Archive for March, 2022

Coventry Refugee and Migrant Centre appeals to citizens who have room to provide Ukrainians with a temporary home – Coventry Observer

COVENTRY Refugee and Migrant Centre, along with its partners and friends, want to speak to citizens to ask for their warmth and generosity in donating spare accommodation they may have to support Ukrainian refugees.

The plea comes after the past year where the world has witnessed what will considered some of historys worst humanitarian crises, firstly Afghanistan and now Ukraine.

The charity said the situations saw some of the most deplorable, totalitarian regimes and leaders trying to rewrite world history through aggressive military tactics tactics that should be resigned to the past.

It added there was also one of the greatest displays of humanitarian unity the world had seen for a generation.

The worldwide condemnation has been echoed by more than just the worlds leading democracies, it has been shared by businesses, religious leaders, peacemakers, sporting giants and most importantly, compassionate human beings who understood peace, unity, and dialogue were the only ways forward.

Last week, the Bishop of Coventry, the Right Reverend Dr Christopher Cocksworth, urged the Government on several occasions in the House of Lords to rise to the challenge of the impending refugee crisis.

At the end of the week, speaking from the Cathedral ruins, he said: The Diocese of Coventry knows about the damage, destruction and death that war brings.

Therefore, the thought of Ukrainian and Russian soldiers dying at an early age, civilian populations caught up in the conflict and vast movements of refugees fleeing the violence breaks our hearts.

Let us be resolute in our commitment to a vision of peace and the blessings of reconciliation and let us be ceaseless in prayer.

The warm welcome Coventry and its residents have offered over the last few decades to those seeking sanctuary has earned the city an unrivalled international reputation for being the most generous, compassionate, and welcoming people anywhere in the world.

Coventry and its residents have helped to resettle over 900 people in the city since 2014 alone a testament to the incredible collective spirit that this city has shown since the Second World War.

The Home Secretary, Priti Patel, has recently announced the governments support for those being displaced from their homes in Ukraine, with thousands now becoming eligible to start new lives in peace or join their loved ones here in the UK albeit on a temporary basis.

The Coventry Refugee and Migrant Centre wants to hear from any Coventry residents who have the ability and capacity to accommodate Ukrainian nationals fleeing the war.

The influx of Ukrainian refugees and asylum seekers leaves many now in the arms of peace and safety but without a temporary and secure location to sleep. A situation which can be increasingly perilous for young children and their families.

Toni Soni, Director at CRMC, said: During the Afghanistan crises, we witnessed Coventry residents generously donate clothes, food and money to support people theyd never even met before. These donations helped to save and support the lives of men, women, and children theyll likely never meet.

Now I am asking Coventry residents to meet Ukrainian refugees by opening their homes and temporarily accommodating anyone theyre able to help.

I would urge anyone who is able to do so, anyone who has spare capacity in their house or their flat, to open their homes for at least six-months and support those who are most vulnerable while they find their feet here in Coventry.

I want to reassure those who are considering opening their homes that they will not be left alone to do so. CRMC and partners Coventry City Council will be on hand to provide expert guidance and advice to all those who take in Ukrainian refugees.

The Home Secretary has announced that Ukrainian refugees will be able to work, gain an education and access public funds for the time they are here. Our request for Coventry residents to provide accommodation is to ensure these families have a secure, temporary location where they can begin to process and rebuild their lives.

He thanked people in advance and strongly urged anyone considering supporting the CRMCs appeal to email Caroline Higgins at carolineh@covrefugee.org

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Coventry Refugee and Migrant Centre appeals to citizens who have room to provide Ukrainians with a temporary home - Coventry Observer

Fifa urged to reopen transfer window and give players in Russia escape route – The Guardian

Players in Russia who want to move to another country because of the invasion of Ukraine should be granted an emergency reopening of the transfer window, according a new idea being proposed to Fifa.

The Polish Football Association, which has led opposition to continued Russian involvement in international competition since the outbreak of war, has written to Fifa making the suggestion, with hundreds of foreign players playing their club football in Russia.

The Ukrainian defender Yaroslav Rakitskyi has left Zenit Saint Petersburg and more players are expected to follow at other clubs, with Polands Grzegorz Krychowiak hoping to be allowed to leave Krasnodar. This week too the manager of Lokomotiv Moscow, Markus Gisdol, left his role, as did Daniel Farke, the former Norwich manager who had recently joined Krasnodar. Both managers expressed concerns over working in Russia during the invasion.

The imposition of global sanctions has seen a collapse in the value of the rouble, meaning that some clubs are struggling to pay players wages, with contracts commonly agreed in euros. Some high-profile players may see their contracts cancelled, but a plan to reopen the window would see all contracted players given the opportunity to negotiate deals elsewhere.

Fifa were approached by the Guardian for comment.

European football bodies have this week been concentrating on trying to help players in the Ukrainian league reach safety, one small part of the growing migrant crisis caused by the war. On Thursday the president of Uefa, Aleksander Ceferin, said the war was the most terrible situation and that the madness of the conflict must stop.

I was on the phone for 48 hours with clubs and coaches to get them out of the Ukraine, Ceferin told the Financial Times Business of Football Summit. Its hard for me to explain how sad those conversations were. One of the players who left Ukraine came to my home, another came today. They told me about their children and about the bombs exploding outside their home. I am proud of the football family that we stood together to do our part. The football part. Its really hard to say what will happen tomorrow but this war should stop, this madness should stop.

Ceferin said it was impossible to say under what circumstances the ban on Russian football might be reversed. For now it stays and we are waiting for peace to come, he said. Football will probably be the least important thing.

Uefa has moved the Champions League final from Russia and cancelled its longstanding sponsorship deal with Gazprom. It has previously sought to steer clear of making decisions that could be seen as political, including during the mens European Championship last summer when it refused a request to illuminate Munichs Allianz Arena in the colours of the rainbow flag.

Thank you for your feedback.

Also speaking at the Football Summit, the general secretary of the players union Fifpro, Jonas Baer-Hoffmann, said the current crisis meant that football could no longer claim to sit outside of politics. I think sport has to accept that the idea you make an institution apolitical is just a myth, Hoffman said. Because what people do with it makes it political. If Putin decides its not apolitical its not.

Football should stand for values of peace freedom sovereignty, human rights but also equality. The rainbow flag is a political decision.

On the day the UK culture minister held a meeting with international sports bodies to discuss tightening sanctions and heightening consequences for Russian sporting bodies, the chief executive of the Premier League, Richard Masters, said the competition was reviewing its deals with Russian broadcast companies.

Its clearly under review, he said. I would like the Russian people to see the strength of feeling. We will look at it very closely re suspension and termination. We are looking at it right now.

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Fifa urged to reopen transfer window and give players in Russia escape route - The Guardian

The 10 Best Free SEO Courses Available Online (Updated)

One of the best ways to learn SEO is to enroll in an SEO course. We did our research and found the best free SEO courses available online.

In this post, youll learn which are the top courses to teach yourself SEO for free. The list includes courses from reputable organizations that will definitely help you build your SEO skills.

The majority of courses are more suited for beginners to SEO, but some courses go deeper and cover advanced SEO topics.

How we created this list?

The list contains online courses, most of which are in video format. If you are looking for offline downloadable education resources like eBooks, check out our Free SEO eBooks.

All the courses below are 100% free. To access some of the courses, you have to create an account with the learning platform, but they are all available for free either for a limited time (one month) or for a lifetime.

If you are looking for the best-paid courses that offer an SEO certification, check out our SEO Certifications Guide.

These are the best online courses to learn SEO for free.

If youre looking for an SEO course to learn the basics of SEO, then this is the course to enroll in first. The material is easy to follow and the language is suitable for non-technical users.

It starts by explaining how the SEO process can influence the decision of search engine algorithms and then introduces the three major SEO sub-processes: Technical SEO, On-Page SEO, and Off-Page SEO.

Why enroll in this course?

Its a great course for beginners. It will teach you the basics of SEO and set the foundation so that you can learn more advanced topics.

In addition to the course, with your registration, you can also download the Complete SEO Checklist which explains in detail all checks you need to perform to ensure that your website is SEO Friendly.

Learn more about this course

Its an SEO crash course for beginners to SEO. It is more suitable for students that have no prior SEO knowledge. It starts by explaining the SEO fundamentals, including how search engines work.

The course is split into three main sections: Introduction to SEO, Content SEO, and technical SEO.

Why enroll in this course?

You should enroll in the Yoast free SEO course if you know nothing about SEO, and you want to get a general understanding of how all components work together.

What is nice is that they try to explain the technical aspect of SEO by using easy to understand language and avoiding technical jargon as much as possible.

Learn more about this course

This is one of the most popular SEO courses on Udemy. So far, more than 200K students have enrolled, and the course has an overall rating of 4.3/5 stars.

The Moz Team created the course and it is presented by Rand Fiskin (one of the MOZ founders).

The course format is video, and the duration is 3.5 hours.

While this is a good course covering all aspects of SEO, it hasnt been updated since its initial release, and this is an issue. Most of the information is still valid but some videos (like the one talking about featured snippets), are not entirely accurate and out of date.

Why enroll in this course?

Rank Fishkin is a great presenter. He knows what he is talking about, and he does it in a way that is enjoyable and fun.

So, if you are just getting started with SEO, spend a couple of hours watching the videos to get a general idea of what is SEO and how it works.

Learn more about this course

SEO veteran Tommy Griffith is the instructor of this course. Before starting ClickMinded, Tommy was managing SEO for companies like Paypal and Airbnb.

In this course, Tommy explains the SEO framework used at Paypal and Airbnb and gives general advice on how to approach the whole SEO process.

Why enroll in this course?

If you are curious about how big companies approach SEO, then this is a free course you should enroll in.

Once you enroll in the course, you will also get access to several SEO resources that are worth reading.

Learn more about this course

This is a free SEO course by HubSpot that is worth considering. The course includes four lessons covering the following topics:

Its not a beginners course. To understand the different concepts explained in the videos, you need to have a basic understanding of SEO.

Why enroll in this course?

What I like about this course is lesson 3, where Matthew Howells-Barby explains how HubSpot is using SEO and blogs to increase their organic traffic. He talks about the importance of building topical relevance and gives examples of how this process works.

Learn more about this course

On-Page SEO and Technical SEO are two SEO processes you can control 100%. Unlike off-page SEO that has to do with website promotion methods, on-page and technical SEO is something you can improve by following some simple SEO rules.

This is what this SEO course is all about. It includes 2 modules that cover the following topics:

Why enroll in this course?

Registration for this course is free and easy. While working with the course you also get a chance to get to know how to use SEMRUSH, one of the best SEO tools in the market, and upon completing this course, you can take an exam and achieve a SEMRush SEO Certification.

Learn more about this course

Coursera is a popular online training platform offering a range of digital marketing courses.

Their SEO specialization path includes six individual courses:

The courses are taught by experienced SEO instructors. You can take all the courses in the SEO specialization or individual courses. The approx. time to complete all courses and lessons is four months.

Why enroll in this course?

Its a comprehensive course covering all aspects of SEO. It starts with the very basics and covers advanced strategies and techniques.

You can enroll in this course and get a 7-Day free trial.

Learn more about this course

This is another SEO course by Moz, similar to the SEO course offered by Udemy (number 1 above).

The course is made up of 6 videos (1 hour each) covering the following topics:

The course instructor is Rand Fishkin, which is very good in making explaining complicated topics in a simple way.

Why enroll in this course?

From all the courses in this guide, this is the easiest to access. Users dont have to register, just click the link below, and you will be redirected to the course page and start watching the videos.

If you dont want to watch all the videos, I suggest you spend some time watching the third video where Rand talks about searcher satisfaction, a concept that is very important for modern SEO.

Learn more about this course

LinkedIn Learning is the new name of what was previously known as Lynda. All courses offered by Lynda are now under LinkedIn Learning.

When it comes to SEO training, LinkedIn learning has a lot of courses, but one that is worth considering is SEO Foundations.

The course starts with explaining what search engine optimization is and how it works but also covers topics like:

Why enroll in this course?

Enroll in this course if you want to get a more comprehensive understanding of how content marketing and SEO can work together.

One thing to know about LinkedIn Learning is that it offers courses for free for one month only. After that, there is a monthly charge for accessing the course material.

Learn more about this course

Skillshare is another online learning platform that offers courses on various subjects. Some courses are available for Free while to access premium courses, you have to register for a paid plan (the first month is free).

One of the popular SEO courses that you can access without paying is SEO Today by Rand Fishkin. This is the third course by Rand which makes him the most popular SEO instructor on our list

This video course includes 11 lessons, and it takes about 1 hour to complete. It covers the following topics:

Why enroll in this course?

You dont have to enroll in this course to watch the videos. You can click the button below and start viewing. This class is not for beginners, but its an intermediate level.

Learn more about this course

Another free SEO course from SEMRUSH is the SEO Toolkit Course. The course has three modules: Learn, build, and measure, and covers the following topics:

Why enroll in this course?

What is nice about this course is that it takes you through the different stages of SEO and shows you how to use SEMRUSH tools at each stage.

In the past, you could do SEO without the use of tools, but thats not the case today. There is so much data to analyze, which makes it impossible to do without professional tools, and SEMRUSH is one of the best tools in the market.

So, by taking this course, you learn SEO, and at the same time, you learn how to use SEMRUSH.

Learn more about this course

The above courses are all free, so there is no question if they are worth the money, but do they worth the time investment?

Free courses are a good starting point for beginners to SEO. They can teach you the basics, but they are not enough if you want to become an SEO expert.

Good SEO courses take a lot of time, money, and effort to create, and for this reason, they are not offered for free.

A good online course is updated regularly to take into account new trends, and it is continuously enriched with new content based on user feedback. This is not the case with a free course.

Take, for example, our SEO full course. Since the initial release, it has been updated hundreds of times to include new SEO trends, and the content is regularly updated to help students in their learning process.

So, free courses are a good starting point. Still, if you want to learn the ins and outs of SEO, you should consider making a small investment to enroll in a professional SEO course that will teach you everything you need to know about SEO without having to wander around and look for pieces of information in free resources.

If you want to expand your skills beyond SEO, view our list of the best courses about online marketing.

If you know of a good SEO course that is free, available online, and missing from the list, let me know in the comments.

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The 10 Best Free SEO Courses Available Online (Updated)

Shocker: Congress Has Evidence Trump May Have Engaged in a Criminal Conspiracy to Steal the Election – Vanity Fair

Say youre a person with eyes and ears, who has been conscious for the last 18 months and didnt receive a lobotomy at the MAGA Institute of Medicine from a doctor who looked suspiciously like Don Jr.If we asked you, Hey, do you think Donald Trump (1) tried to overturn the 2020 election and (2) broke any laws in doing so, you probably wouldnt need to consult an attorney or a legal textbook before answering, Uh, yeah? Isnt it pretty obvious?Youd likely be confident in stating as much because of all the groundwork Trump laid in the run up to the election wherein he was already claiming fraud; the time in September 2020 he refused to commit to a peaceful transfer of power; the Stop the Steal rally that preceded the violent insurrection in which he told his supporters to fight for him; and the endless articles detailing his attempts to stop Joe Biden from becoming president.

Unfortunately, courts of law have a different set of standards, and despite millions of people being able to say they saw what looked a lot like a crime being committed with their own eyes, Trump and his cronies cant just be indicted based on that. Which is why its nice to hear that, according to the Houses January 6 committee, they have actual evidencewhich could conceivably be turned over to the Department of Justice and brought as charges.

Per CNN:

Former President Donald Trumpand a right-wing lawyer were part of a criminal conspiracy to overturn the 2020 presidential election, the House select committee investigating the January 6 Capitol riot alleges ina court filingWednesday. The filing is part of an attempt to convince a judge to allow the panel access to emails from lawyerJohn Eastman, who is claiming attorney-client privilege. The committee said he helped to orchestrate the plot.

The filing is the most extensive release to date from the Houses January 6 investigators as they try to obtain Eastmans emailsand comes well before the House select committee releases its final report on its findings on Trump. House members have also signaled they may make a criminal referral to the Justice Department about Trump, depending on their findings, and the Houses arguments Wednesday could be seen as a preview of a case that could be made by federal prosecutors.

While Eastman and Trump have not been accused of any crimes, House members have suggested they may make a criminal referral to the Justice Department (the House itself does not have the ability to bring criminal charges). The evidence is mounting that there was a concerted effort to overturn the results of the election in so many different ways. And theres, in my view, a lot of information that President Trump knew about it and more, Senator Mazie Hirono said Thursday.

In the 61-page court filing, attorneys for the House panel wrote: Evidence and information available to the Committee establishes a good-faith belief that Mr. Trump and others may have engaged in criminal and/or fraudulent acts, and that Plaintiffs legal assistance was used in furtherance of those activities. The evidence supports an inference that President Trump and members of his campaign knew he had not won enough legitimate state electoral votes to be declared the winner of the 2020 Presidential election during the January 6 Joint Session of Congress, but the President nevertheless sought to use the Vice President to manipulate the results in his favor.

The panel cited Trump calling and meeting with state and federal officials as well as tweeting and rallying to persuade the public that the election was stolen.

The committee also noted the immense pressure Trump put on Mike Pence to block the certification of Bidens win, writing that he urged the vice president to delay the count to allow state legislatures to convene and select alternate electors. As we know, Trumps pressure campaign included calling Pence a pussy and saying the two wouldnt be friends anymore if the V.P. didnt pull through. At the rally that preceded the attack on the Capitol, Trump told the crowd, I hope Mike is going to dotheright thing, and All Vice PresidentPencehas to do is send it back tothestates to recertify and we become president and you arethehappiest people, and MikePenceis going to have to come through for us, and if he doesnt, that will be [a] sad day for our country because youre sworn to uphold our Constitution, and MikePence, I hope youre going to stand up forthegood of our Constitution and forthegood of our country. And if youre not, Im going to be verydisappointedin you. I will tell you right now. Im not hearing good stories.

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Shocker: Congress Has Evidence Trump May Have Engaged in a Criminal Conspiracy to Steal the Election - Vanity Fair

Analysis: Texas’ GOP runoffs hinge on a name that’s not on the ballot – The Texas Tribune

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Donald Trump could decide who gets the GOP nomination for attorney general of Texas and, in the process, could be a factor in runoffs farther down that partys ballot in May.

The former presidents endorsement of Ken Paxton, the besieged incumbent AG, was central to Paxtons first-place finish in the first round of the primaries. It wasnt enough Paxton is on his way to a runoff with Land Commissioner George P. Bush but it kept him alive.

If that race draws a crowd it will be at the top of the GOPs runoff ticket the voters Paxton and Bush lure to the polls will be voting in down-ballot races. And because runoffs typically have even lower turnout than primaries, small changes in who votes could have an outsize effect. A wave of Trump Republicans could be a boon to conservatives in other runoff races, and a bad omen for candidates who arent in the former presidents fold.

Paxtons TV commercials on the way to this weeks primary featured Trump as prominently as the candidates own name. Paxton had the blessing of the popular former president in a race where Republican voters were trying to pick and choose from four well-known candidates. That signal muted attacks from whistleblowers who said Paxton was misusing his public office to help a political donor and from a lingering 2015 felony securities fraud indictment against him that has never gone to trial.

Even with all of that, Paxton got 42.7% of the vote in Tuesdays primary. On the upside for Paxton, that was nearly twice the support Bush mustered, enough to finish first among the four candidates. On the downside, it means the incumbent failed to command even half of the support of the voters in his own party a sign that theyre willing to make a switch if the right candidate comes along.

Its going to be hard for those voters to ignore Trumps embrace. The former president remains popular with Texas Republicans, and he rebuffed Bushs courting in favor of Paxton.

Paxton has been up against establishment names before, running for speaker in 2011 against Joe Straus, R-San Antonio, who he tried to paint as insufficiently conservative. That fell far short of success, despite the loud conservative activists who backed him. He topped a couple of mainstream Republicans in his first race for attorney general, but the electorate was different. He wasnt vying for votes from legislators in both political parties or even for the votes of Republican legislators. Instead, he was able to rely on conservative activists strength in a low-turnout GOP primary the same sort of primary he was in on Tuesday. He was in a runoff that year, too, which he won by almost 27 percentage points.

In 2018, no Republicans challenged him, but Democrat Justin Nelson came close in the general election, losing to the incumbent by 3.6 percentage points.

Paxton is wounded this time. Voters brushed off his indictment when they reelected him in 2018. The abuse of office allegations are new and were the focus of his three challengers, each of whom mostly agreed with him on policy while arguing that a nominee with ethical clouds over him would be an easier target for Democrats in November.

But Trump has a favorite in the race, and hes a favorite of the states Republican voters. In a February 2022 University of Texas/Texas Politics Project poll, 80% of self-identified Republican voters had either a very or somewhat favorable opinion of the former president. More than half of those 52% were very favorable.

Bush has consistently positioned himself to the right of his father, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, and his uncle, former president George W. Bush. Hes tried to win Trumps favor, even opening his campaign by handing out drink Koozies with a drawing of Trump shaking his hand over the words, This is the only Bush that likes me. This is the Bush that got it right. I like him.

He likes Paxton more, however, and that makes a difference in a runoff. Most of the states Republican primary voters, even with their strong affection for the former president, voted against Trumps pick for attorney general. On the other hand, Trumps support might be the biggest reason the incumbent made it to the runoff.

Disclosure: The University of Texas at Austin has been a financial supporter of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune's journalism. Find a complete list of them here.

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Analysis: Texas' GOP runoffs hinge on a name that's not on the ballot - The Texas Tribune