RadioRob

Published by Reuters (Updates lede with more information about Michael Ferkol’s former role in U.S. Army.) By Andrew R.C. Marshall LVIV, Ukraine (Reuters) – Michael Ferkol, who who once served as a supply specialist with engineer battalions in the U.S. Army, had been in Rome studying archaeology when he heard the Ukrainian president’s appeal for foreign fighters. Within days, Ferkol said, he presented himself at a military recruiting office in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv, hoping to be taken on as a frontline paramedic. “I told them I wanted to triage patients,” said the 29-year- old, who has no combat experience. “There was a Finnish guy there too, and he was like, ‘I just want to kill Russians.'” Ukraine has established an “international” legion for people from abroad and President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has publicly urged foreigners to “fight side-by-side with Ukrainians against the Russian war criminals” to show support for his country. Last week, Zelenskiy said that more than 16,000 foreigners had volunteered, without specifying how many had arrived. Some foreign fighters arriving in Ukraine say they are attracted by the cause: to halt what they view as an unprovoked attack in a once-in-a-generation showdown between the forces of democracy and dictatorship. For others, many of them veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan, the Ukraine war also offers a chance to use fighting skills they felt their own governments no longer appreciated. Reuters interviewed 20 foreign fighters or others involved in the effort, and some said that Ukraine is struggling to vet, equip and deploy them. And alongside battle-hardened veterans of war, people are arriving with little or no combat experience, offering limited value in a war zone under constant, terrifying shelling by the Russian military. One man who identified himself as British military veteran referred to these recruits as “bullet-catchers.” A senior Ukrainian official in Lviv involved in processing newly-arrived foreign volunteers, Roman Shepelyak, said the system to receive, train and deploy foreign fighters was still in its infancy, and that the process would get smoother in the coming days. Ukraine’s defence ministry declined to comment. Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, calling it a “special operation” to demilitarize Ukraine and capture dangerous nationalists. Ukraine’s armed forces are heavily outnumbered by Russia’s but have mounted significant resistance. Among those who have arrived to fight for Ukraine are dozens of former soldiers from the British Army’s elite Parachute Regiment, according to an ex-soldier from the regiment. Hundreds more would soon follow, he said. Reuters was unable to corroborate those numbers. Often referred to as the Paras, the regiment has in recent years served in Afghanistan and Iraq. “They’re all highly, highly trained, and have seen active service on numerous occasions,” the ex-soldier from the regiment said. The Ukraine crisis will give them purpose, camaraderie and “a chance to do what they’re good at: fight.” Michael Ferkol said there were many people with Ukrainian ancestry in his hometown, Chicago. He wanted to go to Kyiv, the capital, “and help out.” “I’m a little nervous, to be honest,” he said, making his way through crowds of refugees at Lviv train station on Saturday, hoping to board a train to the frontline. “But at the same time, it’s not about me. It’s about the people that are suffering.” ‘HAVE GUN WILL TRAVEL’ For some, travelling to Ukraine, even from far-away countries, was the easy part. Those who hadn’t brought body armour, helmets and other equipment with them were struggling to source them in Ukraine, according to several fighters Reuters spoke to. Some veterans were sharing information on equipment and logistics through invite-only Facebook or WhatsApp groups with names like “Have Gun Will Travel.” These groups contain appeals for equipment, such as body armour and night-vision goggles, or for foreign veterans who are snipers or who can train Ukrainian soldiers in how to use sophisticated weapons that Western countries are sending. With a vast mobilisation of Ukrainian men underway, the country has plenty of volunteer fighters. But there is a shortage of specialists who know how to use Javelin and NLAW anti-tank missiles, which professional soldiers train for months to use properly. Even those with combat experience might struggle in Ukraine’s war zones, warned a former British soldier, who asked to be identified by his nickname, Kruger. He said he had served in Afghanistan and trained other soldiers. “If you’re out here as a war tourist, this is not the place for you,” he said. “The realities of war, if you head out to the front, are going to be pretty overwhelming.” Many of those arriving in Lviv end up at the semi-fortified offices of the Lviv regional administration, where their paperwork is checked by Shepelyak. He heads the region’s department for international technical assistance and cooperation. He acknowledged the system for processing those offering to fight was still in its infancy. On Friday, when Reuters visited, six foreigners appeared at Shepelyak’s office, including a Polish military veteran called Michal, and a giant, heavily-tattooed Dutchman called Bert. Both men declined to give their full names. More foreigners were arriving every day, Shepelyak told Reuters. “If they have such a desire and persuasion to serve a foreign country, it matters. They are important.” Shepelyak said he vetted their paperwork, but not their combat experience, which was evaluated at a military base outside Lviv where they were sent next. He added that those recruited into the Ukrainian army would be paid in line with other soldiers. Other foreign fighters told Reuters they were bypassing the formal processes and heading straight for the eastern front, hoping to get weapons and orders from the Ukrainian military upon their arrival. DELAYED DEPARTURES The logistical issues have prompted some fighters to delay their arrival. Anthony Capone, a wealthy healthcare entrepreneur in New York City, said he is providing funding for hundreds of ex-soldiers and paramedics who want to go to Ukraine. But he said he had delayed their departure “to give the Ukrainian army another week to improve their enlistment process for those entering the volunteer corps.” So far, according to Capone, only a “small number” had arrived in neighbouring Poland. Capone had posted on LinkedIn his message offering funding, thinking that 10 or 15 people would reply. “Right now, I’m at about 1,000,” he said. Capone added he was only funding ex-soldiers whose military credentials he could verify, or paramedics who currently worked in an emergency trauma setting. About 60% of those who had been in touch were American and 30% European, with the remainder hailing from at least 25 countries as far-flung as Colombia, Japan and Jamaica, Capone said. Most were ex-soldiers; the rest were emergency medics or critical care nurses. They’re willing to “defend a country they’ve never visited,” said Capone, a specialist in computational learning theory. The U.S. government has discouraged citizens from travelling to Ukraine to combat Russian forces. Some countries have issued stronger warnings, including Britain. Others, such as Canada or Germany, have cleared the way for their citizens to get involved. A CONNECTION IN KYIV In central Lviv on Thursday, a burly, Russian-speaking Canadian, who identified himself only as Sig, heaved bags of equipment into the back of a minivan he had bought in Poland and driven to Lviv. He wore a flak jacket bristling with medical tools, and said he usually worked as a civilian paramedic. Another of Sig’s four-strong team was an American who said he was born in the former Soviet republic of Georgia and had fought Russians “for generations.” In Sig’s bags were hundreds of kilograms of equipment, including medical supplies and military rations known as MREs, or meals ready to eat. Sig said his team planned to help train Ukrainian volunteers in Lviv for a day, before heading straight for the front. “I have a connection in Kyiv who will help us out,” he said. Standing outside the ticket hall of Lviv station on Sunday were a group of British men in military uniform, waiting for a train to Kyiv. They were in high spirits, often exchanging fist-bumps and handshakes with Ukrainian refugees who thanked them for fighting for their country. They were led by Ben Grant, a strapping Englishman from Essex, who said he had served in Britain’s Royal Marines and had just completed a stint as a security advisor in Iraq. He was unclear whether his men would be deployed independently or as part of a Ukrainian unit. Of the Ukrainian soldiers, Grant added: “They seem strong – really strong. I’m more than happy to fight next to them.” (Reporting by Andrew R. C. Marshall in Lviv, Ukraine; Additional reporting by Jacqueline Thomsen and Phil Stewart in Washington, DC, and Shariq Khan and Medha Singh in Bengaluru. Editing by Cassell Bryan-Low) View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Britney Spears says nail art helped her “unbearable” social anxiety. The ‘Toxic’ hitmaker thinks having jazzy manicures makes her “not scared to talk at all” in some social settings after feeling “ghosted” for so long. In an Instagram post of her done-up nails, the 40-year-old pop star wrote: “I’ve felt ghosted [ghost emoji] most of my life … but if you feel somewhat not acknowledged enough in life or have confidence problems, I swear these charms do in fact change your perspective! For instance… I never talk because I’m usually shy … I have social anxiety but like the worst kind where it’s unbearable [sad face emoji] … but holy s–t there’s hope! I looked at my hands, saw these charms and I exploded [firecracker explosion emoji] with conversation … not scared at all to talk.” The ‘If U Seek Amy’ hitmaker admitted to “never” having seen the “adorable little charms” before in the caption of the photo that showcased her huge 4 carat rock from her fiance Sam Asghari, a 28-year-old personal trainer. Britney wrote: “I’ve never done this before… I believe it’s called nail embellishments. Have people been holding out on me because I’ve never seen these before! The most adorable little charms I’ve ever seen in my life!” Yesterday, the ‘Crossroads’ star hinted that she had already tied the knot with Sam after she labelled him her “husband” on Instagram while vacationing in French Polynesia. Britney – who has sons Sean Preston,16, and Jayden, 15, with her ex Kevin Federline- wrote: ‘Such an amazing pic of my husband @samasghari !!!!” She added: ‘He’s such a hard worker and he amazes me each day with his passion for life !!!! I’m so lucky to be able to share my life with him …. HAPPY BIRTHDAY.’ The pair became engaged in September after Britney was freed from the 13-year conservatorship that gave her father Jamie Spears control over her professional, financial and health decisions. On Friday (04.03.22), the ‘Piece of Me’ singer shared another post that referred to Sam as her “husband” as she gushed about baby turtles. Britney wrote: “My husband @samasghari sent me this and said: 100 baby turtles leave the hatch only 20 make it to reefs because most get eaten by sharks only 1 strong strong Turtle makes it out of 100 and comes back a year later stronger than ever and hatches babies He said these turtles represented life !!!!!’” She also got tongues wagging when she posted a nude snap with only diamond emojis covering her modesty. Explaining why she was baring it all, she wrote: “showing my body in Polynesia as a rebel and a free WOMAN.” View the full article

Published by AFP This handout picture taken and released by the Ukrainian State Emergency Service on March 7, 2022, shows rescuers dismantling the rubble of a destroyed school after Russian troops shelled the city of Chernihiv Washington (AFP) – Russia is recruiting Syrians and other foreign fighters as it ramps up its assault on Ukraine, the Pentagon said Monday. Moscow entered the Syrian civil war in 2015 on the side of President Bashar al-Assad’s regime, and the country has been mired in a conflict marked by urban combat for more than a decade. Now, US Department of Defense officials said, Russia’s President Vladimir Putin was “on a recruiting mission” seeking to bring some of those fighters into the fray in Ukraine. According to the Wall Street Journal, US officials said that Russia, which launched an invasion into its Eastern European neighbor on February 24, has in recent days recruited fighters from Syria, hoping they can help take the capital Kyiv and other cities. One official told the daily that some fighters are already in Russia readying to join the fight in Ukraine, though it was not immediately clear how many combatants have been recruited. Details were slight: officials would not speculate on how many mercenaries have joined the fight, or on the quality of the fighters, but the Pentagon said there was no reason to doubt the accuracy of the reports. “We do believe that the accounts of them — the Russians — seeking Syrian fighters to augment their forces in Ukraine, we believe there’s truth to that,” Pentagon spokesman John Kirby told reporters. But with enormous firepower and more than 150,000 deployed troops at Putin’s disposal, the Pentagon said it was noteworthy that he would find it necessary to recruit mercenaries. “It’s interesting that Mr. Putin would have to find himself relying on foreign fighters here,” Kirby said, though he acknowledged the Pentagon does not have “perfect visibility” on exactly who was joining the cause. Earlier Monday, a senior defense official told reporters more directly: “We know that they’re trying to recruit Syrians for the fight.” Foreign combatants have already entered the Ukrainian conflict on both sides. Chechnya strongman leader Ramzan Kadyrov, a former rebel-turned-Kremlin-ally, has shared videos of Chechen fighters joining the attack on Ukraine and said some had been killed in the fighting. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba has claimed around 20,000 foreign volunteers have traveled to the country to join Kyiv’s forces. Calling for restraint on all sides in the conflict during a UN Security Council session on Monday, China’s ambassador said an already dire situation could only be made worse by shipments of arms to Ukraine, as well as the deployment of “mercenaries,” without directly mentioning Russia, a Beijing ally. UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said in his daily briefing he “had no way of confirming or not confirming” reports of Russia recruiting mercenaries. But he said the “conflict doesn’t need more people coming to the outside,” adding that the UN’s “focus is on the humanitarian end.” The capital and the second-largest city Kharkiv are still held by Ukraine’s government, while Russia has seized the port city of Kherson and stepped up its shelling of urban centers across the country. Russia’s nearly two-week-old assault has seen more than 1.7 million people flee the country in what the UN has called Europe’s fastest-growing refugee crisis since World War II. View the full article

Published by DPA A self-driving car from General Motors' Cruise subsidiary in traffic in San Francisco. Andrej Sokolow/dpa Google’s sister company Waymo and General Motors subsidiary Cruise have been given the green light to launch commercial robot taxi services in California. Although this is a major step forward in the long-promised and much-delayed driverless mobility trend, California will – at least initially – still require that a safety driver is at the wheel at all times, regulatory authority CPUC announced at the start of March. Both companies already offer rides in which the driver’s seat remains empty. However, they have not been allowed to collect money for doing so. Waymo and Cruise had previously received clearances from the California Transportation Commission. Waymo is also allowed to operate its self-driving cars in parts of San Francisco and San Mateo County in Silicon Valley at speeds of up to 65 mph (just over 100 km/h) around the clock as part of its commercial service. Cruise’s robotaxis can carry paying passengers at night between 10pm and 6am at speeds up to just under 50 km/h. Waymo and Cruise are firmly focused on building services with fully self-driving robotaxis. The end of private cars? Driverless taxis are widely seen as the key mobility trend of the future, and it has often been predicted that the autonomous vehicle of the future will be a robot taxi that you don’t own, but only use when needed. The development could also move faster if cities were to intervene with higher parking costs or a city toll to force private vehicles out of congested cities. While Cruise and Waymo work to expand their services in California, Intel subsidiary Mobileye plans to launch its first service with autonomous vehicles in Munich by the end of the year. At the same time, the first car manufacturers have started to install driving computers in their entire model range – even if they’re not all activated yet. Once they’re available and road legal, manufacturers will be able to earn more. Even in an entry-level model, the owner can activate new functions over time, and that changes the manufacturer’s business, Shapiro says. The hardware needed for autonomous driving is also becoming steadily cheaper. This is especially true for laser radars (lidar) that scan the vehicles’ surroundings. Simultaneously, self-driving technology is also expected to feature heavily in delivery trucks, while John Deere has also unveiled its first fully functioning driverless tractor. View the full article

Published by DPA Ukranian President Viktor Yanukovych takes part in a panel discussion at Hotel Bayerischer Hof on the first day of the 48th Munich Conference on Security Policy in Munich. Former Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych has called on head of state Volodymyr Zelensky to give up in the war against Russia. picture alliance / dpa Former Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych has called on head of state Volodymyr Zelensky to give up in the war against Russia. “You personally are obliged to stop the bloodshed and reach a peace agreement at any cost,” the pro-Moscow politician wrote in a message circulated by Russian state agency Ria Novosti on Tuesday. “This is what Ukraine, the Donbass and Russia expect from you,” he said, adding that Kiev’s partners in the West would also welcome such a move. Yanukovych, who is considered extremely corrupt, was toppled by pro-Western demonstrators in 2014. Since then, the 71-year-old has been living in exile in Russia. In his home country, he was sentenced in absentia to 13 years in prison for treason. Ukrainian media recently reported that the Kremlin wants to reinstate Yanukovych as president. View the full article

Published by Reuters (Reuters) – COVID-19 can cause the brain to shrink, reduce grey matter in the regions that control emotion and memory, and damage areas that control the sense of smell, an Oxford University study has found. The scientists said that the effects were even seen in people who had not been hospitalised with COVID, and whether the impact could be partially reversed or if they would persist in the long term needed further investigation. “There is strong evidence for brain-related abnormalities in COVID-19,” the researchers said in their study, which was released on Monday. Even in mild cases, participants in the research showed “a worsening of executive function” responsible for focus and organising, and on an average brain sizes shrank between 0.2% and 2%. The peer-reviewed study, published in the Nature journal, investigated brain changes in 785 participants aged 51–81 whose brains were scanned twice, including 401 people who caught COVID between their two scans. The second scan was done on average 141 days after the first scan. The study was conducted when the Alpha variant was dominant in Britain and is unlikely to include anyone infected with the Delta variant. Studies have found some people who had COVID suffered from “brain fog” or mental cloudiness that included impairment to attention, concentration, speed of information processing and memory. The researchers did not say if vaccination against COVID had any impact on the condition but the UK Health Security Agency said last month that a review of 15 studies found that vaccinated people were about half as likely to develop symptoms of long COVID compared with the unvaccinated. (Reporting by Sayantani Ghosh in Singapore; Editing by Robert Birsel) View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Kristen Stewart’s life is “too good” right now. The 31-year-old actress is currently planning her wedding after getting engaged to Dylan Meyer last year and she’s also been nominated for her first Oscar, as well as a string of other awards, thanks to her work on ‘Spencer’, so she’s feeling very content. She said: “I’m living a simulation, it’s too good. You run through the list, and I go, like, is that possible? Right now, I’m definitely feeling it. “It’s not lost on me any second of any day. I will tell you that.” Kristen played the late Princess Diana in ‘Spencer’ and she reflected on what she’s learned about the royal – who died in a car accident in 1997 – and how she differed from the rest of The Firm since she started work on the movie. She told E! News: “She’s ironically this very un-noble figure in history, but she is the one person in the royal family who ever really reached out and touched anyone. “I think the sad thing is, when you see her, she seems like somebody who wants to just be touched. “So there’s this strange friction and there’s this thing that makes you lean into her, and despite not knowing all of the details of her inner life, you can feel them kind of vibrating through everything she says.” Kristen recently admitted she was “astounded” to have been nominated for Best Actress at the upcoming Academy Awards. She said “I am truly astounded and unbelievably moved and touched and just stunned. I love this movie. “I just saw the director of ‘Spencer’ [Pablo Larraín] for the first time since we found out about the nomination, and just seeing the look on his face, seeing all the work we’ve put into this just evident in his smile, it made me so happy.” View the full article

Published by Reuters By Jonathan Landay and Patricia Zengerle WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Leaders of U.S. spy agencies said on Tuesday that Russian President Vladimir Putin is unlikely to be deterred and may intensify the assault on Ukraine despite military setbacks and economic hardships resulting from international sanctions. “Our analysts assess that Putin is unlikely to be deterred by such setbacks and instead may escalate,” Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines told the annual House of Representatives Intelligence Committee hearing on worldwide threats, where she testified with other intelligence agency leaders. With tensions so high, there is always the potential for “unintended escalation,” Haines said. Haines said intelligence analysts had not observed changes in Russia’s nuclear posture beyond what was detected during previous international crises. “We also have not observed force-wide nuclear posture changes that go beyond what we’ve seen in prior moments of heightened tensions,” Haines said. William Burns, director of the Central Intelligence Agency, echoed Haines’ assessment that Russia is unlikely to back down. “I think Putin is angry and frustrated right now. He’s likely to double down and try to grind down the Ukrainian military with no regard for civilian casualties,” Burns said. The United States has done “intensive intelligence-sharing” with Ukraine, Burns said. Burns said he and CIA analysts do not see how Putin can accomplish his goal of taking Kyiv and replacing President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s government with a pro-Moscow or puppet leadership. “I fail to see how he can produce that kind of an end game and where that leads, I think, is for an ugly next few weeks in which he doubles down … with scant regard for civilian casualties,” Burns told the committee. Lieutenant General Scott Berrier, director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, said his “low confidence” assessment was that 2,000 to 4,000 Russian troops have been killed. (Reporting by Jonathan Landay and Patricia Zengerle; Additional reporting by Doina Cgiacu; Writing by Patricia Zengerle; Editing by Will Dunham) View the full article

Published by Reuters (Reuters) -Attacks on hospitals, ambulances and other health care facilities in Ukraine have increased rapidly in recent days and the country is running short of vital medical supplies, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Tuesday. The U.N. agency confirmed on Monday that at least nine people had died in 16 attacks on health care facilities since the start of a Russian invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24. It did not say who was responsible. The WHO’s senior emergency officer for Europe, Catherine Smallwood, told a news briefing that the tally included incidents where ambulances had been commandeered for purposes other than emergency healthcare. “We will continue to update those numbers. They’ve been increasing quite rapidly over the past few days,” Smallwood said. The agency is working to rapidly provide medical supplies to Ukraine, where oxygen, insulin, personal protective equipment, surgical items and blood products are running low, Europe regional director Hans Kluge told the briefing. The supply of oxygen, children’s vaccines, especially against polio amid an outbreak, and mental health expertise are among the WHO’s top priorities for the region, he said. In a separate statement, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) said countries neighbouring Ukraine which are hosting Ukrainian refugees should include them in their vaccine programmes against a range of diseases, They should prioritise vaccinating against COVID-19 and polio and also against measles, as the current inoculation coverage is insufficient to prevent measles outbreaks, the ECDC said in a statement. “Crowding in bomb shelters and reception centres could facilitate the start of a measles outbreak, particularly as spring coincides with the natural seasonality of the disease,” the agency added. (Reporting by Manas Mishra in BengaluruEditing by Raissa Kasolowsky and Gareth Jones) View the full article

Published by Reuters WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The former chairman of the U.S. right-wing group the Proud Boys, Enrique Tarrio, has been charged with conspiracy for allegedly helping plan the Jan. 6, 2021, assault on the Capitol by Donald Trump supporters, the Washington Post reported on Tuesday citing sources familiar with the matter. Reuters was not able to immediately confirm the report. (Reporting by Aram Rostom and Jan Wolfe, writing by Scott Malone) View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Prince Andrew has paid a financial settlement to his sex case accuser Virginia Giuffre. ‘Stipulation of Dismissal’ court documents were filed on Monday (07.03.22) which called for the civil sexual assault action to be dismissed. The joint order confirmed that each party would pay their own costs and fees. The settlement is thought to include a “substantial donation to Ms Giuffre’s charity in support of victims’ rights”. The Duke of York – who has stepped down from royal duties and public life – has pledged to “demonstrate his regret for his association with (Jeffrey) Epstein” by supporting the “fight against the evils of sex trafficking, and by supporting its victims”. Once Judge Lewis Kaplan signs the order, the long-running case will come to an end. Andrew and Giuffre reached an out-of-court settlement over the claim last month. Giuffre – who was formerly known as Virginia Roberts – had accused convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein – who took his own life in August 2019 – and his one-time girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell of arranging and forcing her into having sex with Andrew, 61, the third child of Queen Elizabeth and her late husband Prince Philip, in 2001. A court document read: “Virginia Giuffre and Prince Andrew have reached an out-of-court settlement. The parties will file a stipulated dismissal upon Ms Giuffre’s receipt of the settlement (the sum of which is not being disclosed). “Prince Andrew intends to make a substantial donation to Ms Giuffre’s charity in support of victims’ rights. Prince Andrew has never intended to malign Ms Giuffre’s character, and he accepts that she has suffered both as an established victim of abuse and as a result of unfair public attacks.” View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Tom Daley is a strict dad. The 27-year-old Olympian admitted three-year-old Robbie has already learned that if the diver says no to him, turning to his other parent, Dustin Lance Black, will mean he eventually gets what he wanted. Tom said: “I’m Pappa and Lance is Daddy and when I say no to Robbie he immediately goes to Lance and says, ‘Daddy, Pappa says no, but can I?’ And Lance says yes.’ Tom admitted he gets “freaked out” witnessing his son’s daredevil behaviour, even though his husband has pointed out it’s something he likely inherited from the sportsman. He told the new issue of Radio Times magazine: “He loves to find things and jump off them and scare the living daylights out of me. But then Lance says, ‘Well, what do you expect? You climb up things and jump off things for a living’…But it freaks me out. I look back and think, ‘How did my parents deal with watching me do what I do every day and not be petrified?’ “ Tom named his son after his beloved father Rob Daley, who died in 2011 aged just 40, and he hopes he’s a “similar” parent to Robbie in the way his dad was for him. He said: “Robbie is named after Dad. And I do feel I’m similar to how my dad was with me. Whether I was doing well or not, my parents were always there for me. It’s just about being there to support Robbie on the good days, the bad days and everything in between.” Meanwhile, Tom – who came out in 2015 – believes there are no openly gay soccer players in the UK because they are worried about the reaction of fans, not their teammates. He said: “It’s a really hard thing and it takes that one brave person to do it first in football. “I think it’s down to the fans. “I don’t think the people in the teams will have any particular reaction to it. “But you’ve seen how the England fans reacted to the Euros with racism and homophobia. “I think it’s about being brave and being able to share your personal story.” View the full article

Published by Reuters By Gabriella Borter (Reuters) – Florida’s Senate on Tuesday is expected to pass a Republican-backed bill that would prohibit classroom discussion of sexual orientation and gender identity for many young students, a measure Democrats denounced as being anti-LGBTQ. The legislation, referred to by its opponents as the “don’t say gay” bill, has stirred national controversy amid an increasingly partisan debate over what schools should teach children about race and gender. Republican politicians in the United States say they want to prevent schools from promoting ideologies they see as inappropriate to young students. Democrats say policies like the one proposed in Florida are discriminatory and hateful against minority groups, including the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer community. The Florida measure bars classroom instruction in public schools on sexual orientation or gender identity for children in kindergarten through third grade, or from about ages 5-9. It also prohibits such teaching “in a manner that is not age appropriate or developmentally appropriate for students,” which opponents said could be interpreted to extend to all grade levels. Parents can sue school districts in violation. Already passed by the state House, the bill would next need Governor Ron DeSantis’ signature before it would become law and take effect in July. DeSantis, a Republican, seemed to signal his support for the bill formally titled “Parental Rights in Education” when questioned by a reporter on Monday. “We’re going to make sure that parents are able to send their kid to kindergarten without having some of this stuff injected into their school curriculum,” he said. High school students across Florida staged walk-outs to protest the education bill last week, video footage posted to Twitter showed, some carrying signs and chanting “We say gay!”. In a tearful address to the Senate on Monday, Democrat Shevrin Jones, the first openly gay Florida state senator, urged his colleagues to narrow the bill’s language to say instruction should not be “intended to change a student’s sexual orientation or gender identity.” “I ask that you open up your hearts just a tad bit,” Jones said, noting the name-calling and shunning he had faced as a gay man. “Please, do no harm.” Jones’ proposed amendment failed. Republican state Senator Kelli Stargel defended the measure during Monday’s legislative session. “This bill is not intended to hurt students. This bill is not intended to out gay children,” Stargel said. “This bill is intended to strengthen the family unit … this bill is saying that we’re making the parents part of that conversation.” (Reporting by Gabriella Borter; Editing by Colleen Jenkins and Karishma Singh) View the full article

Published by Radar Online mega Disney CEO Bob Chapek fired off another staff email this morning as the backlash grows over the company’s support for the “Don’t Say Gay” bill in Florida. Last month, Florida’s House of Representatives passed a bill that would ban any “classroom discussion about sexual orientation or gender identity.” Florida Governor Ron DeSantishas defended the bill saying, “When you actually look at the bill and it says ‘no sexual instruction to kids pre-K through three,’ how many parents want their kids to have transgenderism or something injected into classroom instruction?” “It’s basically saying for our younger students, do you really want them being taught about sex? And this is any sexual stuff. But I think clearly right now, we see a focus on transgenderism, telling kids they may be able to pick genders and all of that.” Many critics of the bill feel otherwise — LGBTQ+ advocates argue prohibiting conversations about being gay in classrooms could potentially lead to a rise in suicides. mega The Florida Senate is expected to vote on the bill later today. According to the Orlando Sentinel, Disney has donated money to the campaigns for every single politician who has sponsored or co-sponsored the bill. This has caused quite a backlash for Disney — not only publicly but internally. Earlier today, Chapek sent off another email about the situation but did not apologize for Disney’s support to the politicians. He said he met with a small group of LGBTQ+ Disney employees on Friday to discuss the controverisal legislation pending in Florida that would “impact their communities.” Chapek thanked them for a “meaningul” and “moving” chat. “One common theme was disappointment that the company has not issued a public statement condemning the legislation. That disappointment was compounded by the fact that, while not perfect, our company has a long history of supporting the LGBTQ+ community-and in fact, has played an important role in the personal journeys of so many of our employees,” he wrote. Chapek said Disney and the entire leadership team stand in support of the LGBTQ+ employees and their families. Chapek claimed he had avoided making a statement sooner because, “corporate statements do very little to change outcomes or minds.” mega He continued, “We all share the same goal of a more tolerant, respectful world. Where we may differ is in the tactics to get there. And because this struggle is much bigger than any one bill in any one state.” “I believe the best way for our company to bring about lasting change is through the inspiring content we produce, the welcoming culture we create, and the diverse community organizations we support.” Chapek went on to list the recent films they produced with characters of color including Encanto, Black Panter, Reservation Dogs, and Modern Family (which had a gay couple). Chapek argued Disney’s content should speak for itself. However, he then went on to say the company did not donate money “to any politician based on [the Don’t Say Gay bill], we have contributed to both Republican and Democrat legislators who have subsequently taken positions on both sides of the legislation. He ended with a promise that Disney “will be reassessing our advocacy strategies around the world.” Sources tell us the email was not well received by many at Disney including the LGBTQ+ staff. We’re told they found it disheartening he touted Disney’s gay pride parades and films with people of color — while refusing to speak out against the Florida bill. Employees are even taking to social media to express their displeasure. Earlier this month, one Disney employee Benjamin Siemon went viral for tweeting, “I don’t want to risk my career or ability to get future work, I love all I do, but I have to say as an LGBT Disney employee I am hurt, saddened, & feel completely unsupported by the company I have truly loved & dreamed of working for since I was a child. Disney should be better. Bob Chapek & Bob IgerMega View the full article

Published by Reuters By Jarrett Renshaw and Timothy Gardner WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Biden administration is willing to move ahead with a ban on Russian oil imports into the United States without the participation of allies in Europe, two people familiar with the matter told Reuters, after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. President Joe Biden is expected to hold a video conference call with the leaders of France, Germany and the United Kingdom on Monday as his administration continues to seek their support for a ban on the imports. The White House is also negotiating with congressional leaders who are working on fast-tracking legislation banning Russian imports, a move that is forcing the administration to work on an expedited timeline, a source told Reuters A senior U.S. official told Reuters that no final decision has been made but “it is likely just the U.S if it happens” Germany, the biggest buyer of Russian crude oil, has rejected plans to ban energy imports. Germany is accelerating its plans to expand its use of alternative energy sources but cannot halt imports of Russian energy overnight, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Monday. Oil prices have soared to their highest levels since 2008 due to delays in the potential return of Iranian crude to global markets and as the United States and European allies consider banning Russian imports. Europe relies on Russia for crude oil and natural gas but has become more open to the idea of banning Russian products. The United States relies far less on Russian crude and products, but a ban would help drive prices up and pinch U.S. consumers already seeing historic prices at the gas pump. U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi said in a Sunday letter that her chamber is “exploring” legislation to ban the import of Russian oil and that Congress intends to enact this week $10 billion in aid for Ukraine in response to Moscow’s military invasion of its neighbor. A bipartisan group of U.S. senators introduced a bill on Thursday to ban U.S. imports of Russian oil. The bill is getting fast-tracked. After Russia invaded Ukraine, the White House slapped sanctions on exports of technologies to Russia’s refineries and the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, which has never launched. So far, it has stopped short of targeting Russia’s oil and gas exports as the Biden administration weighs the impacts on global oil markets and U.S. energy prices. Asked if the United States has ruled out banning Russian oil imports unilaterally, U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken on Sunday said: “I’m not going to rule out taking action one way or another, irrespective of what they do, but everything we’ve done, the approach starts with coordinating with allies and partners,” Blinken said. At the same time, the White House did not deny that Biden might make a trip to Saudi Arabia as the United States seeks to get Riyadh to increase energy production. Axios reported that such a trip was a possibility. “This is premature speculation and no trip is planned,” a White House official said. A year ago Biden shifted U.S. policy away from a focus on Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who is considered by many to be the de facto leader of Saudi Arabia and next in line to the throne held by the 85-year-old King Salman. (Reporting By Jarrett Renshaw and Timothy Gardner; additional reporting by Steve Holland and Andrea Shalal; Editing by Mark Porter) View the full article

Published by Reuters By Sheila Dang and Elizabeth Culliford (Reuters) – When Russia invaded Ukraine last week, some of social media’s youngest users experienced the conflict from the front lines on TikTok. Videos of people huddling and crying in windowless bomb shelters, explosions blasting through urban settings and missiles streaking across Ukrainian cities took over the app from its usual offerings of fashion, fitness and dance videos. Ukrainian social media influencers uploaded bleak scenes of themselves wrapped in blankets in underground bunkers and army tanks rolling down residential streets, juxtaposed against photos of blooming flowers and laughing friends at restaurants that honored more peaceful memories of their hometowns. They urged their followers to pray for Ukraine, donate to support the Ukrainian military and demanded Russian users in particular to join anti-war efforts. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which it has called a “special operation,” is the latest example of the central role TikTok has played in bringing news and current events to the app’s large Gen Z audience. Its famed algorithm is known for serving trending content even if users do not follow certain people, allowing topics to quickly go viral among its 1 billion monthly users. The app has become so influential in this conflict that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy appealed to “TikTokers” as a group that could help end the war, in a speech directed at Russian citizens. Some TikTokers picked up where the politician left off. A Ukrainian travel blogger named Alina Volik, who has over 36,000 followers on TikTok, took a break from posting highlights of her trips to Egypt, Spain and Turkey, to upload videos of life in the invasion, of emergency backpacks filled with first aid supplies and of sealed windows to protect against glass shards in a blast. In TikTok videos posted on Monday, Volik also urged her international followers to watch her Instagram Stories to “see the truth” about Ukraine. In an email to Reuters, Volik said she wanted to combat misinformation in the Russian news that the country’s actions were a “military operation” rather than a war that is hurting Ukrainians. Montages of residential buildings destroyed by missiles, empty grocery store shelves and long lines of cars piled up outside gas stations could be seen on the TikTok pages of top Ukrainian influencers. “@zaluznik” who has 2 million followers, posted one such montage on Sunday with the caption “Russians open your eyes!” Russian influencers have also taken to the app to share their reaction. Niki Proshin, who has over 763,000 TikTok followers, said in a video on Thursday that “normal people” in Russia do not support the war. “None of my friends and none of the people I personally talk to supported today’s events,” he said, referring to the invasion of Ukraine. On Monday, Russia’s communications regulator Roskomnadzor demanded the app stop including military-related content in recommended posts to minors, saying much of the content was anti-Russian in character. TikTok did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Online misinformation researchers warned that false information about the conflict were now mixed in with authentic ones and has spread widely on TikTok and other tech platforms including Meta Platforms’s Facebook, Twitter and Alphabet Inc’s YouTube. Footage of military simulator video game Arma 3, images of explosions from the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in the Gaza Strip, old footage of heavy firing and animations of flying aircraft have been shared on social media sites as if they depict the Russian invasion of Ukraine last week. “We continue to closely monitor the situation, with increased resources to respond to emerging trends and remove violative content, including harmful misinformation and promotion of violence,” a TikTok spokesperson said, adding that it works with fact checking organizations. Some Ukrainian TikTok users have made it a mission to share information and spread awareness with Western audiences. “I want people to understand this is not a joke, this is a serious situation that Ukrainians face,” Marta Vasyuta, 20, said in an interview on Monday. One of Vasyuta’s TikTok videos showed what appeared to be a missile in the sky with the caption “Kyiv 4:23 am.” It had over 131,000 comments by Monday as users flooded the video to offer their prayers and express disbelief. “Never thought I would get WAR updates on TIKTOK,” commented one user. (Reporting by Sheila Dang in Dallas and Elizabeth Culliford in New York; editing by Kenneth Li & Shri Navaratnam) View the full article

Published by DPA The arsenal of drugs doctors can use to save the lives of people critically ill with Covid-19 is growing, and experts are hopeful that one rheumatoid arthritis drug could be a major addition. Boris Roessler/dpa An anti-inflammatory drug normally used for rheumatoid arthritis could turn out to be a lifesaver for people hospitalized with Covid-19, a large clinical trial indicates. UK researchers announced in March that the immune suppressant baricitinib reduced the risk of dying among hospitalized Covid-19 patients by 13%. The remedy seemed especially effective when combined with other drugs, such as the readily available steroid dexamethasone, that also act on the immune system and have proven helpful in the fight against the novel coronavirus, researchers said. “Adding baricitinib on top of whatever else the doctors are currently prescribing … is beneficial,” University of Oxford clinical scientist Martin Landray, one of the lead researchers, told Science. If the results are borne out, baricitinib could be added to an arsenal of treatments that already include immune-tamping anti-inflammatory drugs, antivirals that inhibit coronavirus’s replication in the body, and antibody therapies, as BBC News noted. The study was published in a pre-print at the University of Oxford’s website and is not yet peer-reviewed. It is part of an ongoing initiative led by the university called the Recovery Trial, which has been testing treatments since March 2020. The research team studied outcomes for 4,008 patients who had been hospitalized with Covid-19 between February and December 2021 and treated with the best remedies at the time. Researchers compared those results to 4,148 patients who received baricitinib on top of the usual care for up to 10 days. Of the first group, 546 patients, or 14%, died within 28 days, compared to 513, or 12%, of the group being treated with baricitinib. Given before intubation, baricitinib seemed to reduce the chance of needing a ventilator at all, the researchers said. The anti-inflammatory appears to reduce the overactive immune response that helps Covid-19 destroy the lungs, researchers said. “Today’s results not only show that treatment with baricitinib improves the chances of survival for patients with severe Covid-19 but that this benefit is additional to that from other treatments that dampen down the overactive immune response, such as dexamethasone and tocilizumab,” Landray said in a statement. “This opens up the possibility of using combinations of anti-inflammatory drugs to further drive down the risk of death for some of the sickest patients.” As Covid-19 continues its rampage, health care providers welcomed the new possibilities. “The pandemic is far from over, and we will likely have to contend with additional case surges in the future,” Emory University virologist Boghuma Titanji told Science. “It is heartening to have more mortality-reducing therapeutic options.” View the full article