A very good evening aspirants, welcome to the Hindu newspaper analysis brought to you by Shankarayesh academy. Today's date is 8th of January 2023, displayed here are the list of news articles that we are going to discuss today. As you can see we have chosen 8 different news articles since it is Sunday. So without much delay let us get into the first news article discussion. Now look at this article from the text and context section. It was actually published on 5th January since I found this article very useful and relevant for the exam preparation. I am going to cover it today. This is actually not an article per se, it is actually a snippet from the page how I talk to the UPSC and how you can do. The book is written by Ms. Garmini Singhla. For people who are not aware Ms. Singhla cleared the 2021 UPSC civil services examination with an all India third rank. In the snippet she discusses about how to make use of newspapers for preliminary examination, main examination and the interview. This is very relevant to your preparation. So as part of this discussion I will explain to you about the various points mentioned here and also how to make use of our daily newspaper analysis for your exam preparation. Since a lot of you people asked in the comment section about how to read newspaper or how to make notes for prelims, mains and for interview I hope this discussion will clear all your doubts. First let us see how to make use of newspaper for preliminary exam preparation. See for prelims you have to focus on various facts, data, new economic terms and the static background behind the current news. First let us take facts. Sometimes UPSC might straight away pick up facts from the newspaper and ask it in your examination. For example look at this newspaper titled what would the proposed large scale cultivation of oil palm mean to India's ecology and economy. It was published in the Hindu newspaper on September 18, 2021. You can see that here right. UPSC picked up straight fact from this newspaper and asked a question about this in the 2021 prelims paper. We know that Southeast Asia is one of the major producers of oil palm right. So we might think that oil palm is native to Southeast Asia but actually oil palm is native to Africa. This fact was mentioned in the news article. Now look at this question. This question can be easily answered if you had gone through the news article. We also have covered various facts about oil palm as part of 19th August 2021 Hindu newspaper analysis. So this is how newspaper help you attend fact based questions in your preliminary examination. Now let us take economy related terms. The word depreciation has been in news since Russia's invasion of Ukraine and associated rise in global oil prices. The inflation has also been in news for the whole of 2022. Also last year the US Federal Bank increased its policy rates which resulted in inverse tax pulling USD from the Indian markets. This was also in the news. Due to this only in 2022 preliminary examination UPSC asked this question. The fact based questions can be easily answered by noting down the facts stated in the newspaper. To answer economy related questions like this you have to do a little bit of research. Now this is where we come in. We actually do all the research work for you and present it to you all the information in a simplified manner. For example take the first statement. It says if inflation is too high RBI is likely to buy government securities. This aspect we discussed in our 3rd January 2023 Hindu newspaper analysis. Here it is clearly mentioned that when there is excess liquidity then the RBI must sell government securities. So from this we can conclude that statement one is wrong. If we know statement one is wrong we say the correct answer is option B213 1D. We have elaborately discussed about statement 2 and 3 as part of our 2nd July 2022 Hindi newspaper analysis. When we discussed a news article titled the free fall of the rupee. So this is how newspaper coupled with our news analysis help you approach economy based questions in preliminary examinations. The last one is static background behind the current news. See every time a piece of news appears you have to brush up the static part related to it. Here also we are there to aid you. This is what we actually do as part of the Hindi newspaper analysis. All you have to do is to take note from our discussion and revise it constantly. Don't believe me take a look at this question from the 2022 preliminary exam. Actually when we covered the news about Ramanuja statue in Hyderabad on 11th February 2022 we covered everything about Ramanuja. Our discussion even had the words salvation through devotion which is the answer for this question. So for the preliminary examination we are doing all the dirty work and giving you all the important informations from the newspaper in a simplified and understandable manner. You only have to be regular take proper notes and do proper revision. This will for sure help you in cracking the examination. Now coming to mains examination see according to Ms. Garmini Singla the focus must be on analyzing a topic from different angles. Here the editorial section of the newspaper plays an important part. She says that before reading the editorial she will find the relevance of the editorial by looking at the syllabus. Then after reading the editorial she would cart down the points mentioned in mains answer format. Main's answer format is nothing but an introduction with some data, the main content with the analysis and finally a balanced conclusion. She says she would also think about the mains question that would suit the editorial. If you pass for a moment and think about it this is what we do as part of Hindi newspaper analysis. For example take our 29th December 2022 Hindi newspaper analysis where we discussed about caste senses. In the discussion first we saw the evolution of caste senses in India then we saw the need for caste senses, the issue with caste senses and finally a balanced conclusion. Actually the 29th December discussion was based on an editorial titled putting off caste senses will only benefit the privileged groups. If you go back and read the article you would notice that we not only discuss the points mentioned in the editorial we also added extra points and carried the discussion in a mains answer format as Ms. Garmini Singla mentioned. So for the mains examination also we are actually giving you and well researched content. All you have to do is make notes and revise constantly. Now coming to the interview preparation here Ms. Garmini Singla says that she follows three newspapers for her interview preparation. She did so to get a diversified opinion. She also mentions that she follows YouTube channels like Sansar TV to understand different opinions. See in the interview more than memorizing facts forming opinions matters. According to Ms. Garmini Singla to form a well thought out opinion listening to experts and reading newspapers is important. See we cannot cover three newspapers due to various constraints but I can assure you that if you follow our news analysis for a long period of time you will develop your own well thought out opinion which will aid in the interview. Okay so now coming to the conclusion so in all the three stages of your preparation the newspaper plays an important role and our program makes the process of reading and taking notes from the newspaper simpler. We are putting our heart and soul into making these videos. We know that we are not getting the views that we deserve. To be frank with you guys the views does affect our morally but you know what keeps us going despite that. It is the positive comment that you guys post. Thank you for supporting us and sorry if I got quite sentimental here. Now coming back although this discussion was not like the usual stuff we discuss but I hope this discussion aided by the insight provided by Ms. Garmini Singla helped you understand how you can use the newspaper and our news analysis to aid you in your preparation. So with this positive note let us take up the next news article discussion for our discussion. Now take a look at this news article. This news article is about the novel method to detect Alzheimer's disease but before seeing the content of this article let us see some points about Alzheimer's disease.  Alzheimer's disease is a progressive form of dementia. Actually Alzheimer's and dementia are not the same thing. Dementia is a broader term for conditions that negatively affect memory thinking and behavior. Alzheimer's disease is a type of dementia only okay both are not same. Note that Alzheimer's is the most common cause of dementia among older adults. So now coming back to the Alzheimer's have you ever wondered what causes Alzheimer's? See Alzheimer's is actually caused by the accumulation of amyloid beta peptides in the brain. Here what is this peptide? It is nothing but a short chain of amino acids. Multiple peptide chains make up proteins.  This accumulation of amyloid beta peptides results in the formation of amyloid plagues. When these plagues appear on our brain's cortex region it demolishes its functioning. Actually our brain's cortex region is related to memory thinking, learning, reasoning, problem solving, emotions, consciousness and functions related to your senses. Since the amyloid plagues affect the cortex all these functions are affected. That by it results in Alzheimer's. Now as we already saw Alzheimer's is a progressive disease which begins with mild memory loss and eventually it leads to loss of the ability to even carry on a simple conversation. So this disease can seriously affect a person's ability to carry out daily activities. So far we saw about the disease. Now we shall see who are most vulnerable to this disease. See anyone can get Alzheimer's disease but certain peoples are at higher risk of getting the disease. This includes people over age 65. Alzheimer's is not a normal part of aging but the risk factor increases with increasing age. Also if Alzheimer's disease affects a person under the age of 65 years then it is considered to be anger onset Alzheimer's. Younger onset can also be referred to as earlier onset Alzheimer's. This type of Alzheimer's disease is very shortly linked to genes. Scientists have identified three genes in which mutations can early onset Alzheimer's disease. If someone inherits one of these mutated genes from either parents he or she is vulnerable to anger early onset Alzheimer's. Now finally talking about the symptoms associated with Alzheimer's. See people with Alzheimer's disease display certain behavior and symptoms that worsen over time. They include memory loss which affects daily activities like trouble keeping appointments, trouble with familiar tasks, difficulties with problem solving, trouble with speaking or writing, likewise many. If you think about it of the nine symptoms displayed here most symptoms are associated with UPSA aspirants. If you pick anyone randomly from Mukherjee Nagar, Karolba or Ananahar he or she would relate to most of the symptoms. So people with Alzheimer's are not so much different from a random UPSA aspirant. This is just my ill attempt at humor no harm no foul right. Now coming back finally let us see the treatment available to Alzheimer's. Actually there is no cure for Alzheimer's but there are some medications and treatments that can slow the progression of the disease. One such medication is aducanum. It is recommended for those with early onset Alzheimer's. This medication is found to reduce the protein plagues that build up in brains cortex region and in turn reducing Alzheimer's related symptoms. Now coming back to the article actually until now Alzheimer's is detected only after the Alzheimer's related symptoms like memory loss appear. There is no method for early detection of the disease but this is said to change thanks to researchers at the University of Washington. In the discussion we saw that Alzheimer's appeared due to the accumulation of beta amyloid peptides right. The researchers at the University of Washington have devised a blood test that can measure levels of beta amyloid peptides. This can help the early detection before the symptoms appear. So this is about the news article given here. Since the Alzheimer's disease appeared in question corner in science page we made an effort to discuss about Alzheimer's disease. So with these learnt points now let us move on to the next news article discussion. Now take a look at this science page article. It talks about a newly discovered material which removes pollutants from water. This material was invented by the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research in short called as IISER Pune. The institute has come up with the new material which shiffully cleans the river water by quickly observing the contaminants present in it. So this is the crux of the news article given here. Through this discussion we will look at this new type of material from Prelim's perspective. Firstly let us see the need for this material. See water contamination is one of the common features of lakes and rivers present in India because of this access to clean water becomes a major concern. To say the truth not only India faces this particular challenge it is more of a global problem now. So to remove both the organic and inorganic contaminants present in the water IISER has prepared this newly engineered material called viologen unit grafted organic framework in short called as IVO-FM. So further in this discussion whenever I say IVO-FM it means this material which is called as viologen unit grafted organic framework. Okay so now let us see how this material works. See the material works based on two principles. The first is based on electrostatic driven ion exchange and the other is by the use of macropores and binding sites for targeting pollutants. Firstly let us see what is meant by electrostatic driven ion exchange. See electrostatics is a branch of physics that studies electric charges at rest. The said material uses electrostatic to drive ion exchange. Here note that ion exchange mechanisms are employed to separate ionic compounds on the basis of differences in net charge. The prerequisite for this mechanism is that the solvent material should carry an opposite charge to that of contaminants. Then only retention will take place. Simply put the material used should have ions with different charge to that of the pollutants. This is all about the principle electrostatics driven ion exchange. The said solvent material has macropores which allows for diffusion of contaminants through it. Here the term solvent refers to a substance which has the property of collecting molecules of another substance by absorption. Absorption here is the process by which a solid holds molecule of a gas or liquid or solute as a thin film. Here the said material is capable of ultrafast removal of sulphur dimed toxin, antibiotic from water almost completely. The said antibiotic is a common pollutant present in water. Here note that this sulphur dimed toxin is an antimicrobial medication used in veterinary medicine. So with this we came to the end of this discussion. Through this discussion we came to know about the newly discovered solvent material called biologin unit grafted organic framework IVOFM. So these learnt points now let us move on to the next news article discussion. Now look at this FAQ page article. As you can see in the title itself this article is about the escalation on the India-China border. Now why is this suddenly news? Recently there was a clash between India and China troops in the Tawang region. That is why the escalation has made news today. Now in this discussion we will learn the points provided in the article. Before that the syllabus relevant to this article is highlighted here for your reference. You can go through it. First of all when and where did the clash happen? See it happened on December 9, 2022 in the Yang State region which is present in the Tawang region along the India-China border. Now if you ask me where this Tawang region located it is located in the state of Arnachal Pradesh. Now the confrontation in Tawang was the most serious skirmish since the Galwan Valley clash in 2020. Skirmish means a short fight between groups of people. The Australian Strategic Policy Institute which is in short called ASPI has found that the clash in Tawang was aided by new road infrastructure which was developed on the Chinese side by China. The road development was a part of rapid infrastructure development along the border in the Tawang region. This provides China with access to key locations on the Yangtze Plateau of Tawang more easily than a year ago. So with the help of satellite imagery ASPI examined the terrain in which the clash took place along the India-China border, ASPI says that 10,000 of Indian and Chinese troops continue to be deployed in the Yangtze Plateau of Tawang. Now here you might have a doubt why is Tawang the area of contention. See Tawang is an Indian territory which is strategically important for India. It is wedged between China and Bhutan. The border of Tawang region with China forms the part of the unsettled India-China border in the line of actual control. China is consistently saying that the Tawang region is an integral part of China. So historically it is the area of contention between India and China. See within Tawang the Yangtze Plateau is important for both the Indian and Chinese militaries because the Yangtze Plateau has a peak at over 5700 meters above mean sea level. So the Yangtze Plateau enables the visibility of much of the Tawang region. Now India is holding the control of the peak. So it prevents Chinese overwatch of Indian roads leading to the Silla Pass. Now that Silla Pass is a critical mountain pass that provides the only access for India to get in and out of the Tawang region. India is also constructing an all weather tunnel through the pass and it is to be completed in 2023. Despite the construction of the tunnel all traffic in and out of the Tawang region along the road will still be visible from the Yangtze Plateau. China is thinking that if it captures the Yangtze Plateau it will have visibility over Indian roads as I already said. So it would be easier for China to track the movement of Indian troops in and out of the Tawang region. So keeping this in mind China has developed road infrastructure near the Yangtze Plateau. This triggered the clash between India and China. So with this basic understanding now we will see what led to the clash on December 9. Now see this image here. This image shows India's outpost in the Yangtze Plateau. India's differences along the Yangtze Plateau consist of a network of six outposts along the LSE. They are supplied by this forward base which is present about 1.5 kilometers from the LSE. In addition to this forward base Indian forces are having more significant bases in valley below the Plateau. Although Indian forces occupy a commanding position along the Yangtze Plateau it is not impenetrable. The access roads to the outpost from the larger Indian bases are extremely steep dirt roads. Satellite imagery shows that these roads are already suffering from or already suffering from erosion and landslides due to their steep grade environmental condition and relatively poor construction. Now see another image here. This image shows China's position in the Plateau. See China's position or lower on the Plateau but it has invested more heavily than the Indian military in building new roads and other infrastructure over the past year. Several key access road have been upgraded. Also a sealed road has been constructed that leads from Tangu new village to the LSE Ridgeline. This enhanced China's ability to send army troops directly to the LSE. There is also a small PLA camp at the end of this road. It was the construction of this new sealed road that created clashes on December 9 because this new road enabled Chinese troops to surge upwards to Indian positions. Now see these two images here. The first image shows the area between Tangu new village to the LSE Ridgeline before construction of the road. The second image shows the newly constructed road which connects Tangu new village to LSE Ridgeline. It was the construction of this road that created a clash between India and China. Now why is there an infrastructure race between China and India? See as we all know the clash took place between Chinese and Indian troops was aided by new infrastructure development of China. This new infrastructure development compensated China from its tactical disadvantage. With the development of new roads China now has the ability to deploy land forces rapidly into the Yongse Plateau. See in small clashes the Chinese army remains at a disadvantage. This is because more Indian troops are situated on the commanding ridge line along the LSE but in a more significant conflict the Chinese army could prove decisive because China has developed a durable transport infrastructure and associated search capability. But what is the case with India? Indian troops are having less reliable access routes. So this may give a big hand to China in case of more significant conflict between China and India in the Yongse Plateau. This is the foremost reason for the infrastructure race. See recent developments around Galwan and Pangongse in Ladakh have shown us some signs that is where there is the political will tends situations along the LSE can be disengaged with the involvement of both India and China. With active discussions in Galwan and Pangongse both sides were successfully redeployed their positions back from the LSE. This has greatly reduced the risk of conflict. But unfortunately the outside is occurring in the Yongse Plateau and the eastern sector of the India-China border. Now see this image here. This image shows the areas of previous and recent clashes between India and China. The Indian government claims that the intrusion and the previous clashes was provoked by the Chinese troops. See China is having a goal that it should have an inalienable access across the India-China border. And this is also a part of China's long-term strategy. As a part of this strategy and Galwan Lee China is continuously constructing roads and villages along the border. And responding to this India is also developing many road infrastructure along the border and these are all the reasons for the infrastructure race between India and China. Now what will be the solution for this escalation? See China's rapid infrastructure development along the border has created an escalation trap for India. Also it is difficult for India to unilaterally de-excalate the situation because it would endanger India's position in the Yongse Plateau. So India has to increase its vigilance and readiness along the border including surveillance. It is also important for India to pursue non-military and multilateral measures in parallel to reduce the risk of accidental escalation. As part of this India should seek and receive support from the international community to call out China's provocative behavior on the border. Okay that's all regarding this news article discussion. I hope we holistically covered what is given in the news article. So these learned points now let us move on to the next news article discussion. Now take a look at this news article. It talks about the advantages associated with floating solar power plant. So in this context we'll see about these power plants in detail from our exam perspective. Okay first we'll start by understanding about the floating solar power plants. See solar plants or solar forms can be either ground mounted or set up on the surface of water bodies. So this is how a floating solar plant will look like. We have recently started to operationalize a floating power plant in Ramagundam, Tirangana. This 100 mehawatt floating solar power project is now fully operational and it is the largest of its kind in India. Okay now I'm telling you this because you should have an idea about this fact from Pranam's perspective. So this basic understanding we shall see the advantages of having these floating power plants. Firstly from environment point of view the most obvious advantage is minimum land requirement. See many ground mounted solar panels result in the loss of valuable land space. However with floating photovoltaics you do not require land space. These installations can happen on unused space on water bodies like wastewater treatment plants, drinking water reservoirs or hydroelectric dam reservoirs. As a result you can make use of land that you would have otherwise used to mount up solar panels. Additionally installing solar panels on water bodies eliminates the need for deforestation. Okay now this is the first advantage. Secondly with the presence of floating solar panels the evaporation rate from water bodies is reduced. This helps in water conservation as well. Approximately 32.5 lakh cubic meters per year water evaporation can be avoided. Thirdly the water body underneath the solar modules helps in maintaining their ambient temperature. So what happens the efficiency and generation is improved because excessive heat may damage certain parts in long run. Now this is also the reason for having cooling system around some equipments. Okay now finally coal consumption of 1,65,000 tons can be avoided per year and because of this zero emission of 2,10,000 tons per year can be avoided. Here the carbon trading is more relevant. The more you cut the carbon the more you will earn. Even the article says that if we cover 10% of the world's hydropower reservoirs with flotovoltaics then it will be equivalent in terms of the power provided by all fossil fuel plants in operation worldwide. So it will reduce our dependence on fossil fuels as well. Apart from this these installations are relatively quick to construct, silent to run and require no land leveling or removal of vegetation. Now all these are fine but unfortunately this is just one side of the story. There are certain disadvantages associated with these power plants. The first disadvantage is it is very expensive to install than traditional solar power plants. See the cost can come down with advancing technology but as of now it needs a lot of expertise and this eventually increases the cost. Also these floating power plants have limited applications. This technology does not just work for anyone. Many floating solar installations are large scale and they provide electricity to large communities companies or utility companies. If you want solar power for your building then choosing roofed of installation or ground mounted solar is more practical. Simply to say this technology does not make sense for house owners at the moment. You need access to a lake or pond which most house owners do not have. The best option is rooftop or ground mounted solar okay. Now thoroughly as a new solar power technology the floating solar has aroused extensive attention and there is a broad expanse of water in India. So building a floating solar power plant is a good choice also okay. So these are all some of the important points that you have to note about floating solar power plant. I hope you can understand both the advantages and disadvantages. So with these learned points now let us move on to the next news article discussion. Now look at this news article it talks about the Assam's Dipoor Beale Wetland. The article says that 30 more water fold species than the previous survey has been recorded now. So this is a positive sign because this beale has long been troubled by development projects and urban waste. Beale in Assamese mean a lake like wetland. In this context let us learn about this particular wetland. See the poor beale is a Ramsa site near Gohathi in Assam. Note its location in the map here. It is known for its fish and bird diversity and rich aquatic vegetation that attracts wild elephants. Know that it is a perennial freshwater lake in the former channel of Brahmavutra and it is the only wetland in Assam designated as a site of importance for conservation and suitable use under the Ramsa Convention on Wetlands. It is of great biological importance and it is the only major storm water storage basin for Gohathi. See in this beale we can see some of the largest concentrations of aquatic birds in Assam. Also the fish species, medicinal plants and orchards provide livelihood for a number of surrounding villages. It has been facing conservation threats, garbage dumping, quarrying and the construction of a railway line besides smart city project. The threats have only increased in the past decade. There has been large-scale encroachment as well. Then there is heavy sanitation from the denuded hills surrounding the beale and there is also accumulation of all sorts of filth and waste from the Baralu and Bahini rivers. There is a practice of unregulated fishing which depletes the lake of its important resource that attracts the birds and in past few years we also witnessed invasion of aquatic weeds in the lake. There are also other factors like industry development, construction of railway line along the southern boundary etc. All these has pushed this once pristine ecosystem to the brink of disappearance. Since Deepur Beale is a Ramsa site, now let us see a little about Ramsa sites. We know that the Ramsar Convention or the Convention on Wetlands is an inter-governmental treaty right? It provides the framework for the conservation and wise use of wetlands and their resources. So this international agreement promotes the conservation and wise use of wetlands. Note that it is the only global treaty to focus on a single ecosystem. It was established in 1971 by UNESCO and came into force in 1975. India signed under it on 1st February 1982. So these are all some of the important points that you have to make note of and recall with respect to Deepur Beale. So with these learned points, now let us move on to the next news article discussion. See this article here. This article speaks about living root bridges. Then uses that a farmer named Halliwar has grown living root bridges. It is situated in a village near Chirapunji in the east Kasi hills of Mahalaya. See an idea to grow root bridges took root in Halli's mind when he was just 10 years old. At that time, his parents struggled daily to cross a river to reach their farm. By seeing this, little Halli decided to build a root bridge. And after 60 years, now Halli achieved his dream. So this is the news given here. Now in this context, let us understand about living root bridges. First of all, what is this living root bridge? See it is a type of simple suspension bridge. It is formed using living plant roots by the method of tree shaping. Firstly, the roots are shaped and tied with one another as per the shape needed. Then the roots are allowed to grow and strengthen over time. Once mature, the roots get tied to one another strongly. Then it forms as a living root bridge. So this is about the living root bridge. Now if you are asking me where these bridges seen, see in India living root bridges are a prime attraction of the northeast. They are found in West Jainthia Hills, East Kasi Hills and a few other areas of Mehalaya. The living root bridges are locally known as the name Zinkyank Jiri. Note that they are built by the local Jainthia and Kasi people. They have been doing this for generations in the Indian state of Mehalaya. These bridges can also be found in the state of Naha land. The exact beginning of the tradition of creating living root bridges is not known. But the earliest written record of the living root bridge in the Sirapunji can be found in the 1844 journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal. In Mehalaya, the living root bridge are commonly made from the rubber tree species which is called as Ficus elastica. The root bridges are about 100 feet long and the perfect shape of the bridge is obtained after almost 10 to 15 years. Once they are fully grown, these roots last for about 500 years or even more. Note that some bridges can even have the capacity to carry as many as 50 people crossing them. They serve us connectors to cross streams and rivers. They are world famous tourist attractions as well. Note that the two most popular living root bridges and also the famous tourist spots are Ravai root bridge in Shillong and Umshihang double-decker bridge in Sirapunji. So these are also some of the important points that you have to note from this news article discussion. I hope this news article discussion helped you to understand something new. So these learnt points now let us move on to the next news article discussion. Now look at this news article. It says that there is a real need to conduct studies and monitor the Kuttanad area in Kerala where the threat of bird flu is high. See, duck farming is an important livelihood activity here. So frequent outbreaks of avian flu are critically hitting the poultry industry and the livelihood of hundreds of farmers. Contact with the migratory birds which comes to the wetlands is the likely trigger for the current outbreak. So we need proper investigation and studies to control the spread. In this context let us understand few facts about this particular infection. See avian influenza which is in short called as AI is a highly contagious viral disease. It affects a variety of birds including birds that we consume like chickens, ducks, turkeys, quills and pet birds. Even wild birds or not exceptions they too get affected. Here note that the virus strains like HYN1 and H7N9 poses a threat to human health as well. But generally most avian influenza viruses do not infect humans. Now let us see how it gets transmitted. See there should be a direct contact between infected and healthy birds. It is spread through secretions from nostrils, mouth, eyes etc. Therefore it is not air borne. It can also spread through contaminated water and feed. Here note that there is no effective vaccine against bird flu. Then it is possible for humans to contract the avian influenza virus from birds but human to human contact is much more difficult without prolonged contact. So how do we know if the bird is infected or not through symptoms right? Swelling in the comb and wettels, purple discoloration of the wettels, combs and legs, diarrhea, nasal discharge or some of the symptoms of this infection. Even though the symptoms are not very important just have an idea about them. Now in India the central government requires veterinary staff to conduct inspections periodically under the prevention and control of infectious and contagious disease in animals act 2009. The staffs look for any signs of disease among birds and other animals but aquatic wild birds are often found in close proximity to domestic birds near lakes, dams and reservoirs. This make it difficult to achieve segregation of birds. The waterways of Kerala are a good example of this phenomenon as mentioned in this article. So in this news article discussion we saw in brief about avian influenza infection. So these learned points now let us move on to the next part of the news article discussion which is the preliminary practice question discussion. Now look at this first question it is a two statement question let me read out the question for you. Statement one India ranks third in Asia and fourth in the world in terms of solar power production. Statement two all solar powers in India till date has been funded from the clean technology fund. So you have to choose the correct option given here option a one only option b two only option three both one and two and option d neither one nor two. See the correct answer for this question is option a one only first statement is actually correct India ranks third in Asia and fourth in world in terms of solar power production. Now statement two is incorrect because reva ultra meha solar plant in madhya pradesh is India's first and only solar project till date that has been funded from the clean technology fund ctf okay. So the correct answer for the question is option a one only because the first statement is alone correct here. Now look at the second question which of the following can be found as pollutants in drinking water in some parts of India. First is arsenic then sorbitol then fluoride then formaldehyde and uranium. So you have to choose the correct answer here option a one and three only option b two four and five only option c one three and five only and option d one two three four and five. See the correct answer for this question is option c that is one three and five only is correct. Here arsenic is a highly toxic substance contaminated water used for drinking food preparation and irrigation of food crops poses the greatest threat to human health from arsenic long-term exposure to arsenic from drinking water and food can cause cancer and skin lessons. So one should be in the option we can eliminate option b because this option does not contain one then the sorbitol it is sugar alcohol with a sweet taste which the human body metabolizes slowly it is usually obtained by reduction of glucose in the stomach so from this we can say that sorbitol is a chemical which the human body produces. So there is no chance it can be found in drinking water so two cannot be in answer. Now narrowing down to options in the question since one should be in the answer and two should not be in the answer we can narrow down option a and d to come to the answer we should know whether uranium is found in drinking water in India. See uranium is found in drinking water in India near the places where uranium is mined so the correct answer for this question is option c one three and five only. Now look at this third question three pairs are given on the left side the wetlands are given and on the right side the states are given so you have to choose which wetlands have been correctly matched with the concerned state. Here first is Deepur Beel Assam second is Sur Sarovar Uttarkhand third one is Pong Dam lake Himachal Pradesh so you have to choose how many pairs are correctly matched here option a only one pair option b only two pair option c all three pairs and option d none are correctly matched see the correct answer for this question is option b only two pairs are correctly matched Sur Sarovar is a Ramsar site in Uttar Pradesh and not Uttarkhand okay so the correct answer for this question is option b only two pairs. Now look at this question about bird flu h1 n1 is sometimes seen in the news with reference to which one of the following disease option a aids option b bird flu option c dengu and option d swine flu see the correct answer for the question is option d swine flu okay now the question displayed here is the quiz question for you today you can go through the question i hope you can easily answer this question just mention the correct answer in the comment section. Now the question displayed here is the main practice question for you today you can just go through the question write an answer and post it in the comment section with this we came to the end of the news article discussion if you like the video hit like do comment and don't forget to subscribe a lot of people are watching our video without subscribing just subscribe our video and show your support now thank you for listening


And now we move on to our saddening story, Sylvester Oremon in junior, our 12-year-old student at Darwin College in Lagos, also led the bullied and attacked Ford Fusen to join a cult. Now the Lagos State government shot down the school for a coroner's inquest and the later Oremon family sought to address and a coalition of group L, our procession rally in Lagos, the money justice for the deceased. What I think this Oremon case we bring to light is to stop wash off almost bullying in schools. Most school authorities don't know, some of them know that there is bullying in school, they turn the left high to it. There are children that have been bullied and they've been beaten and the aftermath of that beating cost them on time to death. This Oremon general case is to be the first and the last that will happen that a child, a parent sent a child to school to say he's in a burden and the school will just relax and say it doesn't concern them because this person they are untouchable. Every child should be respected no matter ease or economic status. We would have all gone to worry for the burial of our son today but we all know that there is insecurity, we don't need to hide, run away from that, but due to insecurity we decided to hold something similar. So as the press conference and the burial goes on in worry, simultaneously we in Lagos, we the brothers, the brethren of Sylvester Oremon family decided felt it necessary to also instead of going taking everybody on the road to worry we say we can do our own thing simultaneously. The city, the local government headquarters of where they are burying him is worried but the village won't disclose. Now the group determined to school justice for the boy's death from November 30th 2021 onto this burial has been actively sickened speedy resolution. And we believe that with the courts running to the court is the best place and that this country I believe should have respect for the sanctity and dignity of human life. That is why they must not trivialize this issue, this case. Justice delayed is justice denied. We waited for over two years and the spirit of the boy was going around some of us we seen him in our dreams and we prevailed on the father to let this boy rest in peace otherwise we going around traditionally. Yes if it's not late to rest the spirit will be wandering going around and it's not good for tradition. Anybody can fall victim if he thinks if he thinks the parents didn't protect him when he was alive then they'll be having nightmares if he thinks the brothers and sisters abandoned him under the circumstance that his life was caught short they'll be seeing him in their dreams some of them appear in the daytime so the best way to let this matter rest at this particular point is to bury him so that his soul will rest in peace. Young vibrant intelligent boy that left home so healthy only for the mother to be crying to me please I'm begging give justice to this family please please because every day you see the woman the woman is crying for her son she's crying every day she's crying we are begging the court that please give justice to the Romanese family. You must respect life that was respect must give it to human life that's one of the lessons we are learning from Mr Romanese's case justice is another thing we are seeking for nobody's above the law the law should have its costs whoever is eligible should be we are not detecting who the court the court should do their job we are still saying justice delayed is justice denied. And may his soul rest in the perfect peace. Hello hope you enjoyed the news please do subscribe to our youtube channel and don't forget to hit the notification button so you get notified about fresh news updates


Good evening. Good evening. Good evening. Good to see everyone here tonight. Good evening. Good to see everyone here tonight. I certainly want to welcome everyone to tonight's meeting. Those of you all here with us tonight and those of you all who are watching us at home for this meeting December 2nd 2019. I'm going to call this meeting to order. And first I would like to ask you all to please join me in a moment of silent meditation. Thank you. And now council member Reese would you please lead us in the pledge to flag. Thank you Mr. Mayor. Good evening colleagues members of the public. If it's your practice to do so and if you're able please rise and join us for the Pledge of Allegiance. Allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands for our nation, our God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Thank you very much council member. And now Madam Clerk would you please call the road. Mayor Schuyl here. Mayor Pro Tem Johnson. Here. Councilmember Alston. Here. Councilmember Caballero. Here. Councilmember Freeman. Present. Councilmember Middleton. Here. Councilmember Reese. Here. Thank you very much. We're now going to move to a special moment that we have every two years in the life of the Durham City Council which is our organizational meeting. And if you don't have an organizational meeting agenda, they're at the door for you if you would like to have one. I'm first going to recognize Durham County Board of Elections director Derek Bowens and Phil layman the chair of the Durham County Board of Elections for the certification of the November 5th 2019 municipal election. So if you gentlemen would like to come to the podium here that would be great. Thank you Mr. Mayor and members of the council. This is a one of the few fun times we get at the Board of Elections to come and certify an election and honor the successful candidates. Thank you for inviting us and it's a it's a it's a pleasure to be here. The first thing we have to do officially is to present the final certification of the election with all the results broken down by precinct with all with all the totals. This is the official election results signed for by all five members of the Board of Elections. And I'll ask Mr. Bowens to bring it over to the city to the city clerk. Before I present individual candidate certificates I would just like to say briefly that this was a very successful election. Successful for us as well as for those of you who are just elected. Congratulations for that. We had a total of 36,304 citizens voting in the election which represents 18.5% of eligible voters. That is a very good turnout for municipal election. By comparison if we look at the results of the 2015 municipal election which is the last time we had out large candidates elected and a fairly low profile election for mayor the totals were 19,494 votes which represents 10.8% of the electorate. So by comparison you can see that we almost doubled the turnout in 2019 as compared with 2015. So I think we should all feel good about that. We are always trying to get turnout as high as possible but relatively speaking we did pretty well. The election went very smoothly. There were no delays or equipment malfunctions or other significant problems. I'm also very happy to report that we did a hand count of selected precincts as part of the audit process and in all those hand counts the results came out 100% accurate. There was no discrepancies at all. We should get something we feel good about and you should too. And I would like to also recognize and thank the incredible job our precinct voting officials, the incredible job that they do. We had 388 basically volunteer precinct officials to conduct the polls on election day. I call them volunteers. They do get a small amount of compensation but they do it out of civic pride and civic duty and they work from before 6.30 in the morning to after 7.30 in the evening. They're there all day. They don't go anywhere else. And I think that conducting elections which is a very important governmental function but I think this is one of the rare, probably the only one that I could think of where actual regular citizens conduct, you know, take care of the government function. I think that's remarkable. I think they're the unsung heroes of our election process and they deserve our appreciation. I also want to recognize the fact that we now have a very wonderful staff at the board of elections and we have been led by an outstanding director, Mr. Derrick Bowens, who has been with us for about two and a half years and has done an outstanding job as being recognized and rallied around the state for the great job that he's done here. Right now we are looking forward to the 2020 elections and as many of you know today was the first day of candidate filing for the 2020 elections and we expect to approve a or review plans for early voting in about 10 days so we are moving quickly ahead on that. With all that being said I would like to present the certificates for the successful candidates in the 2019 municipal election. I'll have Mr. Bowens, if you don't mind bring them up and present them to the candidates. We'll start with our honorable Mayor Steve Shul. Congratulations Steve. Next our Mayor Pro Tem Gillian Johnson congratulations. And we have council member Charlie Reese. Congratulations. Councilwoman Javier Caballero. Thank you. Thank you very much. Mr. Layman. Thank you very much Mr. Bowens. We appreciate your service. We're glad you're here and if you want to leave early to get home in time for the Duke game you certainly have our permission to do so. But we're very appreciative of your work. Thank you all so much. Really appreciate your being here. And next we're going to have the swearing in and the qualifying of the Mayor by Chief District Court Judge Patricia Evans. And I ask my wife, Layla Rupert, to join me. Mayor, I bring you greetings on behalf of the Durham County District Court where I honor the service of your Chief and all of the great city of Durham, County of Durham's Chief. And now we will raise our hands and repeat after me. And congratulations. Thank you. Well deserved. Thank you. All right. So I, when I say I, you will say your full name. I, Stephen Matthew Shul. Do hear by solemnly swear. That I will support and maintain. The Constitution. The Constitution. And laws of the United States. And the Constitution. And the Constitution. And laws of North Carolina. Not inconsistent. Wherewith. Not inconsistent therewith. And that I will faithfully. And that I will faithfully. And impartially. And that I will faithfully. And impartially. And impartially. Discharge the duties of my office. Discharge the duties of my office. As mayor. As mayor. Of the great city of Durham. Of the great city of Durham. So help me God. So help me God. Thank you. Congratulations. Thank you, Josh. Thank you. Next on our agenda is the swearing in and qualifying of city council members by District Court Judge Shamika Reinhardt. And I'm going to ask first Mayor Pro Tem Gillian Johnson if she would join Judge Reinhardt and her family. So we can make, well first of all congratulations. All right. Well deserved. All right. You will repeat after me. I state your, do hereby soundly affirm that I will support and maintain the Constitution and laws of the United States. And the Constitution and laws of North Carolina. Not inconsistent therewith. And that I will faithfully. And impartially. Discharge the duties of my office. As council member of the city of Durham. All right, Judge, are we ready for the next candidate, next council member? Yes, we are, Mr. Mayor. Thank you. And we will now have the swearing in of council member Charlie Reese, who will also be joined along with Judge Reinhardt by his family. All right. So you might need a little help. Well, congratulations, Charlie Reese. Are you ready? State your full name. Charles Edward Reese. Do hereby soundly swear. Do hereby soundly swear. That I will support and maintain the Constitution and laws of the United States. And the Constitution and laws of North Carolina. Not inconsistent therewith. Not inconsistent therewith. And that I will faithfully. And impartially. Discharge the duties of my office. The duties of my office. As council member of the city of Durham. So help me God. So help me God. Congratulations. Thank you. And now council member Javier Caballero. We'll join Judge Reinhardt and her family is here with her as well. So congratulations. Are you ready? All right. I will raise your right. State your full name. Do hereby soundly swear. Do hereby soundly swear. That I will support and maintain the Constitution and laws of the United States. And the Constitution and laws of North Carolina. Not inconsistent therewith. And that I will faithfully. And impartially. Discharge the duties of my office. As council member of the city of Durham. So help me God. So help me God. Congratulations. Thank you Judge. Always good to have you and Judge Evans here in the council chambers with us. Come anytime you want. We will now have remarks by the reelected and elected council members. And I'm going to start with council member Javier Caballero and congratulate her again on her initial election to be a member of the Durham city council. Thank you mayor. Good evening. Thank you. Thank you to everyone here in attendance and all those watching at home including lots of my family. I especially want to thank my mom. Gracias mamita. Te quiero mucho. It is an honor and privilege to stand before all Durham residents tonight. A few nights after the election I shared the follow. I am humbled by this opportunity and will work hard every day to make progress on the challenges facing our city from community safety to sustainability from housing affordability to inclusive economic development. I look forward to working with everyone to make Durham a city that is truly equitable and truly conclusive. And so I commit myself this evening to accomplishing that vision of a city that is truly inclusive and equitable, a city that is for everyone. How can I actualize this vision? I believe it will take all of us. I think it's possible because I have hope and I believe we can. Yesterday was the first Sunday of Advent for many in our community. I appreciate Advent because for me it is an important time to reflect. In my house we celebrate Advent a little differently because no one in my house would consider themselves a person of faith besides me. We have an Advent wreath and each of our candles still symbolize hope, love, joy, and peace. But our kids find a quote or reading that represents each sentiment but it doesn't have to be religious. And then we share something we're hopeful for the first week continuing the theme. Since yesterday represented hope I have been thinking through what gives me hope. And this city and the residents who called Durham home give me hope. When faith leaders and community members surrounded Samuel Oliver Bruno's car to prevent him getting detained by ICE it gave me hope because so many came to defend one of our most vulnerable residents. When teachers and other public school allies marched on Raleigh in May and then again a few weeks ago in Durham to demand a budget not only for better working conditions for them but for more and better resources for our kids it gave me hope. When the largest affordable housing bond in the history of North Carolina passed with 76% of voter approval meaning so many more of our neighbors will have housing it gave me hope. And so my challenge to each of you and a challenge for me is to continue to be hopeful. We are witnessing very difficult times here in Durham and the U.S. and around the world. There have been protests from Chile to Hong Kong and it is easy to fall into despair. But in Durham I believe we can keep doing the hard work that is necessary for everyone to live a life of dignity. Thank you. And now I'll call on Council Member Charlie Rees. Congratulations on your reelection. Thank you Mr. Mayor. Council colleagues, city staff, honored guests and people of the city of Durham. For the last 1,455 days it's been my privilege to serve as a member of the Durham City Council. Not that I've been counted. I've worked as hard as I can on each of those days to earn the trust and confidence that the people of this city placed in me when they elected me to this office four years ago. And I'm proud of the work we've done together during that time to make Durham a safer, more prosperous and more affordable city for all our residents. I ran for reelection to the Durham City Council this year. Not because I believed we'd solved all of Durham's problems but because we're making real and meaningful progress toward doing so. And because I wanted to continue doing this critical work with amazing colleagues I respect and admire. And because despite the fact that this is the hardest job I've ever had this is also the very best job I've ever had. Now that I've taken the oath of office for a second time I have 1,463 more days to keep working hard on behalf of the people of this city and I couldn't be happier about that. Now it's time for me to thank some folks and I promise it won't take too long. First and foremost, thank you to my family for your love and support. Folks often ask me how my wife Laura puts up with me and this crazy life we lead together. And all I can say is this, she is the best of wives and best of women. And I owe her everything. Thank you, Laura. I love you. I'm sure all of you will be happy to hear that my daughters, Elle and Gwen, have once again agreed to share their daddy with the people of the city of Durham for another four years. Thank you, my darlings. I love you both very much. I also want to say thank you to my parents, Kenny and Mary Reese, who came all the way from South Carolina to be here with us tonight. Thank you very much. And thank you to my hard-working campaign staff who powered me to victory on Election Day, Dolly Reeves, Phil Seib, LeVon Barnes, and the person who put together in Bull City together, Rachelle Sparco. And finally, thank you to the people of the city of Durham. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for again placing your trust and confidence in me. As I have often said, I work for all of the people of Durham, and I work for all of the cities that I've voted for. That's why I try to be present in as many parts of the city as possible, listening to as many voices as possible, with the understanding that in my spare time, I'm also trying to be a husband and a father. And finally, I want to say a very special word to my colleagues here in the Durham City Council. I think all of us know we've had kind of a tough year together this year. We haven't always agreed on every issue that's come before us, and we weren't all on the same page in this year's City Council elections. That's just fine, and maybe that's even healthy. But it would be all too easy to drag those differences and even a few hard feelings into our next year on the Council together. Friends, let's not do that. If we truly want to solve the problems facing our city, we have to be able to face them together as a Council. For my part, I am ready to start a new chapter in our collaboration together for the good of the people of this great city. I hope and pray that each of you will join me in bringing aside our differences and recommitting ourselves to our partnership together here on the Durham City Council. Because as I've heard it said, not too long ago, we're all in this together. In closing, let me just describe how I hope that we can all try to do our jobs over the next 1,463 days. Where our city is working well, let's build on those successes and celebrate what's right about Durham. Where our city is broken, let's fix it using every tool at our disposal to right what's wrong about Durham. And when we discuss issues of public policy in this body, let's always, always keep front and center the concerns and the voices of Durham's working families. So here's to the next 1,463 days. I don't know about y'all, but I'm ready to get to work. Thank you. Thank you, Council Member. And now Mayor Pro Tem Jillian Johnson, congratulations on your reelection. Thank you. And thank you to you all. I'm so excited for this opportunity to continue to serve this community for the next four years. And we'll continue to work hard every day to build a Durham for all to make the city a model for innovative public policy and good governance. I'm going to start with some thank yous first. I want to thank my family, especially my partner, Paul, my kids, Elias and Langston for their support and for tolerating my many evenings away especially on the campaign trail. I want to thank my campaign staff, especially Rochelle Sparko and Marion Johnson, Luke Hurst and LeVon Barnes for all their work to put me back in the seat for another four years. A big thank you to all of the organizations and folks who were involved in the campaign, all the volunteers who did an incredible amount of work to make this happen. And a huge thanks to my council colleagues, Javier and Charlie, who were the only reason that I stayed sane and functional through this long and exhausting campaign. And of course my deepest gratitude for the people of Durham for placing your trust and faith in me to continue to do this work. We have a lot of work to do to make the city the kind of community that we all want and deserve and we know that we have huge challenges facing us and we know what they are. And we've spent a lot of time on the campaign trail talking about our city's challenges. So today I want to focus a little bit on our strengths and the things that I love about this community. Number one, our people love this city. I've seen Durhamites go on full-fledged recruitment missions to get friends from other cities to move here, flying people in, taking them on tours and offering to pay relocation expenses to get people to move to the city. And it's just because they love this community so much and they want everyone else to love it too. People often struggle to tell you why they love Durham because it's not just one thing. The city is a part of us and it's an important piece of who we are. Number two, our robust democracy. Durhamites are not people who sit on the sidelines and wait for things to happen to them. Our communities are engaged. They pay attention. They show up for our neighborhoods. They care about what happens in this city. People join political and neighborhood organizations. They run for office. They get involved in their schools. They organize in their communities. We are a people who are willing to have important conversations and are ready for even more of them. Number three, we truly value inclusion. Durham is a community that welcomes people from all walks of life. We have two refugee resettlement agencies in this community bringing people from around the world to start new lives in Durham. And then we also have people who are descended from the enslaved people at Stagville Plantation whose families have been here for generations. We overwhelmingly reject bigotry and seek to build a community that values all of our residents' life experiences. And finally, we are a city of changemakers. We put our ideas into action in exciting ways. Every month on City Council, we get emails and phone calls from people who live here with new ideas that they want to bring to the City of Durham. Already, our new participatory budgeting program is being used as a model in cities like Atlanta and Richmond. Our program to help residents get driver's licenses restored and old charges expunged is getting national attention at the National League of Cities. And our work across governments to fight back against mass incarceration is being touted as part of a national movement to build safer communities. We have a lot of challenges, but we also have a community of people who are ready to meet them to get real results and to make real change for the people of our city. Some of the changes I'll be working hard on for the next four years are, of course, to provide more affordable housing for low-income folks in our community, to create robust violence prevention and intervention services, to provide more opportunities for authentic relationship with city government through equitable engagement, community conversations, and participatory budgeting, to provide more inclusive economic opportunity and, of course, to move towards a more sustainable community. And I'm looking forward to working with residents and organizations to meet these goals and invite everyone in Durham who wants to get involved to join us. Thank you again, and let's all work together to make Durham a city where all of our residents can thrive. We're all in this together. Thank you. Thank you very much. And now I believe it's my turn. Yes, it is. I'd like to, again, thank Judge Evans and Judge Reinhardt for being with us here tonight, as well as our Elections Board Chair and Director. Thank you all so much for being with us. I also want to say it's our custom to recognize other elected officials who are here with us. I see Senator Mike Woodard. We're glad to have you back in the Chamber's mic. I see Damon Siles, Carver Alderman, who for some strange reason has decided to be with us tonight during City Council, for which we are very grateful. I see School Board Member Natalie Byer. Natalie, thank you so much for being with us. And did I miss any elected official? Was Marcia here? Marcia Morey, Representative Marcia Morey was here earlier and may still be here. And Sheriff Burkhead, thank you, Sheriff. It's great to see you here. Thank you so much for being here. And finally, I want to say we have a former Council Member, Larissa Seibel, here with us tonight. Larissa, glad to have you. I want to thank the people of Durham, the voters who participated in this past election, no matter who you voted for. Thank you for making Durham the rip-roaring democracy that it is, a place where every voice is heard. I also want to thank my fellow Mayoral candidate, Pastor Sylvester Williams for his friendship and for the important ways in which he continues to serve our city. My friends, I feel more than anything else tonight is the weight of the awesome responsibility that falls upon my shoulders as I enter my second term as the Mayor of Durham. In my first two years as Mayor, I've come to understand what a privilege it is to serve in this way, what a gift it is to be entrusted by my community, by the people of the city that I love with this job and all its challenges and opportunities. In the 150-year history of Durham, 35 people have held this position before me. I have been fortunate to know nine of those former mayors and to call each one of them my friend. And here's what I can tell you about all of them. While they sometimes differed in political philosophy or fell on opposite sides of an issue, all of them served our beloved city with deep devotion and I seek to serve with that same devotion. I do feel driven to do this work. I wake up every morning burning to get to City Hall to get the next big initiative moving to confer and strategize and to push us always forward, forward, forward. And it is true as most of you know that I send my last emails well after midnight. What I pray for is the ability to do this work not just with drive but with care with wisdom with patience with a listening ear and an open heart with humility and I ask each of you in this room to please help me along that road. I have so many partners in this work. My wonderful City Council colleagues are amazing City staff community leaders from every corner of Durham and I am especially fortunate to work with professional leadership of our City Government. During my first term as Mayor the City Council hired both a new City Clerk and a new City Attorney and I want to say now to City Clerk Diana Schreiber and City Attorney Kim Rayberg that you were both doing an outstanding job. We are so lucky to have you. You each replaced a elected leader who had served in this community for decades and that's very hard to do. You have big shoes to fill both of you and each of you all has been more than up to the mark. And our City Manager Tom Bonfield Tom now in his 12th year of service to our City and I will say that there is not a finer City Manager anywhere in this country. Durham was recently named by Wallet Hub as the fourth best run city in America. It is an incredible accolade and Tom Bonfield deserves the lion's share of the credit. Tom, thank you for your friendship your guidance your steady hand on the tiller thank you for the fabulous job that you do leading the work of our City. To Tom, to Kim and Diana you all have my full faith and confidence and I know you have the confidence of the Council as well. And then there is my daily partner in love family and in our shared work and yearning for a society that is just my beloved Leo Rupert Babe for 45 years I have been so lucky to share all of this with you and I am so grateful. As a reflect on my first term as Mayor there are two moments that define to me the heart of this great City. The first event took place on April 10th of this year at 150th birthday of Durham when an explosion rocked Duke Street and our community. It was a day of terrible tragedy and loss. We mourn the lives of Mr. Kong Lee and Mr. Jay Rambo. We grieve for their families and the families of the injured. At the same time it was a day that gave me a great sense of gratitude for our incredibly brave incredibly professional first responders. For Mr. Rambo himself who came to the site to try to cut off the gas.  For those same firefighters who were literally blown down and concussed by the explosion and who somehow got up and got to their truck and turned their hoses on the fire. I feel enormous gratitude for the emergency medical responders. When I arrived on the scene shortly after the blast with Chief Zoldus and Deputy City Manager Bo Ferguson, I saw people blood streaming lying near the corner of Morgan and Duke Streets. Each of them already attended by a medic administering the care they needed and getting them into an ambulance and off to the hospital. I feel tremendous gratitude for the folks at Duke Hospital and Duke Regional who activated their emergency protocols and provided a lot of patience. Several of them severely injured. I feel pride when I remember watching how our leadership coordinated their work on scene especially our brand new Fire Chief Chief Zoldus who's here tonight literally experiencing a trial by fire. I will never forget the courage of our firefighters standing up against that roiling ocean of fire with their hoses just a few feet away and when they grew tired another wave of firefighters took their place. I'm proud too of the outpouring of generosity from our community in the wake of the explosion the businesses and volunteers who provided respite and food to our first responders the folks who established GoFundMe pages to support the families of the victims and to provide relief to the restaurant workers who lost their jobs from the blast. Eight months after the explosion we continued to mourn and we continued to offer our support and we look forward to the reopening of the St. James restaurant shortly after the new year and we celebrate too a city that can produce heroes heroes like the ones I saw on Duke Street in front of that blazing fire Durham Grid that is what defined us on that day and that is what defines us every day. The second moment which revealed the big heart of the city to me was a very different sort of event and it occurred shortly after the polls closed on November 5th and the results of the affordable housing bond referendum began to roll in I hoped the bond would prevail I thought it would but I had no inkling of the enormous margin of victory it would enjoy a whopping a whopping excuse me one second a whopping 76% of Durham's voters supported the bond the bond won a majority of voters in every single precinct and this just wasn't any bond I'm proud to say that it was the largest affordable housing bond by far in the history of this state the bond program is bold it's ambitious it's complicated to explain and it faced plenty of objections including some political potshots and some very legitimate concerns despite all this the bond won a smashing victory because Durham's people want to share our prosperity we said yes to a tax increase in order to house our neighbors who can't afford housing on their own now we need to implement the five year affordable housing plan endorsed so emphatically by our voters it will start slowly it will take time but in the next five years because our voters said yes to a different future for our city the work we do on affordable housing will lead the state and the nation like our response to the explosion the bond referendum too tells the story of our big hearted city this big heart extends especially to our most vulnerable communities while the Trump administration is squeezing down the number of refugees permitted into our country Randy the UN high commissioner for refugees just spent a full day in Durham touring our refugee resettlement agencies he chose to come to Durham because of the way we embrace our refugee community in Durham we welcome and we embrace all people no matter your gender or religion your race or language your country of origin or your documentation status we want you and we love you if you are a Latinx immigrant struggling to stay in this country you are welcome in Durham you are welcome if you are from Mexico or Honduras or Colombia or El Salvador you are welcome in Durham if you are documented or if you are undocumented the president wants to build a wall of hatred through our border this hatred will not win in Durham love will win in Durham are welcome in our schools in our work in all public places we want you and your family to live and prosper here in security in Durham we welcome with open arms and open hearts when I was sworn into my first term as mayor two years ago I articulated what I believe to be this community's vision of our common future a vision confirmed in the results of this past election we want you to understand here is a vision that we, the people of Durham have forged together we, the people of Durham envision a prosperous, innovative green and welcoming city that thrives on diversity and difference that puts racial and economic justice at the top of our civic agenda that defends the vulnerable among us that cherishes robust, respectful debate on difficult questions that demands nonviolence and in our streets that embodies the belief that all residents get an opportunity to share in our newfound prosperity that serves as a progressive beacon for the south and the nation it is a beautiful vision but forging that vision is actually the easiest part of our task the hard part is still in front of us and that is making this vision real that implementation work is going on every day inside and outside of city government and in my state of the city address in a couple of months I'm going to talk specifically about how we are working to make that vision real on that night I'm going to talk about our plans to take on gun violence about the implementation of the affordable housing bond about our economic development program rooted in our racial justice work and about how we're going to combat climate change at a local level in Durham we all know the challenge we face we know that 20% of Durham's people mostly people of color are still living in poverty in our prosperous city we know the consequences of this poverty we also know that we are responsible for changing this as hard as the task may be which brings me to the word of the great labor leader and socialist presidential candidate of the early 20th century Eugene Debs Debs found his common humanity with those in the deepest need and in the darkest circumstances and he said while there is a lower class I am in it while there is a criminal element I am of it while there is a soul in prison I am not free in Durham we are not yet free but one of Durham's own the great John H. Wheeler the short house was named just a few short weeks ago told us how to change that Mr. Wheeler had a motto the fight for freedom he said begins every morning I'll be here tomorrow morning at City Hall beginning this work anew and I know all of you wherever you are tomorrow we'll be doing the same thing together let's make the city we love a city for all thank you and now we're going to have our designation of the mayor pro tem and it is my privilege as mayor to nominate the mayor pro tem and it is my privilege as mayor particularly to nominate my friend colleague friend of many many years and former student I feel it necessary to say that again tell me everything I know Jillian Johnson to be our next mayor pro tem and I will accept a motion that that appointment be affirmed it's been moved and seconded that Jillian Johnson be our mayor pro tem for the city of Durham Madam clerk will you please open the vote please close the vote and the motion passes 7-0 thank you so much congratulations mayor pro tem mayor pro tem I believe you're now to proceed to this microphone and be sworn in by the city clerk state your full name I Jillian Johnson do hereby solemnly affirm that I will support and maintain that I will support and maintain constitution and laws of the United States the constitution and laws of the United States and the constitution and laws of North Carolina and the constitution and laws of North Carolina not inconsistent therewith and that I will faithfully and impartially discharge the duties of my office discharge the duties of my office as mayor pro tem pour of the city of Durham as mayor pro tem pour of the city of Durham congratulations thank you thank you and that concludes the organizational meeting we will follow this with our regular meeting but we will first have a five minute recess we will reconvene at 7.52 thank you all for being here absolutely all right as the time is 7.52 and we're back happy holidays move the consent agenda all in favor I all right the time is 7.52 for Mr. Mayor yeah what's going on how are you it's all your fault you know how you doing I want to call this meeting to order I told you I want to call this meeting to order I'm glad to see call this meeting back to order at 7.52 actually we're at 7.53 and we'll now move to we pat our organizational meeting and we have no ceremonial items tonight other than the ceremonial items that we just had if my wife would please come to order okay well that didn't work and now we'll proceed to announcements by the council are there any announcements by members of the council any announcements by members of the council okay we'll now move to priority items by the city manager thank you Mr. Mayor members of the council good evening everyone and I do not have any priority items this evening but would like to take the opportunity on behalf of the city administration and all of our city employees to congratulate you Mayor Schuyl Mayor Pro Tem Johnson and Council Member Reese on your reelection Council Member Caviera on your election and certainly want to reiterate that all of us are ready to be here tomorrow morning with you Mayor Schuyl and begin the work along with the returning members of city council to help further all of your goals and the community goals for the benefit of our everyone so thank you and congratulations again thank you Mr. Manager I do remember when I was elected in 2011 to the city council at 8 o'clock the next morning you called me on the phone so you're definitely ready all the time we appreciate it Madam Attorney any priority items good evening Mr. Mayor Madam Mayor Pro Tem City Council it's good to be with you this evening congratulations to the newly constituted city council I echo all the remarks made by Mr. Bonfield and we have no priority items thank you very much Madam Clerk good evening everyone and congratulations Ditto what City Manager Bonfield said and I have no priority items thank you very much we will now move to the consent agenda the consent agenda can be removed by a single vote of the council these are items that have previously been considered by the council an item can be removed from the agenda by any member of the public or any council member and if it is so removed will be considered at the end of the meeting the first item is item 1 approval of city council minutes item 2 Durham city county environmental affairs board appointment item 3 human relations commission appointment item 4 Durham and workforce item 5 affordable housing performance audit September 2019 item 6 comprehensive annual financial report for the fiscal year into June 30th 2019 item 7 the strap exchange affordable housing development option agreement for the reuse arts district item 8 loan commitment to Durham housing authority development ventures ink for the JJ Henderson seniors new construction phase 1A item 9 professional services contract with Raimi Kemp and associates ink item 11 propose acquisition of 54.61 acres of 1041 communications drive Durham NC item 12 design build services with Monteith construction corporation for fire and emergency medical service EMS station 18 item 13 utility extension agreement with pinecrest Duke LLC to serve the pinecrest residential development item 14 utility extension agreement with Eno River dialysis owners LLC FKC Eno River contract ST 302 street repairs and repaving project 202 item 16 contract ST 301 C paving services 2020 item 17 contract amendment number 8 for ST 264 C professional services related to favel road improvements item 18 contract amendment number 1 for additional design services for SW 52 D LaSalle street pedestrian improvements tip number EB 5703 item 19 trenchless pipe repairs ST 2018-03 amendment number 1 you have now heard the consent agenda and I will now accept a motion for its approval so second it's been moved and second that we approve the consent agenda Madam clerk please open the vote please close the vote and the motion passes 7-0 thank you very much unless there is any more business to come before this body I will declare this meeting adjourned at 7 57