Tag Archives: ride

BRIDGER – Volunteers with Billings’ non-profit, Montana Veteran’s Meat Locker, toured 106 miles through four Carbon County towns on Saturday, providing free domestic and game meat to veterans and their families.

MTN News spoke with volunteers at their first stop in Bridger at 9:30 am. Jerad Werning, a board member for Montana Veterans Meat Locker, heads the organization’s first non-profit distribution business this year. He grew up in Edgar, just 21 miles north of Bridger.

“I thought this would be a great place. We got a lot of donations from Carbon County in the form of game and beef, so why not give it back to the community? We’re just planning to go round to get to all of Carbon County as much as we can,” said Werning .

A group of volunteers stopped at Bridger, Red Lodge, Joliet, and Rockvale all morning.

Q2 News / Mitch Lagge

Bridger vet cars line up to get a free bag of meat from Montana Veterans Meat Lockers.

“Initially very busy, then slowed down a little. You know, this little community. Hope we have a few more. I’ll bet we already have 20 people so far, “Werning said about in the middle of a Bridger stop.

Werning served in the National Guard for 12 years and was assigned to Iraq from 2004 to 2005. He has been out of the national guard for eight years and has spent the last four years with meat lockers at the veterinarian.

Werning says his service to nonprofits gives him a purpose.

“That’s good. It’s a great way to give back. It helps me mentally. It gives me another purpose to help serve my country and fellow veterans and the community around here,” said Werning.

Werning was even able to do volunteer work with some old friends

“This is a great friendship. Actually, some of the people who help out here, I’ve worked together and I probably haven’t seen each other in 15 years. That’s a pretty good deal, “said Werning.

Montana Veterans Meat Locker has been donating meat to veterans for five years. By then, volunteers had distributed more than 77,000 pounds of meat to some 5,700 veterans.

The non-profit was started by Chris Grudzinski and his wife Kristin, with the two initially storing meat in their garage refrigerator. Now the group has freezer trailers that can reach more veterinarians across the state.

012321 VETS MEAT LOCKER MEAT.jpg — Carrying bags full of meat in Vet’s Meat Locker freezer trailers are ready to be distributed to Carbon County veterans Saturday.

Hunters and ranchers donate their crops and vet meat lockers pay to process and distribute the processed meat free of charge.

“The breeders, the farmers, they were great and all the hunters around here were great. It was Montana giving back to the Montanans,” Werning said.

Montana Veterans Meat Locker is a good example of how the Montana community often helps one another, says Werning.

“A lot of things like this happen in Yellowstone County and Billings, it’s just because that’s where we are, but we’re trying to push it out because you know Montana, we’re all just one big community. I am grateful to be part of such a great organization, “said Werning.

Grudzinski said the nonprofit is setting high goals this year to distribute meat in every city in Montana. With 235 census sites in Montana, freezer trailers are going to cover a great distance this year. Werning said that non-profit organizations are always looking for donations, both in cash and in the form of meat.

If people raise money to process their own meat, they can be entered into regular sweepstakes held by non-profit hosts, said Werning.

“We have farmers who donate beef and bison. The more donations we can get, either monetary or animal, that’s good and we are always looking for available processors. They have been very busy this time of year, especially this year with COVID-19. Trying to find a processor that could help us come in and work with us and help us would be very beneficial, “said Werning.

To learn about the next Montana Veterans Meat distribution event, keep an eye on their Facebook page before clicking here.

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Marshall islands

Covid 19 coronavirus: The government is expanding pre-departure tests for more travelers | Instant News

January 21, 2021 NewsDesk

The government has officially required nearly every traveler to New Zealand to test negative for Covid-19 before boarding a plane.

The new rules will come into effect at 11:59 p.m. on Monday, January 25 – this is in an effort to minimize disruption to passengers leaving soon.

This regulation was signed last week by Covid-19 Minister Chris Hipkins. Previously, only travelers from the UK and US needed to test negative in order to come to New Zealand.

Starting January 25, it has been extended to any incoming tourists, except Australia, Antarctica and most Pacific Island nations.

But not all Pacific Island countries are excluded – Papua New Guinea, which has nearly 1,000 confirmed cases of Covid-19, is not on the list.

Likewise with French Polynesia, where 17,000 cases have been confirmed and 126 people have died from Covid-19.

Hipkins also said that the Government was “exploring several possibilities” whether they could get a small amount of the Covid-19 vaccine to frontline workers earlier than previously hinted at.

“If we can do it, we will be able to do it very quickly – but it all depends on whether the vaccine company will supply it,” he told a news conference this afternoon.

He would not elaborate because it is “quite a sensitive international negotiation”.

Hipkins said the new measures would not stop Covid from entering the country, but the government’s aim was to reduce the number of cases.

He said nearly all travelers had complied with the rules so far, and airlines were “very supportive”.

“New Zealand is not alone here – many countries are now proposing this.”

Hipkins said airlines have been vigilant to ensure travelers have followed the rules before they board their flights to NZ.

Asked about New Zealand’s access to the Covid vaccine, Hipkins said “we are very close to the front of the queue”. The first deliveries will arrive in the first quarter – “that’s the earliest time we can get … that’s the reality of manufacturing”.

Starting February 8, all passengers arriving in New Zealand – except those from exempt countries – without evidence of an approved negative test or medical certificate will be subject to an offense fee or a fine of up to $ 1000.

Hipkins said that so far only one person from the US or UK has not tested negative for Covid-19.

He added that airlines are increasingly refusing to board people who fail to produce negative tests.

But he said the Government could increase the fine if there was a higher level of non-compliance.

In addition to the new pre-departure requirements, the Government has also changed the rules surrounding Covid-19 testing in New Zealand’s managed isolation and quarantine (MIQ) facilities.

From now on, travelers arriving to New Zealand will be required to take the test on arrival – again, except for Australia, Antarctica and most Pacific Island countries.

They still have to undergo quarantine for 14 days, and undergo routine tests on the third and 12th day.

“New Zealand already has some of the strictest border protection measures in the world,” Hipkins said this morning.

“Today’s amendments further strengthen that position in line with the Government’s overall elimination strategy, and more actions can be added as needed.”

Asked about potential contact between people at MIQ facilities, such as in designated smoking areas, Hipkins said the Government has tightened social distancing measures.

Hipkins said the primary obligation was on travelers to comply with regulations – but airlines were also expected to play a role in checking whether passengers had negative test evidence.

Full list of countries and territories not included in the expanded pre-departure requirements:

• Antarctica
• Australia
• Cook Islands
• Federated States of Micronesia
• Fiji
• Kiribati
• Marshall Island
• Nauru
• New Caledonia
• Niue
• Palau
• Samoa
• Solomon Islands
• Tokelau
• Tonga
• Tuvalu
• Vanuatu
• Wallis and Futuna.

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Germany

Germany will force large companies to place women on their executive management boards | Instant News

January 14, 2021 NewsDesk

Berlin – After years of debate, the German cabinet has approved new laws that will force all major public companies in Germany to have at least one woman on their executive boards. If passed by parliament as widely expected, the law would mean that from 2022, any public company with an executive board of at least three members must include a woman on the board.

“Eligible women enrich working life and the economy,” said Federal Family Minister Franziska Giffey when the agreement was announced. Federal Minister of Justice Christine Lambrecht said, “women have a positive charisma, role model and influence on the promotion of young women.” The two ministers have long campaigned for mandatory quotas on company boards.

The closure of the SPD party executive committee — Franziska Giffey (center) German Federal Minister for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth, speaks with Saskia Esken, Federal Chair of the SPD party and Norbert Walter-Borjans of the SPD during an executive committee retreat, on February 9, 2020.

Michael Kappeler / alliance images / Getty

“The time for voluntary action is finally over,” said Deputy Chancellor and Federal Finance Minister Olaf Scholz, marking the end of an era that has left half the population underrepresented in the boardrooms of many of Germany’s major corporations.

There are already requirements, in place since 2015, that the governing boards of Germany’s broader companies consist of about 30% women. The supervisory board includes members appointed by shareholders and employee representatives.

Learning: Women are left behind at work

5:37 am

The new law will ensure that management teams include women’s voices, but it will only apply to about 70 German companies that meet the size criteria and are publicly traded.

Hiltrud Werner is the only woman on Volkswagen’s Management Board, serving as head of integrity and legal affairs. As a public advocate for equal pay and equal opportunities for women, she told CBS News that the pending legislation would be a “good start”.

Hiltrud D. Werner — Member of the Group Management Board at German auto maker Volkswagen, Hiltrud Werner, is responsible for “integrity and legal affairs”.

Volkswagen / Handout

“The fact that the law only affects about 75 companies sounds minimal, but sends a very strong signal,” he said. “What we have to remember is that the new law also includes regulations for the public sector, including universities, hospitals, etc. They must now also think about how to ensure equal opportunities for women as well.”

Nine companies listed on Germany’s blue-chip DAX stock exchange, which include the country’s 30 largest companies, currently have no women on their executive boards, including sports giant Adidas and drugmaker Bayer.

But women are far less represented in many small, but still large, companies traded on other German exchanges. Based on data collected by the FIDAR organization, nearly half of all German companies currently listed do not have female executive boards. Their data shows that 73 companies will have to comply with new quotas from 2022.

VW Werner told CBS News that the company’s selection criteria and application process had to fundamentally change.

“We need a more anonymous recruitment and application process, to start with, to prevent bias. As is so common in other countries, age and photos should not be part of applications,” he said. “Another factor is equal pay. It’s in line with equal opportunities for women.”

According to Swedish-German Allbright FoundationThe proportion of female executives on the boards of directors of companies listed on DAX fell to 12.8% last year – the lowest level since 2017.

In contrast, in the US, the proportion of women on the top floor of the 30 stock market giants rose to 28.6%. In Sweden 24.9%; in the UK women hold 24.5% of management positions and in France 22.2%.

Werner told CBS News that Germany should catch up: “Compared to other European countries, Germany is late with equal opportunity legislation, and lags behind in gender equality for companies.”

But progress will come, even before new laws are passed by the German parliament. Spaniard Belen Garijo will soon head the pharmaceutical and chemical group Merck, becoming the only female CEO of a company listed on DAX.

Janina Kugel about unlocking the power of divers …

4:53

Research has long proven that diversity benefits companies. According to one analysis by McKinsey, firms with high gender diversity are 25% more likely to benefit.

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pakistan

Mafia operating in Karachi with official backing, said the SC | Instant News

December 30, 2020 NewsDesk

KARACHI: The Supreme Court on Tuesday observed that gangs and land-grabbing mafias operating in the city with the support of government officials in addition to illegal permits from the Sindh Building Control Authority for a number of high-rise buildings would then turn the city into a cemetery.

Hearing the petition against illegal encroachment on public parks and amenity fields in Karachi, three SC council members, led by Supreme Court Chief Justice Gulzar Ahmed, directed the chief minister of Sindh to hand over steps being taken to improve the situation in Karachi.

At the start of the trial process, the chief judge asked the additional advocate general about compliance with the SC directive given to CM Sindh to improve Karachi’s situation due to the complete collapse of the civilian bodies in Karachi. Additional advocate general, Sindh, said that the secretaries of the relevant departments had submitted their respective reports. At that time, the court took exception to comments not filed by CM and directed the legal officer to ask CM to appear before the court and explain what action had been taken to comply with the court order. The bench observed that CM was specifically instructed to take appropriate action to improve Karachi after observing that no civilian institution appeared to be working or even interested in working. They observed that the additional advocate general was unable to answer court questions about compliance with the 9 May 2019 order.

Following this, Chief Minister Sindh Syed Murad Ali Shah appeared in the court’s notice and submitted an apology for not complying with the court’s directive and said a number of measures had been taken to comply. The CM told the court he had a meeting with civilian bodies but was unable to submit the requested report. CM seeks two weeks to submit a compliance report.

However, he disagrees with former Karachi Mayor Waseem Akhtar’s statement that the KMC is not given powers under the Regional Government Law. He said the Sindh government was building University Street, Tariq Street and restoring waterways and sewers in addition to starting the Rs.26 billion Malir Toll Road project to deal with traffic jams. The court asked what steps were taken for the poor because there was no proper infrastructure in the city. The court gave CM Sindh one month to file compliance.

The court also requested statements from Local Government Minister Syed Nasir Hussain Shah regarding the approval of multi-storey buildings in residential areas where only land plus 1 or 2 constructions are allowed. The Minister assures the relevant legal courts and court orders will be obeyed.

The court took seriously the steering wheel and affairs of the Sindh Building Control Authority and observed that an unchecked permit for illegal construction in the city would then turn the city into a cemetery. The court observed that illegitimate multi-storey buildings could be seen all over the city as land grabbers and building mafia operate in the city with impunity with the approval of high-ranking SBCA officials, who have fled the country after making money. The court questioned the SBCA’s ability to eliminate illegal construction and observed that unofficial construction was fully supported by corrupt officials. The court expressed serious concern that millions of citizens could lose their lives due to the poorly planned high-rise construction if a high-magnitude earthquake struck the city.

The DG Sindh Building Control Authority said that they were taking action against illegal high buildings and no building would be allowed to violate statutory regulations. He complained that the SBCA faces a shortage of staff to take action against illegal construction. The court requested information from the SBCA Directorate General whether it had permitted the construction of multi-storey buildings in DHA Phase 9 and Kota Bahria. The court observed that the former SBCA official has now settled overseas after making money from illegal construction supported by land mafia and builders.

The court observed that permits for illegal construction were not possible if a government warrant was made in the city. The court observed that all playgrounds and parks had been encroached on and that no space was left for residents and their rights had been compromised.

Justice Gulzar dubbed the SBCA department an ‘exploiter’ and observed that all of the biggest gangs were operating together to build unofficial buildings in Karachi. The court observed that there were several plaintiffs for a plot of land in Karachi who were given fake papers by the department.

Regarding the operation of the Circular Railways, the court ordered the railway secretary to remove all disturbance from the railway grounds and ensure the KCR is operated according to the railroad schedule. The court also asked why encroachment on the railway land from Keamari and Kalapul was not eliminated and the land was reclaimed. The railway proposed by the secretary could not be implemented due to resistance from the encroachers and asking the police and forest guards for help to clear them. He said the Border Works Organization had been awarded a contract for the subway for the Karachi Circular Railway and the FWO was doing the work. He claims that 75% of the work on the KCR has been completed and part of it is remaining, which was completed in coordination with the Sindh government. The Court observed that the operational schedule for the KCR had not yet been fulfilled and directed the railways and the Sindh government to ensure completion of the KCR was according to the schedule given. The court also warned against action against officials for not complying with court orders. While directing the railway secretary and deputy supervisor to ensure the elimination of encroachment from his land, the SC directed the police and Rangers to provide assistance to the railways.

The court also ordered the Karachi commissioner to take ownership of the Tejori Heights high-rise residential and commercial project, allegedly built on the railroad ground in Gulshan-e-Iqbal, and confiscate all construction on the land. The court was told by the railroad advisor that the land belonged to the railway which was illegally given to private persons and that now a multi-storey building project has been started by a private builder Kamran Tessori.

The advisor to the private builder, Raza Rabbani, strongly opposed the plea and said that the land had nothing to do with railroads and was in fact part of government land with survey number 653. The SC bench observed contradictions and serious flaws in the documents that relating to the location of a particular land. The bench observed that the builder’s advisor had admitted that the builder had no land ownership in Survey 190 and took a stand before the court that they had a power of attorney for the plot of land located in Survey number 653, which is an integral part of Survey 188 of the railway landings . The Court observed that there were claims that improvements had been made to the land records but prima facie no interest rights had been made. The court ordered the Karachi commissioner to confiscate all construction on the subject’s property and ordered that no third party interest be created until further orders.

Taking the Hyatt Regency case, the court directed the railway secretary to submit a report on the restoration of the railroad land that was provided to Hyatt Regency in the 80s within one month. The railway secretary informed the court that Hyatt Regency matters had to be filed before a cabinet meeting to return them to the railroad for their own purposes. The court questioned how trillions of rupees worth of railroads could be given to private parties for just Rs. 46 million.

The court also asked the KMC commissioner for information about the elimination of encroachment from public parks and asked whether the 4,050 square meter land had been taken from builders who violated the boundary for a multi-storey building project. The KMC commissioner proposed that the subject plots be consolidated by the city district council at the time. The court observed that the city government previously sold land to private builders but the land still belonged to KMC and directed the KMC commissioner to take the land and submit a compliance report.

Regarding encroachment at Kidney Hill Park, KMC officials filed before the court that 80,000 tillers were planted there and that more would be planted. He proposed that Kidney Hill Park would open to the public in June 2021.

Regarding the implementation of the Green Line Bus Project by the Karachi Infrastructure Development Company (KIDC), the court directed the company to have the bus project operational by June 2021. The court has been informed by the KIDC COO that the buses are expected to arrive in March and the project will operate in June 2021. He said the project was completed without any foreign bank loans. The court observed that the city’s road infrastructure was destroyed by making a green lane project in the middle of the main road. The court observed that each project was launched with offshore loans including the installation of drains and sewers and indicated that billions of rupees were wasted on the Reverse Osmosis water project in the province. The court observed that the bus project was expected to be operational by June 2021 and made clear that no more time would be given to the company.

The court issued a notice to the Sindh government of an application against the ease of use of land to build a KIDC bus station near Numaish (Old Exhibition) and ordered the advocate general of Sindh to send a reply at the next hearing.

Regarding the non-compliance of various court directives by the Karachi commissioner, the judge warned the Karachi commissioner that he could be sent to prison for disobeying court orders. The court observed that the commissioner’s office had done nothing for the residents and even though two years had passed it had not eliminated encroachment from the city. The court will continue its proceedings on Wednesday (today).

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Italy

The first group of Italians who returned from England – England | Instant News

December 24, 2020 NewsDesk

(ANSA) – ROME, 24 DES – The first group of Italian nationals detained in Britain will return to Italy on Thursday.

Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio on Wednesday signed an order to allow thousands of Italians to return home after Health Minister Roberto Speranza suspended flights from Britain over the weekend due to the spread of the new, more contagious COVID-19 virus there.

About 170 people have been booked on the Alitalia flight from London Heathrow to Rome which is scheduled to land at 3:25 pm.

They will have to take a coronavirus test before leaving and have to carry out other tests at Rome’s Fiumicino airport.

Even if the test results are negative, they must remain in quarantine for 14 days.

Italians living in Italy or those who are eager to return to Italy are allowed to return. (ANSA).