position by reducing its outstanding debt by $5 million. This milestone has been achieved through a strategic agreement with Medican Enterprises Inc. (“Medican”), further strengthening the Company’s commitment to innovation in the renewable energy and electric vehicle (EV) sectors.
Under the terms of the agreement, The Now Corporation has exchanged $5 million of convertible debt in consideration for the research, development, and design of an advanced off-road electric vehicle. This cutting-edge EV is being engineered to surpass current market offerings, featuring a quad-motor configuration, solid-state battery technology, an adjustable air suspension system with up to 24 inches of clearance, and superior off-road capabilities designed for extreme terrains.
Green Rain Solar: Powering the Future of EV Innovation
The Now Corporation, through its wholly owned subsidiary Green Rain Solar Inc., possesses the technical expertise and experienced engineering team necessary to complete the design of this state-of-the-art off-road EV. Green Rain Solar is an industry leader in sustainable energy solutions, specializing in solar-powered innovations and energy grid integration. The subsidiary’s deep-rooted knowledge in advanced energy storage, battery management systems, and renewable power applications positions The Now Corporation as a formidable player in the electric mobility space.
“The completion of this agreement strengthens our balance sheet while positioning The Now Corporation as an innovator in the off-road EV market,” said Alfredo Papadakis, CEO of The Now Corporation. “Through our subsidiary Green Rain Solar, we have assembled a world-class team with the expertise to bring this revolutionary vehicle to life. This project represents a bold step toward integrating cutting-edge electric vehicle technology with sustainable energy solutions.”
As part of the agreement, Medican Enterprises Inc. will retain full ownership of the EV’s brand, intellectual property, and proprietary technologies, while The Now Corporation, through Green Rain Solar, will lead the research and development efforts necessary to complete the vehicle’s design.
Profit-Sharing Agreement:
Once the off-road EV is fully developed, produced, and commercially sold, all net profits will be equally divided (50%/50%) between The Now Corporation and Medican Enterprises Inc.. This profit-sharing structure ensures that both parties benefit from the success of the vehicle while reinforcing The Now Corporation’s commitment to long-term value creation.
Corporate Website Revamp: New Online Presence Goes Live
In addition to this major debt reduction and development initiative, The Now Corporation is excited to announce the full revamp of its corporate website, www.greenrainenergy.com. The newly designed website will provide investors, stakeholders, and customers with enhanced access to information about the Company’s projects, ongoing developments, and strategic vision. The website is scheduled to go live within the next 24 hours.
A Strong Future for The Now Corporation
The Now Corporation remains committed to pioneering advancements in renewable energy and electric vehicle technologies. The Company believes that leveraging its expertise through Green Rain Solar will allow it to set new industry standards for sustainable off-road transportation. Additional updates on the EV project and other strategic initiatives will be provided as developments progress.
About The Now Corporation:
The Now Corporation (OTC: NWPN) is committed to advancing clean energy solutions through its subsidiary, Green Rain Solar Inc. Green Rain Solar focuses on urban rooftop solar installations and grid-connected power solutions, targeting markets with high energy costs. By combining state-of-the-art solar and battery technologies, The Now Corporation is dedicated to driving innovation and sustainability in the renewable energy sector.
About Green Rain Solar Inc.:
Green Rain Solar Inc., a subsidiary of The Now Corporation (OTC: NWPN), is a solar energy utility company specializing in urban solar energy and grid integration. The company develops innovative rooftop solar projects to transform sunlight into grid-connected power, promoting sustainable energy solutions for high-cost urban areas.
Legal Notice Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking information within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and is subject to the safe harbor created by those sections. This material contains statements about expected future events and/or financial results that are forward-looking in nature and subject to risks and uncertainties. This includes the possibility that the business outlined in this press release may not be concluded due to unforeseen technical, installation, permitting, or other challenges. Such forward-looking statements involve risks, uncertainties, and other factors that may cause the actual results, performance, or achievements of The Now Corporation to differ materially from those expressed herein. Except as required under U.S. federal securities laws, The Now Corporation undertakes no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statements as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.
AUSTIN, Texas, Feb. 13, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Phunware, Inc. (“Phunware” or the “Company”) (NASDAQ: PHUN), a leader in enterprise cloud solutions for mobile applications, today announced the appointment of Jeremy Krol as Chief Operating Officer (COO) effective February 10, 2025. Mr. Krol, who joined Phunware in June 2024 and most recently held the position of Fractional COO, brings more than 20 years of experience with a background in engineering, finance, and technology startups. He will oversee the Company’s operations to ensure the business is scalable and aligned with objectives that drive meaningful impact.
“Jeremy is a strategic operator who blends sharp analytical thinking with intuitive leadership,” said Stephen Chen, CEO of Phunware. “He has a natural talent for problem-solving, system optimization, and team empowerment. He is a major asset to Phunware and will be an integral part of the Phunware team moving forward.”
Mr. Krol has spent his career optimizing business operations, integrating technology with market needs, and leading high-performing teams through complex transitions. He excels at bringing structure to ambiguity, leveraging proven frameworks like the Entrepreneurial Operating System to instill operational rigor while maintaining adaptability in a fast-moving industry.
“I am looking forward to my increased leadership role with Phunware. I aim to distill complex challenges into clear, actionable steps to foster collaboration and momentum within the organization,” said Mr. Krol. “I feel that my ability to bridge strategy with people will prove to be beneficial for the Company.”
Prior to Phunware, Jeremy worked extensively with tech startups and SMBs, guiding them through scaling challenges, refining go-to-market strategies, and developing resilient business models. His leadership style is grounded in curiosity, pragmatism, and a commitment to building strong, accountable teams. Whether navigating market shifts or refining internal processes, Jeremy is dedicated to driving Phunware’s continued evolution and expansion into new verticals.
About Phunware
Phunware, Inc. (NASDAQ: PHUN) is an enterprise software company specializing in mobile app solutions with integrated intelligent capabilities. We provide businesses with the tools to create, implement, and manage custom mobile applications, analytics, digital advertising, and location-based services. Phunware is transforming mobile engagement by delivering scalable, personalized, and data-driven mobile app experiences.
Phunware’s mission is to achieve unparalleled connectivity and monetization through the widespread adoption of Phunware mobile technologies, leveraging brands, consumers, partners, digital asset holders, and market participants. Phunware is poised to expand its software products and services audience through its new Generative AI platform, utilize and monetize its patents and other intellectual property, and reintroduce its digital asset ecosystem for existing holders and new market participants.
For more information on Phunware, please visit www.phunware.com. To better understand and leverage generative AI and Phunware’s mobile app technologies, visit ai.phunware.com
Safe Harbor / Forward-Looking Statements
This press release includes forward-looking statements. All statements other than statements of historical facts contained in this press release, including statements regarding our future results of operations and financial position, business strategy and plans, and our objectives for future operations, are forward-looking statements. The words “anticipate,” “believe,” “continue,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “may,” “might,” “plan,” “possible,” “potential,” “predict,” “project,” “should,” “will,” and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. For example, Phunware is using forward-looking statements when it discusses the adoption and impact of emerging technologies and their use across mobile engagement platforms.
The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are based on our current expectations and beliefs concerning future developments and their potential effects on us. These forward-looking statements involve risks, uncertainties, and other assumptions that may cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, those factors described under the heading “Risk Factors” in our filings with the SEC. We undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statements.
By their nature, forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties. We caution you that forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and that our actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements.
BOSTON, Feb. 13, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Thrive, a global technology outsourcing provider for cybersecurity, Cloud, and IT managed services, today announced the acquisition of Secured Network Services (SNS), a leading New Hampshire-based IT provider for organizations across industries, including healthcare, non-profit, and municipal government. The acquisition will enable Thrive to enter the New Hampshire market to deepen its presence in New England, bringing its industry-leading global Security Operation Center (SOC) & Hybrid Cloud solutions to SNS’ customers.
Cyber regulations are continuing to get more complex across industries – for example, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) is facing several proposed changes to its Privacy and Security rules in 2025. With the acquisition of SNS, Thrive will deepen its vertical industry knowledge, ensuring healthcare, non-profit, and government customers are backed with the latest industry insights to navigate these challenging landscapes. Together, Thrive and SNS will enable customers in New Hampshire and beyond to have access to industry-leading resources and Thrive’s global high-touch 24x7x365 service mandate.
“SNS’ similar philosophy of providing the highest caliber of technical expertise and unwavering dedication to customers greatly resonated with us,” said Bill McLaughlin, CEO of Thrive. “Coupled with their deep vertical knowledge, SNS will ensure we continue delivering the best technology solutions to businesses across industries.”
This acquisition builds upon Thrive’s tremendous growth, having completed eleven previous acquisitions over the past two years, most recently acquiring Michigan-based Safety Net and North Carolina-based The Longleaf Network. Along with geographic expansion, Thrive also received a strategic investment from Berkshire Partners and Court Square Capital Partners to continue scaling the capabilities of the company.
“Our team is excited to accelerate our growth and enable our customers to have access to Thrive’s NextGen solutions,” Kevin M. Low, Founder & CEO at SNS. “Our mission of helping businesses get the most from their technology aligns seamlessly with Thrive’s dedication to delivering outsized ROI and the best technology outcomes for each customer. We look forward to advancing our capabilities to better help our customers navigate the complex IT landscape with Thrive’s partnership.”
To learn more about Thrive and its offerings, visit the website.
About Thrive Thrive delivers global technology outsourcing for cybersecurity, Cloud, networking, and other complex IT requirements. Thrive’s NextGen platform enables customers to increase business efficiencies through standardization, scalability, and automation, delivering oversized technology returns on investment (ROI). They accomplish this with advisory services, vCISO, vCIO, consulting, project implementation, solution architects, and a best-in-class subscription-based technology platform. Thrive delivers exceptional high-touch service through its POD approach of subject matter experts and global 24x7x365 SOC, NOC, and centralized services teams. Learn more at www.thrivenextgen.com or follow us on LinkedIn.
SEATTLE, Feb. 13, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Banzai International, Inc. (Nasdaq: BNZI) (“Banzai” or the “Company”), a leading marketing technology company that provides essential marketing and sales solutions, today announced that it has received a notification letter from the Hearings Department of The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC (“Nasdaq”) notifying the Company that it has demonstrated compliance with the minimum stockholders’ equity requirement under Nasdaq Listing Rule 5550(b)(1). The Company’s securities will therefore continue to be listed and traded on The Nasdaq Capital Market.
Banzai previously received a notification letter from the Nasdaq Listing Qualifications Department on August 6, 2024, notifying the Company that its market value of listed securities was below the minimum requirement for continued listing on The Nasdaq Global Market, as outlined in Nasdaq Listing Rule 5450(b)(2)(A). As a result, the Company requested a hearing before a Nasdaq Hearings Panel (the “Panel”). At the hearing, the Company requested a phase-down to The Nasdaq Capital Market. The Panel granted the Company’s request for a phase-down pursuant to an exception to the stockholders’ equity requirement on that market.
Following the Company’s recent acquisition of Vidello Limited, which closed on January 31 2025, the Company filed a Form 8-K with the Securities and Exchange Commission, on January 31, 2025, demonstrating that it had regained compliance with the stockholders’ equity requirement for continued listing on The Nasdaq Capital Market. As a result, the Panel determined that the Company had achieved compliance with the stockholders’ equity requirement and determined to close the Nasdaq compliance review. The Company will continue to be traded on The Nasdaq Capital Market under the trading symbol BNZI.
About Banzai
Banzai is a marketing technology company that provides AI-enabled marketing and sales solutions for businesses of all sizes. On a mission to help their customers grow, Banzai enables companies of all sizes to target, engage, and measure both new and existing customers more effectively. Banzai customers include Cisco, New York Life, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Thermo Fisher Scientific, Thinkific, Doodle and ActiveCampaign, among thousands of others. Learn more at www.banzai.io. For investors, please visit https://ir.banzai.io.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements often use words such as “believe,” “may,” “will,” “estimate,” “target,” “continue,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “expect,” “should,” “would,” “propose,” “plan,” “project,” “forecast,” “predict,” “potential,” “seek,” “future,” “outlook,” and similar variations and expressions. Forward-looking statements are those that do not relate strictly to historical or current facts. Examples of forward-looking statements may include, among others, statements regarding Banzai International, Inc.’s (the “Company’s”): future financial, business and operating performance and goals; annualized recurring revenue and customer retention; ongoing, future or ability to maintain or improve its financial position, cash flows, and liquidity and its expected financial needs; potential financing and ability to obtain financing; acquisition strategy and proposed acquisitions and, if completed, their potential success and financial contributions; strategy and strategic goals, including being able to capitalize on opportunities; expectations relating to the Company’s industry, outlook and market trends; total addressable market and serviceable addressable market and related projections; plans, strategies and expectations for retaining existing or acquiring new customers, increasing revenue and executing growth initiatives; and product areas of focus and additional products that may be sold in the future. Because forward-looking statements relate to the future, they are subject to inherent uncertainties, risks and changes in circumstances that are difficult to predict and many of which are outside of our control. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance, and our actual results of operations, financial condition and liquidity and development of the industry in which the Company operates may differ materially from those made in or suggested by the forward-looking statements. Therefore, investors should not rely on any of these forward-looking statements. Factors that may cause actual results to differ materially include changes in the markets in which the Company operates, customer demand, the financial markets, economic, business and regulatory and other factors, such as the Company’s ability to execute on its strategy. More detailed information about risk factors can be found in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K and the Company’s Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q under the heading “Risk Factors,” and in other reports filed by the Company, including reports on Form 8-K. The Company does not undertake any duty to update forward-looking statements after the date of this press release.
Investor Relations Chris Tyson Executive Vice President MZ Group – MZ North America 949-491-8235 BNZI@mzgroup.us www.mzgroup.us
Media Rachel Meyrowitz Director, Demand Generation, Banzai media@banzai.io
– The Credit Line Guaranty of $4 Million is to Further the DriveItAway Mission to Solve the Personal Transportation Problem of Entry Level Employees in the U.S., and Supply Vehicles for its Small Commercial Enterprises, by Enabling Individuals and Small Businesses the Ability to Drive and Then Buy Quality Vehicles on the DriveItAway all Digital Flexible Lease Subscription Mobility Platform
– The Funding Guaranty is from Fleet and Mobility Technology Leader Menachem Light, the Co-Founder of Voyager Global Mobility (VGM) the innovative mobility supply company that provides professionally managed vehicles in North America to driver and software company partners through its internally operated companies and its wholly owned subsidiaries Buggy TLC (United States), FastTrack Leasing TLC (United States) and Mi Nave (Mexico)
– Menachem Light will immediately Chair DriveItAway Holdings Inc.’s newly created Board of Advisors, as the Company Broadens its Resources with Leaders with Deep Industry Expertise,
DriveItAway Holdings, Inc. ( OTC Marketplace: DWAY) (“DriveItAway” and “Company”), an automotive industry leader in new digital mobility platforms with its unique “micro-lease/subscription to purchase” technology, continues to gain traction and visibility in its mission to enable all to drive, and then buy, affordable quality personal transportation, announces today the closing of a four million dollar credit line funding guaranty from Menachem Light, a noted national leader in the vehicle rental industry. He has also agreed to serve on the Company’s Board of Advisors as Chairman.
Menachem Light, is the Co-Founder of Voyager Global Mobility (VGM), a growing mobility supply company that provides professionally managed vehicles in North America to driver and software company partners on the trillion-dollar asset side of the smart mobility industry: ride-hailing, on-demand travel, and car sharing. Through its internally operated companies and its wholly owned subsidiaries Buggy TLC (United States), FastTrack Leasing TLC (United States) and Mi Nave (Mexico), and partners closely with Uber, Lyft, Via, Didi, Turo and Getaround as it efficiently grows its market share in this hyper-fragmented supply industry.
DriveItAway will use the credit guaranty to increase its own company-owned fleet, operating on its unique app-based digital platform that easily and transparently provides vehicle subscriptions, long-term rentals and flexible leases to individuals, and now small businesses, regardless of credit score, credit history or cash down payment.
“According to Deloitte’s 2025 Global Automotive Consumer Study, 44% of 18-34 year olds in the US are somewhat or very interested in giving up vehicle ownership for subscription model, yet very few car dealerships offer vehicle subscriptions or flexible leases as an option,” says John F. Possumato, Founder & CEO of DriveItAway Holdings, Inc., “While we are fundamentally a turnkey Software as a Service for car dealerships who want to offer vehicle subscriptions and flexible leases to all prospects (including those who ‘fall of the buying grid’ due to a poor credit scores), increasing our own fleet of vehicles serves not only to increase revenues and continues to improve our technology, but also acts as an ‘open book’ example to our chosen supplier car dealer partners that may be interested in using our platform to provide this turnkey service with their own inventory, as a unique competitive advantage for gaining new potential vehicle prospects who are looking for such a service but who currently are not being offered this option – we don’t just offer SaaS, we put ‘our money where our mouth is’ in demonstrating, first hand, the returns and advantages.”
“As outlined in my ‘Year End Message to Shareholders’ last month, we believe that we are at the forefront of a massive opportunity for our new automotive retailing technology to solve the needs of a vast number of people and small businesses, and one of our goals for the new year is to work and be guided by the very best in our sector of the industry to reach our true potential,” continues Possumato, “which is why I am the most pleased and excited to announce that Menachem Light, a true industry icon, has agreed to Chair our newly created Board of Advisors to help us with long-term strategy and growth. We are very fortunate that Menachem will help us achieve and fully leverage the massive opportunity we see ahead.”
“As one of the original three co-founders of Buggy, which grew from just one vehicle in New York City to over 14,000 vehicles globally, I believe that I can truly help DriveItAway on this path to scale,” says Menachem Light, Co-Founder of Voyager Global Mobility. “I think there is tremendous opportunity here as the way people ‘acquire’ personal transportation begins to change, and DriveItAway provides the technology needed to enable all automotive retailers to adapt to these changes, which is why I am ‘all in’ in helping John and his team at DriveItAway achieve and leverage this tremendous scalable business.”
“Menachem Light, Co-Founder of Voyager Global Mobility, and I are scheduled as guests on an upcoming episode of ‘The EVs for Everyone Podcast‘ with Elena Ciccotelli, to discuss the future developments of automotive fleet and retailing technologies and where EVs fit into the mix,” notes Possumato.
DriveItAway will be filing its annual 10K for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2024, and the Quarterly Report for the First Quarter December 31, 2024, in the near future.
Download the DriveItAway app today at DriveItAway.
About DriveItAway Holdings, Inc.
DriveItAway Holdings, Inc. is the first national dealer-focused mobility platform that enables car dealers to sell more vehicles in a seamless way through eCommerce, with its exclusive “Pay as You Go” app-based subscription. DriveItAway provides a comprehensive turn-key, solutions-driven program with proprietary mobile technology and driver app, insurance coverages, and training to get dealerships up and running quickly and profitably in emerging online sales opportunities, to gain sales and market share.
This press release may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws. Forward-looking statements relate to expectations, beliefs, projections, future plans and strategies, anticipated events or trends and similar expressions concerning matters that are not historical facts. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by the use of forward-looking terminology such as “may,” “will,” “should,” “expects,” “intends,” “plans,” “anticipates,” “believes,” “estimates,” “predicts,” or “potential” or the negative of these words and phrases or similar words or phrases which are predictions of or indicate future events or trends and which do not relate solely to historical matters. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, assumptions and contingencies, many of which are beyond our control, and may cause actual results to differ significantly from those expressed in any forward-looking statement. All forward-looking statements reflect our good faith beliefs, assumptions, and expectations, but they are not guarantees of future performance. We caution investors not to unduly rely on any forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this press release.
Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Gwen Ansell, Associate of the Gordon Institute for Business Science, University of Pretoria
Composer and educator Michael Mosoeu Moerane (1904-1980) is probably best known for a few evergreen choral works, including Della and Sylvia, still sung by choirs across South Africa today.
And, of course, for his orchestral piece FatŠe laHeso (My Country). It had the distinction of being recorded by both the British and South African public broadcasters in an era when white minority rule denied even the existence of Black classical musicians.
Moerane teaches his son to play piano.Wits University Press
Apartheid held the identity of Black people in South Africa to be unchangeingly simple, rural and tribal. Sophisticated activities such as orchestral composing were both beyond their capacity and dangerously subversive.
But, as South African author and music scholar Christine Lucia’s biography of Moerane, The Times Do Not Permit, reveals, there was more to Moerane’s work than those few compositions. And a far more nuanced relationship with his oppressive political times. Moerane was vocal against the system, yet secured white university supervision. He was consulted by white ethnomusicologists. Yet still he was stereotyped and confined by apartheid rules.
I am a researcher into South African jazz and other genres and a teacher of writing. (Jazz, incidentally, was a genre that Moerane detested.) From my own work, I recognise many similarities between his story and the lives of jazz musicians I have studied: genteel homes with a piano in the parlour; after-dinner family music hours; the risk of instant dismissal for schoolteachers heard discussing anti-apartheid politics.
I recognise, too, the gaps in his music story that Lucia finds: the questions that scholars did not ask while more people were still alive to answer them.
Her book matters because, at last, it asks and answers those questions. In how it assembles the answers, it helps us to start mapping the undiscovered continent of Black classical music under apartheid.
The book’s nearly 300 pages offer a detailed account of Moerane’s life, based on research and conversations with family and still-living contemporaries.
Lucia takes us through Moerane’s various roles in turn (student, teacher, choralist and more). It also analyses his compositions and their treatment of themes that range from spirituality and tradition to love and loss.
A reader can view Moerane’s life though these different lenses; together they add up to an intricate, multidimensional portrait.
Who was Michael Moerane?
Born in the Eastern Cape province and educated there and in neighbouring Basutoland (today Lesotho), Moerane stitched a music-teaching career together that moved between the two countries.
The Peka High School Orchestra and Moerane (front centre) in 1965.Courtesy Sophia Metsekae Moerane/Marumo Moerane
His own radical Africanist politics, the activism of family members, his marriage across apartheid-defined ethnic barriers (he was Sotho, his wife Xhosa) and the simple fact of being a Black composer exploring unconventional, modernist music meant he was often in the sights of repressive authorities in both countries. Lowering his profile every now and then (a new school, a more obscure place to live) was his best protection.
There’s real fear in some of his letters that all these moves would mean his written compositions would be lost or scattered. Yet remarkably, through all this, he managed to hold a family together, establish music ensembles and a reputation, and graduate with a music degree from the University of South Africa in 1941, a time when it was almost unknown for Black South Africans to receive a university education outside segregated black colleges. He was supported, through a unique arrangement, by supervision from the all-white Rhodes University College in his home province.
His external examiner, William Henry Bell, said of FatŠe laHeso (Moerane’s examination piece) that he “never had expected such a work to be written in South Africa and less so by a Native”.
Moerane’s A General Note on Modern Music, in his own handwriting.Courtesy Neo Mahase Moerane
Lucia’s account of how Moerane got there, and of the many compositions and long music teaching career that followed, is made even clearer through a rich variety of material. There are geographical, historical and musical road-maps, extracts from his manuscripts, evocative photographs of people and places, and probably the most complete catalogue of Moerane’s works to date.
The catalogue was put together from both archive records and fragments of sheet music surviving in the family piano-stool, where they were stored. It’s a poignant reminder of how much Black South African history is no longer available because of how apartheid repeatedly uprooted people and communities, with little chance to save family memorabilia.
White minority rule didn’t only restrict where Black South Africans could live and work but even how they could learn music. Tuition for Black music students was limited to writing in tonic sol-fa (doh-re-mi) notation. Excluded from the notation used in classical music, composers and performers who would have occupied concert stages were limited to community choirs and brass bands. That was part of Moerane’s story too.
Moerane’s Sylvia is still performed by choirs today.
His life matters because of all this.
A masterful book
The book traces the defiant survival and originality of this important figure and restores him in the country’s history. It adds detail and clarification to what was already known. It corrects confusions about dates and place names. If that were all the book had done, it would already have been a worthwhile contribution.
But Lucia’s way of telling the story adds significantly more. It brings Moerane alive through the texture of human voices and human detail, creating a read that is academic but far from dry. We hear, for example, his children recalling how strict he was during daily piano practice: “You would scramble to get a slot when my father wasn’t at home.”
The African Springtime Orchestra, 1952. Moerane stands at the back, his wife Betty seated.Courtesy Sophia Metsekae Moerane/Marumo Moerane/Jonathan Ball Publishers
But more: South African music under apartheid is often shown as the “soundtrack” to history. Or often the history is seen as mere “background” to the music. But Moerane’s music was not a soundtrack to history: it was part of history. His times were not a background to his music, they were an ingredient. Not so much because of the work but because of who he chose to be – and who he could not be.
The title, The Times Do Not Permit, is taken from a 1966 letter written by Moerane to music academic Percival Kirby, in polite response to a request for detailed information about his life:
Please be satisfied with the bare statement that the times do not permit.
That may seem cryptic to anybody who has not felt the iron heel of state repression. For those who have, it’s obvious: the more the authorities know about you, the more power they have over you.
So Lucia’s book allows us to enter a world that is distant from today’s experience and rejoice that such a full life was led and that now we know about it. But it also forces us to mourn the opportunities lost for him – and by earlier scholars looking into his life. How many other Black South African musicians have had their lives and legacies obscured like Michael Mosoeu Moerane’s was?
– Michael Mosoeu Moerane was a pioneering composer in South Africa. A new book is restoring his place in history – https://theconversation.com/michael-mosoeu-moerane-was-a-pioneering-composer-in-south-africa-a-new-book-is-restoring-his-place-in-history-248948
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has, by an order dated February 07, 2025, imposed a monetary penalty of ₹1.50 lakh (Rupees One Lakh Fifty Thousand only) on The Tiruppur Co-operative Urban Bank Ltd., Tamil Nadu (the bank) for non-compliance with certain directions issued by RBI on ‘Exposure Norms and Statutory / Other Restrictions – UCBs’, and ‘Know Your Customer (KYC)’. This penalty has been imposed in exercise of powers conferred on RBI under the provisions of Section 47A(1)(c) read with Sections 46(4)(i) and 56 of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949.
The statutory inspection of the bank was conducted by RBI with reference to its financial position as on March 31, 2023. Based on supervisory findings of non-compliance with RBI directions and related correspondence in that regard, a notice was issued to the bank advising it to show cause as to why penalty should not be imposed on it for its failure to comply with the said directions. After considering the bank’s reply to the notice and oral submissions made during the personal hearing, RBI found, inter alia, that the following charges against the bank were sustained, warranting imposition of monetary penalty:
The bank had failed to:
adhere to the prudential inter-bank (gross) exposure limit; and
upload the KYC records of customers onto Central KYC Records Registry (CKYCR) within the prescribed timeline.
This action is based on deficiencies in regulatory compliance and is not intended to pronounce upon the validity of any transaction or agreement entered into by the bank with its customers. Further, imposition of this monetary penalty is without prejudice to any other action that may be initiated by RBI against the bank.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has, by an order dated February 07, 2025, imposed a monetary penalty of ₹50,000/- (Rupees Fifty Thousand only) on The Ramanathapuram Co-operative Urban Bank Ltd., Ramanathapuram, Tamil Nadu (the bank) for non-compliance with certain directions issued by RBI on ‘Know Your Customer (KYC)’. This penalty has been imposed in exercise of powers conferred on RBI under the provisions of Section 47A(1)(c) read with Sections 46(4)(i) and 56 of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949.
The statutory inspection of the bank was conducted by RBI with reference to its financial position as on March 31, 2023. Based on supervisory findings of non-compliance with RBI directions and related correspondence in that regard, a notice was issued to the bank advising it to show cause as to why penalty should not be imposed on it for its failure to comply with the said directions. After considering the bank’s reply to the notice and oral submissions made during the personal hearing, RBI found, inter alia, that the following charge against the bank was sustained, warranting imposition of monetary penalty:
The bank had failed to upload the KYC records of customers onto Central KYC Records Registry (CKYCR) within the prescribed timeline.
This action is based on deficiencies in regulatory compliance and is not intended to pronounce upon the validity of any transaction or agreement entered into by the bank with its customers. Further, imposition of this monetary penalty is without prejudice to any other action that may be initiated by RBI against the bank.
Composer and educator Michael Mosoeu Moerane (1904-1980) is probably best known for a few evergreen choral works, including Della and Sylvia, still sung by choirs across South Africa today.
And, of course, for his orchestral piece FatŠe laHeso (My Country). It had the distinction of being recorded by both the British and South African public broadcasters in an era when white minority rule denied even the existence of Black classical musicians.
Apartheid held the identity of Black people in South Africa to be unchangeingly simple, rural and tribal. Sophisticated activities such as orchestral composing were both beyond their capacity and dangerously subversive.
But, as South African author and music scholar Christine Lucia’s biography of Moerane, The Times Do Not Permit, reveals, there was more to Moerane’s work than those few compositions. And a far more nuanced relationship with his oppressive political times. Moerane was vocal against the system, yet secured white university supervision. He was consulted by white ethnomusicologists. Yet still he was stereotyped and confined by apartheid rules.
I am a researcher into South African jazz and other genres and a teacher of writing. (Jazz, incidentally, was a genre that Moerane detested.) From my own work, I recognise many similarities between his story and the lives of jazz musicians I have studied: genteel homes with a piano in the parlour; after-dinner family music hours; the risk of instant dismissal for schoolteachers heard discussing anti-apartheid politics.
I recognise, too, the gaps in his music story that Lucia finds: the questions that scholars did not ask while more people were still alive to answer them.
Her book matters because, at last, it asks and answers those questions. In how it assembles the answers, it helps us to start mapping the undiscovered continent of Black classical music under apartheid.
The book’s nearly 300 pages offer a detailed account of Moerane’s life, based on research and conversations with family and still-living contemporaries.
Lucia takes us through Moerane’s various roles in turn (student, teacher, choralist and more). It also analyses his compositions and their treatment of themes that range from spirituality and tradition to love and loss.
A reader can view Moerane’s life though these different lenses; together they add up to an intricate, multidimensional portrait.
Who was Michael Moerane?
Born in the Eastern Cape province and educated there and in neighbouring Basutoland (today Lesotho), Moerane stitched a music-teaching career together that moved between the two countries.
His own radical Africanist politics, the activism of family members, his marriage across apartheid-defined ethnic barriers (he was Sotho, his wife Xhosa) and the simple fact of being a Black composer exploring unconventional, modernist music meant he was often in the sights of repressive authorities in both countries. Lowering his profile every now and then (a new school, a more obscure place to live) was his best protection.
There’s real fear in some of his letters that all these moves would mean his written compositions would be lost or scattered. Yet remarkably, through all this, he managed to hold a family together, establish music ensembles and a reputation, and graduate with a music degree from the University of South Africa in 1941, a time when it was almost unknown for Black South Africans to receive a university education outside segregated black colleges. He was supported, through a unique arrangement, by supervision from the all-white Rhodes University College in his home province.
His external examiner, William Henry Bell, said of FatŠe laHeso (Moerane’s examination piece) that he “never had expected such a work to be written in South Africa and less so by a Native”.
Lucia’s account of how Moerane got there, and of the many compositions and long music teaching career that followed, is made even clearer through a rich variety of material. There are geographical, historical and musical road-maps, extracts from his manuscripts, evocative photographs of people and places, and probably the most complete catalogue of Moerane’s works to date.
The catalogue was put together from both archive records and fragments of sheet music surviving in the family piano-stool, where they were stored. It’s a poignant reminder of how much Black South African history is no longer available because of how apartheid repeatedly uprooted people and communities, with little chance to save family memorabilia.
White minority rule didn’t only restrict where Black South Africans could live and work but even how they could learn music. Tuition for Black music students was limited to writing in tonic sol-fa (doh-re-mi) notation. Excluded from the notation used in classical music, composers and performers who would have occupied concert stages were limited to community choirs and brass bands. That was part of Moerane’s story too.
Moerane’s Sylvia is still performed by choirs today.
His life matters because of all this.
A masterful book
The book traces the defiant survival and originality of this important figure and restores him in the country’s history. It adds detail and clarification to what was already known. It corrects confusions about dates and place names. If that were all the book had done, it would already have been a worthwhile contribution.
But Lucia’s way of telling the story adds significantly more. It brings Moerane alive through the texture of human voices and human detail, creating a read that is academic but far from dry. We hear, for example, his children recalling how strict he was during daily piano practice: “You would scramble to get a slot when my father wasn’t at home.”
But more: South African music under apartheid is often shown as the “soundtrack” to history. Or often the history is seen as mere “background” to the music. But Moerane’s music was not a soundtrack to history: it was part of history. His times were not a background to his music, they were an ingredient. Not so much because of the work but because of who he chose to be – and who he could not be.
The title, The Times Do Not Permit, is taken from a 1966 letter written by Moerane to music academic Percival Kirby, in polite response to a request for detailed information about his life:
Please be satisfied with the bare statement that the times do not permit.
That may seem cryptic to anybody who has not felt the iron heel of state repression. For those who have, it’s obvious: the more the authorities know about you, the more power they have over you.
So Lucia’s book allows us to enter a world that is distant from today’s experience and rejoice that such a full life was led and that now we know about it. But it also forces us to mourn the opportunities lost for him – and by earlier scholars looking into his life. How many other Black South African musicians have had their lives and legacies obscured like Michael Mosoeu Moerane’s was?
Gwen Ansell does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
In the middle of Super Bowl LIX, President Donald Trump posted on social media that he was getting rid of the penny. Since the lowly penny in 2024 cost about 3.7 cents to make – meaning the government loses money on every coin – the announcement might seem practical at first glance. But does the president have the power to kill off the penny?
I’m a business schoolprofessor and a longtime advocate for physical money who has written op-eds supporting the penny in The Wall Street Journal and CNN. My forthcoming book, “The Power of Cash,” explores the many advantages of using old-fashioned currency. Yet inflation has slashed the value of the penny by a third in just the past decade, and even I now admit that its time is up.
But eliminating the penny via a social media post isn’t just legally dubious. It could cause more problems than it solves.
The penny problem
Critics see the penny as a shining example of government waste. Last year, the U.S. Mint lost US$85 million making pennies, according to the bureau’s annual report. It also lost about $18 million minting nickels. Now, to be clear, just because the mint didn’t make money on pennies or nickels doesn’t mean it’s losing money overall. In 2024, the mint earned a profit of about $100 million making the country’s pocket change. Still, $85 million is no small sum.
Meanwhile, public opinion on the penny is split. Some surveys show support for it, but it has plenty of opponents. Many of my students cite carrying around “nuisance coins” like the penny as a reason for switching away from using cash.
The good news, for those who dislike the penny, is that the coin is disappearing on its own. The U.S. Mint has made about 5 billion pennies annually throughout the 2020s — down from about 11 billion each year in the 1990s. So far in 2025, it has only made about a quarter of a million pennies.
But is it legal?
Setting aside people’s feelings toward the penny, the problem with the president’s order, I think, is that only Congress can change the type of coins the mint produces.
Now the phrase “to coin money” is vague. To fix that, the United States’ second Congress passed the Coinage Act of 1792, which was signed into law by President George Washington. The act, which lays out how the mint operates and what it produces, says it must produce “Cents – each to be of the value of the one hundredth part of a dollar, and to contain eleven penny-weights of copper.”
Congress can modify this act anytime it wants – and it has. The 1792 act also required the mint to produce “Half Cents – each to be of the value of half a cent.” These coins were eliminated in 1857 by an act of Congress. Similarly, before 1965, many U.S. coins were made out of silver. After a 1965 congressional amendment to the act passed, they were made out of a cheaper composite.
And lawmakers have tried several times to eliminate the penny. In 1989, for example, Arizona Rep. Jim Hayes proposed the Price Rounding Act, which called for cash purchases to be rounded to the nearest nickel. It didn’t pass. More recently, in 2017, Republican Senator John McCain introduced the COINS act, which would have eliminated the minting of pennies. The bill also proposed switching the paper one-dollar bill to a metal coin. It, too, didn’t pass.
What happens if pennies go?
Since Congress has failed to eliminate the penny in the past, Trump is trying to do so via a direct order to the Treasury secretary. However, many of Trump’s actions are being challenged in court. For the sake of argument, let’s assume no one challenges the order to kill off production of the penny.
A big problem remains. Even if the U.S. stopped making pennies, they’d remain legal tender and people would still need them as change. In simple terms, the supply would change, but not the demand.
Past efforts to phase out the penny have tried to deal with this problem by requiring rounding, but Trump’s effort doesn’t do this. I think it’s entirely possible that people opposed to Trump would organize national “Demand your penny in change” days in an attempt to embarrass the president.
The U.S. government loses less than $10 million a month minting pennies. In theory, Congress could pass legislation eliminating the penny and requiring rounding within a month or two. The cost to the government for doing things legally is low. If the penny has to go, let Congress do it the right way.
Jay L. Zagorsky does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
Bob Dylan gives his first concert in Israel in 1987 in Tel Aviv, playing with Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers.AP Photo/Anat Givon
James Mangold’s film “A Complete Unknown,” nominated for eight Oscars, captures the elusive, enigmatic quality of Bob Dylan in the early 1960s: the years he emerged as a major musical and cultural phenomenon. A scant few years after he came to New York from Minnesota, and legally changed his name from Robert Allen Zimmerman, Dylan transformed American music.
Especially “unknown” and baffling is Dylan’s religious and spiritual identity, one that has undergone many transformations. Mangold’s film avoids these questions, as does his 2005 film “Walk the Line,” a Johnny Cash biopic. The filmmaker – and much of Hollywood in general – must believe religion isn’t good at the box office.
As a music fan and scholar of religion, I have long been interested in artists’ religious backgrounds. Cash’s tumultuous life, like his friend and collaborator Dylan’s, was rich in religious affiliations and commitments.
And both of these musical giants shared a connection with Israel, defying calls to cancel performances there over concern for Palestinian rights – similar to artists’ debates in recent years. Dylan’s, in particular, is difficult to parse and part of his larger spiritual journey – one that’s rambled through Judaism and Christianity and back again.
Bob Zimmerman
The last time Dylan took the stage in Israel was at Tel Aviv’s Ramat Gan Stadium in June 2011. It had been 18 years since his last performance in the country, though he had made many personal visits in the interim.
He was, of course, a household name in Israel, revered by the young as well as the not so young. The audience members that evening, according to the Haaretz reporter who covered the event, were
“overwhelmingly young, overwhelmingly native-born Israelis.”
Surely everyone in attendance knew that Dylan had been born Robert Zimmerman – indeed, that he had a long, complicated relationship with Israel and with Judaism itself.
Bob Dylan, right, and a friend visit the Western Wall in Jerusalem on April 6, 1971. AP Photo
Young Zimmerman grew up in Hibbing, Minnesota, in a home that emphasized Jewish identity, if not its religious rituals. A visiting Orthodox rabbi had prepared him for his bar mitzvah, which took place in May 1954, with 400 guests in attendance. That summer, Zimmerman attended Camp Herzl in Wisconsin, a Jewish camp with a Zionist orientation; he would return there the following summers as well. At Camp Herzl young Bob formed his first musical group, the Jokers.
In his mid-20s, he married Sara Lownds, a Jewish woman with whom he had five children. Dylan made his first private visit to Israel in 1969 and returned regularly in the early 1970s. In May 1971, he celebrated his 30th birthday in Jerusalem; photos of him at the Western Wall appeared in Israeli and American newspapers, fueling speculation that he had “found religion” in the holy city.
In some ways, the young star put distance between himself and his Jewish roots – he was now Dylan, after all, not Zimmerman. But even in these early years, as throughout his career, “Dylanologists” delighted in the biblical allusions in some of his songs – including irreverent ones, at least at first glance.
“Highway 61 Revised,” for example, the title track of a 1965 album, kicks off with the binding of Isaac: a section of the Book of Genesis where God famously tests Abraham with a command – reprieved at the last moment – to kill his beloved child:
Yeah, God said to Abraham, “Kill me a son”
Abe said, “Man, you must be puttin’ me on”
God said, “No”, Abe said, “What?”
Twists and turns
But Dylan confounded both his admirers and his critics, turning abruptly in the late 1970s to evangelical Christianity. After his conversion, Dylan took a course at Vineyard Christian Fellowship in Los Angeles, which emphasized the end-time narratives of the New Testament Book of Revelation.
His years as a born-again Christian resulted in a series of gospel-influenced albums and at least one more visit to Israel during this early ’80s period. In 1987 he gave his first concerts there, kicking off his Temples in Flames world tour alongside Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers.
Within years of embracing Christianity, however, Dylan’s spiritual life yet again confounded his critics and fans, including the more scholarly obsessives known as “Dylanologists.” Born into Judaism, then a born-again evangelical, the rocker now forged ties to Chabad, an ultra-Orthodox Hasidic Jewish movement. Between 1986 and 1991, he made three appearances on the Chabad “To Life” Telethon, an annual fundraiser broadcast from Los Angeles.
Because Dylan was – and is – so private and publicity-shy, it is difficult to know whether such ecumenism represented true spiritual seeking, a political statement or sheer mischief.
Whether he was presenting himself as a born-again Christian, a supporter of Chabad or just a rock and roller, Dylan seemed inextricably connected to Israel in all its complexity. For example, many listeners interpreted the song “Neighborhood Bully” on his 1983 “Infidels” album as a “declaration of full-throated Israel support,” as Haaretz wrote.
Many fans interpret ‘Neighborhood Bully’ as sympathetic to Israel.
The lyrics presented the title character, the “bully,” as an unrepentant, besieged victim: “His enemies say he’s on their land/ They got him outnumbered a million to one/ He got no place to escape to, no place to run.”
‘Dylan lives here’
Dylan performed again in Israel in June 1993, bringing his summer tour to Tel Aviv, Beersheba and Haifa.
It would be nearly two decades before his next public performance in Israel, the 2011 concert at Ramat Gan. By then, performing in Israel had become much more controversial, with artists planning to tour there under scrutiny.
The boycott, divestment and sanctions movement publicly pressured the singer to cancel his Tel Aviv show, appealing to his past support of the American Civil Rights Movement. Activists called on Dylan “not to perform in Israel until it respects Palestinian human rights. A performance in Israel, today, is a vote of support for its policies of oppression, whether you intend for it to be that, or not.”
Ever the enigmatic artist, Dylan did not respond to the BDS appeal, nor did he cancel his concert. The towering pop-music icon did not say why. But many Israelis and Americans read his return as a gesture of support for the Jewish state in the face of widespread criticism.
Tel Aviv welcomed him with open arms, including a television news profile of his life, music and Jewish affiliations. Though he said nothing from the stage during the performance – late-career Dylan is notorious for not addressing the audience between songs – Israeli fans saw the concert as a triumphant homecoming.
“Dylan lives here. He lives in the culture of Israel,” wrote the Haaretz reviewer. “He has influenced Israel for the better more than any other American Jew.”
Since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war in 2023, international criticism of Israeli policies has become much more strident. Dylan, as cryptic as ever, has neither joined the critics nor identified himself with Israel’s supporters.
Shalom Goldman does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
Source: The Conversation – USA – By Stefan Schmitt, Project Lead for International Technical Forensic Services Global Forensic Justice Center, Florida International University
As an expert in forensic anthropology and mass casualties in conflict, I was asked to evaluate what became known as the “Caesar photographs.” What was clear to me then, and is even more so now, is that those photos represented a systematic approach to torturing, killing and disappearing massive numbers of people by the Assad regime.
With Assad now gone, the newly formed government of the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham has vowed to seek justice for the crimes Syrians suffered under Assad. Doing so will be difficult, even with the civil war in Syria being one of the better monitored conflicts in recent history. Yet it is a task that is imperative for the sake of pursuing justice in a shattered country and reducing the likelihood of violence returning to Syria.
Estimates of those killed since the start of civil conflict in 2011 range anywhere from 100,000 to over 600,000, with civilian deaths accounting for at least 160,000.
Many of these deaths have been at the hands of the Assad regime. But different armed groups, including the al-Nusra Front and Islamic State group, have also been accused of atrocities.
From the perspective of holding perpetrators accountable, that could complicate matters. The leader of now ruling Hayat Tahrir al-Sham is the founder of the al-Nusra Front and might not be willing to hold his group or others accountable or acknowledge the crimes of that group.
An uncovered mass grave believed to contain the remains of civilians killed by the ousted Assad regime in Daraa, Syria. Bekir Kasim/Anadolu via Getty Images
Who investigates?
There are three dimensions of accounting for the missing following conflict. First, there is the task of identifying and repatriating the remains of those in mass graves to allow family and friends to grieve. Second, the rights of victims to know the truth about what happened to their loved ones needs to be addressed. And finally, the process needs to provide justice, accountability and reconciliation, regardless of who was responsible.
But before this can take place, the question of who is responsible for the accounting needs to be addressed.
Countries coming out of civil conflict have turned to different mechanisms, from truth commissions to criminal tribunals. In the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda, special U.N. courts were set up to investigate and prosecute perpetrators of grievous crimes. These tribunals were created as independent judicial bodies dedicated to investigating and prosecuting those most responsible for the crimes that had been committed during conflict.
The nongovernmental Forensic Anthropology Foundation of Guatemala, or FAFG, has since 1993 formed a fundamental part of searching, identifying and repatriating the missing. FAFG collects personal information, DNA profiles and witness statements and is responsible for protecting the rights of victims’ families in Guatemala’s judicial system.
Its work continues to this day.
What crimes to include
As to the Syrian civil war, a decision over the scope of any investigation into the disappeared and dead will likewise have to be made.
Will it include all those missing and in mass graves in areas held by al-Nusra, the Islamic State group and other armed groups, as well as those killed by Assad? The fact that groups and individuals that now form the government could have been involved in human rights violations may risk future investigations being skewed toward just the victims of Assad.
Even if the scope was narrowed to Assad’s crimes, it’s unclear how far back one should go. Assad rule in Syria began more than 50 years ago under Assad’s father, Hafez al Assad. And killings and disappearances date back to the elder’s time in power, including the 1982 massacre in the city of Hama in which an estimated 20,000 to 40,000 were killed.
The role of the state
Another fact-finding question concerns the sharing of information between civil society groups and the state.
The information gathered on the war by various NGOs so far is technically held or “owned” by such groups, not the Syrian state. This is for a good reason, as victims trust these organizations to protect information from the perpetrators, some of whom might form part of the new government.
The International Commission on Missing Persons, an NGO with its seat in the Netherlands, gained its reputation while identifying the dead from the conflict in the former Yugoslavia in the 1990s and early 2000s. It has already collected and stored testimonies from over 76,200 Syrian relatives of more than 28,000 missing persons and has identified 66 mass grave locations. Other organizations have similar testimonies.
At some point, the state of Syria will need to be involved in the process. Legally and in practice, the state issues a citizen’s “civil identity” through things such as a birth certificate that establish a person with rights and responsibilities. In the same manner, the state issues death certificates in which the manner of death determines any judicial reactions – such as a criminal investigation in cases where the death is due to homicide.
The state is also important in resolving issues such as inheritance and widower status.
Identifying the remains from the mass graves is therefore not just a “technical” issue dependent on cutting-edge DNA laboratories and missing-persons databases. It is also something that any future Syrian state should work toward, and then own and take responsibility for.
Shifting responsibility away from the state to an international body would not really help Syria develop its own accountability mechanisms or hold the government to delivering justice for the victims and their families.
In my view, empowering victims in this transitional justice process needs to be a priority for the Syrian state. This includes the establishment of a transparent forensic and investigative effort to address the concerns of families searching for loved ones.
It should not, I believe, be outsourced. From my experience with similar processes elsewhere, it is important that Syrians become “experts” in all aspects of this process. No doubt, the task will take time and searching for the truth about what happened, and will involve perpetrators and victims alike.
It might well be a painful and painstaking process. But it is a necessary one if postconflict Syrian is to hold to account those who attempted to “erase” the identity of victims by disappearing them, burying them in mass graves, or leaving them under the bombed rubble of their neighborhoods.
Stefan Schmitt does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
Source: The Conversation – USA – By Paul Webster Hare, Master Lecturer and Interim Director of Latin American Studies, Boston University
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro with Richard Grenell, President Donald Trump’s special envoy, in Caracas, Venezuela, on Jan. 31, 2025. Venezuela’s presidential press office, via AP
The policy, which led Venezuela to officially sever ties with the United States, was consistent with the first Trump administration’s policy of maximum pressure and a desire for regime change when it came to the socialist government in Caracas.
Fast forward six years: The early days of Trump’s second administration has seen the U.S. president negotiate with Maduro over the release of detained Americans and an apparent willingness from Venezuela to receive hundreds of thousands of its nationals being deported from the U.S.
So far, the second Trump’s administration seems to be sticking to the line of not officially recognizing Maduro and preferring his departure from the scene. It has kept sanctions on the country intact and continues to recognize Maduro’s opponent, Edmundo González, as the legitimate president-elect.
But that hasn’t stopped the administration from pursuing negotiations. In late January, Trump’s envoy Richard Grenell visited Caracas to secure the release of six Americans accused by Venezuela of plotting to destabilize the country. Trump subsequently announced that Maduro would accept repatriation of deportations of Venezuelans in the U.S. The U.S. administration also revoked the Temporary Protected Status, a categorization prioritized by President Joe Biden, for hundreds of thousands of people who fled Maduro’s Venezuela.
On Feb. 10, two Venezuelan planes returned home from the U.S with nearly 200 deported Venezuelan nationals, a signal that negotiations between the two nations were more than just optics. But news that the Trump administration has sent Venezuelan detainees to a U.S. military camp at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba – and is trying to send more – could yet prove a thorn in the side of any diplomatic thaw.
But so long as Trump feels Venezuela under Maduro is useful to his aims of deportations, other U.S. issues with the government in Caracas are, I believe, likely to remain of secondary importance.
Rhetoric vs. reality
The complicated dynamic of two men, ideologically opposed but aware of the other’s usefulness, is reciprocated by Maduro. The Venezuelan leader congratulated Trump on his election victory in November, and he appears to treat his more powerful adversary with some pragmatism. But Maduro also remains willing to take a strident line rhetorically, even suggesting that Venezuela might “liberate” Puerto Rico if the U.S. keeps meddling with Venezuela’s affairs.
Rhetoric aside, Maduro – as evidenced by his apparent willingness to deal with the new administration on hostages and immigration – is likely to pursue self-interest where possible. And he will be well aware that the survival of his rule may be tied with his country’s economic situation.
Venezuela has been hit hard by U.S. sanctions that have been in place since 2017.
Under Biden, the U.S. granted some exemptions for oil companies to work in Venezuela despite sanctions, helping the struggling export industry to recover some of its lost productivity.
Maduro will want to see where he can work with the Trump team to continue such allowances and avoid a full embargo. But recent noises coming from the administration have been mixed on this front. On Jan. 20, Trump suggested that he may pull the plug on Venezuelan oil exports to the U.S. “We don’t have to buy their oil. We have plenty of oil for ourselves,” he said.
Such a move would be a severe blow to Venezuela’s economy, which has benefited from increased exports to the U.S. in recent years. But the move will likely face resistance from oil producers like Chevron, the American company that has a license to operate in Venezuela.
Election fraud and beyond
It’s plausible Trump will be swayed by the elements of his base or administration who view Venezuela primarily in terms of a socialist authoritarian adversary to be defeated.
Many in Trump’s circle viewed the fraudulent election as another reason for being hawkish toward the nation – a position that takes in both ideological and electoral considerations.
Rubio, in particular, is a longtime critic of any accommodation with Venezuela. He has spoken to opposition leaders, called González the legitimate president, blasted any relaxation of sanctions and, during his confirmation hearing, labeled Maduro’s government “a narco-trafficking organization.”
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, right, oversees a ‘seized’ sign being placed on a Venezuelan government airplane on Feb. 6, 2025. Mark Schiefelbein/AFP via Getty Images
And while U.S. envoy Grenell has been shaking hands with Maduro, Rubio has been seizing the Venezuelan leader’s aircraft. On Feb. 6, the U.S. secretary of state personally oversaw its confiscation while visiting the Dominican Republic, where it had been impounded since last year.
Competition with China
During his first administration, Trump failed in his efforts to encourage the replacement of Maduro.
In any case, the Venezuelan government under Maduro, like Chavez before him, has shown itself capable of withstanding U.S. pressure.
Throwing a further wrinkle to any U.S. intentions of influencing the future of Venezuela is the role China has taken on in the country and Maduro’s increasing closeness with Beijing. In contrast to leaders in the West, China’s president, Xi Jinping, congratulated Maduro following the latter’s claim of victory in 2024. China is the leading importer of Venezuelan crude oil and has signed a series of bilateral trade and tourism pacts that have provided Maduro an economic lifeline.
Ultimately, whatever path Trump chooses on relations with Venezuela is likely to be conditioned on what factions win out in his administration and which political constituencies the president is most keen to please.
Paul Webster Hare does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
As we have written, American history is not a steady march toward greater equality, democracy and individual rights. America’s commitment to these liberal values has competed with an alternative set of illiberal values that hold that full American citizenship should be limited by race, ethnicity, gender and class.
The most famous example of this conflict is the Jim Crow era after Reconstruction, when many of the political and legal rights gained by African Americans in the Civil War era were swept away by disenfranchisement, segregation and discrimination. From roughly 1870 until 1940, democracy and equal rights were retreating, not advancing, leaving what was described in the 1960s by President Lyndon Johnson as “the crippling legacy of bigotry and injustice.”
Today, the Trump administration is seeking to roll back America’s commitment to equality and engaging in a broad effort to limit – if not outright deny – the rights, liberties and benefits of democracy to all Americans.
President Donald Trump attacked the FAA’s DEI initiatives during a press conference on the D.C. plane crash.
Progress, then rollbacks
The biggest gains in African American rights came during the Revolutionary War, the Civil War, World War II and the Cold War, when the United States confronted enemies that Americans believed contradicted its liberal values – the British monarchy, Southern slaveholders, fascist dictators and communist tyrants. The United States highlighted its commitments to democracy and human rights as a way of contrasting itself from its enemies.
But once the pressures of war faded, America’s illiberal values reasserted themselves. With the end of the Revolutionary War and the Civil War, the movement for greater equality stalled and many of the previous gains were rolled back.
The onset of World War II and then the Cold War forced Americans to renew their commitment to democracy and human rights for all Americans. This period is often described as the Second Reconstruction.
Like the First Reconstruction a century earlier, the federal government helped to ensure civil and voting rights for African Americans. These efforts laid the groundwork for advancing the political and civil rights of women, other racial and ethnic groups, immigrants, disabled persons and, eventually, members of the gay and lesbian community.
But like the First Reconstruction, these changes generated intense backlash.
Since his second inauguration, Trump has mounted a full-scale effort to undermine the policies of the Second Reconstruction. This effort has been masked as an attack on diversity, equity and inclusion – or DEI – policies. According to Trump and other critics of DEI, these policies are themselves racist, since they allegedly single out white Americans for shame and scorn.
The Trump administration’s effort to end DEI programs is really an attack on decades of efforts by the federal government to make good on the promise of America: to engage in rigorous nondiscrimination efforts and open up opportunities for all.
These diversity initiatives have for more than 50 years included requirements that beneficiaries of these policies must be qualified for the benefits they obtain.
But to Trump and many conservatives, such policies force employers to engage in racial and gender quotas to prove that they don’t discriminate. Furthermore, these efforts to end discrimination, according to Trump’s executive order, “diminish the importance of individual merit, aptitude, hard work, and determination,” leading to “disastrous consequences.”
In other words, Trump and others claim that efforts to end discrimination are themselves a form of discrimination and force the hiring of unqualified and incompetent people.
Trump made this view clear in his comments on the recent collision between a passenger airliner and a military helicopter in Washington, D.C. Before any formal investigation, Trump alleged that the crash resulted from Obama and Biden administration efforts to diversify the Federal Aviation Administration staff. Such efforts, he suggested, elevate unqualified people.
Efforts to reverse DEI have been accompanied by other antidiversity moves. One example: According to a news release, the Defense Department will no longer use “official resources” to mark “Black History Month, Women’s History Month, Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, Pride Month, National Hispanic Heritage Month, National Disability Employment Awareness Month, and National American Indian Heritage Month.”
Undoing 19th-century advances
The attack on DEI goes beyond the federal government. Other executive orders mandate that K-12 schools as well as colleges and universities end DEI programs, since they are “anti-American, subversive, harmful, and false ideologies.”
Such a policy will almost certainly prevent schools from honestly addressing the ways in which racial, ethnic and gender discrimination have influenced America’s past and present.
This provision was included in order to explicitly overturn the notorious 1857 Supreme Court decision, Dred Scott v. Sandford, that ruled that African Americans were not citizens and consequently “they had no rights which the white man was bound to respect.”
Pushback capacity
A protester at a demonstration against the Trump administration at the Texas State Capitol on Feb. 5, 2025, in Austin, Texas. Brandon Bell/Getty Images
How far can the Trump administration go in its efforts to undo the Second Reconstruction?
Numerous legal challenges have already been filed. In the case of the executive order limiting birthright citizenship, a lower federal court judge appointed by President Ronald Reagan blocked the order, calling it “blatantly unconstitutional.”
Many of these cases will ultimately be decided by the Supreme Court, which under Chief Justice John Roberts has been willing to overturn long-established equal rights precedents. Besides its 2012 gutting of the Voting Rights Act, in 2022 the court limited the reproductive rights of women by overturning its 1973 decision, Roe v. Wade. Most recently, in 2023 the court ended a 45-year precedent that allowed colleges and universities to engage in limited forms of affirmative action in order to achieve more student diversity.
Yet despite years of attacks by conservatives and now the Trump administration, most efforts to end discrimination and open doors to all Americans, including DEI, remain popular. And the groups empowered by the Second Reconstruction – racial and ethnic minorities, women, immigrants, the LGBTQ community – are far more numerous and have far more legal and political resources available with which to fight back than those that were aided by the First Reconstruction.
There are now no government pressures driving Americans to make greater progress toward democracy and equal rights for all, as in the relatively brief earlier periods of significant reform in America.
But those reforms have given many more Americans the capacity to push back against policies that violate both American values and American interests.
The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments
Foresea Limited is connected to three other hospitality package scams which were wound up by the Insolvency Service in the past six months.
Foresea Limited targeted businesses with hospitality tickets for the British Grand Prix
The company is connected to three similar scam businesses shut down following Insolvency Service investigations.
Foresea Ltd was wound-up at the High Court in Manchester on 12 February 2025.
A company which offered businesses British Grand Prix hospitality packages they never actually had has been shut down after customers failed to receive tickets they had paid for.
Foresea Limited – originally based in Kent but thought to have changed business address several times – claimed to be a large-scale provider of corporate hospitality, despite never having the tickets to sell.
An Insolvency Service investigation found that clients would be contacted through cold calls and would then pay for the hospitality packages which were later cancelled by Foresea Limited with no refunds being paid.
The Insolvency Service understands that Foresea Limited is connected to at least three other scam hospitality businesses which have been shut down by the agency since August 2024: Informa Expo Ltd, Prive Global Sports Ltd and Darcella Ltd.
David Usher, Chief Investigator at the Insolvency Service, said:
We have worked hard to root out these companies and attempt to end this cycle of scam hospitality packages.
Foresea Limited existed for the sole purpose of continuing to cause harm to unsuspecting members of the public, with the promise of tickets to high-profile sporting event.
Our investigations into these types of scams continue, and we will do all we can to put a stop to them.
Warnings about the company were also published by the FIA, the governing body of motorsport.
Clients of Foresea Limited also made complaints to Action Fraud.
Foresea Ltd charged 20% VAT on each sale, collecting around £12,000 in tax, when it was not registered to do so.
Attempts to contact current and previous directors of Foresea Ltd were unsuccessful and the company failed to provide its books and records as it was required to do.
The Official Receiver has been appointed as liquidator of the company.
All enquiries concerning the affairs of the Foresea Ltd should be made to the Official Receiver of the Public Interest Unit: 16th Floor, 1 Westfield Avenue, Stratford, London, E20 1HZ. Email: piu.or@insolvency.gov.uk.
Information about the other companies related to this case can be found here:
The Insolvency Service can investigate complaints about corporate abuse by live companies. This may include serious misconduct, fraud, scams or dishonest practice in the way the company operates. Further information on our live investigations can be found here
Press release from the Cabinet Office published Thursday 13th February.
Today (Thursday 13 February) the UK Government is introducing legislation to remove the legal barrier to Roman Catholics holding the office of Lord High Commissioner to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland.
The Lord High Commissioner is appointed to attend the proceedings on The King’s behalf as the Sovereign’s representative to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland – the governing body of the Church of Scotland, which meets each May in Edinburgh.
The Lord High Commissioner makes opening and closing addresses and carries out a number of official functions. The Assembly meets annually to hear reports from the councils and committees, makes laws and sets the agenda for the Church of Scotland.
Currently, Roman Catholics are legally restricted from holding the office of Lord High Commissioner due to historic legislation, including the Roman Catholic Relief Act 1829. The Government will introduce a short and narrowly-focused Bill – the Church of Scotland (Lord High Commissioner) Bill – to remove this restriction. Individuals of other faiths and none can currently hold the office.
The Bill will facilitate the upcoming appointment of Lady Elish Angiolini as the Lord High Commissioner for 2025. Lady Elish would be the first Roman Catholic to hold this office.
Lady Elish Angiolini is a practising Roman Catholic and has a distinguished background in law and academia. Her appointment will be a significant gesture of unity, goodwill and collaboration between the Church of Scotland and the Catholic Church in Scotland, following the St Margaret Declaration signed in 2022.
Secretary for Innovation, Technology & Industry Prof Sun Dong was in Hengqin and Zhuhai today, where he toured the Guangdong-Macao In-Depth Co-operation Zone in Hengqin, met officials, and inspected a university and two companies.
Prof Sun’s first stop was the co-operation zone in Hengqin, with a view to speeding up the implementation of the development planning of the Hong Kong Park at the Hetao Shenzhen-Hong Kong Science & Technology Innovation Co-operation Zone.
The tour of the Hong Kong Park project was in accordance with the spirit of the important instructions given by CPC Central Committee Hong Kong & Macao Work Office Director and State Council Hong Kong & Macao Affairs Office Director Xia Baolong, when he inspected the park.
During an engagement session with CPC Guangdong Provincial Committee Hengqin Working Committee Deputy Secretary, Guangdong Province Hengqin Office Director and Executive Committee Deputy Director Nie Xinping, Prof Sun learnt about the in-depth planning and industry development of the co-operation zone, taking into account the development of the Hong Kong Park.
At the Zhuhai MUST Science & Technology Research Institute in the co-operation zone, the technology chief found out more about its work in promoting the cross-boundary flow of data in the zone.
The institute is an industry-academia-research demonstration base built by the Macau University of Science & Technology in the Greater Bay Area.
Prof Sun also met CPC Zhuhai Municipal Committee Deputy Secretary and Zhuhai’s Acting Mayor Wu Zetong as well as the city’s Vice Mayor Huang Zhenqiu, where he introduced the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government’s latest policies on leading the city’s innovation and technology (I&T) development and the current developments.
The tech chief also learnt about Zhuhai’s achievements in I&T and high-tech industrialisation. Both sides exchanged views on promoting I&T collaboration and exchanges between the two places.
In the afternoon, Prof Sun visited the cell production workshops of the Zhuhai SoleFiori Technology Company.
He welcomed the enterprise’s plan to expand its business in Hong Kong, which involved the technologies and productivity of new high-efficiency heterojunction solar cells and modules with low energy consumption and low carbon emissions.
Prof Sun then proceeded to the headquarters of Gree Electric Appliances Inc of Zhuhai, a technology-based household consumer goods and industrial equipment manufacturing group.
Apart from receiving a briefing on the group’s latest developments in quality assurance, product innovations and talent training, Prof Sun also learnt more about the self-developed industrial robots, computer numerical control machine tools, and smart warehousing products and systems developed by the group.
Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) State Crime Alerts (c)
Jackson, Miss. – Former Hinds County Sheriff Marshand Crisler was sentenced today to 30 months in prison for soliciting and accepting bribes and for knowingly providing ammunition to a convicted felon. Crisler was also ordered to pay a $15,000 fine.
Crisler, 55, was appointed as Sheriff of Hinds County in August 2021. The evidence at trial showed that shortly after becoming Sheriff, Crisler solicited and accepted $9,500 in cash bribes from a convicted felon over three months, from September through November of 2021. In exchange for that money, Crisler agreed to provide favors through his position as Hinds County Sheriff. These favors included sharing information concerning future criminal investigations involving the bribe payor, moving a jailed family member to a better place within the Hinds County Jail, and hiring the bribe payor to work at the Hinds County Sheriff’s Office. Crisler also gave ammunition to the bribe payor, knowing that the person was a convicted felon.
On November 8, 2024, a federal jury found Crisler guilty on all counts, following a three-day trial in U.S. District Court in Jackson.
It is against federal law for a public official to solicit or accept bribes, and it is also against federal law for anyone to provide firearm ammunition to a known convicted felon.
Acting U.S. Attorney Patrick A. Lemon of the Southern District of Mississippi and Special Agent in Charge Robert Eikhoff of the Federal Bureau of Investigation made the announcement.
The FBI investigated the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Bert Carraway and Charles W. Kirkham prosecuted the case.
It is hereby notified for information of the public that in exercise of powers vested in it under sub section (1) of Section 35 A of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949, read with Section 56 of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) vide Directive Ref. No. CO.DOS.SED.No.D-01/12-22-350/2024-2025 dated February 13, 2025, has issued certain Directions to New India Co-operative Bank Limited, Mumbai (“the bank”), whereby, as from the close of business on February 13, 2025, the bank shall not, without prior approval of RBI in writing, grant or renew any loans and advances, make any investment, incur any liability including borrowal of funds and acceptance of fresh deposits, disburse or agree to disburse any payment whether in discharge of its liabilities and obligations or otherwise, enter into any compromise or arrangement and sell, transfer or otherwise dispose of any of its properties or assets except as notified in the RBI Direction dated February 13, 2025, a copy of which is displayed on the bank’s website / premises for perusal by interested members of the public. Considering the bank’s present liquidity position, the bank has been directed not to allow withdrawal of any amount from savings bank or current accounts or any other account of a depositor but is allowed to set off loans against deposits subject to the conditions stated in the above RBI Directions. The bank may incur expenditure in respect of certain essential items such as salaries of employees, rent, electricity bills, etc., as specified in the said Directions.
2. These directions are necessitated due to supervisory concerns emanating from the recent material developments in the bank, and to protect the interest of depositors of the bank.
3. The eligible depositors would be entitled to receive deposit insurance claim amount of their deposits up to a monetary ceiling of ₹5,00,000/- (Rupees five lakh only) in the same capacity and in the same right, from the Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation (DICGC), as applicable under the provisions of the DICGC Act, 1961, based on submission of willingness by the depositors concerned and after due verification. The depositors may contact the bank officials for further information. Details may also be accessed on the DICGC website: www.dicgc.org.in.
4. The issue of the above Directions by the RBI should not per se be construed as cancellation of banking license by RBI. The bank will continue to undertake banking business subject to restrictions specified in the said Directions till its financial position improves. The RBI continues to monitor the position of the bank and will take necessary actions including modifications of these Directions, as warranted, depending upon circumstances and in the interest of the depositors.
5. These Directions shall remain in force for a period of six months from the close of business on February 13, 2025 and are subject to review.
