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This is the kind of crap that would get snuck into Panjab's fields if it hasn't already:

 

Gene-edited crop production in Britain will be sped up to tackle Ukraine food crisis brought on by Russian invasion

  • George Eustice said food law changes should pass through Parliament in months
  • He insisted gene-edited food would benefit both consumers and producers 
  • It comes amid warnings from scientists about the unknown health effects 

Gene-edited crop production is to be sped up in the UK to help tackle the global food crisis brought on by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the minister in charge revealed today.

Russian blockades are preventing the export of key goods such as oils, wheat and corn from the ‘breadbasket of Europe’, leading to rising food prices and shortages globally including a major threat of famine in Africa.

The Government will this week introduce a Bill which will allow farms to grow more crops by planting variants that have been edited to be more resistant to disease or need less water or fertiliser.

‘Precision technologies allow us to speed up the breeding of crops that have a natural resistance to diseases and climate change, better use of soil nutrients so we can have higher yields with fewer pesticides and fertilisers,’ George Eustice, the Environment Secretary, told The Telegraph.

He added: ‘Water scarcity is a coming challenge with climate change, and this technology could therefore be imperative to global food security.’

Gene-editing aims to produce crops which are more disease-resistant, or to boost the resilience and yields of livestock. 

It differs from genetically modified (GM) produce – dubbed Frankenfood – in that it alters the existing DNA of a plant or animal, rather than adding DNA from different species.

It comes amid concern over the UK’s food self-sufficiency and the plans will aim to help guarantee British food supplies. And last week the Bank of England’s governor warned households yesterday they face an ‘apocalyptic’ food price rises – but admitted he feels ‘helpless’ over soaring inflation.

WHAT ARE GENE-EDITED CROPS AND HOW ARE THEY DIFFERENT TO GM PLANTS?

Gene editing promises to produce 'super-crops' by altering or cutting out genes that naturally occur in plants.

Unlike genetically modified (GM) plants, gene-edited (GE) crops contain no 'foreign' DNA from other species. 

GE crops are produced using CRISPR, a new tool for making precise edits in DNA.

Scientists use a specialised protein to make tiny changes to the plant's DNA that could occur naturally or through selective breeding.

GM crops have had foreign genes added to their DNA - a process that often cannot happen naturally. 

The US, Brazil, Canada and Argentina have indicated they will exempt GE crops that do not contain foreign DNA from GM regulations.

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Andrew Bailey urged Boris Johnson to do all he can to help Ukraine get as much of its wheat out of the country as possible.

And Mr Bailey, who earns £575,000 a year, said workers, particularly high earners, should ‘think and reflect’ before asking for wage increases in order to avoid fuelling wider inflation further.

Food security is expected to be a key feature of the national food strategy White Paper to be published next month.

The plans were due to be unveiled earlier this year but were delayed by the invasion and the paper will now place increased emphasis on food security.

Ministers are also understood to be considering introducing targets for the domestic production of food.

Food produced by controversial gene-editing techniques could be in supermarkets as early as next year, the Environment Secretary said last week.

George Eustice said changes to the law outlined in the recent Queen’s Speech should pass through Parliament in the next few months.

And he insisted gene-edited food would benefit both consumers and producers – amid warnings from scientists about the unknown health and environmental effects of the technology.

Mr Eustice said he expected the Genetic Technology (Precision Breeding) Bill to get Royal Assent this year. He added: ‘We will then have a regime that enables us to issue a marketing authorisation for any gene-edited seeds.

‘There’ll probably be some of these crops that are already available and bred in other parts of the world. So it’s possible that we could have some of these crops... ready to be deployed during the course of next year.’

Soybeans producing longer-lasting oil and tomatoes with higher levels of blood pressure-lowering compounds are examples of what could become available.

Mr Eustice told the i newspaper it would be three to five years before ‘significant numbers’ of crops developed in the UK appeared on our shelves. He said gene editing would be introduced in crops before a decision is made on livestock.

Opponents say more research and checks are needed. Liz O’Neill of GM Freeze said: ‘Gene editing is GM with better PR – there is much that can go wrong.’

 

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10844279/Gene-edited-crop-production-Britain-sped-tackle-Ukraine-food-crisis.html

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Black and Asian women are suffering 'systemic racism' in maternity care across the UK, report warns

  • Birthrights charity said women of colour ignored, disbelieved and dehumanised
  • White women were also often granted privileges, including visitors out of hours
  • The report will be sent to MPs and demands staff receive training in diversity 

 

A year-long investigation into UK maternity care has found that 'systemic racism' is experienced by black, Asian and mixed ethnicity women.

Charity Birthrights said the findings included evidence of a lack of physical and psychological safety, experiences of being ignored and disbelieved, dehumanisation, coercion and a lack of choice and consent.

Healthcare workers reported colleagues saying black women and babies have 'thick, tough skin' and that a ward 'smells of curry' when South Asian families were being treated, while Chinese people were branded 'dirty'. 

Meanwhile, white women were often granted privileges that women of colour were not, such as receiving visitors out of hours, receiving more responsive care and being given more time by staff to ask questions.  

Inquiry chair Shaheen Rahman QC said the investigation was spurred on by the knowledge that black women in the UK are four times more likely to die in pregnancy and childbirth and Asian and mixed race women twice as likely.

'There is nothing 'wrong' with Black or Brown bodies that can explain away the disparities in maternal mortality rates, outcomes and experiences,' she said.

 

'What is required now is a determined focus on individualised, rights-respecting care.'

The inquiry panel heard evidence from over 300 people with lived and professional experience of racial injustice in maternity care.

The panel heard from one woman who said jaundice was not recognised in her black baby and her concerns were dismissed.

'At the hospital the doctor admitted the reading was very high but insisted from the look of him there is nothing to suggest he was severely jaundiced, just a 'slight' yellowing of his eyes,' the woman said

'They did another reading and sent his bloods off, it was even higher than the last. My baby was immediately hospitalised for several weeks.

'The white staff did not recognise jaundice in a black baby.'

Other interviewees told the panel stories of having sepsis dismissed during birth and a life-threatening blood clot overlooked postnatally.

The Department of Health and Social Care established a taskforce to address racial inequalities in maternity care in February.

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson told the BBC the Maternity Disparities Taskforce would 'level up maternity care for all women'.

'It will address factors linked to unacceptable disparities in quality of care, experiences and outcomes,' it said. 

One written testimony in the Birthrights report described a 'horrible' birth experience where the midwife repeatedly minimised the mother's concerns and did not recognise the symptoms of sepsis, which in her case was paleness and loss of colour in the skin, due to her being a black woman. 

The woman recalled in her statement: 'I shivered so badly for quite a while that I thought I would die. 

'When my husband asked for blankets, the nurse said it was a natural reaction and it would die down, eventually my husband searched all the room and found some blankets then covered me up.' 

Despite repeatedly complaining of severe pain, even after an epidural, it was only when a South Asian doctor doing her rounds for the night finally noticed her skin was pale that swift action was taken.

The mother added: 'She took one look at me and asked if I felt well. I answered 'not really, I feel like I have the flu' then she asked the nurse if she was checking my temperature which she replied 'yes'. 

A year-long investigation into UK maternity care has found that `systemic racism´ is experienced by Black, Asian and mixed ethnicity women
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A year-long investigation into UK maternity care has found that `systemic racism´ is experienced by Black, Asian and mixed ethnicity women 

'The doctor was still concerned, she said the patient looks pale (I think she noticed this because she was South Asian) and asked the nurse to check my temperature again, it had soared!' 

After being put on antibiotics and with an assisted delivery, she gave birth to a baby girl. 

She added: 'I later learnt that I had suspected septicaemia and it was captured just in time with the antibiotics drip. I believe that doctor saved my life and my baby's life. 

'I think if I were a white woman, my constant request to check my pain relief (epidural) would have been validated. I felt like [the nurse] thought I was either strong enough or I was exaggerating.' 

Another black woman said she was repeatedly refused strong painkillers. 

She told the report: 'I kept asking them to give me strong painkillers because my stitches were not dissolvable and they had to remove them after five days and it's the c-section stitches that got really infected and my wound started bleeding. 

'So I was in a lot of pain, but they were completely refusing to give me strong painkillers.' 

Melissa Brown, a midwife and officer for Birthrights, told the BBC that maternity services were facing huge challenges.

'We did hear positive examples of maternity care, but there is racism and racial discrimination at a structural and individual level which is putting black, brown and mixed ethnicity women at harm,' she said. 

'There are many complex reasons for poorer health outcomes for ethnic minorities, and racism and discrimination is definitely playing a role.'

The Birthrights report is being sent to MPs and demands urgent action, including diversity training for health care professionals workers.

 

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10843873/Year-long-inquiry-finds-systemic-racism-UK-maternity-care.html

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Texas school gunman's victims were all in the SAME classroom: Loner killed 19 4th graders and their teachers with guns he was able to buy legally on his 18th birthday despite being known to police for rows with his drug-addict mother

  • Amerie Jo Garza, 10, among 19 child victims killed in the latest US mass shooting at Robb Elementary in Texas  
  • She was shot trying to call 911 along with best friend who ended up 'covered in her blood', grandmother said 
  • Killer Salvador Ramos, 18, told fourth-grade class 'you're going to die' before opening fire, grandma added 
  • Massacre began when Ramos shot his grandmother during an argument at her house before driving a short distance to the school where he crashed his car, went inside, and opened fire on students
  • Friends said he was a quiet kid who was bullied and had become increasingly unstable and violent as he got older, purchasing two rifles for his 18th birthday earlier this month - one of which was found in the school 
  • Biden condemned the violence and called for stricter gun laws, saying it is time to translate 'pain into action' 

 

Amerie Jo Garza, 10 (right), was among 19 children shot dead at a Texas elementary school on Tuesday. Her grandmother said she was killed as she tried to phone 911 while sitting next to her best friend, who ended up covered in her blood

Amerie Jo Garza, 10 (right), was among 19 children shot dead at a Texas elementary school on Tuesday. Her grandmother said she was killed as she tried to phone 911 while sitting next to her best friend, who ended up covered in her blood 

 

The family of Uziyah Garcia, 8, said he was killed in the shooting hours after announcing he was among the missing#Makenna Lee Elrod, 10, was confirmed dead by a family friend late Tuesday night

Xavier Lopez

Eliahana Torres, 10, was also confirmed dead on Facebook

Steven Garcia and Jennifer Lugo confirmed their daughter, Ellie, was killed in Tuesday's massacre after she had been missing for several hours

Nevaeh Bravo

Annabelle Guadalupe Rodriguez

Rogelio Torres is among the dead

Irma Garcia, a fourth grade teacher and 23-year veteran of Robb Elementary, was killed on Tuesday

Eva Mireles, who for five years was the co-teacher with Irma Garcia, was one of two teachers shot and killed at Robb Elementary School on Tuesday

Irma Garcia (left) and Eva Mireles (right), who co-taught fourth grade, were both shot and killed at Robb Elementary School on Tuesday

 

One video at the scene appears to show the suspected gunman, named by Governor Greg Abbott as Salvador Ramos, approach the school while what sounds like gunfire is going off in the background

Salvador Ramos, 18, from Uvalde, has been identified as the shooter. He was described as a bullied loner who slowly dropped out of school due to teasing about his lisp, habit of wearing eyeliner, clothes and his family's poverty

Salvador Ramos, 18, from Uvalde, has been identified as the shooter. He was described as a bullied loner who slowly dropped out of school due to teasing about his lisp, habit of wearing eyeliner, clothes and his family's poverty

 

Salvador Ramos, 18, shot his grandmother before going to Robb Elementary School in Uvalde; engaging border patrol agents nearby in a shootout; and then barricading himself inside the school, killing 19 students and two teachers

 

Salvador Ramos, 18, shot his grandmother before going to Robb Elementary School in Uvalde; engaging border patrol agents nearby in a shootout; and then barricading himself inside the school, killing 19 students and two teachers

 

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10852761/Texas-school-shooting-Hero-girl-shot-dead-tried-call-911.html

 

 

 

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The Video on the tweet is worth watching

https://www.opindia.com/2022/05/rahul-gandhi-cambridge-india-union-states-european-union/

Rahul Gandhi now says India is not a nation like UK, but a political arrangement like European Union

25 May, 2022
 

On May 23 (local time), Congress leader Rahul Gandhi once claimed India is not a nation. Speaking to The Print columnist Shruti Kapila, Gandhi said India’ is more like a union of states likes European Union and not a nation like Britain.

Gandhi claimed India has been described as a union of states in the constitution. He said, “The exact line is ‘India, that is Bharat, is a union of states’. And the implication of that is there is an ongoing negotiation between this union of states. In the Congress party, we see India as a negotiation between its people. The RSS views India as a geographical entity. That’s the big difference.”

 

https://www.opindia.com/2022/05/awkward-silence-of-rahul-gandhi-at-cambridge-interview-uncomfortable-truth-it-tells-us-congress-prince/

The awkward silence of Rahul Gandhi at Cambridge University and the uncomfortable truth it tells us about the Congress Prince

 

Rahul Gandhi was seen as clueless and pushed himself into a corner with a long awkward silence. Rather than asking the interviewer to rephrase the question to be more precise or maybe directly ask what she intended to know, Rahul Gandhi ended up displaying his lack of ability to comprehend complex issues.

 
 
25 May, 2022
Ra Rahul Gandhi in Cambridge University
 

 

 

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https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/61595942.amp

Canada cancel Iran friendly: MPs angered by game because Iran shot down airliner in 2020

26 May 2022
Doneil Henry

IMAGE SOURCE, REUTERS

 
Image caption, 

Doneil Henry helped Canada qualify for their first men's World Cup in 36 years in March

Canada Soccer has cancelled a friendly with Iran in Vancouver on 5 June after criticism by Canadian MPs. 

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, a branch of the Iranian armed forces, shot down Flight PS752 in 2020.

All 176 passengers and crew members were killed, including 85 Canadians and permanent residents, in Tehran.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Tuesday he thought the game was "a bad idea", hinting that the Iranians might not be allowed into the country.

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'This is why we need the 2nd amendment!' West Virginia mystery woman is hailed as a hero for using legally-owned pistol to kill criminal armed with an AR-15-style rifle at a graduation party a day after Uvalde school shooting

  • The unidentified woman shot and killed Dennis Butler on Wednesday in Charleston, West Virginia
  • He showed up to a graduation party at the Vista View Apartment Complex 
  • Butler, a 37-year-old convicted felon, had an 'AR-style assault rifle'
  • It's unclear what his motive was or if he even knew anyone at the event
  • He started shooting then the woman pulled her gun out, according to police 
  • The incident went largely unnoticed in the wave of stories about Uvalde in Texas where a gunman slaughtered 19 kids and two teachers 
  • Now, the issue of gun reform is being ferociously debated politically 
  • Do you know the woman who shot the gunman? Email jen.smith@mailonline.com 

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10865783/West-Virginia-woman-praised-using-pistol-shoot-dead-gunman-AR-15.html

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Blackout fears over Russia standoff: Six million homes 'could face power rationing' under Government's 'reasonable worst case' scenario – as ministers scramble to keep old coal plants open

  • Government 'reasonable worst case' assessment if Russia blocks more supplies
  • Six million homes could face rationing as countries scramble for gas stocks
  • Ministers are asking coal-fired power stations to stay open longer for security

 

Six million homes could face power cuts this winter if the Russia standoff escalates, ministers have been warned.

The grim picture is painted in a 'reasonable worst case scenario' prepared for the government.  

It predicts major gas shortages at the turn of the year if Russia cuts off more supplies to the EU, with plans drawn up to ration electricity if the situation deteriorates.

According to the details seen by The Times, limits could need to be imposed on industrial use of gas, including on gas-fired power stations. 

The threat has prompted Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng to ask Britain's coal-fired power stations to delay their planned closures. 

A Business Department spokesman insisted the UK 'has no issues with either gas or electricity supply, and the Government is fully prepared for any scenario, even those that are extreme and very unlikely to pass'. 

Although the UK uses very little oil or gas from Russia, it would be left scrambling for supplies against other European countries if Vladimir Putin turned off the taps.  

But ministers have apparently been told that six million homes could see their electricity rationed in curbs that may last more than a month.

Contingency measures could mean power being turned off on weekdays between 7am and 10am, and between 4pm and 9pm. Gas supplies to homes would not be hit. 

There is a worst-case scenario in which Russia cuts off all supplies to the EU, which could result in three months of rationing covering weekdays and weekends. 

Putin has been threatening to pull the plug if countries refuse to pay for gas in roubles - although Russia is heavily reliant on income from energy sales. 

A Government spokesman said the request for the power stations in Drax, Ratcliffe and West Burton, which were due to shut in September, to stay open was made 'in light' of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

'It is only right that we explore a wide range of options to further bolster our energy security and domestic supply – bringing down costs in the long-term,' the spokesperson said.

'While there is no shortage of supply, we may need to make our remaining coal-fired power stations available to provide additional back-up electricity this coming winter if needed.

'It remains our firm commitment to end the use of coal power by October 2024.'

In a round of interviews this morning, culture minister Chris Philp insisted the government was taking 'sensible precautionary measures'.

'I think what the Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng did last week was take some sensible precautionary measures to guard against a potential worst case scenario, he asked the three remaining coal fired power station operators to just keep their power stations available beyond the point of which they were due to be switched off,' he told Times Radio. 

'And I think he's considering whether Hinkley B, the large nuclear power station might continue beyond its planned end of life as well. 

'That's a sensible precautionary measure, given that gas supply coming out of Russia, and Ukraine is for obvious reasons, so heavily disrupted and we do, of course, use quite a lot of gas to generate electricity. 

'Only a very small proportion of that, of course, comes from Russia, a lot of ours comes from Norway and in the form of liquefied natural gas. 

'But of course, disruption to the global gas market will have a knock on effect that may affect the gas that we consume domestically in the United Kingdom.'  

The Business Department spokesman said: 'Thanks to a massive £90billion investment in renewable energy in the last decade, we have one of the most reliable and diverse energy systems in the world and unlike Europe, we are not dependent on Russian energy imports.' 

 

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10867237/Six-million-homes-face-power-rationing-Russia-standoff.html

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    • yeh it's true, we shouldn't be lazy and need to learn jhatka shikaar. It doesn't help some of grew up in surrounding areas like Slough and Southall where everyone thought it was super bad for amrit dharis to eat meat, and they were following Sant babas and jathas, and instead the Singhs should have been normalising jhatka just like the recent world war soldiers did. We are trying to rectifiy this and khalsa should learn jhatka.  But I am just writing about bhog for those that are still learning rehit. As I explained, there are all these negative influences in the panth that talk against rehit, but this shouldn't deter us from taking khanda pahul, no matter what level of rehit we are!
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